High command will decide Maharashtra chief minister, says Chavan

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said on Thursday that the Congress leadership will decide who will be the new chief minister of the state.

"I leave to the party and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a decision (on the issue of chief ministership)," Chavan said. "Collective leadership and leadership of Sonia Gandhi" has taken the party to lead in the assembly seats in the state, he added.

To a question whether Chavan could be the next chief minister of Maharastra, senior Congress leader Jayanti Natarajan told CNN-IBN that there were many eligible leaders and newly-elected MLAs with the guidelines of "high command" will decide who will be the CM. "Senior party leaders will decide the next CM in Maharashtra," she added.