Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane targetted Shiv Sena yet again and said that the party claiming to have a spirit of a tiger has become like a goat. Rane was expelled from Shiv Sena by party supremo Balasaheb Thackeray himself about 10 years ago.
"When Balasaheb Thackeray was at the helm of the party. Shiv Sena was Shiv Sena. But now, Shiv Sena's tiger has become a goat," said Rane. He was speaking at 7th Pune International Literary Festival.
Narayan Rane was a firebrand leader of Shiv Sena for decades. He was Leader of the Opposition during the period when Maharashtra politics was dominated by Congress-NCP.
However, Rane is believed to have been an intra-party rival of Uddhav Thackeray. He has targetted Thackeray many a times in last 10 years. Even after his bitter expulsion from Shiv Sena, the party he was a member of for 39 years, he lashed out at Uddhav Thackeray.
His latest comments can be seen in the same light.
Though a formidable politician, Rane has seen his political power diminish in recent years. After he was expelled from the Shiv Sena, he joined Congress but even then, he squared off with Ashok Chavan, ex-Maharashtra CM and a powerful Congress leader in the state. Rane eyed the CM's post, which Chavan was obviously not in a mood to vacate. This tussle slowed down Rane's political progress.
He even suffered defeat in his own backyard in 2014 Maharashtra elections. This was seen as critical, if not final blow to Narayan Rane. When he left Shiv Sena, he was seen as a powerful Maratha leader with unparalleled clout in Konkan region of Maharashtra. But now, there are several power centres in his own backyard.
Rane left Congress in 2017 and floated his own Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha. The party is struggling to command political clout.
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