India's Maharashtra gets new chief minister

Dec 5, 2008, 12:56 GMT

New Delhi - Ashok Chavan, minister for industries in India's Maharashtra state, will be taking over as chief minister, news reports said Friday.

Chavan will be succeeding Vilasrao Deshmukh who resigned Thursday owing moral responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in which 172 people were killed and 289 injured.

Chavan had been nominated leader of the Congress Legislature Party by party chief Sonia Gandhi, federal Foreign Minister and senior Congress Party member Pranab Mukherjee announced in Mumbai, PTI news agency reported.

Bitter rivalry broke out in the state Congress Party unit in the process of choosing the new chief minister.

After failing to agree, the legislature party authorized Gandhi to nominate their leader on Thursday.

The Congress Party governs Maharashtra in alliance with a breakaway faction, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Maharashtra's deputy chief minister RR Patil also quit after the terror attacks. Chhaggan Bhujbal has been named the new deputy chief minister. Both Patil and Bhujbal belong to the NCP.

Deshmukh and Patil were both forced to quit in wake of rising public anger against the government after the attacks.

The new federal Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday admitted there had been security and intelligence lapses.

Chidambaram's predececessor Shivraj Patil was also eased out after the Mumbai terror strikes.

Both national elections and Maharashtra state elections are scheduled to be held in 2009 and the changes are being seen as an attempt by the Congress Party to fix accountability.