E-Paper
‘Sena will not exist 5 years from now, I’ll ensure that’: Narayan Rane
Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane will merge his political outfit, Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane is at the cusp of a new beginning as he joins the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Assembly elections. His move to the BJP was opposed by his former party Shiv Sena, and now Rane aims to minimise Sena’s presence in Sindhudurg and regain his citadel.
Excerpts from interview:
Amid Sena’s strong presence, do you think your son Nitesh will retain the Kankavli seat?
The Shiv Sena does not have the strength it earlier had when I built it. The Sena has become commercial. The sainiks, who were there earlier, are all with me now. The ones who are there now are all new; they have come from other parties. There is no alliance in Sindhudurg. They (Sena) fielded a candidate in Kankavli despite this being a BJP seat. They did not adhere to alliance dharma so BJP put up candidates [in Kudal and Sawantwadi]. Not just Kankavli, but Kudal and Sawantwadi will also be won too.
What message do you want to send to Uddhav Thackeray?
Why would I want to give him a message? He is not my boss, he can never be... I’ll work for people and carry out development.
Your entry in the BJP was opposed by the Shiv Sena…
(Interrupts) Who asks the Shiv Sena now? The BJP has the right to expand and they are doing it.
The Shiv Sena has ceded the big brother position to the BJP. How do you see Sena’s future?
The Shiv Sena will not exist in the next five years... and I will play a big role in ensuring this. We are fully supporting the BJP. Only BJP will be in power in the state. With our work, we will win the hearts of the people.
