Mumbai, May 5 (IANS): Union Minister and BJP nominee Narayan Rane and Shiv Sena (UBT) sitting MP Vinayak Raut are locked in a prestige battle in the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra.

Rane (72) is banking on PM Modi’s guarantees to script a maiden victory for the BJP in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, which was created in 2008.

The Congress won the seat in 2009, before the Shiv Sena (undivided) scripted back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2019.

On the other hand, Raut, who is contesting as a Sena (UBT) nominee from the Uddhav Thackeray camp after the split in the Shiv Sena in June 2022, hopes to retain the seat by cashing in on the undercurrent against the 10-year rule of the BJP, and also by playing the sympathy card over the division in the party.

Polling in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg is slated for May 7, while the results will be declared on June 4.

Former Chief Minister Rane, a seasoned politician, faces a tough challenge to regain his grip over the constituency, especially in his home district Sindhudurg, and checkmate his former boss Uddhav Thackeray, and his nominee Vinayak Raut.

By fielding Rane, the BJP wants to further weaken the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and spread its wings in the region.

Rane, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 1990 from Sindhudurg after his stint as a corporator in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), was expelled from the Shiv Sena in 2005 due to his differences with Uddhav Thackeray. Later, he continued his political journey in the Congress, floated his own political outfit, before joining the BJP.

After two defeats in the Assembly elections, Rane did not contest any elections after 2015. He was sent to the Rajya Sabha on a BJP ticket in 2018 from Maharashtra before becoming the Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

He has already announced that this will be his last election, making a strong appeal to the voters to elect him for the transformation of the constituency and the Konkan region in general.

Raut (70), on the other hand, is riding on Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy, encashing the reported 'rift' between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP after the latter succeeded in getting the seat in its quota.

The Shinde faction had made a strong pitch for the seat where Industry Minister Uday Samant’s brother Kishor Samant started campaigning about six months ago.

But Rane and the BJP outsmarted the Shinde camp, causing the Samant brothers and the party to fall in line and extend their support to their alliance partner.

Raut got an opportunity to extensively travel across the constituency from March onwards as the BJP and the Shinde faction were unable to reach an understanding.

On April 18, the BJP announced Rane’s nomination by which time Raut had already reached out to the voters. Raut is hopeful of galvanising support from the traditional 'Sainiks' who are yet to digest the split in the party allegedly engineered by the BJP.

Despite starting his campaign a bit late, Rane is confident of winning the seat by 2.5 lakh votes, based on the Modi government’s slew of works and the BJP’s Viksit Bharat 2047 mission.

He has revived the slogan of converting Konkan into California by giving a push to the development of horticulture, fishing, tourism, and related enterprises, promising to generate more jobs.

The contentious 10,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear power project and the Rs 3 lakh crore mega refinery in the region have been raised by both sides.

Rane and the BJP have been strong proponents of these two projects, while Thackeray and Raut have stepped up their opposition declaring that Shiv Sena (UBT) will not allow them at the cost of the interest of the local villagers, and also by causing damage to the flora and fauna in the region.

On their part, the BJP and Rane argue that these projects will push the development of Konkan region with the growth of ancillary units and generate jobs without causing any harm to the environment.

They have also branded the Thackeray-led party as 'anti-development'. However, Thackeray and Raut have claimed that the BJP and Rane want to push these industries for the benefit of a few mighty people.

This apart, both Rane and Raut face voters’ fury over the inordinate delays in the completion of the Mumbai-Goa highway, lack of due impetus for exploring tourism development, absence of necessary amenities for tourists, lack of major irrigation project to divert rainwater going to the Arabian Sea, and above all, lack of development of major manufacturing and engineering industries that can create jobs.

In 2019, Raut polled 4,58,022 votes against Congress nominee Nilesh Rane, Narayan Rane’s son, who managed 2,79,700 votes. The Shiv Sena (undivided) and BJP had contested the last general elections in an alliance.

In 2014, Shiv Sena (undivided) and the BJP were allies and Raut won the elections by defeating Nilesh Rane of the Congress.