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Rane supporters win by-elections

Arunkumar Bhatt

Setback to Shiv Sena, BJP

NAGPUR: Two more Shiv Sena legislators, who followed Narayan Rane into the Congress, have won in the just-concluded by-elections, retaining their Chimur and Dariyapur seats in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Thursday's comfortable victory of Vijay Wadettiwar in Chimur and Prakash Bharsakhale in Dariyapur is a setback to the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the heels of their poor show in civic elections.

The outcome further raises the stock of Mr. Rane, Revenue Minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Government and aspirant for Congress leadership. All his supporters have been re-elected, except in Srivardhan. Mr. Rane, who secured the Malwan seat after leaving the Shiv Sena, added seven seats to the Congress tally. It has now risen to 75 and the Congress has become the largest party in the 289-member Assembly.

"This is our gift to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, who would be celebrating her birth day on December 9," Mr. Rane told reporters.

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