We have evaluated the centrifugal force acting on a fluid element and the ellipticity of the fluid configuration, which is slowly rotating, using the Hartle - Thorne solution for different equations of state. The centrifugal force shows a maximum in every case, whereas the reversal in sign could be seen in only one case and the system becomes unstable in other cases. The ellipticity as calculated from the usual definition shows maxima, whereas the definition obtained from the equilibration of the inertial forces, shows a negative behaviour, indicating that the system is prolate and not oblate. This prolate shape of the configuration is similar to the one earlier found by Pfister and Braun for a rotating shell of matter, using the correct centrifugal force expression for the interior. The location of the centrifugal maxima gets further away from the Schwarzschild radius as the equation of state gets softer.