Maharashtra CMs have rarely lasted full term

The latest being Ashok Chavan forced to step down after he was linked to the Adarsh housing scam soon after completing a year in office.Ashok Chavan replaced Vilasrao Deshmukh who found himself in trouble when his actor son and a filmmaker accompanied him during a visit to Taj hotel, among the sites of the 26/11 terror attacks.

Chavan was sworn in as the CM on December 4, 2008 cutting short Deshmukh's tenure and again took oath in November 7, 2009 after the Congress-NCP combine won the state polls.

Deshmukh served from October 18, 1999 to January 16, 2003 and November 1, 2004 to November 5, 2008 in his first and second terms respectively.

Only Vasantrao Naik served the longest term of 12 years as the CM from December 5, 1963 to February 20, 1975. But none of the leaders have been able to break his record.
Manohar Joshi from Shiv Sena and Deshmukh fell short a few months to complete the five years. However, Deshmukh's total tenure was of over seven years, as he became the CM twice. Even then Congressman Sharad Pawar served for over seven years as the CM but in three different terms.

Joshi was in CMO from March 14, 1995 to January 31, 1999. He was forced to leave for allegedly being involved in allotting a plot reserved for a primary school at Pune to his developer son-in-law Girish Vyas.Former CM A R Antulay had to quit on January 21, 1982 after he was indicted by the Bombay High Court for his involvement in the much-discussed cement scam. Antulay was acussed of taking donations from the beneficiaries for a private trust managed by him in lieu of cement allotted to them from the state's quota.

Shijivarao Patil-Nilangekar, who was the CM for just 10 months during 1985-86, had to quit on March 6, following a mark-sheet scandal involving his daughter Chandrakala. The Bombay HC passed strictures against him saying that an examiner, tampered with the grade sheets of his daughter.

Shankarrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Sudhakarrao Naik and Pawar's tenures were short lived due to rivalry and game of one-upmanship in the faction ridden Maharashtra Congress.

Interestingly, Prithviraj Chavan designate who is taking charge as the CM when the Congress-NCP led government has already completed a year in power. Therefore even he would not be able to claim for to have completed the full term.

Sushilkumar Shinde and then Sena leader Narayan Rane also could not complete their terms as the CM. Shinde who succeeded Deshmukh in 2003 could not continue after the Assembly polls won by Congress-NCP alliance in 2004. While Rane's tenure was cut short because Sena-BJP lost 1999 elections.