Narayan Rane to join NDA, may get cabinet berth after Diwali

MUMBAI: Former chief minister Narayan Rane is likely to enter the state cabinet after his newly formed party, Maharashtra Swabhimani Party (MSP), extended support to Narendra Modi-led NDA.

Rane was to be inducted into the state cabinet on October 6, but as he had not decided on extending support to the NDA, he was not sworn in as a cabinet member. “Rane was assured of a cabinet berth. However, it was delayed because Rane was undecided on supporting NDA. We expect that he will be inducted into the state cabinet after Diwali,’’ a senior BJP leader said.

While Rane floated his party on October 1, on Friday he declared his support to the NDA. “I had a meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on October 4. Fadnavis had asked me to consider supporting NDA. Now we have decided to extend unconditional support to NDA. It is for the CM to take a decision on my induction into the cabinet,’’ Rane said in his hometown Sindhudurg. Rane is expecting the coveted revenue portfolio. A day after the entire Sindhudurg Congress committee and district panels were dissolved by state Congress chief Ashok Chavan, Rane on September 21 quit the Congress on the grounds that he was taken for a ride by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her aide Ahmed Patel over his selection as the CM during Congress rule.