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Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra will visit the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency, a stronghold of Shiv Sena, in Maharashtra on August 7 and interact with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers during the three-day tour, a senior leader said on Tuesday.
Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was named as an accused in connection with the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri last year in which four farmers were killed.
“Ajay Kumar Mishra is coming to visit the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency on August 7. During his three-day visit, he will interact with BJP workers, hold meetings with local leaders of the party, and review development works,” said BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
Given the acrimony with former ally Shiv Sena, the BJP has identified some 16 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 48 in Maharashtra where it has decided to focus more and prepare the ground for the party candidates for the 2024 general elections.
In the three elections held after the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency came into existence in 2009, 2014, and 2019, the Shiv Sena won twice and the Congress once.
The constituency is currently represented by Vinayak Raut of Shiv Sena, a Uddhav Thackeray loyalist.
Of the six assembly segments under this constituency, the BJP holds the Kankavli constituency which is represented by Nitesh Rane, son of Union minister Narayan Rane, a former Shivsainik and bete noire of Uddhav Thackeray.
In 2009, Rane’s other son Nilesh Rane won the Lok Sabha election from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency by defeating Suresh Prabhu of Shiv Sena.
