Opposition may lose another ally ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections

Independent MLA Ravi Rana may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the state Assembly elections.

Independent MLA Ravi Rana, whose wife Navneet Kaur-Rana was elected from Amravati Lok Sabha (LS) constituency with the support of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the state Assembly elections. The couple was invited by BJP chief Amit Shah to his Delhi residence on Saturday.

Navneet Kaur and Ravi Rana. (HT File)

However, Rana said he met Shah to discuss issues being faced by Amravati. “We are yet to decide our next move. But change keeps happening,” he said. Rana joining the BJP will be another jolt for the Opposition parties after the defection of their senior leaders, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Congress) and Jaydutt Kshirsagar (NCP), both of who have been inducted as ministers in the state cabinet.

Yuva Swabhimani Party (YSP) formed by Rana joined the Congress-NCP alliance ahead of the LS polls and got the Amravati seat, from where Rana’s wife and former Telugu actress, Navneet Kaur, defeated Shiv Sena’s sitting MP Anandrao Adsul.

The couple’s meeting with Shah at his Delhi residence is being seen as an attempt by the BJP to get Rana into the party’s fold for the Assembly elections. Rana’s party yields influence in parts of Western Vidarbha. “We want an airport for Amravati. We also want independent police stations for women. All these issues were discussed with the BJP president in the meeting,” Rana said.

Navneet Kaur was the NCP candidate from the Amravati in 2014 LS elections as well, but had lost to Adsul. Rana, who got elected as an independent MLA from Badnera Assembly constituency in the same year, had declared support to the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government. The NCP has, however, downplayed the development. Party spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “Kaur is an MP and Shah is now a Union home minister. They will have to meet to resolve public issues. It will be unfair to draw conclusions.” “Though she has got support from Congress and NCP for LS elections, Kaur-Rana is an independent MP. Rana has already supported Fadnavis-led government,” said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.