MLA Vaibhav Naik’s Explosive Charge: BJP, Narayan Rane ‘Selling Out’ Sindhudurg to Gujarati Outsiders

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The high-stakes Lok Sabha battle in the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency has taken a controversial turn with Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Vaibhav Naik levelling serious allegations against BJP candidate Narayan Rane and the party over their alleged attempts to “infiltrate” the Gujarati community into the region’s politics.

Naik’s outburst came after Rane announced on social media that he had held a meeting with “Gujarati brothers” on Monday, seeking their support for the polls. Questioning the move, Naik accused the BJP of trying to marginalize local Marathi-Konkani people by bringing in Gujaratis, first in business and now in politics as well.

“It has been proven time and again that the BJP is trying to bring forward Gujaratis by sidelining the local Marathi people in Maharashtra,” Naik alleged, pointing out that three BJP MPs in Mumbai are Gujaratis.

He claimed that due to the influx of immigrants, Marathi people are getting “expelled” from Mumbai, and now, after the state capital, Gujarati people have made inroads into the business sector in Sindhudurg district.

Naik accused Rane and BJP of trying to “destroy the future of local Konkani Marathi people” by roping in Gujaratis into district politics “just for vote politics.” He said the BJP had initially created an organization of Gujarati people and is now wooing them ahead of polls.

The MLA also slammed Rane’s purported promise to start a Sindhudurg-to-Gujarat air service for the “Gujarati brothers”, questioning why the former CM was prioritizing launching new routes instead of improving the existing irregular flight operations from Chipi Airport.

Naik went on to allege that the Ranes had taken “commission” to facilitate land acquisition for a refinery project involving Gujarati people, suggesting a quid-pro-quo.

He warned that Gujarati community members should limit themselves to business and not interfere in politics, otherwise “bullying of expatriate Gujaratis” in business too would not be tolerated in Sindhudurg.

Naik cautioned the Shiv Sena faction allied with BJP that if it attempted to undermine the interests of local people, it would be deemed “in conflict” with the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party.

As the Sindhudurg battle intensifies, Naik’s inflammatory remarks have added a new dimension to the electoral discourse, potentially deepening fault lines and triggering a backlash from the BJP and Gujarati community.

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