MUMBAI, MAY 8: The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance will win at least 160 of the 288 Assembly seats whenever election is held since both parties are in an upbeat mood now that the Government is seen to be working, Chief Minister Narayan Rane said.Rane, who took over the reins from Manohar Joshi, completes 100 days on May 10. Rane claimed he was "a successful CM" and was able to restore self-confidence among Sena and BJP Legislators which would prove an important asset in the forthcoming polls. "I was brought with an explicit purpose by Balasaheb Thackeray and I have been able to fulfil it," he said. That purpose was to get the Government going since the popular image was that of a non-working government. Rane declared that he was hugely successful in the twin tasks of: streamlining the bureaucracy to make it punctual and disciplined, speeding up the implementation of several programmes started by the Government. "Getting work done from bureaucrats is an important achievement of the last 100 days," he said.
In the21 Cabinet meetings held under his tenure, the State has taken a whopping 137 decisions so far; the emphasis being on resolving issues instead of postponing them, Rane said adding, "Often, I hold informal discussions with Cabinet colleagues before the meeting. So we are able to work faster." Referring to the debates when he took office, Rane said, there were doubts about whether he could run the government. All these doubts have been cleared now, the CM said.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.