Senior Congress leader Narayan Rane, who had submitted his resignation from the post of Industries minister in a bid to revolt against Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan a fortnight ago, put an end to speculations about him leaving the party by officially withdrawing his resignation on Tuesday.
Clearing the air about his stand, Rane said, “Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has not accepted my resignation. Senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Manikrao Thakre Mohan Prakash spoke to me and therefore, I have decided to stay in the Congress party, which I had also reiterated in the previous press conference.”
He further stated, “The senior leaders of the party have assured me that whatever happened in the past will not happen again, and due respect will be given to me. On this assurance, I have decided to continue with the party and will work as a minister.”
Rane said, “From Wednesday onwards, I will also start campaigning for the party and will work towards Congress's win in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls.”
Maharashtra Congress President Manikrao Thakre said, “We had a positive discussion with Narayan Rane and he will continue to be with the Congress, contributing to the party's Assembly campaign."
Rane also made it clear that he was not in touch with any other political party or leaders. "I am not hungry for any post. I have been holding various positions for the last 31 years. I am a former chief minister, and currently I am a serving minister," he said.
Also Read: The journey of Congress leader Narayan Rane
When asked about whether he would be contesting elections, Rane said, "I don't want to contest the polls, but the party wants me to contest."
A week ago, the Congress high command had shown concern to the grievances of the rebel leader and former chief minister. Rane, on the other hand, had met party Vice President Rahul Gandhi to put forth his stand, and also had a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and state Congress Chief Manikrao Thakre to iron out issues. However, the meeting did not reach any conclusions then.
Also Read: Congress in pan-India crisis, faces rebellion ahead of Assembly polls
Rane had joined the Congress party after he quit the Shiv Sena in 2005, with the expectation that he would get the chief minister's position. But his aspirations were never fulfilled. The senior leader had also offered his resignation in May 2014 after his son Nilesh Rane was defeated by Shiv Sena candidate Vinayak Raut by 1.5 lakh votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Rane had served as chief minister for nine months while in the Shiv Sena in 1999, when the NDA government was at the helm of affairs in Maharashtra. In 2005, soon after joining Congress, he was inducted as a minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government.
Meanwhile, rebel Nationalist Congress Party MLA Deepak Kesarkar on Tuesday, joined Shiv Sena, after quitting the party on July 13, 2014. Kesarkar had raised a banner of revolt against the nomination of Nilesh Rane, son of Narayan Rane, ever since the Congress had declared his candidature for a Lok Sabha seat recently.
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