Union Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane has created a flutter in Shiv Sena by saying he could facilitate the entry of senior leader Eknath Shinde in BJP if the latter wants.
Shinde is a close aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and is the Urban Development Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Besides, he is also the Guardian Minister of Thane and Gadchiroli districts.
Shinde commands tremendous respect among the party rank and files and in cases of crisis, often the first phone call goes to him.
“Eknath Shinde is fed up with the Shiv Sena as he has to ask the Matoshree before signing any file,” Rane said.
Matoshree is the private bungalow of the Thackeray family located in Bandra.
“If he (Eknath Shinde) approaches me, I will surely induct him into the BJP…. Shinde is fed up there and has no work. He faces trouble there,” said Rane as the BJP’s Jan Aashirwad Yatra passed through the twin districts of Palghar and Thane, where Shinde wields influence.
Shinde’s equations cut across party lines - and in October-November, 2019, he played a crucial role in forming the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government that prevented BJP from coming to power again.
Meanwhile, Shinde, who was in Gadchiroli, said that Rane’s statements and allegations were baseless. “I have complete freedom to make decisions,” he said, pointing out that he has taken many decisions vis-a-vis the Developing Control and Promotion Regulations and building of HinduHruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Corridor.
“Rane himself was Chief Minister (in the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government) and he knows that important decisions are to be taken in consultation with Chief Minister….as Union Minister, if he wants to take a political decision, Rane will have to consult Prime Minister (Narendra Modi),” he said.
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