Former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane set to float his own party

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai , September 28

With the Bharatiya Janata Party yet to welcome him into its fold, former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane is all set to float his own party, according to sources here.

An NGO called Swabhiman Sanghatana run by Rane and his family is likely to be converted into a political party. “Swabhiman Sanghatana is active in Mumbai and the Konkan and has the blessings of Narayan Rane,” an office-bearer of the NGO said.

Rane has called a meeting of his associates in the NGO on September 30 ostensibly to celebrate Dasshera where the decision to float a political party will be taken, sources said. The party's name and
symbol will also be decided at the meeting.

Rane's son Nitesh, who is a Congress MLA, is likely to contest under the new party's symbol after resigning his seat in the state assembly. Sources say the Maharashtra unit of the BJP has promised to support Nitesh's candidate under his father's standard.

The new party is expected to join the NDA in Maharashtra.

Rane had floated Swabhiman Sanghatana to launch his sons in 2010 to raise issues like unemployment among Marathi-speaking people and the rights of slum dwellers in Mumbai and the Konkan region. However, Rane had to slow down his activities in his NGO after coming in for criticism from the Congress party.