P.V.Anandpadmanabhan

Congress, which suffered the worst ever drubbing in the recent Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, witnessed the resignation of Manikrao Thackeray from the post of party president. This has left the room free for others to run for the party president’s post.

Ashok Chavan and Narayan Rane were among the front runners with few others also aspiring for the top slot.

It will be a wait and watch till the next government is formed by the BJP and if the Shiv Sena also joins the government this will provide opportunity for the congress to hold the mantle of the opposition party in the state legislature.

Several eyebrows rose over the possibility of Prithviraj Chavan leading the party in the state as he is well accustomed to the political situation in Maharashtra and could well tackle things more prudentially. However, all depends on how much support he gets from Delhi as there is already a lot of opposition from within the party’s rank and file here.