Former Congress leader Vishwajit Rane to join BJP

Panaji, April 5 : Former Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane, who quit the party and legislatorship in March, is all set to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar told reporters on Wednesday.

Tendulkar said that Rane, a former MLA from Valpoi, had been in talks with the party leadership for several days.

"He has expressed his desire to join the BJP. We did not make contact with him. He came to us," Tendulkar said. 

BJP sources said Rane could soon be inducted into the Manohar Parrikar-led coalition cabinet.

Rane, who is the son of former Chief Minister and local Congress stalwart Pratapsingh Rane, resigned from the party and his legislative membership after the Congress failed to stake claim to form a government in Goa, despite winning 17 seats in the February 4 polls to the 40-member state assembly.

Rane had said internal bickering and failure of the Congress state leadership and the party high command, including All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, to stake claim had left him disillusioned.

"The Congress leadership had let us all down," Rane had said.

Rane is a three-time MLA from Valpoi assembly constituency and is known for his close links to Parrikar.