Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) Election 2019: Shiv Sena aims to maintain dominant run with Vinayak Raut

The Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat went to polls on April 23 in the third phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The current sitting Member of Parliament (MP) from the seat is Vinayak Raut of the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena fielded him yet again from the constituency and he faced competition from Navinchandra Bandivadekar of the Congress and Kishor Varak of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The constituency saw 57.63 per cent voting in the recently held general elections.

Congress used to be a dominant force in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg until 1996 when the Shiv Sena toppled the grand old party in the constituency. Shiv Sena has won five terms from the seat in the last six general elections. Anant Geete was elected MP four consecutive times from 1996 to 2004. In 2009, Shiv Sena fielded Suresh Prabhu from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg but stood runner-up. The party won the seat again in 2014 with Vinayak Raut.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vinayak Raut was elected MP after receiving 4.93 lakh votes at 55.02 per cent vote share while Congress runner up and then defending MP Nilesh Rana garnered 3.43 lakh votes at 38.27 per cent. BSP candidate Aayre Lahu stood at the third spot with some 13 thousand votes to his name.

In the 2009 elections, Nilesh Rana had won from the seat defeating Suresh Prabhu by 46,750 votes. Rana secured 3.53 lakh votes at 49.24 per cent vote share while Prabhu managed 3.07 lakh vote sat 42.74 per cent vote share.