Narayan Rane's outfit to join NDA

"I have decided to be a part of the NDA for the development of the state and the Konkan region," Rane told reporters.

Dismissing speculation that he would be accomodated in the Union Cabinet, Rane said, "I will stay in Maharashtra till 2019." He was apparently hinting at contesting the Lok Sabha polls to be held that year.

Rane, who resigned from the Congress party about two weeks ago after a long-drawn tussle with its state leadership, had claimed three days back that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had invited him to join the NDA.

A prominent leader from the influential Maratha community, Rane hails from Sindhudurg district of the Konkan region. Rane became the chief minister in 1999 when he was in the Shiv Sena.

He quit the Congress, alleging that the party had reneged on its promise to make him the chief minister when he joined it in 2005 after quitting the Shiv Sena. The Sena is a constituent of the NDA and had advised the BJP against inducting him into the party.