Rane says sorry, Cong welcomes him back

A written apology tendered by Narayan Rane, suspended Congressman and former revenue minister of Maharashtra, to party president Sonia Gandhi paved the way for his reinstatement.

Soon after the announcement regarding the revocation of his suspension, Rane drove down to 10 Janpath — Gandhi residence — for a meeting. Emerging from the meeting, he said he had expressed regrets for his outburst. “I am committed to the party and will work to ensure that the Congress-NCP alliance does well in the state,” Rane said.

Rane appeared suitably chastened and refused to comment about Deshmukh and others. “Let us forget the past. Henceforth, I will strictly follow the directives of the Congress president,” he said.

Rane was suspended from the party on December 6, 2008, following his angry outburst after he lost out to Ashok Chavan in the race for chief ministership. On his return, he is also likely to find a berth in the state cabinet.

The move to reinstate the influential leader comes at a time when the party is about to begin seat-sharing talks with the NCP in Maharashtra. Rane is expected to considerably bolster the party’s chances in the state, especially in what is considered his bastion — the Konkan region. After his induction in to the Congress, the party’s tally of MLA’s went up in the state as several of his supporters won the bye-elections that followed.

Consequently, Congress overtook NCP, which had done better during the assembly elections.