Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Nitesh Rane slams Sena (UBT) for ticket to former mayor Rashid Khan

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jan 11 (PTI) Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane on Sunday said the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will make a "Khan" the mayor if its wins the January 15 civic polls in Chhatrapati Sambhjainagar.

Referring to Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Rashid Khan, a former mayor, Rane said the fight was not just against him but the "jihadi power behind him".

Addressing a rally in Gulmandi area, Nitesh Rane said the poll fight in Marathwada's biggest city is between "baan" (arrow) and "Khan".

"If Rashid Mamu wins, the names of the shops here in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar will also have to be changed. If you don't want to change the name of shops, you should stand with us. Pakistan Zindabad slogans will be heard if Shiv Sena (UBT) wins," Rane said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) will make Rashid Khan mayor if that party wins the January 15 civic polls as he has taken this assurance from Uddhav Thackeray, Rane claimed.

Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, at a rally here, targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) for abandoning the Hindutva ideology and inducting Khan, who had opposed the renaming of the city, once known as Aurangabad. PTI AW BNM