MUMBAI: In a clear snub to Maharashtra state Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, the Congress party’s high command has silenced detractors of state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh by clearing decks for the appointment to key posts of candidates picked by the chief minister.
The name of former state Home Minister Manikrao Thakre from Vidarbha region, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist, has been approved for the vacant post of president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC).
Rane was vying for this post after he submitted his resignation to the Congress high command last month. The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) had not only turned down Rane’s request but also ensured that none of his supporters becomes the MPCC chief also.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference here yesterday, Deshmukh refused to speak on the issue of the new changes. The chief minister, who returned to Mumbai from Delhi yesterday morning after holding long deliberations with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Ahmed Patel, said that he had also got a nod for a Cabinet reshuffle and an expansion.
In another jolt to Rane, the Congress appointed another former home minister, Kripa Shankar Singh, as the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president; he will be the north Indian face in the state and city Congress.
Eknath Gaikwad, a Dalit member of Parliament from Mumbai, has been appointed as the working president of the MRCC. The MRCC president’s post remained vacant for a long time following the resignation of Gurudas Kamat, an MP from the city who completed his five-year tenure.
