Former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane joins PM Narendra ModiAs the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on Wednesday, the new team strengthened the BJP’s hold in the Konkan region.
Born in April 1952, Rane started his political career when he was in his twenties. His foray into politics began as a member of the Shiv Sena when he became a local shakha chief in Chembur, Mumbai.
Appointed chief minister by Balasaheb Thackeray in 1999, when the then CM Manohar Joshi was asked to step down, Rane was expelled from Shiv Sena in 2005 due to anti-party activities. He later joined the Congress and was immediately made the revenue minister of the state.
After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Vilasrao Deshmukh stepped down and Ashok Chavan was made the chief minister. Angered by this, Rane claimed that the Congress high command had promised him the chief minister’s post. Rane opposed the party high command, due to which he was suspended. However, his suspension was revoked after he apologised.
Rane had contested the 2014 elections from Konkan on a Congress ticket, in which he was defeated. The Congress again gave him a ticket to contest the by-election for the Vidhan Sabha seat of Bandra East constituency, but Rane lost the election to a Shiv Sena candidate. Later, in 2017, Narayan Rane along with his sons Nitesh and Nilesh formed his own party ‘Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha’, and openly declared that they would support the BJP in the state.
In 2019, BJP had given ticket to Rane’s son Nitesh from Konkan. Later Narayan Rane got a Rajya Sabha seat from the BJP quota.
Rane is known as the ‘Sena Batter’ and was instrumental in preparing the report on Maratha reservation. The issue has since gained momentum in the political circles of Maharashtra. Rane’s promotion may also help the BJP’s prospects in the BMC polls next year.
Apart from a long career in politics, Rane is also the owner and advisory editor of Marathi-language newspaper Prahar.
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