Maha polls: Former Congress MLA Nitesh Rane joins BJP

Mumbai, Oct 03: The suspense over Nitesh Rane ended as the former Congress MLA and son of former chief minister of Maharashtra Narayan Rane joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

Earlier, senior Rane on Wednesday said that his son will contest the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls from Kankavli on BJP's ticket.

Narayan Rane also claimed Nitesh's name to be released in the second list of the BJP.

Nitesh Rane had won the 2014 Assembly polls from Kankavli seat in Sindhudurg district on Congress' ticket by defeating the then BJP MLA Pramod Jathar.

According to reports, the BJP has decided to field Nitesh from the Kankavli seat despite strong resistance from its ally Shiv Sena.

On Tuesday BJP declared its first list of 125 candidates for the October 21 state polls, including names of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state unit president Chandrakant Patil.