The demand for a change of guard in Maharashtra has been on for sometime now. Speculations were rife that considering the elections in the state, some other Maratha politician may be made the chief minister instead of Prithviraj Chavan. There were several names in the race, for instance, Radha Vikkhe Patil’s name was ahead in the race, Narayan Rane was also lobbying for the state’s top job for a while. But there has been an official statement from the Congress party denying these “rumours”, and the party has made it clear that the Assembly elections will be contested under the tutelage of Prithviraj Chavan. At the same time, the rumours have caught strength that state President Manik Rao Thackeray may be changed and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan may be brought in his position.