For Rahul Gandhi, this must have been a disappointment as his other chosen candidate (National Conference) Jammu Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah also has not been able to pull through. It is Rahul's open support, which is keeping Omar to continue despite opposition from all quarters.

What is the reason for this sudden political crisis in Maharashtra? Insiders say that the story began in 1995 when Narayan Rane (then in Shiv Sena) had accepted a proposal to give the particular piece of defence land to a cooperative society meant for the war widows and war heroes. It passed the table of two other chief ministers Vilas Rao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde until 103 members got the prized apartments which included some nominees of the three chief ministers as well as relatives of Ashok Chavan. Ashok Chavan was involved in clearing the project for the upscale high-rise Adarsh building project in his previous capacity as Revenue Minister.

The Congress leadership has bought time to resolve the crisis by setting up a party committee. The Congress President Sonia Gandhi has appointed a two-member committee consisting of defence minister A.K. Antony and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The two senior most leaders will take some time to give their report and in the meantime the Congress leadership can start a search for the new chief minister.

There are indications that Chavan may have to go sooner than later. The problem for the Congress is not punishing the guilty in the land scam or change the chief minister but to find a candidate to succeed Ashok Chavan. As it is a coalition government, the candidate has to be acceptable to the NCP also. With the strained relationship between the two parties, it is not going to be easy to find a successor. There are at least a dozen hopefuls in the fray - senior and junior leaders combined for the prized position.

Media reports show that the young Gandhi might favour four names - union minister Prithviraj Chavan, cabinet minister Mukul Wasnik, Radhakrishna Vicke Patil and Balasaheb Thorat. But locals point out that none of them may be acceptable, as they are better known in Delhi than in Mumbai.

On the other hand, the seniors including union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Gurudas Kamat and others may keep hope. Among these Shinde may be the most acceptable to the NCP chief Sharad Pawar while Vilas Rao, Prithviraj Chavan and Gurudas Kamat had made public statements before the last Assembly polls that the Congress should go it alone rather than align with the NCP. How would Pawar accept any of them?

In any case, the final choice will be left to Sonia Gandhi and that should be acceptable to Sharad Pawar. The NCP chief would like a weaker candidate than a strong congress leader.

Maharashtra is a classic example of the present state of affairs in the Congress. The party has to learn lessons from the Ashok Chavan experience. Finding a youth leader is a very good thing as India has more youth population but the chief minister should be able to take everybody along and prove his excellence. The Congress has another three and a half years to go and this is the right time to choose a proper candidate to build the party.

The first problem appears to be lack of strong state level leadership. Long back, the state leaders held their own and commended respect at the local and national level. Today they are pigmies and most of them are nominated chief ministers chosen for their caste rather than merit.

The second is groupism and indiscipline. This is evident in other states. For Instance in Andhra Pradesh, the leadership is unable to tackle any serious problem including the Jagan Mohan Reddy factor.

The third is the existence of a three-pillar congress consisting of Sonia, Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the emerging leadership of Rahul Gandhi. With Rahul Gandhi being seen as the future, he has a say in many things including the selection of a chief minister. When his chosen candidates fail, the old guards assert more.

The fourth is the emergence of young leaders, which is what Rahul Gandhi is trying to build up. The Youth Congress has not thrown up many young and dynamic leaders who could replace the old guard.

The Congress leadership has to find a mix of both young and experienced and if the chief minister is young he should be given a strong team to guide him properly. Finding the right man may send a proper signal to the other Congress ruled states. (IPA Service)