MUMBAI: Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve on Monday said that former chief minister Narayan Rane is free to join the Narendra Modi-led NDA provided his outfit’s ideology is acceptable to the BJP.
The development comes a a day after former chief minister Narayan Rane floated his party Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha. “Rane has announced that the policies of his new party will be declared soon. We will wait for Rane’s announcement. If his programmes are in conformity with the BJP’s policies, then his party will be admitted into the NDA, which has 22 constituents,’’ Danve said.
“Rane was in touch with me, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He had met BJP chief Amit Shah in the presence of Fadnavis and public works minister Chandrakant Patil. There was a political discussion during the meeting. Rane invited Shah for the inauguration of a hospital in Sindhudurg district,’’ he added.
Since Rane was at loggerheads with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and state Congress head Ashok Chavan, it was believed that he would join the BJP. Even as preparations were on for his entry into the BJP on August 27, the Shiv Sena threatened to withdraw from the government. The Sena’s warning prompted the BJP leadership to abandon the plan. The BJP leadership suggested that Rane should float his own party.