Will the Congress pick up Ranes gauntlet?
By Shyam Pandharipande. Maharashtra, India, 07:30 PM IST Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has taken a calculated risk by upping the ante against the Congress in Maharashtra and at New Delhi a day before the announcement of the Gujarat election results. The maverick Shiv Sena rebel, who joined the Congress two years ago on the promise of being made the chief minister, has virtually served an ultimatum to the party to fulfil the promise or face early elections. Indeed, the fact that Rane chose to fire the salvo from New Delhi at his own government led by ‘failed’ Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is as significant as its timing – his press conference would not have had the desired impact a day later and the party’s central leadership won’t be more nervous at another time. Unsure whether the Left parties will continue to deal the United Progressive Alliance government with kid gloves or pull the rug from under its feet over the Indo-US nuclear deal, the Congress will have to think whether it
