Sources close to Rane, whose chief ministerial ambitions are no secret, said much will depend on what moves the Congress leadership makes to prevent his further estrangement.
Despite announcing that he would be resigning from the cabinet on Monday, industries minister Narayan Rane has kept a window open for a rapprochement with the Congress high-command.
Sources close to Rane, whose chief ministerial ambitions are no secret, said much will depend on what moves the Congress leadership makes to prevent his further estrangement. They added that the former Shiv Sainik was also considering options like forming his own party which may enter into electoral understandings with other fronts for the assembly polls due in October, and joining the BJP.
BJP leaders however denied plans to induct Rane and the Sena, which expelled him in 2005, is also against the idea. Rane was Maharashtra's chief minister for a brief period during the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP led government. After the Congress ended up with just two of Maharashtra's 48 Lok Sabha seats, Rane had reportedly lobbied the high-command for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's removal.
"Much depends on the proposals from the Congress (leadership). He will only quit as a minister and not from the party," a source close to Rane said, adding they were open to a compromise. On chances that Rane may be given charge of the state Congress or asked to lead the assembly campaign committee, the source said it was "tough to believe unless it came from the horse's mouth."
Speaking to reporters at Ratnagiri on Friday, Rane too seemed to play it safe when he refused to criticise the high command, while ruling out the formation of a separate party or any meetings with central BJP leaders. "I did not say I would quit the Congress, I said I would quit my ministerial berth," he said, while ruling out the formation of a separate party or any meetings with central BJP leaders. Rane spoke of "injustice in the decision-making process in the Congress on activists, loyalists and those who worked," and also attacked the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
After Rane made his intentions to quit clear, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her political advisor Ahmed Patel are said to have contacted him. Maharashtra Congress boss Manikrao Thakre and Kripashanker Singh also called on Rane at his Juhu residence late on Thursday.
"There is anger against the Congress. The Congress did not abide by its word," Rane told reporters at Raigad, adding that legislators who had accompanied him to the Congress had not been given ministerial berths.
Attacking Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who had opposed Rane's induction in the BJP, he alleged Uddhav had been responsible for causing his father, late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray mental agony. Rane asked why politics was seen as his only destination. "There is a vacancy for a mard in all places," he said, "It is because of Modi that Shiv Sena MPs have been elected. Uddhav Thackeray had no role in this," Rane alleged.
"Apart from staying back in the Congress, we are looking at joining the BJP, forming a separate party. Using the base of Swabhimaan (younger son Nitesh's organisation), which can tie up with other parties," said the source close to Rane. He added they were miffed at Chavan for many reasons.
Why is Rane upset?
"The Congress did not abide by its word," Rane also told reporters at Raigad, adding that legislators who had accompanied him to the Congress had not been given ministerial berths. The leader also said he was miffed with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for reasons like slow decision-making, delaying in announcing quotas for dominant Marathas (Rane headed the committee), non-resolution of the dispute over the imposition of the local body tax (LBT), which replaced octroi, and lack of action against police officials in Sindhudurg who had clashed with them during the Lok Sabha polls.
What's next?
Sources close to Rane said that the former Shiv Sainik was also considering options like forming his own party which may enter into electoral understandings with other fronts for the assembly polls due in October, and joining the BJP. However, Rane chose to play it safe. He insisted that he wasn't quitting the Congress, while ruling out the formation of a separate party or any meetings with central BJP leaders.
His anger against the Sena
Referring to the Shiv Sena as a 'leaderless party', Rane attacked Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's recent statement that those who had hurt late Sena chief Bal Thackeray would not be admitted in the Sena. Rane alleged that it was Uddhav who had hurt the Sena chief the most and referred to how the Sena chief's youngest son had left Matoshree twice in the past. "Those who cannot manage their party have no moral right to tell other parties about what they must do. Those who are scared of my shadow must not criticise me," said the former Shiv Sainik.
Not his first threat to quit
In 2005, Rane joined the Congress and the state cabinet as the revenue minister and his acolytes had claimed that it was a matter of time before they saw late chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's back. In 2008, the outspoken Rane tried to corner Deshmukh over allotment of prime land at Navi Mumbai to Videocon for setting up a TFT-LCD unit. He threatened to resign over the working of the state government and launched a vitriolic attack against Deshmukh in a press conference in Delhi. After Deshmukh resigned in wake of the 26/11 terror attacks and Ashok Chavan replaced him, Rane attacked senior Congress leaders leading to his suspension from the party. Later, he went in for a rapproachment and was re-inducted in the cabinet.
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