Swallowing his pride, rebel Congress leader Narayan Rane is all set to “surrender” before the party high command to remain in the party.
Swallowing his pride, rebel Congress leader Narayan Rane is all set to “surrender” before the party high command to remain in the party.
In a first step, Rane held an hour-long meeting with chief minister Ashok Chavan at the latter’s residence on Monday morning. Later, Chavan left for Delhi to discuss Rane’s fate with Sonia Gandhi; Rane is likely to meet Gandhi soon. Confirming the possibility of a patch-up, Rane said: “I am going to meet Sonia Gandhi in a day or two.”
Rane also issued a circular stating that the meeting to be held on January 6 to unfold his political plans had been postponed to January 10. “There is a section of people within the Congress, who have impressed upon the AICC not to allow Rane to quit. He is an asset to the party in the election year,” a close Rane aide said.
Chavan has taken up the task of uniting the faction-ridden Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, and first met Rane during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur.
It is likely that the party will offer Rane a ministerial post. However, it will not be easy to give him the revenue portfolio, as senior minister Patangrao Kadam — who took over the revenue ministry after Rane resigned — is not willing to relinquish his post, insiders said. Another option is to offer Rane the ministry of urban development.
“Ministerial berth is secondary. If Gandhi accepts the apology and withdraws the suspension, things can be worked out. He is not going to press for any demand,” a former cabinet minister said.
Insiders said some Rane supporters informed the high command that his outburst was against the functioning of the government under former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, and that he did not mean to attack the party high command.
“His supporters informed the central leadership that Rane had admitted his mistake and was willing to work in the party. He trusts the top leadership, namely union external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and defence minister AK Anthony, who is in charge of the Maharashtra Congress,” the former minister added.
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