It is said that Rane is trying to create ground for his sons ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The talks are also rife that while Nilesh would go to Lok Sabha, the younger son Nitesh would contest Assembly elections from a constituency in Mumbai.

“The Pawar- Rane meeting happened at Pawar’s residence in Pune. It was informal but Rane’s sons were present for it,” sources said. Though the details could not be furnished, they reportedly talked about the political future of Rane’s sons too.

The political aspirations of Nilesh and Nitesh are not hidden. In recent times, both were seen with their father in Swabhiman rally held in October last year in Mumbai. Nilesh had reportedly said in the rally that there would not be two power centres and one would see political upmanship between him and Nitesh. On the other hand, Nitesh is busy establishing his roots through Swabhiman Sanghatana, a social organisation. The three-year old organisation has presence in all the 35 districts in the state. Last Sunday, Nitesh inaugurated one of its offices in Pune too. The function drew a sizable gathering of youths from the cross section of the society. The gathering saw Nitesh training his guns against the MNS without taking any names. “Pune is an education hub and students from outside will come to the city for higher education. We should welcome them. If anyone tries to disturb them, my volunteers will stand by them,” he said.

When contacted, Nitesh said Swabhiman was purely a social organisation and had nothing to do with politics. “We will be initiating one youth – one vote campaign in every district. We will be going to college campuses in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha polls and appeal the youth to cast their vote,” he said. “There are other programmes too like career guidance, traffic issues and unemployment. The whole idea is to motivate young people for better tomorrow,” he added. Nitesh however refused to comment on the Pawar- Rane meeting.