While the memory of his elder son Nilesh's defeat in the Lok Sabha election from Sindhudurg is still afresh, ex-industries minister Narayan Rane is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his younger son Nitesh's victory from Kankavli constituency in the assembly polls.
It was a major blow for the Ranes when Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut captured their bastion in the general elections. Learning lessons from the same, the Ranes, often accused of using strong-arm tactics, are reaching out to the masses. What indicates change in their strategy, Nitesh has been holding meetings with locals in small groups instead of addressing rallies.
Nitesh is equipped with data relating how many votes his brother secured from a village as he meets people from Savdav, Otav and Maain hamlets in the constituency.
"We had to bring a change in the way we went about the polls. Obviously, there was a communication gap. People were upset with the second and third-rung leadership of the party in the district. The discord amongst these layers of party men and their impression on voters resulted in my brother's defeat," said 32-year-old Nitesh.
Even as he cracks jokes to break the ice, he requests the locals to extend him support 'during the last two days of polls'. "The current MLA (BJP's Pramod Jathar) has never paid visits to these areas in the past five years. Yet, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine did well in many of the villages during Lok Sabha elections, with things changing in the last two days. We don't want a repeat of that," Nitesh said.
The Congress is facing an uphill task, with defection by some of Rane's staunch supporters, including Rajan Teli and Ravindra Phatak, to BJP or Sena.
While Jathar, who won the poll in 2009 by 34 votes, tries his luck again from the seat, Sena and NCP have fielded their candidates. Sources, however, said that they had slim chances. "The direct contest is between Jathar and Rane. Jathar is set to score in Devgad where BJP's has some presence, while Rane is expected to do well in Vaibhavwadi. So, it is important for Rane and Jathar to score well in Kankavli," said a Sena functionary.
"We are definitely upset that a local party man has not been offered candidature. But we are not going to vote for the BJP or Congress even though our party doesn't stand a chance," he added.
Jathar could not be reached for his version.
The Kankavli constituency has 65 per cent voters from Maratha community, followed by 13 per cent from Vaani community.
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