Revenue minister Narayan Rane appears to have realised it is better to remain a silent spectator to survive in the Congress.
Not surprisingly, he has taken the back seat, leaving it to the discretion of the state Congress and the NCP leadership to decide the candidates for the by-elections in the state legislature council from his hometown in the Konkan region.
“My support is for the Congress-NCP [coalition]. Any candidate recommended by the leaders of the coalition is acceptable to me,” he said. His close aide revealed, “Dada (as he is called) has realised it is pointless to wage a single-handed battle against the Congress and the NCP when nobody is bothered about the outcome.
Moreover, what is the guarantee that the individual for whom he fights will remain loyal to him after winning?”
The sudden change in Rane is attributed to Union industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Ever since Rane embraced Deshmukh as a friend, he is less impatient and often smiling. Deshmukh, a seasoned Congress leader, had mastered the art of patience long ago. Or else, how does one explain his ability to transform rivalry with Rane into friendship. Rane has not only shown his admiration but has also started taking lessons from Deshmukh.
Minister without work
Putting one’s foot in mouth is not a phenomenon new to forest minister Patangrao Kadam. For the past month, he has been making news not for his work, but the lack of it. Interestingly, Kadam, known for his outspokenness, never regrets what he says and where.
Recently, at a function where union environment minister Jairam Ramesh was the chief guest, Kadam said, “I have very little work in the forest ministry. I finish my work in two hours and then have nothing to do.” Ramesh, who was startled with such candid admission from the minister, didn’t know how to react.
But when his turn came to reply he retorted sarcastically, “I have now given enough work to keep Kadam busy for more than two hours a day at work.” Senior ministers in the Congress and NCP who have had a long association with Kadam are not surprised. A senior minister said, “I wonder why he is complaining. Even when he held the most important revenue department in the past, we have never seen him at work more than a couple of hours.”
Politics of drought and divide
It is said in politics that timing is very crucial. But the political leaders across parties seem to have lost the sense of time as they have taken for granted the next state elections will not be before 2014.
How else does one explain the focus of opposition and ruling parties on the separate Vidarbha issue when 2,400 villages across the cotton-growing region are struggling to survive in the drought-like situation with severe water crisis and power shortage? The ministers are unmindful of the plight of the masses.
The ruling Congress-NCP leadership from Vidarbha also appears to have turned a blind eye to the crisis in the region, dismissing the developments as regular phenomenon. But what is more shocking is that the BJP which has organised cadre and leaders in the region seems to be more worried about the creation of separate statehood for Vidarbha at the moment.
The Sena under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, trying to score a brownie points against the BJP is busy arguing why Vidarbha should not be bifurcated. In this murky politics, what has remained unaddressed is the basic concern of the people who want administration to quench their thirst and sooth their hunger pangs.
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