Rane blames Ramtek defeat on Congress infighting

Mumbai, Apr 12 (UNI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane today blamed the 'infighting' within the Congress for the defeat of its candidate Subodh Mohite in the Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency ''There are some leaders in the Congress who could not digest my growing clout and the series of victories I gave to the party and, so, these leaders conspired against me in Ramtek,'' Mr Rane told reporters here today.

It may be recalled that eight Shiv Sena legislators, including Mr Rane himself, have so far resigned and of them seven have got re-elected as the Congress candidates while Mr Rane's protegees suffered defeats in Srivardhan.

''Now I will have to rethink whether I should ask my supporters in Shiv Sena to resign or not against the backdrop of this defeat. If party (Congress) does not want to win, why should I take pains?'' questioned Mr Rane who had joined the Congress in July 2005.

However, Mr Rane avoided naming any particular Congress leader ''who had conspired against him''.

''Ramtek constituency was my responsibility and I have learnt a lot from this election and learning about the Congress culture also,'' he added.

When asked whether his style of functioning was not suitable for the Congress, he said at the age of 55 he can not change his functioning style, but said the style was conducive to his erstwhile party, the Shiv Sena.

He said his supporters could win the two assembly by-elections in Vidarbha despite the grave issues of power shortage and farmers' suicides.

Denying that he was feeling ''suffocated'' in the Congress, and said he would call upon the party High Command in New Delhi to apprise it of the reasons behind the Ramtek defeat.

Meanwhile, MPCC spokesman Sanjay Nirupam blamed the defeat on the ''sabotage by the NCP, particularly in Varud, Morshi and Katol assembly segments of the Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency'', apparently referring to Congress rebel Ranjit Deshmukh.

UNI