Prithviraj Chavan to be New Maha CM

New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan will be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra succeeding Ashok Chavan who resigned in the wake of the Adarsh Housing Society scam. 
 
"Congress President Sonia Gandhi has chosen Prithviraj Chavan as the Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party leader," senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after meeting Gandhi.

He said the Maharashtra CLP had last night authorised Gandhi to name its new leader and the Congress chief chose 64-year-old Chavan this morning.

Mukherjee said Gandhi's decision to choose Chavan as the CLP leader has been communicated to Maharashtra Congress chief Manikrao Thakre.

Ahead of the announcement, Chavan met Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence and Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony joined them later. Mukherjee and Antony apprised the Congress chief of their interaction with MLAs in Maharashtra and developments at the CLP meeting last night.

The CLP had authorised Gandhi to choose a successor to Ashok Chavan, who quit yesterday following a directive from the Congress High Command in the wake of his alleged role in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

Prithviraj Chavan, the Union Minister of State in the PMO, belongs to the dominant Maratha community and hails from Western Maharashtra, the stronghold of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. Chavan is a currently Member of the Rajya Sabha and is a loyalist of the Gandhi family.