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."

"The government will take all steps necessary to ensure safety of the people."

"It's a challenge, and I accept this challenge," Chavan, in his early fifties, said after his name was announced in New Delhi by senior leader Pranab Mukherjee on behalf of the Congress leadership.

He takes over from Vilasrao Deshmukh, who resigned in disgrace following the terror outrage in Mumbai.