Congress workers celebrate Prithviraj Chavan’s selection

MUMBAI - Congress party members in Maharashtra Wednesday danced to drumbeats and distributed sweets, celebrating Prithviraj Chavan being named the new state chief minister.

Celebrations were seen at the state party headquarters at Tilak Bhavan in Dadar (West) where party workers burst firecrackers too.

People were also seen celebrating the decision at Karad in Satara district, near Chavan’s ancestral home, around 120 km south of Pune city.

“We welcome the decision taken by the party high command wholeheartedly and will continue to help and support Chavan in his new venture,” a party member shouted.

Chavan’s parents were parliament members from Karad, while his father, the late D.R. Chavan, was also a minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet.

“Since the last 50 years Chavan’s family has always had best interests of Maharashtra in their minds and so will Chavan. We are glad that our new chief minister comes from such a family,” said another party member.

Prithviraj Chavan replaces Ashok Chavan, whose resignation as Maharashtra chief minister was accepted by the Congress leadership following allegations of his association with Mumbai’s Adarsh housing society scam.

The 31-storey Adarsh apartment block being constructed in south Mumbai’s posh Colaba area has been hit by allegations of corruption and irregularities, including charges that the flats meant for Kargil heroes and war widows were given to bureaucrats, relatives of politicians and former army and navy chiefs among others.

Ashok Chavan came under the scanner after questions were raised on his role as the revenue minister in relaxing the Adarsh housing society’s membership norms and revelations that one of the flats was owned by his mother-in-law. Names of some of his other relatives had also cropped up as beneficiaries of flats.

Ashok Chavan offered to resign Oct 30 when he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi.