Controversy and Union Minister Narayan Rane go hand-in-hand and he makes it no holds barred if it involves Shiv Sena, his former party. It is this quality of the Rane family that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to use to wound the Sena ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, where it lacks an aggressive Marathi face.
Mr. Rane’s belligerent attacks on Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena, especially since the latter became Maharashtra’s Chief Minister of a tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, have often been abusive, below-the-belt and provocative. So much that his statement of warning physical assault on Mr. Uddhav Thackeray landed the BJP leader in jail, though he was bailed out on the same day.
Mr. Rane rose to power from being the Sena’s ‘shakha-pramukh’ (ward-level leader but a most important office in the party’s organisational hierarchy). Having served as State Chief Minister from the Sena, Mr. Rane switched to the Congress in 2005 over disagreements with Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and ‘his coterie.’ He tasted defeat on his home turf in Konkan in the Assembly poll by a rookie from the Sena in 2014 and in later years, BJP’s Kirit Somaiya made allegations of money laundering and using shell companies against him and his sons. The case is on silent mode at present. He quit the Congress to form his own party, which was dissolved in few months and he joined the BJP where he was given Rajya Sabha seat and made Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
All these years, Mr. Rane and his family maintained their distaste for Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and his family. The BJP which is overloaded with north Indian and Gujarati leadership in Mumbai has found a Marathi face in the form of Mr. Rane who can go to any extent to take on the Thackerays. This was reflected when Mr. Rane made certain objectionable and unfounded remarks about sexual assault on actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s secretary Disha Salian. This despite her post-mortem report coming up with no such observations and repeated requests from Disha’s parents to not defame her image after her death. But Mr. Rane in a bid to target ‘a young, celebrity-friendly Minister’ kept on repeating it. It has resulted in an FIR against him following the complaint from Disha’s family.
His MLA son Nitesh made insulting sounds aimed at Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray during the winter session of the State legislature. He was later accused of attacking an Opposition panel member in local polls and was later arrested. He is out on bail now.
Sena’s tactics
The Thackerays despite continuous attacks from the Rane family reply rarely. But instead the party uses these personal attacks to its benefit. A sour impression among Sena workers about the Rane family gets consolidated with every round and it becomes a rallying point for all, no matter the issue or arguments. Many leaders have left the Sena to join other parties, but no leader other than Mr. Rane is being despised so much by Sena workers. Latest in this being Sena-ruled BMC serving a notice to Mr. Rane’s bungalow in Juhu over unauthorised construction and violation of CRZ norms.
For the Ranes, who are slowly getting politically surrounded in their home turf of Sindhudurg district, it is important that they continue attacking the top bosses of the Sena. Apart from the limelight, it also maintains their nuisance value in front of the BJP leadership. Mr. Rane’s induction in the BJP was aimed at troubling the Sena and increasing the party’s power in the Konkan area.
For the BJP, Mr. Rane may not win new votes for the party but his wild allegations will keep the pot boiling and Thackerays on tow. It would also use the muscle power that Mr. Rane brings in to counter that of Sena’s in the BMC polls. The party is confident of winning north Indian and Gujarati votes and wants a strong Marathi leader from Konkan like Mr. Rane to break Sena’s Marathi vote-bank.
The Sena, which has its strongest roots among the Marathis in Mumbai will have to face further attacks as the polls come nearer. It banks on the popularity of the Thackerays. The Rane versus Thackeray saga is far from being over.
