Rane, Raut engage in verbal duel; BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) stay mum

A senior Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary said requesting anonymity, “Rane and his sons levelled all kinds of baseless charges against Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray. Now, why does he want to meet Uddhav to complain against Raut? We stand by Raut. He is capable of tackling Rane alone.”

Raut was considered by many to be the eyes and ears of the late Bal Thackeray. As the executive editor, Raut used to write editorials for Saamana. Later, after the demise of Bal Thackeray, party chief Uddhav Thackeray held regular meetings and consultations with Raut both on party matters and the editorial line in Saamana.

Initially, Rane’s attack was directed against Uddhav Thackeray and his close confidante Milind Narwekar. Over the years, as Saamana went hammer and tongs against Rane, Raut came into the firing line.

Rane, who is said to have joined politics mesmerised by Bal Thackeray’s ‘Marathi Manoos’ plank, rose the political ladder – from a sainik to a shakha pramukh to a minister and finally the chief minister of Maharashtra.

While a section within the BJP believes that Rane could have handled things better, it has chosen to remain aloof. A senior BJP general secretary, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s Rane versus Raut. It’s personal. Why should the BJP drag itself into it? Moreover, the party has not authorised us to comment on this issue.”

After being expelled from the Shiv Sena, Rane joined the Congress. But over the years, he got disillusioned as he was never made the chief minister. In 2017, he left the Congress. A year later, Rane joined the BJP.

Within the BJP, Rane’s induction was initially opposed by a section. Detractors within the party said the RSS was not keen on having Rane in the BJP. But the then BJP president Amit Shah gave Rane the nod. The latter was also sent to the Rajya Sabha.

On the other hand, Raut has been in Rajya Sabha since 2004. He is serving his fourth term.

Although Rane and Raut ensured to not cross each other’s path in Parliament, they brought their battle home.

In Saamana columns, Raut called Rane a “chicken thief” and “gangster”, inviting sharp reactions from Rane and his followers.

In response, Rane often termed Raut a “paid employee” of Matoshree (Thackeray residence). Rane even questioned Raut’s role in building the Sena, and said: “The Sena was built with our blood and sweat and not of Raut’s. He is responsible for misleading its leaders and creating misunderstandings.”

In August 2021, Union MSME minister Rane during a visit to Konkan faced police action for his remark, “I would have slapped CM Uddhav Thackeray. “He was arrested and released on bail. The BJP termed Rane’s arrest ‘unconstitutional’. The Saamana played up the arrest with teasers and hard-hitting editorials.

Rane had then said Raut was responsible for ‘tarnishing’ the image of both the party and the Saamana.

In the Shiv Sena, Rane was a heavyweight politician compared to Raut. Yet, Raut’s closeness to the Thackerays was always a matter of discussion among all those who quit the party, including Rane, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

On his part, Raut has displayed his loyalty to Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. Anybody who fell out with the first family of the Shiv Sena was a subject of attack.

However, the war of words between Rane and Raut has become uglier and more personal in the last couple of days. Not surprisingly then, the BJP leadership has refrained from making any comments. Even the Shiv Sena (UBT) has kept itself away.

At a function held in Konkan recently, Rane said: “We are clearing the roads to send Raut to prison soon.” To which, Raut responded: “Rane is a coward who buckled to the BJP because of Central agencies.” The charges and counter-charges flew from both sides.

Rane said, “I will tell Uddhav Thackeray what Raut spoke about him and Rashmi Thackeray. Uddhav Thackeray will beat him with chappals.” An angry Raut hit back, claiming: “Rane has gone mad. He is frustrated as he will be out of the cabinet.”