Barely 24 hours after making a blistering attack against revenue minister Narayan Rane the newly -appointed chairman of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Gurudas Kamat engaged in a warm handshake.
Barely 24 hours after making a blistering attack against revenue minister Narayan Rane the newly -appointed chairman of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Gurudas Kamat engaged in a warm handshake.
Not stopping there, it was Kamat who persuaded the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to give an audience to Rane. The high command was reluctant to meet Rane because he had gone public saying, "Unless called by Gandhi, I would not visit Delhi." In Congress, nobody likes such arrogance from regional leaders, and actually even national ones.
Not surprisingly, Rane who is yet to adapt to the Congress culture was stunned when he was left in cold for almost 12 days after he tendered the resignation from cabinet. However, when he realised he was getting nowhere within the party or outside he decided to backtrack, surrendering before Gandhi.
Observers are wondering what could have transformed Rane and change his roar to a whimper. Well, some are giving credit to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for taming Rane in true Congress style.
Friends turn foes
It must have come a rude shock to revenue minister Narayan Rane when his friend Gopinath Munde made it public that there was no place in BJP for Rane. A week ago, MNS leader Raj Thackeray ruled out an alliance between his party and Rane.
A close aide of the revenue minister said, "Rane has seen dirty politics in his life, but even he may not have imagined it could get so cruel. All these close friends whom he had lent shoulders to cry in troubled times have slammed the door on his face."
What has hurt Rane is that negative response from friends came without any reason.
He had never approached any of them and there was no reason for their fears. But those close to Munde said, "He clarified the position as he did not want to antagonise Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray whose hatred for Rane is well-known."
And at this moment the battered BJP cannot afford to lose its ally Shiv Sena ahead of the elections.
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