Former Congress ministers Luizinho Faleiro and Mauvin Godinho are emerging as challengers to party leader Pratapsinh Rane, who was chosen Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader on Friday evening.

Political activity in the party intensified over the weekend, following speaker Tomazinho Cardozo issuing a notification declaring Rane as CLP leader. Both Faleiro and Godinho, who are canvassing for support of the party and its legislators, have formally criticised the appointment of Rane as Opposition leader.

Faleiro and Godinho told the press that the appointment of a CLP leader has to be formally decided by the party high command, and elected by the party's legislators at a specially convened meeting in the presence of observers despatched by the high command. However, Rane wasappointed leader of the CLP following a letter issued by Pradesh Congress Committee President Shantaram Naik. Subsequently, speaker Tomazinho Cardozo, a Rane confidante, issued a notification recognising the former chief minister as leader of the Opposition. Rane's opponemts insist that the Congress lost power under his stewardship. Party officials point out that had Congress President Sonia Gandhi effected a change in the leadership, it would not have suffered the humiliation of losing nearly half its members of the Legislative Assembly.Former Rane confidante Durgaprasad Narvekar has gone on record to state that he kept pleading with the party leadership to replace Rane, till the nth hour.

Meanwhile, political observers note that Narvekar, who was exploring the possibility of returning to the Congress fold due to differences with incumbent Chief Minister Dr Wilfred D'Souza, is unlikely to do so now.