In yet another indication of the tide turning against Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, 12 independent MLAs on Wednesday pledged support to the Congress-led coalition government in the state, implying that any leader picked by the party's high command to replace Deshmukh would be acceptable to them.
These MLAs had saved Deshmukh when the Peasants and Workers Party had withdrawn its support to his government in June last year.
As a three-member team of Congress observers led by Vayalar Ravi began meeting Congress legislators at Sahyadri, the state guest house in Mumbai, early on Wednesday morning, All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi told reporters in Delhi that the Maharashtra crisis would be sorted out in a day or two.
Sometime in the afternoon, senior Congress leaders Rohidas Patil and Ranjit Deshmukh, both vocal critics of the chief minister, held two rounds of talks with the independents. From the second meeting the word emerged that the independents would support Congress high command's candidate for the chief minister's post.
The Congress MLAs who met the observers said no pointed questions about whether they supported Deshmukh or otherwise were asked.
The observers' exercise remained inconclusive and would resume on Thursday morning. Later in the day, a Congress Legislature Party meeting is likely to be convened to elect a new leader.
Sources in the independents' camp said Rohidas Patil had solicited their support in case the Congress high command gave its nod to Deshmukh's replacement.
A report from New Delhi said member of Parliament from Solahpur, Sushilkumar Shinde, who has emerged as the front-runner to replace Deshmukh, left Delhi for Mumbai by an afternoon flight.
