Vilasrao supporters target Chavan, Thakre

Supporters of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday lashed out at CM Ashok Chavan and state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre for not taking any action against party leaders who caused “defeats of the candidates in local self-government polls”.

Supporters of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday lashed out at CM Ashok Chavan and state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre for not taking any action against party leaders who caused “defeats of the candidates in local self-government polls”.

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A cold war between Deshmukh and Chavan is on since the latter took over as CM. Neither spared a chance to play one-upmanship against the other, be it in state or local elections or policy matters.

The tussle came to the fore at a closed-door meeting at the party’s headquarters, Tilak Bhavan in Parel, where Chavan helped Thakre restructure the state unit.

Deshmukh’s supporters from Latur and Ahmednagar alleged that the party’s candidates for the zilla parishad presidentship lost because of former Union minister Shivraj Patil [who is Deshmukh’s local rival] did not support them.

They also wanted to know why the wife of state minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who won zilla parishad polls as rebel, was not disciplined. Deshmukh’s close aide, Balasaheb Thorat, who is agriculture minister in the Chavan cabinet, fielded party’s official candidate.