I am honoured, humbled : Prithviraj Chavan
New Delhi : All set to take over as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said he would provide a good governance and work in unison with Congress alliance partner NCP in the state.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Prithviraj Chavan has been chosen as the Maharashtra Chief Minister on Wednesday after the MLAs authorised Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take the final call.
“I am highly honoured and humbled. The Congress leadership and MLAs of Maharashtra called upon me to take the responsibility. I will hand over my duties in Delhi and then leave for Mumbai in the evening,” he said.
“Whenever I have been given any responsibility, I have fulfilled that in right earnest. I will try my best,” he said.
He said the interest of the state would be above all other interests.
He thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the faith in him and said : :”I will provide good governance in Maharashtra.”
On the tensions between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress and his image as an anti-NCP politician, he said it would not be a problem since both NCP and Congress have kept at bay Shiv Sena and BJP in their strongholds though they may have fought in local levels.
“We are running coalition governments in Mumbai and New Delhi for long,” he said.
He said he has spoken to NCP chief Sharad Pawar already.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister A.K. Anthony after a meeting in New Delhi with Congress party president Sonia Gandhi said that Prithviraj Chavan has been chosen to replace Ashok Chavan as the Chief Minister.
?Myself and Mr.A.K. Anthony went to Mumbai last night and had a meeting with Congress legislature party. They wanted Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a final call and she has selected Prithiviraj Chavan as the next CM,? said Mukherjee.
Chavan had to resign over the Adarsh housing scam in which flats meant for Kargil war widows and families were allotted to politicians, their kins and defense top brass in Mumbai.