Dec. 1, 2008: NEW DELHI: After union home minister Shivraj Patil resigned, Maharashtra deputy chief minister R. R. Patil quit on Monday in wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and now chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh also appears to be on the way out.

Maharashtra governor S. C. Jamir has accepted the resignation of the deputy chief minister. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had forwarded Patil’s resignation to the Governor, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

NCP will elect tomorrow its Maharashtra Legislative party leader who will be the deputy chief minister in place of R. R. Patil, party leader Praful Patel said.

"I have submitted my resignation letter to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. I have gone by my conscience and decided to take this step," Patil said.

"I pondered over the issue the whole night yesterday. Finally, I have decided to quit as per my conscience," he said.

Following Patil’s resignation, Deshmukh, today, said he too had offered to resign. "I offered to resign at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Saturday," the Maharashtra chief minister said.

The offer comes after the CWC meet attended by Deshmukh on Saturday evening which saw leader after leader emphasising the need to ensure accountability from "higher to lower level".

Party leaders say since the union home minister has resigned at the higher level, the accountability now needs to be fixed at the lower level also and the chief minister has to take a call at the earliest.

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is emerging as the frontrunner to succeed Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Considered to be a loyalist of the Gandhi family, Shinde had succeeded Deshmukh towards the end of the tenure of the previous Congress-NCP government in 2003.

Besides Shinde, the name of Minister of State in PMO Prithviraj Chavan is doing the rounds in party circles as a possible successor to Deshmukh.

Sonia Gandhi met home minister P Chidambaram, defence minister and in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra A. K. Antony and senior party leader Ahmed Patel.

"A coalition government is there (in Maharashtra) and we have to consult the allies. Consultations are on. At this point I cannot say anything. I can say something later today or tomorrow," Antony told reporters after the meeting.

A beleaguered Deshmukh landed himself in a fresh controversy yesterday as he visited the terror-hit Taj Mahal hotel along with film producer Ram Gopal Varma and Deshmukh’s actor son Reitesh.

The issue was raised at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night which was also attended by Sonia Gandhi with some parties criticising the CM for his "casual" attitude. Deshmukh recently completed four years in office.

The name of NCP leader Chagan Bhujbal is doing the rounds for the post of the Deputy CM.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister, R R Patil, who was also in charge of the state home ministry, was under severe criticism following the terror attacks with opposition Shiv Sena and BJP demanding his resignation alleging that he failed to handle the situation.

The Congress leadership is annoyed with R R Patil, particularly because of his insensitive remark on Saturday where he sought to play down the enormity of the jihadi atrocity against Mumbai, almost likening it to a routine law and order incident which is common in any big city.