Congress president Sonia Gandhi has summoned Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and state party chief Prabha Rau to New Delhi on Wednesday, fuelling speculation yet again about a major organisational reshuffle if not a change of guard at the top in Mumbai.

Sonia’s call comes days after Deshmukh finished with the high-profile wedding of his son Amit, which his critics in the party say was the lease of life the beleaguered Chief Minister had sought from 10 Janpath.

However, with the Budget session of the Assembly due to start on March 10, now may not be an opportune time to consider naming a new chief minister, his supporters counter.

Officially, Deshmukh will be in Delhi for a meeting with the Planning Commission and the occasion is to be used by party leaders to discuss state politics with him and Rau.

“It could just be a meeting to discuss the forthcoming nominations to the Legislative Council and the Rajya Sabha,” a senior Congress leader said. “But there is the possibility of organisational changes being discussed. The high command may even think of replacing Rau with someone like Sushilkumar Shinde in the run-up to next year’s polls.”

The party would prefer to face the polls with either the MPCC chief or the Chief Minister being a Dalit, especially in view of the BSP making inroads in the state, the leader said.

The timing of the decision would also depend on whether the party wanted to go in for mid-term polls to cash in on the populist Union Budget proposals. Any such plan would mean status quo in the party and the Government.

... contd.