Narayan Rane may boycott Maharashtra assembly polls

Belligerent Congress minister Narayan Rane, who is deeply upset over his son Nilesh's defeat in recent Lok Sabha elections, met with Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, sources from the party said.

Also read: I won't work under you: Narayan Rane to Prithviraj Chavan

Narayan Rane

The industries minister, who is unwilling to continue as a member of the Prithviraj Chavan-led cabinet, is believed to have written a letter to the party high command expressing his reservations over the manner in which the state government is being run.

Also read: Narayan Rane's supporters want him to lead Congress

This paper has already reported of Rane's war cry against Chavan at a meeting held last week, where he questioned the CM's preparations and strategy in the Lok Sabha polls that led to a humiliating defeat for the party. A sulking Rane even left without having dinner then.

Boycotting polls?
According to party sources, Rane is so upset that he may not contest the upcoming assembly elections from Kudal, the constituency he represents currently. His son lost in the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency to Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.

This came as a severe jolt to the leader, who has represented the constituency since 1990. His party colleagues from Sindhudurg say the leader suspected foul play in Rane Junior's defeat. "The Congress-NCP combine could have averted the defeat," they say.

The leader, who was apparently summoned by Sonia Gandhi for the meeting, reached New Delhi late on Monday evening. He returned to Mumbai late in the afternoon yesterday. Efforts to contact him failed to yield result.

Rane's Delhi tour follows Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's two-day sojourn in New Delhi, in which he, too, met Gandhi to discuss issues in the state and the Congress's preparedness for the approaching State Assembly elections.