By IANS,
Mumbai : Political temperatures shot up a notch in Maharashtra Tuesday following reports that senior Congress leader and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane was planning to quit the ministry next week.
Rane declined to confirm or deny the reports in a section of the local language media in his native Sindhudurg, but dropped broad hints to media persons Tuesday evening that he might quit the ministry.
“Wait and watch, anything can happen after Sunday,” he said, interacting with media persons on the sidelines of a function. It was one of several functions organised to mark the silver jubilee of the creation of the district, and will culminate in Maharashtra Day celebrations Thursday.
Despite persistent queries, Rane steadfastly refused to elaborate or clearly spell out his options on the issue. He plans to visit New Delhi and meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
In what is termed as a ‘pressure-building’ strategy, supporters of Rane have claimed that their leader plans to quit the ministry next week. Rane has been a contender for the post of chief minister for some time.
He created a flutter last December by criticizing the functioning of the Democratic Front government headed by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Last month, Rane called on Sonia Gandhi in the national capital, sparking off speculation of leadership change in the state. However, Sonia Gandhi came out in support of Deshmukh and the matter subsided.
Significantly, the reports of Rane’s plans to quit the ministry emanated from his bastion Sindhudurg in the picturesque coastal Konkan district, where he is considered an unchallenged leader.
Rane, a Shiv Sainik for nearly three decades and also a former chief minister during the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance regime, walked over to the Congress almost four years ago. Since then, he has been biding time for the top post.