His no-confrontation manner is believed to have let Deshmukh down. But everyone envies his luck. But when he finally quit, the Congress compensated him with a high-profile assignment in the party.

In 1995, he had suffered a major setback when he lost from Latur by a margin of nearly 35,000 votes. The stalwart from Marathwada left the party and tried to get into the legislative council with the support of the Shiv Sena.

He returned to the Congress before the 1999 election and hit a purple patch. First, he got elected from Latur. Since the Congress did not have enough seats to form the government, he was chosen to be the leader of the opposition.

But the Congress later entered into an alliance with the NCP and formed the government with Deshmukh as the chief minister. The fragile nature of the coalition and his rapport with NCP leader Sharad Pawar were partially responsible for his 3-1/2 year stint in the post.

He is now keeping a low profile hoping the high command will turn to him if it is looking for an alternative to Shinde who has not had a good run.