Ratnagiri, Ap 18: In a decisive move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially chosen Union Minister Narayan Rane as their candidate for the Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra's Konkan region, bringing an end to the anticipation surrounding the selection.
The announcement of Rane's nomination comes just a day before the deadline for nominations, set for April 19. Voting is scheduled for May 7.
Rane will be facing off against incumbent Member of Parliament Vinayak Raut of the Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray-led United Progressive Alliance (UBT).
Interestingly, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, representing the Shiv Sena, had initially vied for the nomination but was unsuccessful in securing it.
Another contender, Kiran Samant, brother of Shiv Sena Minister Uday Samant, had actively campaigned in the constituency over the past six months but did not clinch the nomination.
Rane, whose term in the Rajya Sabha recently concluded without a re-nomination, had been speculated to be a frontrunner for the Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat.
Having conducted numerous party meetings and traversed through six Assembly segments, Rane is expected to leverage the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strength of the MahaYuti alliance in the Konkan region to garner votes.
Meanwhile, Vinayak Raut, the Shiv Sena UBT nominee, had been engaging with voters even prior to the formal announcement of his candidacy, completing multiple rounds of outreach activities.
