With Ashok Chavan now firmly in the saddle, the questions doing the rounds in political circles in the state is: What lies ahead for Vilasrao Deshmukh and Narayan Rane?

A lot is at stake for the two Congress leaders who reportedly did everything they could to prevent Chavan from becoming chief minister again.

Chavan’s second term is not good news for Deshmukh, the maverick Maratha leader who has dominated the Congress in Maharashtra for a decade.

By continuing with Chavan, the party has ruled in favour of a change in leadership in the state. Like Deshmukh, Chavan is also a Maratha from Central Maharashtra (known as Marathwada), which means he will grab the space so far occupied by Deshmukh,” said a key Congress minister who did not want to be named.

If Chavan manages to run the government well, Deshmukh will find it difficult to return to Maharashtra for a third term as CM.

It also means Deshmukh’s son, Amit, now elected as Congress MLA from Latur, will have to wait a long time to emerge as a strong leader from the Marathwada region.

State Industries Minister Narayan Rane faces more trouble. Chavan will now decide whether he deserves a significant position in the new government.

Earlier this year, Chavan had brought him back as minister even after Rane was suspended from the party for protesting the former’s appointment. Soon after that, Rane joined hands with Deshmukh to counter Chavan, who understandably doesn’t have warm feelings for Rane.

“Our local leadership in the Konkan was not strong enough,” Chavan told the media a day before legislators met to name the CM.

He was referring to Rane’s three handpicked Congress candidates who lost the Assembly election in the Konkan.

Little wonder Rane on Sunday called on Chavan and assured him of cooperation.

The Konkan leader is now lobbying hard for the post of revenue minister, which is considered second most important after the chief minister.