Ashok Chavan showers praise on Bandra East bypoll loser Narayan Rane

The trouncing that Congress leader Narayan Rane got in the Bandra East by-election appears not to have made him any less popular with party state unit president Ashok Chavan. On Wednesday, Chavan said Congress needed leaders like Rane and he would be happy if the former chief minister returned to the state legislature.

Rane lost the assembly constituency bypoll held on April 11 to Shiv Sena candidate Trupti Sawant, widow of Sena man Prakash (Bala) Sawant, whose death had necessitated the election.

Reacting to the poll results, Chavan said Congress had improved its performance from 12,000 votes to 33,000, and it was only because the party fielded a strong leader, Rane.

Chavan lauded the way in which Rane fought the elections, and said the party needed Rane's experience in the days to come. "There are victories and defeats, which are part of political life. What is more important in this election is that Rane, being a fighter leader, has improved the party's position in this constituency," he said.

Admitting that Congress will have to work harder for the upcoming local body elections in Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad, Chavan said another aspect of the Bandra East bypoll was that All India Muslim Ittehad-Ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) votes have been reduced by more than 8,000.

In the same breath, he said that the bypoll cannot be compared to the approaching municipal corporation elections, during which local factors will play a much bigger role than in Bandra East.

Asked if Rane's son, an MLA, would resign and vacate the assembly seat for him, Chavan pleaded ignorance. But would he like Rane to be in the state legislature? "I would be happy if Rane comes back to the state assembly," he said.