"Ready to contest": BJP MP Narayan Rane amid rift with Shiv Sena over Sindhudur-Ratnagiri seat
Apr 02, 2024
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 2 : Bharatiya Janata Party MP Narayan Rane has once again claimed that the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri constituency will have a BJP candidate and he is ready to contest from the seat if the party asks him to do so.
Holding a press conference today, Rane said "Sindhudur-Ratnagiri Loksabha Constituency is of BJP and BJP will only content on it. If the party gives me a ticket than I am ready to contest."
Notably, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) camp has also claimed the same seat.
The BJP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are in the 'Mahayuti' alliance in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier in February, Narayan Rane posted on X and claimed that the seat belonged to BJP only.
"Lok Sabha elections will be announced soon. Many leaders of various parties are asserting their rights regarding the RatNagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat. RatNagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Bharatiya Janata Party will contest this seat," he said on X.
Shiv Sena's senior leader Ram Kadam strongly countered Rane's stance on the seat.
The tiff over the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency had been brewing for the past many months.
In the 2019 general elections, Vinayak Raut from Shiv Sena emerged victorious gathering around 50.8 per cent. Narayan Rane, who fought after forming his own party Maharashtra Swabhimaan Paksh gathered 31 per cent of votes.
Maharashtra, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the Lower House of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.
Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20.
The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
