Mumbai: Hinting that senior Congress leader Narayan Rane’s much-awaited switch to the BJP is imminent, State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil on Sunday said he would not only welcome Rane into the BJP, but could also hand over his PWD portfolio to him.
Mr. Rane, a former Sena leader, has been sulking for some time now. The speculation that he may join the BJP received a fresh boost after he reportedly met BJP president Amit Shah in April. Mr. Rane had dismissed the reports.
Mr. Patil is perhaps the first senior leader who has made an open statement on his joining the BJP. “I would welcome Mr. Rane if he chooses to join the BJP. It is a fact that the final decision will be taken by the top leadership in New Delhi and by Mr. Rane himself. I can even hand over my PWD portfolio to him,” he Patil in Sindhudurg district, the pocket-borough of Mr. Rane, a former Chief Minister.
He said the BJP will benefit from Rane’s entry. “It will also help in the smooth administration of the State government,” Mr. Patil said in an apparent reference to Mr. Rane’s roots as a Shiv Sainik and that he might come handy in reining in ally Shiv Sena. A senior BJP leader said, “Amit Shah in his recent address to party workers had said his aim is to win 350 seats in the next Lok Sabha polls, for which resourceful persons like Mr. Rane will be helpful,” .
Last week, State Congress chief Ashok Chavan said some people are opportunists who cannot stay without power, in a remark perceived as a dig at Mr. Rane. He had also said new people will get a chance to grow if “such people” leave the Congress.