In what came as a snub to the Shiv Sena, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Party (MSP), headed by former Chief Minister Narayan Rane, merged with the ruling BJP, in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Undeterred by the stiff resistance from its ally Shiv Sena to the entry of Rane and his two sons, the ruling BJP went ahead and allowed the MSP’s merger with it at an election rally organised for Sr Rane’s son Nitesh and the BJP candidate at Kankavli Assembly constituency in Sindhudurg district.
While Nitesh had joined the BJP and filed his nomination from his new party early this month, Sr Rane, his another son and former MP Nilesh and their supporters formally entered the BJP.
Speaking at Nitesh’s campaign rally, Chief Minister Fadnavis heaped praise on Sr Rane saying: “Narayan Rane has a special place in Maharashtra politics. He is well-versed in many subjects. In way, he has been a part of the BJP ever since he went to Rajya Sabha early last year with the BJP’s support”.
“All were waiting for this (merger) for a long time. It has finally happened today.
There is hardly any competition here. The BJP will benefit hugely with the Ranes’ entry to the party,” Fadnavis said.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena leadership has not taken kindly to the MSP’s merger with the BJP. Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, who will
be campaigning in Kankavli and Savantwadi constituencies, is expected to spell out his stand on the MSP’s merger with the BJP. On its part, the
Sena – notwithstanding its alliance with Sr Rane — has put up its candidate against Nitesh Rane. In ssence, the fight would be between the Sena and BJP in Kankavli constituency.
Fadnavis said that Nitesh would win the Assembly polls with a thumping margin. He, however, advised Nitesh, known for his losing his cool on some pretext or the other, to restrain himself and learn to remain calm.
There had been speculation in the State political circles that he would join the BJP along with his two son Nitesh and Nilesh. His entry to the BJP was being resisted by its ally Shiv Sena for a very long.
He had earlier announced that he would join the BJP on October 2. Rane made an announcement about merging the MSP with the BJP, while campaigning for his party candidate Rajan Teli. “The BJP is getting strong in Konkan region. My son Nitesh and his supporters joined the BJP earlier. I will merge my party with the BJP in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on October 15,” he said.
Having been associated with the Shiv Sena since early seventies, Rane had emerged as a senior leader in the party and was made the chief minister of Maharashtra, a post he held between February 1, 1999 and October 17, 1999 when the Sena-BJP alliance was ruling the State.
However, after he rebelled against the leadership of then party’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray, Rane was expelled from the Shiv Sena on July 3, 2005. He joined the Congress on July 30, 2005, expecting that one day he would be made a chief minister of the state – a dream that remained unfulfilled.
It may be recalled that after being in the Congress for 12-long years, Rane had quit the Sonia Gandhi party on September 21, 2017 after complaining that the party leadership had failed to fulfill its repeated promise of appointing him as the chief minister.
Subsequently, Rane floated a new political out “Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha” (MSP) on October 1, 2017. The MSP joined the BJP-led NDA. Sr. Rane was elected to Rajya Sabha with the support of the BJP on March 15 last year.
