Maharashtra: Cong names Rajani Patil for RS bypoll

Rajani Patil (54), a Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist, will be the Congress candidate for a Rajya Sabha bypoll in the state necessitated by the death of former Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Patil, hailing from Beed district, is one of the rare Congress politicians rehabilitated despite turning her back on the party.

MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had suggested other names, but consensus emerged on Patil and AICC favoured her. Patil had left the Congress in the mid-90s when P V Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri were at the helm, alleging the leadership was targeting people close to the Gandhi family.

She joined the BJP and contested to win the Beed Lok Sabha seat in 1996. Before the 1998 general elections she quit the BJP to return to the Congress after Sonia Gandhi took over as its president. "It is a privilege given to me by Sonia Gandhi to serve the country. My nomination has come at the right time," Patil said.

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