Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane yesterday launched a new political outfit, which he said would work for the overall and all-inclusive development of the state.
The aggressive leader from the coastal Konkan region, who was first with Shiv Sena and then for 12 years with the Congress, kept political circles guessing whether he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance or not.
He said at a press conference that the motto of the Maharashtra Swabhiman Party (MSP) “shall be fulfilling all our commitments and work for the interests of the people of the state. After setting up the party organisation, we shall decide on our future course including allying with the NDA.”
Rane’s son Nitesh, who is a Congress legislator, stayed away from the press conference.
Nitesh, a legislator from Kudal in Konkan, runs a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Swabhimani Sanghatana.
Rane gave all indications that he was open to doing business with the BJP and NDA. He refused to get drawn into issues where he would have to take a critical position vis-a-vis Prime Minister Narendra Modi government. He attacked Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for criticising demonetisation at the Sena’s Dussehra rally on Saturday.
“Uddhav Thackeray has no business attacking demonetisation because his party has never taken a clear position on this issue. You cannot go on having different positions at different times,” Rane said. He also claimed that Shiv Sena cadres were actually leaving the venue when Thackeray was speaking indicating that they were not happy with the party strategy.
Rane supported the much-maligned bullet train proposal “as it is a development project” which was necessary just like mobile phones.
A senior BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said a new political party was the only option left for Rane as BJP’s top leadership had “not entertained Rane’s wish to join the BJP”.
“One has to look at Rane’s plans in a context. He has quit the Congress and he cannot join Shiv Sena which he left years back. He wanted to join the BJP but we are not comfortable inducting Rane yet. He has to work out some kind of a refuge for himself,” he said.
Another BJP leader, who is familiar with Rane’s politics and who did not want to be identified, said “Rane met our party president Amit Shah in Delhi some days back and it was suggested to him that the BJP rank and file in Maharashtra were not really ready to induct him and that he should look for some option that would still make him open to joining the NDA.”
Rane was Maharashtra’s chief minister for nearly one year (1999) in the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance which ruled the state between 1995-1999. Later he served as opposition leader before quitting the party to join the Congress in 2005 which he left last month.
The birth of the MSP marking his third political innings was welcomed with firecrackers, drums and processions in his home district Sindhudurg and other parts.
For the past few months, speculation was rife that Rane was planning to switch over to the BJP and had even met party president Amit Shah, state party chief Raosaheb Patil-Danve and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on several occasions.
With the MSP entering the fray, the Maharashtra political landscape vying for the Maharashtrian votes has become further crowded with the BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Republican Party of India, several local and state-level parties, besides other national parties having their state units here.
Narayan Rane arrives to address a press conference in Mumbai yesterday.
