Appointment of new state Congress chief may be delayed

Mumbai: The resignation of Congress president Rahul Gandhi may delay the process of appointment of a new president in Maharashtra, said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity. Along with a new Congress state president, four working presidents will be appointed region-wise in the state for the sake of balance.

Congress state president Ashok Chavan offered his resignation in May after the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls. Former revenue minister and legislator from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district Balasaheb Thorat is all set to lead the Maharas-htra Congress unit. Ever sin-ce Radhakrishna Vikhe-Pa-til resigned from the Con-gress, Mr Thorat has been becoming more powerful in the party. Mr Thorat is an archrival of Mr Vikhe-Patil in the Ahmednagar district.

The Congress leader, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that Mr Thorat, who was the Congress Legislature party leader, was on his way to being appointed the head of the state unit of the Congress. Mr Thorat would succeed Mr Chavan. He was also a member of the Congress Working Committee, which was the party’s top decision-making body.

Mr Chavan had again tendered his resignation to the party high command in Del-hi, which had been accepted, sources said. His replacement would be announced in a day or two. On June 29, he met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Mallikarjun Kharge, in the presence of party leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar and others.