Sada Sarvankar defection puts Narayan Rane back on top

The state industries minister Narayan Rane appears to have recovered his lost voice within the Congress.

What is surprising is that Rane operated alone, keeping the state leadership, including chief minister Ashok Chavan and union industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, in the dark when it came to getting dejected Shiv Sena (MLA) Sada Sarvankar to join the Congress.

Rane detractors within the state Congress also admit that he has silently managed to gain an upper hand by getting tickets for at least half a dozen candidates who are loyal to him. By getting Sarvankar to the Congress, he has turned the Mahim seat into a prestige fight with Uddhav Thackeray.

A senior Congress leader disclosed, “Sarvankar’s defection was a well planned strategy hatched by Rane. A fortnight before the Sena made its list public, Sarvankar held a telephonic conversation with Rane to indicate that he would like to join the Congress if Sena denies him a ticket.” He aded, “Rane, while assuring to do his best, told him the decision would require a nod from the All India Congress Committee (AICC).”

Rane then spoke to AK Anthony, defence minister and in-charge of Maharashtra Congress affairs, who then asked the MPCC to withhold the announcement for the Mahim seat. Earlier, the Congress had shortlisted the candidature of Ajit Sawant from there. But following directives from Anthony, they withheld the announcement.

The day Sena announced the name of popular Marathi television actor Aadesh Bandekar in place of Sarvankar from Mahim, Anthony gave the nod to field Sarvankar on a Congress ticket. The approval was conveyed to Sarvankar over phone and the party also provided him a form in advance to file the nomination.

Since his expulsion from the Shiv Sena in mid-2005, and after he joined the Congress, Rane has been working on a one-point agenda—to weaken Uddhav Thackeray’s party. Not surprisingly, he has managed to accommodate all the candidates who followed him from the Sena to Congress.

Rane candidates who made it to the assembly contest include Manickrao Kokate (Sinnar); Kalidas Kolamkar (Wadala); Vinay Nimhas (Shivaji Nagar), Ranjendra Raut (Barshi), Ganpat Kadam (Rajapur) and Ravindra Phatak (Kankvli).