Nitesh won the 2014 assembly polls from Kankavli seat in Sindhudurg district on Congress's ticket by defeating the then BJP MLA Pramod Jathar.
Rane, who resigned from the Congress party about two weeks ago after a long-drawn tussle with its state leadership, had claimed three days back that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had invited him to join the NDA.
The immediate provocation for Rane's tirade against Deshmukh is apparently the approval of land allotment for Videocon group's Rs 8,000 crore Liquid Crystal Display panel manufacturing project in the state by the state cabinet on Tuesday.
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".
When asked about his interaction with the Congress president on Friday, Narayan Rane merely quipped that it was "a fruitful meeting"
The PIL, filed by Subhash Jadhav, questions the concession granted by Rane in a land-sale transaction.
Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam reiterates his claim that Bal Thackeray's body was kept at his residence for two days before his death was announced, making further allegations against Uddhav Thackeray. Other politicians weigh in, demanding answers and clarifications.
The Union minister was arrested on Tuesday afternoon from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district following his remarks made during his 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' in Raigad on Monday that he would have slapped Chief Minister Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter's ignorance of the year of India's independence.
Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane has sparked outrage with his controversial remarks calling for Hindus to ask the religion of shopkeepers before buying from them, following the Pahalgam terror attack. Rane's comments, delivered at a gathering in Dapoli town, have been widely condemned as divisive and inflammatory. His call for Hindu organizations to demand such a practice has raised concerns about potential communal tensions and prejudice. Rane's remarks also referenced Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and urged Hindus to only buy from other Hindus, further fueling anxieties about communal harmony.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's resignation has been accepted, says Congress leader A K Antony.
The editorial in Saamana said, 'Since Rane is not a normal person, he undermines the pride and prestige of Maharashtra. The BJP should at least understand now.'
'As long as Rane is the point-person, the Sena will never revive its partnership with the BJP.'
High drama continued till late Thursday over electing the new Maharashtra chief minister even as Ashok Chavan, the state industry minister and Congress MLA from Nanded, emerged as the clear favourite for the top post.
Parents of celebrity manager Disha Salian have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking action against Union Minister Narayan Rane, his MLA-son Nitesh and others for allegedly spreading fake news about their daughter's death and defaming the family.
Union minister Narayan Rane has opposed the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members and said 'proud Marathas' would not want to be included in that caste segment to avail reservation benefits.
'This will split the Marathi and Shiv Sena vote.' 'The BJP has conducted 3 surveys indicating they shall secure 109 seats in the BMC.' 'They do not wish for the Shinde Sena to demonstrate excessive strength in the BMC.' 'If the Thackerays secure 60-70 seats, that will affect Shinde's seats.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday fielded its president J P Nadda for Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from his home state.
Union minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday defended his remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying he hasn't committed any crime by making them.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections witnessed the continued influence of political dynasties, with prominent families retaining their strongholds across the state. The Thackareys and the Ranes emerged as dominant forces, securing victories in various regions. The Rane brothers, Nilesh and Nitesh, won in Sindhudurg, while Uday and Kiran Samant secured victories in Ratnagiri. In Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray retained his Worli seat, while his cousin Varun Sardesai won in Vandre East. The results underscore the enduring power of family connections in Indian politics.
The Bombay High Court on Friday directed Union minister Narayan Rane to file separate pleas instead of only one that seeks to quash the FIRs registered against him at six police stations in Maharashtra over his controversial remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats.
A Nashik police team is on its way to Raigad to arrest the Union minister.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and several of his cabinet colleagues figure in the list of 118 Congress candidates for the October 15 Assembly polls announced by the AICC late on Wednesday.
Stones were pelted from both the sides, following which police used cane-charge to disperse the agitators, an official said.
Despite being given the post of a Union minister, Rane has been behaving like a "roadside gangster", Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana said in an editorial.
The notice was issued under Section 41 of the CrPC, a police official said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said his Revenue Minister and former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane had aspirations to become Chief Minister and had joined the Congress with this sole objective.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has pleaded ignorance about claims made by rebel state minister Narayan Rane regarding assurance of chief ministership by the Congress when he left Shiv Sena nine years ago.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its tally dwindling by less than half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar was on a roll, pocketing 30 of the 48 seats.
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
Rane's tour is being seen a major show of strength by the BJP ahead of the crucial BMC polls, due early next year.
It is a question now whether the makers of the statue had comprehended all these factors before making it, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
Faced with in-house demand for change of leadership, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday said he will expand his cabinet soon.
As many as 37 ministers have been dropped from the government in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term and these include seven with cabinet rank -- prominent among them being Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur and Narayan Rane.
Speaking at a joint rally of Mahayuti partners in Mumbai, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis supported Shinde's claims, stating that the NDA leaders did not pay enough attention to the lies spread by the Opposition during the campaign.
This is probably for the first time that the two former party colleagues-turned-opponents shared the stage after Rane's exit from the Shiv Sena, of which Thackeray is the president.
The quota and other issues of the Maratha community were discussed in the state cabinet meeting after which it was decided to hold a special session, the CMO statement said.
Rane was arrested from the coastal Ratnagiri district for his remark that he would have slapped Thackeray over the latter's ignorance of the year of India's Independence.
Deshmukh's statement came after opposition leader Narayan Rane raised the issue during the adjournment motion.
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