Rane goes for 1999 encore

MUMBAI: What worked in Shiv Sena will it work in the Congress? This is the question doing rounds in political circles ever since the state revenue minister Narayan Rane launched a spirited attack on chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh last Friday.

After a gap of nearly eight years, Mr Rane is all set to play the game he played in 1999 to get the chief minister’s throne. On Friday former Sena muscleman publicly aired his displeasure about the government of which he is an important part. He thinks the government policies are not pro-poor. Interestingly, he had similar feelings in January 1999. Then his party boss Bal Thackeray succumbed to his threat and made him the chief minister. Will he succeed now?

Then his target was chief minister Manohar Joshi. Now it is Mr Deshmukh. Other, but crucial, difference this time is that he is in a party that has a unique style of functioning. Congress veterans point out that wearing high ambitions up your sleeve is strictly a no-no in the party. Mr Rane’s brazen attempt to grab the state chief ministership clearly shows that he is yet to absorb the Congress culture.

In a veiled threat, reminiscent of his old Sena days, Mr Rane indicated his rebellious intention. “I am not happy with the way the Maharashtra government is run. The government does not address the concerns of the 10 crore people of the state. There have been many debates and discussions but they have not been solved.”

Upset with the Sena leadership, particularly Uddhav Thackeray who himself wanted to become the chief minister of the saffron alliance, Mr Rane left the party. He was won over by the Congress with a promise of chief ministership. Though Mr Rane was in talks with Sharad Pawar for a possible entry into the NCP, the Congress’ promise made him a Sonia Gandhi supporter in 2005.

The Congress first asked him to engineer defection in the Sena and weaken the party, which he did promptly by herding six Sena MLAs into the Congress. He was left to himself to help these MLAs get re-elected to the state Assembly. To prove his mettle, Mr Rane then brought Shiv Sena MP from Ramtek Subodh Mohite into the Congress fold. This gamble, however, backfired as Mr Mohite lost the Lok Sabha by poll to Sena’s Prakash Jadhav.

Realising that the tide was about to turn, Mr Rane launched his first attack on the state Congress leadership. He accused it of not helping him in getting Congress candidate Mohite re-elected.

Meanwhile, the Congress high command used his resources for elections in Goa with a promise that he will be made chief minister soon after the elections. But Mr Rane’s wait got only got lengthier as the party got busy saving its ship at the Centre. First it was political uncertainty, and then came the stand-off over nuclear deal followed by elections in Gujarat. Always known for adventurous politics that many a time bordered with recklessness, Mr Rane finally lost his patience.

But political analysts think that the Congress in all likelihood will tackle this issue in its inimitable style. A couple of observers would fly down from Delhi and hammer out a peace. If unsuccessful, the party would find some ‘consensus candidate’ to replace the incumbent chief minister.

The last possibility, though remote, is that the Congress high command, like the Sena chief in 1999, would cave in to Mr Rane’s demand. If that doesn’t happen, Mr Rane will again be left to himself to find new permutations and combinations.