Alarmed by this unexpected mood in the party, particularly in the Marathwada and Konkan regions, Rane had one-to-one meetings with the aggrieved party members during his four day whirl-wind tour of backward Nanded-Latur-Osmanabad belt.

``Initially, there was discontent among them. However, after my meeting, by and large, I have been able to settle the disputes amicably. Now, they have agreed to work together for the party in the forthcoming elections,'' Rane said at the end of his tour.

However, if the attitudes of party activists in these areas are anything to go by, Rane seems to have lowered his guard a bit too soon. ``Yes, Rane visited the area. But we are not happy. The manner in which the party selected candidates for the assembly elections was wrong. The Shiv Sena too is adoptingthe Congress culture of imposing candidates on us,'' grumbled a senior Sena leader.

Grassroot party activists have objected to two candidates -- Hemlata Patil from Mudkhed Shankar Borkar from Osmanabad. Patil has been pitted against Ashok, son of senior Congress leader S B Chavan, while Borkar will be contesting against Nationalist Congress Party leader Padamsinh Patil. ``Both Hemlata and Borkar are rank outsiders. Hemlata is a resident of Nanded and teaches in the Mudkhed school, Borkar is a resident of Mumbai,'' the Sena leader added.

Both Hemlata Patil and Borkar have been nominated at the instance of Cooperation Minister Diwakar Raote, who was once in charge of the Marathwada region. ``The party bigwigs could have contacted the local leaders and also cabinet ministers from Maharashtra before finalising the list,'' the Sena leader added.

This, said the leader, was proof of the fact that the Sena cared little for those functionaries who were instrumental in the growth of the party in the Marathwadaregion. Shiv Sena leaders were expecting the party to nominate Narsingh Jadhav, who started the Sena's first shakha in Osmanabad and neighbouring districts, for the assembly seat. Initially, his name was considered for Kalamb, however, subsequently, it was found that Kalamb was a reserved constituency and as such, it was not possible to nominate him there. He was also considered for Osmanabad, but luck did not favour him there too.

Significantly, prominent persons, who were brought into the Sena fold by Jadhav have found place in the list of official candidates.

The situation in Aurangabad is more or less similar. Forest Minister Chandrakant Khaire has been nominated for Lok Sabha, despite the fact that he was not keen to contest.

Even in the Konkan region, which was once the citadel of the Shiv Sena, the party has not been able to contain the rebellion. In Rajapur, two senior Sena leaders have even launched a campaign against the party. Initially, the party denied the nomination of sitting member VijaySalvi and nominated Subhash Bane in his place. However, now even Bane has been replaced by Ganpat Kadam. The result is that, both Salvi and Bane have revolted against the leadership of the party.