Maharashtra Election: BJP Leader Navneet Rana's Amravati Rally Attacked By Mob; Chairs Thrown, Slogans Raised

A chaos broke out on Saturday evening in Amravati, Maharashtra, after a mob allegedly attacked a rally held by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MP Navneet Rana in the run-up to the state's elections. Chairs were thrown and threatening slogans were shouted during the incident.

Footage of the alleged attack showed Navneet Rana surrounded by her supporters as a group of individuals threw chairs at the rally, which was being held at Khallar village.

Photo Credit: PTI

In one video, Navneet was seen approaching the mob, seemingly asking them to disperse, while chairs continued to strike the people around her. Her security team was seen attempting to shield her from the attacks.

Following the incident, the former MP visited the Khallar police station. Police have begun the process of filing an FIR and are working on identifying the perpetrators based on viral videos, reports indicated. Additional police forces have been deployed in the village.

"We were campaigning peacefully in Khallar. But during my speech, some people started making lewd gestures and hooting. I did not react. Then they started raising Allahu Akbar slogans. When party supporters asked them not to use slurs against me, they began throwing chairs," Navneet Rana told NDTV.

Navneet Rana further claimed that she was verbally abused and even spat on, adding that "it fell on the uniform of a security personnel."

"I was accompanied by media personnel, but their anger was directed at me. They started throwing chairs and verbally abusing me. Some of the party functionaries with me were injured, as clearly seen in the video. The six security personnel with me saved me. I was spat on, but it fell on the uniform of a security personnel. We have filed a complaint. If no one is arrested soon, the entire Hindu community of Amravati will gather here," she said.

Kiran Wankhade, crime branch inspector in Amravati Rural, stated that a dispute erupted between two groups when Rana was in Khallar village campaigning for Ramesh Bundile, the BJP candidate for Daryapur constituency, which is set to vote on November 20 in the Maharashtra Assembly election. He urged citizens not to believe rumours and confirmed that an investigation was underway.

Navneet Rana, an actor-turned-politician, represented the Amravati Lok Sabha seat as an Independent MP from 2019 to 2024.

In the 2024 general elections, the Congress defeated Navneet Rana, who was contesting as a BJP candidate, by a margin of around 20,000 votes.

Navneet Rana is married to Ravi Rana, MLA from Maharashtra's Badnera seat, and was previously affiliated with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).