BJP’s move to field Navneet Rana stirs unrest in Mahayuti
The BJP’s decision to field Independent MP Navneet Rana from the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency has triggered a raging schism within the ruling Mahayuti, with the Prahar Jan Shakti (PJP) party leader Bacchu Kadu on Thursday vowing to campaign against Ms. Rana in a bid to defeat her in the upcoming election.
Similarly, Ms. Rana’s other bitter enemy — former Lok Sabha MP from Amravati Anandrao Adsul, a prominent leader in the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena — said the BJP’s decision to field her was akin to committing “political suicide” by the Mahayuti.
Mr. Adsul’s son, Abhijit, is likely to contest as an Independent candidate against Ms. Rana, who is the incumbent MP from Amravati.
In the 2019 general election, Ms. Rana had trounced Mr. Adsul, a former fourterm MP. The Shindeled Sena leader on Thursday stated that Amravati has always remained a Shiv Sena stronghold, and that the decision to field Ms. Rana was a unilateral one taken by the BJP, without consulting Mr. Shinde’s Sena.
“Navneet Rana does not know, but she is jumping into troubled waters. Even the local BJP leaders in Amravati are opposing her candidature,” said Mr. Adsul.
Meanwhile, terming Ms. Rana’s candidacy a “downfall of democracy”, PJP chief Mr. Kadu openly refused to campaign for Ms. Rana and said he would exit the alliance with his party if the BJP wished him to do so. Mr. Kadu’s PJP has two MLAs in the six Assembly segments that constitute the Amravati Lok Sabha seat.
Remarking that the need of the hour was to defeat Ms. Rana from Amravati, Mr. Kadu said: “Ravi Rana [Ms. Rana’s husband and an MLA in the State Assembly] had once smashed the BJP’s party office in Amravati and assaulted its party workers. Now, a ticket is being given to his wife. In order to safeguard Amravati’s selfrespect, it is imperative we defeat this candidate.”
Ms. Rana formally joined the BJP at the party’s State unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s residence in Nagpur along with her supporters late Wednesday night.