Pratapsingh Rane

Pratapsingh Raoji Rane (born 28 January 1939) is an Indian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of Goa a record seven times and was also the former Leader Of Opposition in the Goa Legislative Assembly. He has been a Member of Legislative Assembly, Goa for over 50 years. In 2022, the Pramod Sawant led Government conferred life long cabinet status on Rane.

Rane has been a member of the Indian National Congress since the mid-1970s, and was earlier a prominent figure in the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. In the MGP, he was minister for law and also held other portfolios, in the term beginning 1972.

Early life
Rane comes from the prominent Rane (clan) feudal clan of the Maratha caste that dominated politics in Sattari. The clan had a set of revolts and peace treaties with the Portuguese while the latter were ruling Goa. He completed his schooling in Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (Pune), and later obtained a Bachelor in Business Administration degree in the United States.

He dominated politics in Goa throughout the 1980s, and for part of the 1990s. His achievements include the launching of the Kadamba Transport Corporation, government-run bus transport system in Goa. He started Schools and Colleges in rural areas.

During his tenure as a Chief Minister, Goa University was established. He built a network of roads connecting villages and towns in Goa. Number of Industrial Estates and Industrial Training Institutes were stated during his tenure which helped Goa to industrialise.

He undertook to build small and big Irrigation Projects in various parts of Goa. He is also a founder member of the International Centre Goa and a founder member of Goa Institute of Management, a premier Management Institute in India.

Political career
In the 1980s, dissidents within the ruling Congress party sought to dislodge Rane from power, by appealing to New Delhi mostly unsuccessfully. Some of his later tenures in power earned criticism allegedly because of growing corruption during his regime. He was leader of the Opposition while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Goa from the late-1990s until early 2005. His critics, like the then editor of the local Goa newspaper Herald or O Heraldo, Rajan Narayan criticised Rane for not doing enough as the leader of the Opposition.

Rane became chief minister after the Congress's first-ever win in Goa in 1980 mainly as a "consensus candidate", after a bitter battle for the top political slot between the then two Congress heavyweights, Dr Wilfred de Souza and Ananta Narcina Naik, also known as Babu Naik. Naik was subsequently largely marginalised in state politics, while Souza served under Rane in some of his cabinets.

After 5 years of BJP rule, Rane began his fifth term as chief minister in February 2005 after the government fell due to a split in the Goa BJP. A month later, however, the state was put under president’s rule for three months. Rane then served as chief minister for the sixth time, for two years until the June 2007 state elections. Though the Congress Party and its allies won a comfortable majority, Rane was forced to step aside as chief minister due to infighting within the state Congress party, and was forced to step aside in favor of a neutral candidate, Digambar Kamat. Rane was, however, elected speaker of the state assembly when it reconvened a few days later. Mangalorean.Com- Serving Mangaloreans Around The World!

Personal life
By profession, Rane is an agriculturist. He is married. He enjoys reading and watching Marathi Drama and also enjoys English Theatre and Western and Indian Classical Music. He loves playing the Piano.. His son Vishwajit Rane is married to Deviya Rane, both of whom are legislators in the Government of Goa.

Controversy
After the BJP attempted a "show of strength" to take over the Goa house, they were stifled by Rane. The BJP accused Rane of acting in a partisan manner to protect the Congress led government.

He has also been accused by businessman, Bhalchandra Naik for demanding Rs 10 crore for being granted Environmental clearance for a mine, of which Rs 6 crore had been paid to his son Vishwajit Rane, MLA from Valpoi.

In 2018, Rane was caught in another controversy, where he called Goan emigrants from United Kingdom, "toilet cleaners". He was asked for an explanation by the state party president, Girish Chodankar.