Rane set to head Goa govt

Pratapsingh Rane is set to become the chief minister of Goa after his unanimous election today as the leader of the Congress legislature party (CLP). His swearing in likely to see the end of the three-month old turmoil in the state politics that led to President's rule in the state.

Congress leader Margaret Alva, who is incharge of Goa party affairs, said Rane was expected to stake claim to form the government this evening.

Rane, has been chief minister of Goa five times and is a veteran of politics of defection. His government was toppled twice by politicians close to him--once in 1990 by Churchill Alemao (UGDP) and again in 1994 by Wilfred D'Souza (Congress).

An unfazed Rane, when he asked how he would juggle the allocation of ministries amongst his allies, said, "I have done it six times before and I can do it again."

Rane comes from one of Goa's well-respected families and represented Poryem seat in the Assembly. He first became chief minister in 1980.

In recent times, Rane's standing in the party has been called into question for his alleged closeness to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and inactiveness in Congress politics.

However, his political experience and grit make him "the lesser of the evils" amongst the current lot of Congress leaders in Goa as was reflected in his selection as the chief minister when the Manohar Parrikar government was dismissed by the governor in March this year.

Party sources said Rane had emerged as a consensus candidate after the NCP and Maharashtra Gomantak Party MLAs insisted on him.

The two Congress allies are expected to figure in the ministry, Alva said.

The Congress has also decided to hold a closed-door meeting of the MLAs, the chief minister and the PCC chief every month to ensure that the party and the government work in coordination, Alva said.

Meanwhile, two BJP leaders Rajender Arlekar and Dayanand Mandrekar from Goa on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Mumbai High Court judgement disqualifying them as MLAs.

The Panaji bench of the Mumbai High Court had set aside the election of two MLAs on grounds of holding office of profit during the May 2002 Assembly polls.