3 city MLCs ready to give up seat for CM Chavan

Three Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) belonging to Congress party ufffd Mohan Joshi, Deepti Chavdhari and Ulhas Pawar ufffd are ready to surrender their seats for CM Prithiviraj Chavan, amid rumours that he might contest the election from the city and not from his hometown Karad.

Chavan, a Member of Parliament, has sought an official nod from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi three days ago to contest the election for a seat in the state Legislative Council. This is a legal condition if he wishes to continue as the CM.

Of three Congress MLCs, Ulhas Pawar is the senior most MLC and is considered to be closest to the CM. His sacrifice may prove to be most fruitful as he may get a chance to go to Delhi and become Rajya Sabha MP. "I will be happy to surrender my seat for the CM who is one of the best leaders of our state," he said.

The same wish was expressed by Deepti Chavdhari, a former mayor. "I may be the first one who has expressed the wish for surrendering my seat in Pune," she said. Chavdhari was elected an MLC eight months ago and has a tenure of 5 years.

Mohan Joshi, an archrival of Suresh Kalmadi and willing to contest the next Lok Sabha election, said, "I am always available for the CM and ready to resign from my MLC post for him."

There is still no signal from the Chief Minister's office about his decision of contesting the MLC election from the city.