On the eve of his impending resignation from the state cabinet, industries minister Narayan Rane chose to take on bete noire and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray while keeping mum on chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, against whose style of functioning he is said to be incensed.
However, sources close to Rane, whose chief ministerial aspirations are no secret, said the attacks on Uddhav was an attempt to show the Congress leadership that he was the sole leader in the otherwise demoralised rank-and-file capable of taking on the resurgent opposition.
They added that though Rane was also considering options, including quitting the party and forming his own front, a possible compromise formula with the Congress leadership could also include more assembly tickets for his loyalists.
"It all depends on what they (Congress) can offer us," said a source, admitting that the party, which has already ruled out replacing Chavan, had "limited options" to offer them. "Saheb is not alone, he has a following with him. These people depend on him for tickets," he said, adding that they were looking at a larger share of Congress nominations as one of the elements of a possible compromise.
"Unless we increase our (nuisance) value, the leadership will never understand... we are crossing swords with the Shiv Sena but the party has not given us any strength," the source said, ruing that the Congress did not support Rane in his clashes with the Sena or in agitations taken up by younger son Nitesh's organisation Swabhimaan.
There are speculations that Rane may be given charge of the state Congress or asked to head the assembly campaign committee.
In a rally at Sindhudurg on Sunday, Rane attacked Uddhav and NCP legislator from Sawantwadi, Deepak Kesarkar, who is due to join the Sena in August.
"I am not disgruntled. I have taken this decision on my own and no one has asked me to resign. People are not even ready to resign as a sarpanch," said Rane, adding that he was a "fighter" by disposition. He also called on his supporters to be aggressive and repay opponents in the same coin.
This is not the first time that Rane has threatened to quit. In 2008, he tried to corner then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over allotment of prime land at Navi Mumbai to a corporate. Earlier, he had also threatened to resign over the working of the state government and attacked Deshmukh in a press conference in Delhi.
After Deshmukh resigned in wake of the 26/11 attacks and Ashok Chavan replaced him, Rane, upset at being glossed over, had attacked senior Congress leaders leading to his suspension from the party. Later, he went in for a rapprochement and got a cabinet berth.
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