MUMBAI, JANUARY 31: With barely a year to go for assembly elections in the state, some might term Bal Thackeray's move the political equivalent of re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. But the mood at CM-designate Narayan Rane's residence throughout Sunday was distinctly upbeat.A grand, illuminated portrait of Shivaji's grand durbar on Rane's house could well illustrate the day's events as thousands of friends, well wishers, businessmen and bureaucrats, streamed in to pay their respects to the new man at the state's helm. ``The phones have been jammed since early morning,'' says an aide with a hint of pride in his voice. A constable grumbles how the visitors have even squashed the wires of a hastily installed door-frame metal detector on the porch of Rane's residence.Chitrakoot, his official residence as revenue minister is in celebration. The building, palm trees and even little shrubs are festooned with thousands of little lights, and the driveway is crammed with cars.Rane has barely had enoughshut-eye since he has been up receiving visitors all day. Amongst the first things he did today was to visit Siddhi Vinayak temple with his wife and two sons at 7.30 am. Three hours later at Sahyadri state guest house, he was literally mobbed by voters from his constituency Malwan, in the Konkan.All the rooms of his house, including his spacious drawing room, are overflowing with hundreds of bouquets of every conceivable shape and size studded with all kinds of flowers from red roses to pink carnations lie against the wall adorned with portraits of the party's presiding deities, Bal Thackeray and Shivaji.Clipped on each bouquet are cards, revealing the identities of the senders from Shakha Pramukhs to ministers and businessmen. Surely the day's guest roster.Copies detailing the 46-year-old Rane's dizzying rise to power - from Shakha Pramukh in 1984 to CM 15 years later - are as freely available as pedas. Rane steps out of his office nattily dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, showing nosigns of the strain that comes with flashing non-stop smiles and pumping thousands of hands.Photographers rush in even as businessmen, small time politicians and their lackeys rush in to be photographed with the new CM. Some bear-hug the diminutive leader, while others touch his feet.``Saheb, you remember me don't you,'' says a Sainik, proferring a bouquet. Naik replies : ``How could I forget you?'' And grins before posing for a photograph. Rane has already acquired high security trappings that come with the CM's job: safari-suited special branch personnel, carbine-wielding policemen and a fleet of klaxon-fitted jeeps and cars. But Rane's new vehicle, a bullet-proof car, is only a stop gap measure until he gets his official car.Inside his office, the new CM dispels any notions that he fears a repeat of another Sushma Swaraj experiment. ``There's a big difference, she was given only one month, I have a year. That's a lot of time. Many things can happen.''Before rushing off to meet Pramod Mahajanand Thackeray, Rane details his priorities to conduct a disciplined and punctual government which would fulfil promises like a tanker-free Maharashtra by the year 2000.
