MUMBAI: BJP Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane Sunday announced the candidature of his son Nilesh Rane from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency in coastal Maharashtra.
Rane's announcement comes a few days after the BJP and Shiv Sena declared alliance for the coming elections. Nilesh Rane had lost, on Congress ticket, from this constituency to Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut in 2014.
"I am going to support the BJP even if we win the seat. It does not matter if the Shiv Sena is part of the NDA," said Narayan Rane, a former Sena leader who later turned the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's arch enemy.
As per Sena sources, most of its candidates would be repeated in 2019, so there was no possibility of Nilesh Rane being BJP's candidate from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.
Asked how can he field a candidate against Sena despite being BJP's Rajya Sabha member, the former chief minister said, "It is true I am a BJP Rajya Sabha member but I have announced that my son will contest election on the ticket of Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha. I expect to get support from friends in the Congress and NCP in the constituency."