Vijay Sinh Mohite Patil deputy chief minister of Maharashtra

Vijay Sinh Mohite Patil will take over as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party said on Thursday.

R R Patil will be the home minister, the party said after a two-day brainstorming session in Mumbai.

The two portfolios were being held by Chhagan Bhujbal, who quit on Tuesday night after taking 'moral responsibility' for an attack on the office of Alpha TV by NCP activists.

The Marathi channel [a sister concern of Zee TV] was attacked after it telecast a political satire, Ghadla Bighadla, in which a connection was made between Bhujbal and the stamp paper scam.

The NCP's two-day meeting to nominate his successor began on Wednesday. Party chief Sharad Pawar said he has forwarded the names to Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

"We decided the leader of the NCP's legislature wing yesterday only. It is the latter's prerogative to announce it," Pawar said.

NCP legislator Gurunath Kulkarni welcomed the appointment of R R Patil and Mohite Patil.

"R R Patil had done excellent work in rural development ministry and successfully launched a campaign to clean up villages by inspiring the residents to contribute funds and labour, conserve water and dispose wastes properly. He had started a programme called Gadge Swachta Abhiyan.  Vijay Sinh Mohite Patil is a Sharad Pawar loyalist and very much attached to the party," Kulkarni told rediff.com

Congress Working Committee member and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh said, "The portfolios of the deputy chief minister and home minister are with the Nationalist Congress Party and it is up to them and the chief minister to decide about it. If both the portfolios are allocated to separate people there is no problem. Bhujbal had worked with me very well. We were had very good coordination."

NCP spokesperson Praful Patel said, "We had appointed both the leaders by considering their seniority within the party."

NCP Mumbai unit chief Sachin Ahire said, "Both the appointments took place at the right time and the right people were selected. We hope that both will work well. Bhujbal was an excellent administrator and we hope both will continue the good work."