Mumbai: After much deliberation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday declared Union minister Narayan Rane as its candidate for Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency. The Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had laid claim to the seat, with Kiran Samant — brother of state Industries Minister Uday Samant — having expressed a desire to contest the general election from the constituency.
While Rane’s candidature is unlikely to go down well with the Shiv Sena cadre in Konkan, where Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg seat is located, the Samant brothers held a press conference after the declaration of his name and extended their support to the Union minister.
“We did not want to add to the trouble on this seat and that is why Kiran bhaiya decided to take a step back. Yesterday, we had a long discussion with Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and that is why today Rane’s candidature was declared. As Mahayuti, we will stay together and work together,” said Uday Samant.
Although Samant said the Shiv Sena has taken a step back, he added that he was hopeful his brother Kiran would become an MP someday. “Sometimes we have to take a step back for the greater good. But that does not mean we will take a step back from politics. In future we want to see Kiran bhaiya as our MP,” he said.
Samant added, “Now, Maharashtra has seen how to do coalition politics and Kiran bhaiya has shown largeness.”
He also revealed during the press conference that the BJP approached Kiran asking him to contest the polls on the lotus symbol, but that was not acceptable to the brothers. “The workers are upset but we will work together and campaign for Rane,” he said.
The Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg seat is currently held by Vinayak Raut of the Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) who is seeking re-election as a candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Raut is among the few MPs who remained loyal to the Shiv Sena (UBT). He had defeated Rane’s son Nilesh to win the seat in 2019 by a margin of 1,78,322 votes.
Konkan has been fertile ground for the Shiv Sena, but with the split in the party, its votes are likely to be divided.
The Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg seat has six assembly segments, of which the Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) currently hold two each and the NCP and BJP one each. Among the Sena MLAs from here are Uday Samant, the legislator from Ratnagiri, and Rane’s other son Nitish, from Kankavli.
Over the past few weeks, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray along with son Aaditya has addressed multiple public meetings in Konkan. Raut, the MP from Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg, too launched his campaign in the seat earlier this year.
During its alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena, the Sena managed to get a sizable chunk of its candidates elected from Konkan. Important to note also is that the BJP is trying to shore up its presence in Konkan, which is the only region in Maharashtra where it has limited presence. Rane has said that he will file his nomination papers at 11 am on 19 April 19, stating that the region will be developed further once he is voted to power from there.
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Narayan Rane’s political trajectory
Rane started off as a Shiv Sainik under Bal Thackeray, contesting Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls and overseeing the party’s affairs in Mumbai. In 1991, he was elected as an MLA from Sindhudurg, and in 1995, appointed dairy development minister.
He later became revenue minister, and in 1999, Bal Thackeray appointed him chief minister. But Rane became disenchanted with the Sena around the time Uddhav’s influence within the party started to grow. Rane, along with a few MLAs, quit the Sena in 2005 to join the Congress. In 2017, he resigned from the Congress to form his own party, Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha, which he subsequently merged with the BJP.
In 2018, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha with support from the BJP. And in July 2021, he was included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers.
Over the last few years, since the formation of MVA, the rivalry between Ranes and Thackerays spilled out into the open with bitter personal remarks being hurled at each other. In 2021 when Uddhav was chief minister, Rane sparked a row with his remarks about him for what he claimed as the latter’s ignorance of the year of India’s independence.
Later Rane was taken into custody by police in the coastal Ratnagiri district.
He retired from the Upper House this year but the BJP did not nominate him for a consecutive term.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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