Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane
revolt was short-lived. Less than a fortnight after the Congress leader submitted his resignation as a minister from the Maharashtra government and threatened to quit the party, he's back.
Mr Rane, 62, said today that he will continue as the state's Industries Minister and "will try to ensure that the party wins the assembly elections" that are expected in October.
Mr Rane's party co-governs Maharashtra with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party or NCP. Mr Rane had been jabbing his party for a change in leadership before the upcoming election, offering himself up as a replacement for Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan who is from the Congress. (
Also read: Narayan Rane Meets Rahul Gandhi)
When his party didn't bite, Mr Rane decided to resign. (
Read more...) He has said that when he quit the Shiv Sena to join the Congress in 2005, he was promised that he would be made Chief Minister - nine years later, he said, he was still waiting for his party to make good on its word.
"I am still keen to be Chief Minister. The entire attempt was only to draw the attention of the party leadership on the state of affairs. I have been assured that I will be respected," Mr Rane said today.
Like Mr Rane, many within the Congress say that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan cannot deliver a fourth straight term for the Congress-NCP partnership. The national election in May served as a siren, with the Congress winning just 2 of the 48 parliamentary seats in Maharashtra.
Congress sources say that party leaders believe Mr Rane 's once-considerable influence in the Konkan Belt of Maharashtra is depleted, allowing them to ignore his tantrum.