Narayan Rane calls on CM, says will decide on contesting RS elections in 2 days

MUMBAI: Even as former chief minister Narayan Rane was non-committal after his prolonged meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday, a senior BJP cabinet member told TOI that he is likely to accept the offer for Rajya Sabha nomination.
On Tuesday, Rane called on Fadnavis at his council chamber to discuss problems faced by the state. Rane said he will take a decision on contesting the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections in a day or two. “My supporters feel that I should not shift to Delhi and stay in the state. I will convey my decision to the CM and BJP president Amit Shah in a day or two,” Rane said after his meeting with the CM.

A week ago, Rane had a brief meeting with Shah in Delhi, in the presence of Fadnavis, to discuss cabinet berth for him in the state cabinet. Then Shah had expressed his inability to accommodate Rane in the state cabinet. However, Shah had assured him that he will be considered for Rajya Sabha nomination. Then Rane had sought a week’s time to consider the proposal.

A month after he quit the Congress in September last year, Rane was planning to join the BJP to facilitate induction in the state cabinet. Following Shiv Sena’s threat to withdraw support to the government if Rane is inducted in the cabinet, the BJP abandoned the proposal. “We do not want to destabilize the government, under such circumstances, we dropped the proposal to induct Rane in the state cabinet,” the cabinet member said.