The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced Narayan Rane as it candidate from the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri constituency, effectively putting a stop to the tussle between Rane and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena. The BJP made the announcement in its 13th list of candidates for the Lok Sabha election.
At a press conference, Uday Samant, state minister of indusrties said that his brother Kiran Samant gave up his claim on the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri seat and that Rane would contest instead.
Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg has been under undivided Shiv Sena's control for years. Vinayak Raut has been the representative from here for the past two terms. However, following the split in the Shive Sena, voters have turned to the BJP. Rane himself is a former member of undivided Shiv Sena.
The announcement puts an end to the speculations surrounding the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri seat. There were talks that the Shinde Sena had locked horns with Rane over the Ratnagir-Sindhudurg constituency. Rane's son Nilesh was defeated by undivided Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
