Ex-Maharashtra Congress president Ranjit Deshmukh quits

NAGPUR: Former president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Ranjeet Deshmukh today resigned from the party alleging "poor functioning" of the organisation.

Deshmukh, who has served as the agriculture minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh cabinet between 1999-2004, had also held other portfolios. He had held the position as state unit president of the party on two occasions.

Deshmukh sent the fax to the party leadership announcing his decision to quit as the member of the party.

Interestingly, Deshmukh's younger son Ashish Deshmukh is contesting the October 15 Assembly elections on BJP ticket from Katol constituency against his uncle Anil Deshmukh, a senior NCP leader and the food and civil supplies minister in the now dissolved Democratic Front (DF) government.

Deshmukh's another son Amol, a medical professional, is an NCP candidate from Ramtek constituency where he is pitted against Congress nominee and former Union minister for heavy industries Subodh Mohite.

Deshmukh had quit Congress three times in his career and returned to the party fold only last year. However, he was not much active in the party affairs on the health grounds.

Though he had cited "poor functioning" of the party as the reason to leave the party, sources said the party leadership has taken a dim view of his sons shifting their camps to the rivals of Congress in elections.