Cong takes safe option,MLC quits for Chavan

The Congress has finally opted for the soft option of a backdoor entry for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan into the state legislature instead of making him contest a byelection for an Assembly seat.

The Congress has finally opted for the soft option of a backdoor entry for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan into the state legislature instead of making him contest a byelection for an Assembly seat. Congress MLC Sanjay Satishchandra Dutt submitted his resignation on Friday,vacating his seat in the council to pave way for Chavan to become a member of the legislative council.

Dutt submitted his resignation to council chairperson Shivajirao Deshmukh at Vidhan Bhavan. He was accompanied by Chavan and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre. Dutt was elected to the MLC seat for a second term from the legislative Assembly constituency six months ago.

Dutt claimed that he was not asked by the party to resign but he had done it voluntarily to facilitate Chavan to become a member of the legislature. Dutt had visited Delhi with Chavan on Thursday to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and discuss the issue.

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Chavan,who took the reins of the state from Ashok Chavan after the Adarsh society scam,is a member of the Rajya Sabha. Chavan was sworn in as chief minister on November 11,2010 and he is required to become a member of either the Assembly or Council within six months of being sworn in.

The Congress had the option of asking an MLA to resign and get Chavan elected in the resulting byelection. However,considering the embarrassment of a defeat,the party opted for the safer option of electing him as an MLC from the legislative Assembly constituency where the Congress is the largest party.

Earlier,Thakre,who is also an MLC,had offered to quit for Chavan,but Thakres term expires next year and it would have necessitated Chavan to seek a fresh term. With Dutts seat becoming vacant,Chavan would be an MLC till 2016 and can face the next Assembly polls due in 2014.

The Congress is yet to decide who would succeed Chavan in the Rajya Sabha when he quits the seat.

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