Mumbai, July 25
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, who was expelled from the Shiv Sena, has indicated that he will formally join the Congress on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters here today, Rane confirmed that he would be joining the Congress party and work for it with the same dedication as he did during his stint in the Shiv Sena.
Rane is now in mobilising his supporters so that a few thousand of them attend a rally in which they all will join the Congress en masse. According to Rane’s supporters the entire Shiv Sena network in the Konkan region, his home base, are shifting to the Congress party. Rane’s supporters simply threw out the name plates and banners of the Shiv Sena and replaced them with that of the Congress.
Reports from Sindhudurg district, where Rane built the Shiv Sena, indicate that his supporters made a bonfire of Bal Thackeray’s portraits and installed Sonia Gandhi’s pictures in their place.
“I decided to join the Congress keeping in mind the interest of the state and Konkan region,” Rane said. He is likely to be given the Revenue Ministry in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet. Rane already declined a berth in the Union Cabinet saying he had unfinished business in Maharashtra.
