New Delhi:
The first head has rolled in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, with Congress president Sonia Gandhi accepting Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's resignation, pending a "full inquiry".
Chavan's resignation has been sent to the Governor and the process to replace him has begun with senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony headed to Mumbai to meet MLAs. Four names are doing the rounds, with Union Minister Prithvi Raj Chavan the frontrunner.
Action has come swiftly after the three-day hiatus provided by the Barack Obama visit.
Chavan had offered to resign some days ago, and an inquiry committee comprising Pranab and Antony was looking into his alleged role in the scam. Sources said Chavan's explanation did not convince the top Congress leadership and his resignation was accepted pending a full inquiry.
Party sources are at pains to point out that accepting the resignation does not mean that Chavan is guilty.
As the scam was uncovered last month, three of the Chief Minister's relatives, including his mother-in-law, were reportedly found to have flats in the society, which was meant for war widows and veterans. All three surrendered flat ownership.
The next question is: Who shall step into Chavan's shoes? Vilasrao Deshmukh, the man whom Chavan replaced, also has alleged connections with clearances for the society and is therefore not in the running.
The Congress is reportedly looking at four possibles - Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan and senior party leaders Vikhe Patil and Balasaheb Thorat - and at the moment seems to be zeroing in on Prithviraj Chavan.
Some reports link Shinde to the Adrash society scam, but no direct link has emerged.
The Congress decision has come came ahead of the winter session of Parliament starting today and is obviously designed to take the sting out of a combined Opposition's plans to put the government on the mat over the scam.
The names of several leading politicians, ex-defence chiefs and top bureaucrats have emerged in the scandal.