Amid Rane vs Rane, Shinde praises Nilesh who took on BJP

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said Shiv Sena MLA Nilesh Rane, who has taken on the Bharatiya Janata Party in Sindhudurg district, is a diamond found by the party in the Konkan region.

Addressing a party rally in Malvan, Shinde said Nilesh, the MLA from Kudal constituency, is the strong currency of the Shiv Sena.

"He does not fear anyone because he has learnt it from his father (former chief minister Narayan Rane). Whatever the opposition, he will prevail over them because he has the backing of Eknath Shinde.

"There is nothing to fear while doing good work. Nilesh Rane is a diamond found by the Shiv Sena in Konkan," Shinde said.

His remarks come after the Sindhudurg Police registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane on Friday on the charge of trespassing on a BJP supporter's house, days after the Shiv Sena MLA alleged that bags of cash meant for distribution to voters were found there during his "sting operation".

The case was filed on Friday at the Malvan police station, based on a complaint filed by BJP worker Vijay Kenavadekar, a police official said on Saturday.

Ahead of the local body polls, Sindhudurg district has become a focal point of an intense struggle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, where Nilesh and his brother and BJP minister Nitesh Rane, are locked in a bitter campaign.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane has claimed that Shiv Sena workers campaigning for a Sena-UBT candidate in Sindhudurg district raised doubts about Deputy CM Eknath Shinde's past claims that he had rebelled against the then MVA government due to "injustice".

Rane said the situation raised serious doubts about the justification of Shinde's rebellion in 2022. His elder brother Nilesh Rane is an MLA from the Shinde-led Sena.

"Eknath Shinde had claimed he witnessed injustice to Shiv Sena workers under then chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray; hence, he rebelled. If he rebelled then, why are his party workers campaigning for Sandesh Parkar, a Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT leader and candidate in the Kankavli municipal council elections?" he asked while speaking to reporters in Sindhudurg district on Saturday evening.

Rane said that not only the people of Sindhudurg, but the entire Maharashtra will ask Shinde whether there is any meaning left to his so-called rebellion.

The latest outburst against Shinde came at the fag end of the campaigning for the first phase of local body polls, scheduled for December 2, marked by shifting political alliances and one-upmanship bids by leaders of Mahayuti allies, the BJP and Shiv Sena.

Shinde engineered a split in the undivided Shiv Sena in June 2022, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.

Shinde successfully established an alliance with the BJP and was sworn in as the Chief Minister, with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis being sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

In February 2024, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled that Shinde's faction was the "real Shiv Sena" political party.

After the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 2024 assembly polls, Shinde resigned from the post of the Chief Minister in December that year, succeeded by Fadnavis.