Prithviraj Chavan opts out of CLP race

Balasaheb Thorat, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil emerge as front-runners

November 07, 2014 12:49 am | Updated April 20, 2016 06:24 am IST - MUMBAI:

Prithviraj Chavan

Prithviraj Chavan

Amid a rising storm of opposition to his name as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Maharashtra, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan opted out of the race on Thursday.

“I’m not interested in any post. I have been elected after a gap of 15 years and want to spend time in my constituency,” he told reporters ahead of a meeting of the party’s legislators to elect their new chief.

Former ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil have emerged as front-runners after legislators met with the party’s central observer, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the party has left the decision to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Chavan’s opponents in the party blame him for its dismal performance in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. A day ahead of the legislature party meeting, several MLAs had declared that they would oppose Prithviraj Chavan’s name.

Mr. Thorat is said to have the backing of Prithviraj Chavan. However, he is considered too mild to take on the BJP-led government. Mr. Patil is considered an aggressive leader but had in the past parted ways with the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena, which may go against him.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.