Deshmukh luck running out, Sonia sets up panel

The CM, who had been called to New Delhi on Sunday, has got reprieve only until the Assembly is on, said sources. The last date of the ongoing session is not fixed yet and is subject to the decision of the Business Advisory Committee that meets on April 10.

On Sunday, Sonia had told reporters that Maharashtra CM’s position was “very stable” thus prompting the CM to declare in Mumbai that “rumours” about his removal were “baseless”. Congress sources here, however, explained that Sonia’s remarks were “general” in nature and were meant to reflect the stability of the Congress-NCP government in the state.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is the frontrunner in the race for succession although Deshmukh’s rival Narayan Rane is also in the reckoning, according to a senior party leader who is no longer in the race for the Chief Minister’s chair.

Given the fact that the Power portfolio was given as additional charge to Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh in Sunday’s reshuffle, Shinde’s transfer to Mumbai Secretariat, if and when finalised, should be a smooth affair. Deshmukh is likely to be rehabilitated as AICC General Secretary.

According to Congress sources, Shinde, a Dalit leader, could strengthen the party’s base among Dalits at a time when BSP leader Mayawati is making forays into it. Deshmukh was perceived to have lost confidence of the Dalits due to his inept handling of the 2006 Khairlanji incident involving atrocities against Dalits.

Thanks to the delay in the implementation of Srikrishna Commission report into 1992-93 Mumbai riots, Muslims have also grown suspicious of the Deshmukh government’s intentions, said party sources from Maharashtra. A few months ago, a senior Congress leader and Cabinet minister had come back from Mumbai to submit to the Congress President a report against Deshmukh’s standing among the minority community.

The minister had even submitted video recordings of his conversations with Muslims who had very strong words against the incumbent CM, said sources. It was around that time that Deshmukh angered the farming community in Vidarbha by calling them “dishonest” in a public meeting.

AICC General Secretary in charge of Maharashtra Margaret Alva, who has been at loggerheads with the CM, is said to have recommended Deshmukh’s removal in a report to Sonia citing poor governance in the state.