After having failed to strike a bargain with his leadership for a top party position in the State ahead of the forthcoming Assembly polls, a reconciled senior Maharashtra Congress leader Narayan Rane on Tuesday withdrew his resignation as a Minister from the Prithviraj Chavan and said he would campaign for the party from Wednesday onwards.
A fortnight after he put in his papers expressing his displeasure over the Congress high command’s failure to keep its promise of making him the chief minister and claiming that the party’s electoral prospects under incumbent Prithviraj Chavan were very dim, Rane surrendered meekly and announced his decision to return to the State Cabinet and work for the party as before.
Talking to media persons here, Rane said that he had decided to withdraw his resignation after holding consultations with senior Congress leaders, including party’s vice president Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash, senior ministers and State party chief Manikrao Thakre. “They assured me that whatever happened to me in the past would not recur and that I would be treated with respect in future.. By honouring their assurance, I have decided to resume work as a minister. I will undertake campaign tour of Maharashtra from tomorrow. I will put in all efforts to ensure the Congress’ victory in the Assembly polls”.
He indirectly admitted that the Congress high command had not conceded his demand for appointing him as the Maharashtra Congress chief ahead of the State Assembly polls, when he said: “I did not ask for any plum ministry. Yes. I did ask the party high command to make the State Congress chief for three months ahead of the polls”.
In what is being seen as another climb down for him, Rane said he would work under the leadership of Prithviraj Chavan in the State Assembly polls.
“Since Chavan is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the Congress will fight the elections under his leadership. Whatever the responsibility that the Congress leadership will give me in the campaign for the polls, I will accept it and work for the party accordingly. If I am not given some responsibility, I will ask for it and get it”,"Rane said.
Rane, who had last fortnight gone to town saying that he was quitting the State Cabinet as he did not want to share the blame for the party’s likely defeat in the Assembly polls under Chavan’s leadership, said: : "I had not exactly said that the Congress would stand to lose in the Assembly polls.. Now I am saying that I would work changing the fortunes of the party for the better”.Queried as to why he did not get audience of AICC president Sonia Gandhi during the course of last one fortnight, Rane said: “I am going to meet her soon. She has sent me a message through Mohan Prakash that I can go and meet her any time. .. Time permitting, I will go and meet her next week”.
On whether he had not softened his stand even after the Congress leadership failed to keep its promise of making the chief minister in the past and now refused to yield to his demand for making him as state party chief, Rane said: “The question of my softened my stand or otherwise does not arise. After all, I am in politics and should be able to adjust myself to the situation”
Asked if he had given up his hopes of becoming the chief minister of the state for the second time, Rane – who was a chief minister for a brief period during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance regime in the state in the nineties, said: “I have not at all given up my hopes”.
Replying to another question, Rane said: "I am an ambitious person and have still not given up my chief ministerial ambitions".On whether he would contest the State Assembly polls, Rane said: “I had told the party leadership that I would not contest the polls. But, I was advised by the senior party leaders that I should contest”.
Rane admitted that he was lobbying for a party ticket to his son Nitesh, who heads a social outfit Swabhimani Sanghatana, to contest the Assembly polls. “As far as party ticket is concerned, Nitesh will get first preference.Whatever the constituency that is left, I will contest from there”.
Rane, it may be recalled, had earlier disclosed that he wanted Nitesh to contest from his home constituency of Kudal in Sindhudurg district.