Panaji Jan 28 PTI In a setback to the Congress in Goa party veteran and former state chief minister Pratapsingh Rane whom the grand old party gave ticket from his traditional Poriem seat for the next months Assembly elections has now withdrawn from the poll race Although Rane was not available for comment a Congress leader on Friday confirmed that the former CM has told the party that he will not be contesting the February 14 election Sources close to Rane told PTI that the veteran leader has decided to withdraw from the fray to avoid a clash with his daughter-in-law Deviya Rane who will be contesting the election from Poriem constituency as a candidate of the ruling BJP Rane 87 who has served as the chief minister of the coastal state for six times had won from the Poriem Assembly constituency as many as 11 consecutive times Pratapsingh Rane has confirmed that he wont be contesting the upcoming polls from Poriem after which the party has selected another candidate from the seat a Congress spokesperson said The BJP has nominated his daughter-in-law Deviya Rane wife of state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane from Poriem Reports were rife that Pratapsingh Rane might suggest the name of his wife Vijayadevi to the Congress as its candidate from the seat But the revised list of candidates which the Congress announced on Thursday evening named Ranjit Rane as its nominee from that constituency Reportedly the BJP had earlier tried to convince Pratapsingh Rane to contest on its ticket from Poriem before announcing the name of his daughter-in-law The incumbent Pramod Sawant-led Goa government has bestowed upon Rane the lifetime cabinet status for completing 50 years as a legislator Rane was elected from Poriem constituency for the first time in 1972 on the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MGP but fought all subsequent elections till 2017 as a Congress candidate In the 2017 polls he had secured 5427 per cent votes in the constituency winning with a major margin Deviya Rane will be contesting her maiden Assembly election while her husband Vishwajit has been winning from Valpoi Assembly segment since 2007 first as an independent then as a Congress candidate before he joined the BJP PTI RPS NP NP

Panaji (Goa) [India], January 6 (ANI): The Government of Goa decided to grant lifelong Cabinet status to the senior-most legislator, Pratapsingh Rane for his great service to the state, said Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday.

Panaji (Goa) [India], December 22 (ANI): Congress on Wednesday approved Pratapsingh Rane's candidature for the forthcoming general election to the Goa Legislative Assembly from 18-Poriem constituency.

Panaji Dec 22 PTI When the 2017 Assembly elections were held in Goa the Congress had put up a good show by emerging as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member House but it failed to form government and could also not keep its flock together with its strength now reduced to just two However the party is still trying to put up a strong face ahead of the Assembly polls due early next year saying it is not deterred by the desertions On Monday Goa Pradesh Congress Committees working president Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco became the latest MLA to quit the party over the last five years Notably his name had figured in the first list of eight candidates announced by the Congress last week for the forthcoming state polls Before Lourencos resignation BJPs Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis had said The Congress has been reduced to a rickshaw party with three wheels and soon it will turn into a bicycle party with only two of them remaining Fadnavis had predicted that Pratapsingh Rane will also quit the Congress But Rane is still with the Congress The biggest jolt the Congress came in 2019 when a group of its 10 MLAs led by then leader of opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar left the party together and joined the ruling BJP This year as the next Assembly election draws closer more MLAs quit the Congress one after the other Following the 2017 Assembly polls Vishwajit Rane Goas current health minister was the first to resign from the Congress as well as from the Assembly soon after taking oath as an MLA After him two other MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte also resigned from the party All the three were later re-elected in by-elections on the BJPs ticket Recently Luizinho Faleiro and Ravi Naik both former chief ministers also left the Congress The party is now left with only Pratapsingh Rane and Digambar Kamat both of whom are also former CMs On Tuesday the Aam Aadmi Partys national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at the Goa Congress saying Fifteen are sold only two are remaining they are the last stock Little stock is remaining However Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has remained unfazed and expressed confidence that he will lead the Congress to a thumping victory in the 2022 state polls and that his party will form government The Congress has successfully faced many storms floods and tsunamis Our functionaries have the strength and mettle to defeat opportunists Kamat recently said PTI RPS GK GK

Panaji Dec 20 PTI Goa minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday said state Congress chief Girish Chodankar must apologise in 48 hours after the latter accused him of being involved in irregularities connected to land allotment in special economic zones SEZs Refuting the allegations Rane who hold the industries portfolio in the state cabinet besides health said in a video message that he would file a defamation case against Chodankar if an apology was not received I have no role as far as SEZ is concerned You Chodankar need to withdraw the statement otherwise I will file defamation suit against you Rane said Rane went on to mock Chodankar and the Congress by claiming the party was getting wiped out in Goa and remarked that one day your Rahul Gandhi may join the TMC There has been a steady exodus of MLAs and leaders from the Congress to parties like the Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party ahead of Assembly polls scheduled for early 2022 Rane said the Congress was now left with just two MLAs in the Goa Assembly namely his father and former chief minister Pratapsingh Rane and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat The Congress is getting eradicated from Goa Even my father is not interested in the party Rane taunted Chodankar was not available for comment PTI RPS BNM BNM BNM