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Narayan Rane to quit Cong? No, says son

Rane was in Delhi on Tuesday reportedly to meet senior BJP leaders. It could not be confirmed till the time of going to press whether he met with BJP President Amit Shah or any other senior functionary of the BJP.

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Senior Congress legislator and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane is reportedly considering to leave the Congress for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rane was in Delhi on Tuesday reportedly to meet senior BJP leaders. It could not be confirmed till the time of going to press whether he met with BJP President Amit Shah or any other senior functionary of the BJP.

The BJP sources confirmed that Rane, a member of Maharashtra's Upper House, was trying hard to join the BJP for quite sometime. He has, however, demanded a berth for himself in the Fadnavis Cabinet. "BJP doesn't allow conditional entry. He has been conveyed accordingly. Negotiations are still on," said a senior BJP leader.

BJP's state and central leadership are evaluating his clout, on how many Congress MLAs he can bring to the BJP fold. "If it is a considerable number, the deal is done," said another leader.

Rane's hobnobbing with the senior BJP leaders comes shortly after his son Nilesh, a former MP from Sindhudurg, quit the Congress after blaming party's state chief Ashok Chavan for the poor show in the recent civic Polls.

Senior Rane has also been publicly criticising the state Congress leadership for the party's poor performance. Meanwhile, he has reportedly invited BJP chief Amit Shah and CM Fadnavis for 65th birthday celebration next month. He has reportedly met the two several times recently.

Analysts say Rane needs at least 14 MLAs — one-third of the Congress tally of 42 — to quit the party to avoid coming under the anti-defection law. "Including his son, he enjoys the backing of maximum 5-6 disgruntled MLAs only," said a BJP leader.

In the 288-member Assembly, the BJP and allies, other than Shiv Sena, have 123 members, which is 22 less than the simple majority of 145.

However, amid talks of mid-term polls in the BJP circle, mainly to get rid of its troublesome partner Shiv Sena, Congress leaders can walk out from the party even at the cost of their seats which they hope to win back on BJP ticket.

Besides, BJP feels Rane can help the party to grow in Konkan region. "Rane is a leader that every party wants," was what senior BJP leader and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said on asked whether Rane was in touch with the party.

While Rane himself was unavailable for comments, his son and MLA Nitesh Rane issued a statement on Tuesday to deny all such speculations. "Neither my father nor me are leaving Congress. Rivals are deliberately fuelling rumours to malign us. It is an attempt to dent my father's credibility in the eyes of the Congress," the statement said. He also claimed that his father is in Delhi for 'personal' work.

Sources from the Congress, meanwhile, insist that Rane was just using pressure tactics to get the party president's post ahead of 2019 Assembly elections.

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