Deshmukh to meet Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Dec 2 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders here this evening in the wake of his offer to resign following the Mumbai terror attacks.

According to sources, discussions on the issue of Desmukh's successor will gain momentum after his arrival.

Besides meeting Sonia Gandhi, Deshmukh will also meet Defence Minister A K Antony, who is in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra and also Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.

Deshmukh is under pressure from the opposition to resign after last week's terror attacks. rithviraj Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde are believed to be frontrunners for the post of Chief Minister in Maharashtra.

The Congress high command is particularly upset over Deshmukh's 'Terror Tour 'of the damaged Taj Heritage Hotel on Sunday, with his actor son Riteish Deshmukh and famous film producer Ram Gopal Varma.

ANI