Even before the Congress could today announce its decision to appoint Industry Minister Ashok Chavan as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Revenue Minister Narayan Rane launched scathing attacks on the party’s top leadership, including party president Sonia Gandhi.
While the Congress is banking on Chavan to give a “fresh and young look” to the government in the state, Rane’s rebellion will certainly damage its prospects in Mumbai and the Konkan region. Top sources in Delhi said that Rane might be expelled from the party soon.
Rane, who rebelled against Shiv Sena and joined the Congress in 2005, called a press conference attacking the party’s high command. “I will not accept any post in the government or the party and I no longer trust Gandhi’s leadership,” he said.
“Outgoing chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, along with some important leaders in Delhi hatched a conspiracy to ensure that I don’t become the chief minister,” he alleged.
Criticising the Congress’s choice of chief minister, Rane said, “Ashok Chavan has no identity in politics beyond being the son of SB Chavan. I don’t consider him even my rival.”
Before announcing Chavan’s name as the new CM, Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister AK Antony and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee discussed the impact of Rane’s revolt. But Gandhi concluded that Rane’s “politics” of threat would not be tolerated any further.
After the meeting, Mukherjee and Antony announced Chavan’s name as the 15th chief minister of the state.
Besides being a party loyalist, management graduate Chavan is considered a sober person, not involved in any political controversy or any scam.
As industry minister, Chavan had earned the reputation of being very proactive and played a crucial role in bringing international brands like Volkswagen, General Motors, Boeing and LG to invest in Maharashtra. During his stint in the industry department, the state received investments worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore through the Mega Project Policy.
The leaders helped bringing 123 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the state, which has a potential of attracting investments worth Rs 130 lakh crore.
However, Chavan might face problems from other senior colleagues as well. According to a Congress veteran, “leaders like Patangrao Kadam, Ajit Pawar, Vijay Singh Mohite Patil may not feel comfortable in working under someone who is junior to them, both in experience and stature.”
But a senior NCP leader expressed hope that Chavan will be able to overcome these troubles. “Apart from a few minor skirmishes, the Democratic Front government in the state did not see any major hiccups during the reign of Deshmukh and RR Patil. The same is likely to continue during this regime of Chavan and Bhujbal,” said a senior NCP minister.
“Bhujbal is much aggressive. But he has mellowed down after he was forced to resign as the deputy chief minister four years ago,” he added.
