Rebel Congress Minister Narayan Rane, who is set to quit his post next week criticised the party on Friday, saying it had not kept its promises to him.
“The promises made to me were not honoured. None of my supporters were given a ministry or important posts,” he said. Mr. Rane was reportedly offered a chance at the Chief Minister’s post when he switched over from the Shiv Sena to the Congress in 2005.
“He will see how the Congress responds to his resignation on Monday and decide the next course to action,” a close aide of Mr. Rane told The Hindu .
Sources said Mr. Rane is considering launching his own front. Besides his political network, he could draw on the activists of Swabhimaan Sanghatna led by his son Nitesh. The Minister is also said to be in talks with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on a possible tie-up. “He enjoys a good equation with Raj Thackeray since his days in the Shiv Sena. Our cadre is also similar,” the aide said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rane has lashed out at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and was also critical of the Narendra Modi government, an indication that the saffron parties are not an option for him. Uddhav Thackeray has already opposed his entry into the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.
“Uddhav Thackeray calls me a turncoat but it is he who caused the most mental anguish to the party’s founder Balasaheb Thackeray,” said Mr. Rane at a press conference in Ratnagiri on Friday. Calling the Shiv Sena a “leaderless party”, he said it owed its electoral success in the Lok Sabha to the Modi wave.
Also criticising the Modi government, he said, “The Modi factor is over. People thought better days would come but they have experienced only price rise.”
