Amidst speculations over the likely change of guard in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday claimed that he enjoyed confidence of the Congress high command and would continue in office.

“I enjoy the confidence of the party high command.There is no question of my resignation, this is an attempt to spread rumours and is politically motivated,” a visibly relaxed Deshmukh told reporters here. He was responding to media reports about his imminent resignation.

 Although the anti-Deshmukh lobby led by the MPCC President Prabha Rao has been active for quite sometime, seeking a replacement, the issue came to a head after the chief minister’s comments mocking the Vidarbha farmers at a rally held in Akola recently.

  In that rally, Deshmukh said Vidarbha farmers were innovative as they put stones inside the cotton bales or sprinkled water to increase the weight of the produce, so that they could earn more profits. His comments, as well as that of the Union Textiles Minister Shankarsingh Vaghela, who taunted Vidarbha farmers for being “lazy,” sparked off protests in the region. Lately, the region has witnessed thousands of suicides by cotton growers.
 The Congress could not afford to alienate the farmers. Party president Sonia Gandhi summoned Deshmukh to Delhi last week. The MPCC chief as well as chief ministerial hopefuls such as Revenue Minister Narayan Rane and Cooperation Minister Patangrao Kadam too were frequenting Delhi to bolster their claims. Ms Rao is backing Mr Rane. State AICC observer for the state Margaret Alva also backs Rane.

 However, as of now, Deshmukh appears to have got a breather .

 Deshmukh is into his second term as the chief minister. His first stint began in 1999 when the Congress-NCP combine wrested power from the Shiv Sena-BJP combine. In 2003, he was replaced by Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, ahead of the state Assembly elections.

 However, when the coalition retained power during the 2004 state Assembly polls, Mr Shinde was shunted out as the AP governor and Deshmukh was once again sworn in as the chief minister, thanks to the support he enjoys among the Congress legislators.