Two weeks after he quit the Maharashtra Cabinet after publicly criticising the party leadership and the Chief Minister, dissident Congressman Narayan Rane back-tracked and withdrew his resignation on Tuesday.
“Party leaders have assured me that that my self-respect will be maintained. They said the issues of the past will not recur,” Mr. Rane said. He added that he would return as Industries Minister and work for the victory of the Congress in the coming Assembly elections.
It’s clear the once-fiery leader felt he was running out of options with the party choosing to ignore his rebellion. Mr. Rane had held several talks with the party leadership including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi over the last fortnight. He had demanded the post of the State Congress Chief and the Revenue Ministry, but the party did not relent. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is said to taken a tough stand against placating Mr. Rane.
“In politics, you should adjust. If I had become soft, I would not have resigned,” Mr. Rane said when asked about his reversal. Both Mr. Rane and his younger son Nitesh are expected to contest the Assembly polls.
Mr. Rane had initially demanded a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. However, he finally withdrew his resignation after a meeting with the State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and assurances from AICC general secretary Mohan Prakash.
Mr. Rane’s options shrank after the Shiv Sena opposed his entry into the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. The leader was earlier said to be in talks with the BJP, which he vehemently denied. The possibility of floating his own front close to the polls also made little sense, his supporters said.
However, Mr. Rane’s stock within the Congress had fallen with the decline of his base in the Konkan. His own son Nilesh Rane lost the Lok Sabha polls from the region. While the Congress did not want to lose an aggressive leader before the elections, it did not want to be seen pandering to a rebel while facing dissidence in other States, party sources said.
