Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Narayan Rane, who faced a humiliating defeat in the October 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections, will now contest in the by-poll from Bandra East where he hopes to win against Shiv Sena and BJP-backed candidate Trupti Sawant, widow of ex-MLA Prakash Sawant.
With the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Mohan Prakash conveying the party decision on Rane’s candidature directly to him on Sunday evening, Rane is determined to win this contest to make himself meaningful to the party. His own political career was under threat after he was defeated in the Kudal constituency of Sindhudurg district by Sena’s Vaibhav Naik, while his son Nitesh had won from Kankavli defeating sitting BJP legislator Pramod Jathar.
Rane’s defeat had humbled him for some time but the aggressive leader from Konkan region is confident of fighting the by-polls from a Sena stronghold and in the backyard of the Thackeray clan. Once a Sena loyalist, the late Sena chief Bal Thackeray had appointed him chief minister when the Sena-BJP were in power in the mid-90s. Rane who was expelled from the Sena joined the Congress in 2005 and has always been a forceful, at times belligerent, politician for whom the recent defeat has been a big comedown.
This poll assumes significance since it is a matter of political survival for Rane whilst for the Sena it could be a loss of its prestige if it loses this seat. The late Prakash Sawant won this seat in 2009 and 2014, too, won 40,884 votes even when BJP fought separately and its candidate Krishna Parkar lost (25,463 votes). The constituency covers Bandra East, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Golibar, Khar East and a sprawling residential colony of middle income groups.
Rane lives in Bandra but in the posh western side of this suburb in Pali Hill and says that he knows the Bandra East constituency well. However, Rane is reported to have called on the Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar at his residence to gain his support in the by-poll slated for April 11. The NCP is expected to support Rane since the Congress is not fielding anyone in the Tasgaon Kawthe-Mahankal seat in Sangli which became vacant after the death of NCP leader R R Patil.
Rane also feels that the political situation is different now — a pro-Modi wave has lost its sheen and the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra “has failed on all fronts”.
Congress state unit chief Ashok Chavan has said that “Rane is a party stalwart. We will win the by-poll. I am confident of it.” Whilst this will be the first important election after Chavan took over as state party chief, Rane hasn’t been very kind to him. He had opposed when Chavan was made chief minister and even early this month when Chavan became the state chief.
All is not hunky dory with the BJP and Sena, too, as the latter has been critical of its partner in the state and centre. Many in the BJP would like to see the Sena lose the election and put the party in its place.
Amid these complex political relationships is the All India Majlis-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen whose ex-municipal corporator, Rahebar Siraj Khan, who emerged as a surprise number three with almost 20,000 votes in the last elections. With a large number of Dalits and Muslim pockets, Khan’s entry into the this by-poll would spell trouble for Rane through division of votes.
