Mumbai, Dec 6 : The Congress today suspended Maharashtra leader Narayan Rane, a day after party president Sonia Gandhi decided in Ashok Chavan''s favour for the post of new Maharashtra Chief Minister, rather than in Rane''s who was the other strong contender for the post.

"It has been observed that after the announcement of the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Maharashtra, Narayan Rane is making public statements deliberately with a view to lowering the prestige of the Indian National Congress," said AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

The Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra would get gas from Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin on a priority basis. K-G basin is being developed by Reliance Industries in Andhra Pradesh. RIL is directed by the union petroleum ministry to sell gas at $4.2 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) after the judgment of the court. It also asked RIL to supply gas to some fertilizer plants.
 

Prominent OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal was on Friday named as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

Bhujbal, besides taking charge of Deputy CM’s post will have an additional responsibility of Home Ministry.

"Our state legislature party has decided that Chhagan Bhujbal will be the leader," NCP supremo Sarad Pawar said.

Bhujbal succeeds RR Patil, who had quit owning moral responsibility for the Mumbai terror attacks.

Maharashtra chief minister-designate Ashok Chavan said that the security of his state would be his "top priority".

"The aam aadmi (common man) is not concerned with who is chief minister or the deputy chief minister. They just want the administration to be strong," Chavan, the son of former union home minister S. B. Chavan, said.

He said, "I will do everything to strengthen the state police force so that carnages of the kind that occurred last week were not repeated."

Ashok Chavan, Industry minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government and son of former Maharashtra chief minister SB Chavan seems to be the frontrunner in the race to the CM post in Maharashtra.

He is believed to have outrun revenue minister Narayan Rane even though Rane, who was the CM during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government in the late nineties, lobbied hard in a spirit of do-or-die.

Other contenders comprised Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, MP and sugar baron and Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan.

Mumbai, Dec. 5 : Chhagan Bhujbal will be the new Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar named Bhujbal for the post today.

"Our state legislature party has decided that Chhagan Bhujbal will be the leader," Pawar said.

Bhujbal will take over from R R Patil, who resigned from the chair after taking moral responsibility for the Mumbai terror attack.

Bhujbal (61),last held the post in the Congress-NCP allied Government which came into power in Maharashtra in 1999.