Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Raj Thackeray backs Narayan Rane, attacks Uddhav at Kankavli rally

Raj Thackeray speaks at Narayan Rane’s rally at Kankavali. Pics/Anurag Ahire

In his first rally for the NDA candidate, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief, Raj Thackeray launched a frontal attack on his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray.

"Uddhav Thackeray came here yesterday and he said that industries from Konkan are going to Gujarat. There was a time when you were with the BJP, why did you not speak up then?" asked Raj while canvassing for his friend Narayan Rane in Kankavli at Sindhudurg in Konkan.

Talking about Jaitapur project, Raj said that unnecessary rumours are being spread to stop the development of Konkan. Raj also read out a list of seven nuclear facilities that are in India. "Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is in Mumbai and so is the nuclear reactor and they [people who oppose projects in Konkan] don't talk about it. Why?" Raj said.

Raj also appealed to Rane that he should develop Konkan on the lines of Goa. "Balasaheb had once told me that if there was one person after AR Antule who worked for the development of Konkan, it was Narayan Rane," he said. Following his stance to support PM Narendra Modi for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray addressed his first public rally in support of the Mahayuti Candidate in Kankavli at Sindhudurg in Konkan.

Interestingly, both Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray had left Shiv Sena due to their differences with Uddhav Thackeray. However, even after their departure from Shiv Sena, Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray have remained good friends.

A day ago, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray had addressed a rally on the same venue in Kankavli for Shiv Sena UBT faction and Mahayuti Candidate Vinayak Raut. While addressing the rally in Rane's home turf, Uddhav Thackeray had come down heavily on him.

MNS Party workers from various parts of Konkan had gathered at Kankavli to hear MNS Chief Raj Thackeray's speech. After starting his speech, Rane praised Raj Thackeray for accepting his invitation immediately and coming to Konkan for the election campaigning rally. He said, "Raj is a person who knows how to keep the friendship intact and keep his word."

Addressing the crowd, Rane said, "In the last 10 years, Narendra Modi ji has done a lot of work including improving the financial condition of the country. In 2020, the pandemic happened, but Narendra Modi made sure that the COVID-19 vaccine was prepared in India and was supplied to all states, including Maharashtra."

Rane also said that PM Modi started 54 government schemes for the upliftment of women and also that the PM has given houses to the poor along with providing Ayushman Bharat scheme for the needy. Rane also alleged that in the past, Uddhav Thackeray has taken money to give tickets.

Speaking on the occasion, Raj Thackeray said "When I announced my support for the PM for the Lok Sabha elections, I never thought I would have to speak at any rally. One day, Narayan Rao Rane called me and asked if I could come to Kankavli for a rally and I could not say no to him because he is my dear friend and former colleague from our Shiv Sena days."

Thackeray also said that he was confident about Rane's win. "People in Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri are intelligent and they will vote for the right candidate. The Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg belt is a beautiful one. Of the nine Bharat Ratnas awarded to Maharashtra, seven are from Konkan and four alone are from Dapoli, and that is the reason I say that people of the Konkan region are intelligent," Thackeray said. He also praised PM Modi for making Ram Mandir a reality.