Chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan appears to be on his way out. The change may take place in the next 48 hours, according to reliable sources. Three Congress leaders are the front-runners for the hot seat. They are – Balasaheb Thorat (61), Sushilkumar Shinde (72) and Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil (82).

Thorat is currently the revenue minister of Maharashtra and is a prominent Maratha leader from Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra. Shinde, former Union home minister in the UPA II government, was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections from Solapur. He is a Dalit leader and is regarded to be a hardcore loyalist of the Gandhi dynasty. Vikhe-Patil is a prominent leader of the cooperative sugar factory movement with vast experience at the grassroots level. He belongs to the Maratha caste and is highly respected, but age is not on his side.

The demand for Chavan's removal cropped after the humiliating performance of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls in which it managed to win a mere two seats.