Huge Jolt to Congress In Maharashtra as Narayan Rane All Set To Join BJP

Rane’s son Nitesh he is the head of the non-governmental organization "Swabhiman Sanghatana". In 2013, he had made a controversial statement about Gujaratis living in Mumbai. He said all those Gujaratis who praise Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi should go to that state. (ALL PIC/ Narayan Rane Facebook Page)

Reports say Rane was unhappy with the Congress party in the state and was mulling the decision to quit. In 2008, he was suspended from the party for his outburst against the party President Sonia Gandhi and a number of others when he lost the chief ministerial race.

BJP chief Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Mumbai on August 27 for a book launch where Rane would be inducted into the party. Rane was a member of Shiv Sena and opposition leader of Vidhan Sabha until July 2005 before he joined the Indian National Congress party.

The exodus from the Congress is on the rise and with the exit of a senior leader like Rane, the party is set to face another huge setback in Maharashtra where it lost its power to the BJP.

In the past Narayan Rane had been the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a short period of time (7 and ½ months). He was instrumental in bringing Congress to power in the Konkan region.

Congress leader Narayan Tatu Rane is one of the prominent political leaders of Maharashtra. He is likely to join the BJP fold end of this month and mere formalities are left.