Hatchet men

The interlude in the squabblings is over. With the Karnataka polls done with, detractors of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh are back in New Delhi to demand his ouster. Close associates of chief ministerial contender and state Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, camping in the capital, say if there is no change of guard in the state, Rane will resign his ministership, although he will stay put in the party. According to them, Rane will accept even Sushilkumar Shinde as CM so long as he himself is appointed PCC chief. However, the silence from the high command is directly proportional to the noise in Maharashtra Sadan.