Jubilant over Congress candidate Narayan Rane's victory in Malvan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Tuesday said the win will strengthen the party's position in the Konkan region.

• Rane wins Malvan, Sena loses deposit

Reacting to Rane's thumping victory, Deshmukh told a television channel that he was confident of the Sena's wipe-out in Malvan from the day the expelled Shiv Sena leader joined Congress in July.

The party's next target would be elections to the Sena-dominated Municipal Corporation in Mumbai, due in 2007, he added.