Met CM Shinde to congratulate him on Maratha quota bill, not discuss LS polls: Narayan Rane

Mumbai: Union minister Narayan Rane on Thursday met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde amid speculation that the BJP leader would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Rane was not renominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, which gave rise to speculation that he may be fielded from Ratnagiri Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat from the state's Konkan region.

The seat is currently held by Vinayak Raut of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

When contacted, Rane told PTI he had met Shinde to congratulate the latter for the Maratha quota bill that was passed in the state legislature on February 20.

"(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and (Union minister) Amit Shah are my leaders and not Shinde. Why should I discuss Lok Sabha polls with Shinde? I met him to congratulate him on the passage of the Maratha quota bill," Rane said.