Uddhav Thackeray shares stage with Rane, calls him ex-colleague'

Mumbai: Twelve years after his bitter parting of ways with the party that made him Maharashtra’s chief minister, Congress leader Narayan Rane on Friday shared the stage with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

The occasion was the ‘bhumipujan’ (ground-breaking) ceremony of the quadrupling of Mumbai-Goa Highway at Kudal in the coastal Sindhudurg district, which is Mr Rane’s bastion. Mr Rane, who was expelled from Shiv Sena in 2005, also heaped praise on Union minister Nitin Gadkari and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who were present at the event.

The Congress leader’s praise for Mr Gadkari and Mr Fadnavis comes amid speculation in political circles that he may be on his way to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the programme, Mr Rane praised the works done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Fadnavis. This sparked a fresh round of speculations that Mr Rane is on his way to BJP. Interestingly, Mr Thackeray mentioned

Mr Rane as his former      colleague. Last week, BJP president Amit Shah, when asked during a television interview if Mr Rane would be joining the party, had said, “Let him approach us first.”

Bitter critics over the last decade, both Mr Rane and Mr Thackeray desisted from criticising each other during Friday’s event.Interestingly, posters put up in Kudal town showed Mr Rane welcoming Mr Fadnavis and Mr Gadkari to Sindhudurg, but did not feature any other Congress leader. The '3,487 crore project is expected to boost connectivity between Mumbai and Goa.

Mr Rane quit Sena in 2005 after having confrontations with Mr Thackeray and joined Congress. He served as chief minister during the Sena-BJP government.