MUMBAI:In what has become an habit, former Congress minister Narayan Rane has 'threatened to break away' after he was over looked for the post of the Maharashtra Congress president.The Congress leadership had on Tuesday announced that former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan would be leading the state unit while Sanjay Nirupam would be heading the Mumbai Congress. Rane who was in the reckoning with Chavan, immediately made his displeasure known and publicly criticised the Congress leadership saying that the 'opinions' of leaders in the state were not taken before making these appointments.On Tuesday Rane went a step ahead and called in a meeting of his supporters from Sindhudhurg in Mumbai. In a bid to assauge Rane, Ashok Chavan called up Rane and sought his 'co-operation' for the smooth functioning of the state unit. While Chavan has claimed that Rane had promised his co-operation, sources close to Rane said that he was still miffed with the party for ignoring his claim.Interestingly while Rane is peeved with Chavan's choice, he is targetting Nirupam. The Konkan Congress leader has been raising the issue of how Congress would suffer heavily as a north Indian has been made the chief of Mumbai Congress in stead of a Maharashtrian.Congress leaders said that the attack on Nirupam by Rane was strategic. "He cannot criticise Ashok Chavan's appointment, as most of the state unit feels Chavan was the right choice. However by raising the north Indian issue by attacking Nirupam, he is trying to embarrass the party," said a Congress leader.The party does not plan to go out of its way to convince Rane to stay in the party if he wants to move out, especially as this is the third time that he has revolted against the party decision.Rane had revolted against the Congress in 2008 when he publicly criticised Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's Political Adviser Ahmed Patel. He was suspended but later after he withdrew the allegations the suspension was lifted. Last year, frustrated that he was not made the CM, he twice threatened to quit. The second time he resigned from the Prithviraj Chavan's Cabinet.However he was persuaded to stay and was assured that he would be campaign committee chief for the Maharashtra assembly polls. While Rane was made the campaign committee chief the party lost the Maharashtra polls and Rane himself lost from Kudal in Sindhudhurg. The saving grace was that his son Nitesh won from Kankavli.