Mumbai: Amid hectic lobbying for Maharashtra Chief Minister's post, the Congress legislature party (CLP) will meet in Mumbai tomorrow (Oct 29, 2004) to elect its new leader.

The meeting assumes significance after the Congress retained the Chief Minister's post following hectic parleys with its ally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after the alliance stormed back to power in the just-concluded Assembly polls.

The caretaker Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, under whose leadership the party rode back to power blunting the strong anti-incumbency factor and stiff challenge from the Shiv Sena-BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) combine, is the frontrunner for the coveted post.

Shinde faces competition from his predecessor Vilasrao Deshmukh, who threw his hat in the ring today (Oct 28, 2004) saying, "I am not averse to occupying the top post, but it is upto the legislators and the party high command."

Ahead of the tomorrow's crucial CLP meeting, MPCC (Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Prabha Rau, when asked whether Shinde would retain the top post, told reporters, "Shinde is not the only contender for the Chief Minister's post." When her attention was drawn to fact that it was under Shinde's leadership the DF retained the power, Rau merely said, "The party did not apply the same formula in Karnataka after Assembly elections."

It is for the legislators and the party high command to decide about the new leader, she added.

Industries Minister in the Shinde Government, Patangrao Kadam, who has not kept secret his ambition to assume the top post, is also lobbying hard, the party sources said.