New Delhi/Mumbai, Nov 10: Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan, a technocrat belonging to the politically dominant Maratha community, was Wednesday chosen as Maharashtra’s next Chief Minister to succeed Ashok Chavan who was axed in the wake of the  Housing Society scam in Mumbai.
 64-year-old Chavan, an affable low-profile Congress leader who entered the hurly burly of politics at the persuasion of Rajiv Gandhi, is likely to take oath as the new head of the Congress-NCP coalition government tomorrow.
 The announcement of selection of Chavan by the Congress High Command was made by senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee, a day after his predecessor was sacked in the wake of allegations in connection with the Adarsh Housing controversy.
 Chavan, who is the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and an AICC General Secretary, will be 22nd Chief Minister of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960. Chavan, an engineer by profession and currently a Member of the Rajya Sabha, is also incharge AICC in Jammu and Kashmir.
 Hours after Congress leadership picked up Chavan as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, ally NCP today replaced OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal with Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit as his deputy.
 The announcement of Pawar as the next deputy chief minister was greeted by NCP supporters outside the party office as they burst firecrackers to celebrate their leader ascending the chair he missed by a whisker last year.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST