Former chief minister of Maharashtra Narayan Rane has accepted BJP's offer of a Rajya Sabha berth from its quota. The BJP will support Rane's candidature.

Rane will meet Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadanvis later today.

Fadanvis along with BJP's national president Amit Shah proposed his name for the candidature.

Announcing his decision in Mumbai on Saturday Rane said, "I am thankful to Amit Shah and Devendra Fadnavis for this opportunity. Though I'm going to Delhi I will return to state politics at the appropriate time. I will campaign for the party that supported my candidature in 2019".

He will file the nomination papers on March 12 for elections due to be held on March 23.

Elections for 6 Rajya Sabha seats from the state will take place on 23rd March. Union Minister Prakash Jawadekar has already filed his nominations for one seat on Friday. The BJP is yet to announce it's third candidate. Speculations are ride that the BJP may field former Minister Eknath Khadse for the third seat.

A prominent Shiv Sena leader for the most part of his career, Rane was chief minister of Maharashtra in 1999. He was expelled from Shiv Sena in 2005 by then Sena Chief Bal Thackeray after he publically criticised the party. He joined Congress after his expulsion from Shiv Sena.

However, he was largely sidelined in the political tussle inside Congress. Although he got an influential portfolio of revenue minister in the Maharshtra government, his dream of becoming CM again seemed illusive by each passing day.

Despite his political influence in Maharashtra, he seemed unable to adapt to the so-called Congress-style of politics. It is said that his rivals within the Congress party actively worked to sideline him. Rane has been openly vocal about the current Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan's alleged plotting against him.

Rane held great influence in the Konkan region. However, over the years his lost grip over the region after Shiv Sena created bulwarks in his path. Shiv Sena's Vaibhav Naik defeated Rane in Maharashtra assembly election held in 2014.

Frustrated by continuous snubbing by the Congress, Rane left the party in 2017 in an attempt to join BJP. But due to fierce opposition by BJP-ally Shiv Sena, he was not inducted in BJP. He was told to form a new party and join NDA. Rane then floated Maharashtra Swabhiman party and declared support to NDA.

It seemed that former CM of Maharashtra was in for another snub session as the BJP did not show any sign to facilitate his active return to Maharashtra politics.

Rane is said to have been keen on staying in Maharashtra's political circles instead of entering the parliament. But given the past, it seems that the Rajya Sabha seat is currently his only ticket back to political prominence.

-with inputs from Sahil Joshi and Kamalesh Sutar