Despite union minister Narayan Rane’s apparent reluctance to fight the Lok Sabha election from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party offered it to him. The election battle here is not just between Rane from the BJP and incumbent Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena UBT MP Vinayak Raut. On the ground, it extends as a fight between loyalists of the Rane and Thackeray families, and further between the BJP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) — old allies who have turned bitter foes.
It was the same story when Narayan Rane left the Shiv Sena in 2005 and joined the Congress. Rane and Uddhav Thackeray made personal allegations against each other. And it’s happening again after 20 years. Uddhav campaigned against Rane in Sindhudurg while from the BJP union home minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis canvassed for the party candidate. Rane’s close friend Raj Thackeray will campaign for him on Saturday. It’s the first time that Raj Thackeray will openly support a Mahayuti candidate in the Konkan region that has been a Shiv Sena stronghold for over three decades.
Outside the Mumbai-Thane belt and some parts of Marathwada, it was Konkan that stood behind Bal Thackeray, where the Siv Sena used the “sons of the soil” plank to build its political base. Among those who benefitted from the party’s stand were Konkani migrants who moved to Mumbai.
Four out of six assembly segments under the Lok Sabha constituency are with the state’s ruling parties: Kankavli (BJP), Ratnagiri and Sawantwadi (Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena), and Chiplun (Ajit Pawar-led NCP). The remaining two, Rajapur and Kudal, are with the Shiv Sena (UBT). The Rane clan has significant influence in the Sindhudurg district.
The general elections this time in Maharashtra will be unique as the original Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party have both been split, with one faction from each joining the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) are in an alliance with the Congress in the form of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. While BJP ally and chief minister Eknath Shinde has the Shiv Sena name and symbol, the same is the case with deputy CM Ajit Pawar and the NCP, which may play a crucial role in the polls.
While speaking to News18, Narayan Rane said he is confident about his victory. This is his first Lok Sabha election but he said the Konkan people were tired of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Vinayak Raut. He had not done any development in Konkan, said the BJP candidate. His son Nitesh claimed that Uddhav Thackeray was lucky for the Rane family. Whenever Uddhav campaigns in Sindhudurg he turns more than one lakh voters to the other side, he said. “If Uddhav wants a helicopter to campaign in this region, we are ready to provide him with that. I will provide fuel money for his car also,” said Nitesh Rane.
Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and incumbent MP Vinayak Raut said that the people were tired of the Rane family’s politics.
Observers say that Rane will have the upper hand in Sindhudurg and Raut in Ratnagiri. How much each leader gains from the other’s stronghold will decide who wins. That is why the BJP and Rane himself too have concentrated on Ratnagiri. He, however, is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda and feels that he will win by over 2.5 lakh votes.
Narayan Rane in his rallies is focusing on his relationship with late Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray and raising questions against Uddhav. In one of his rallies, Rane said that before resigning from the party he wrote a seven-page-long letter to Balasaheb, explaining how Uddhav was destroying the party.
When Amit Shah campaigned for Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri, he asked why Uddhav Thackeray was not talking about Veer Savarkar. He was not praising the Ayodhya Ram temple also because now he was with people who opposed it, said Shah.
At Kankavli, Uddhav Thackeray addressed a public meeting for Vinayak Raut, where he responded to Shah. “I have raised the Veer Savarkar issue in the assembly. Why is BJP not talking about Syama Prasad Mukherjee?”
The election for Konkan’s Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat will be on May 7. Both Uddhav Thackeray and Narayan Rane are trying hard to win this constituency. The result will impact the next Maharashtra assembly and Mumbai municipal corporation polls. About 30% of the Marathi population in Mumbai are natives of Konkan.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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