A court in Sindhudurg convicted Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, sentencing him to one-month imprisonment. The court suspended the sentence, allowing Rane time to appeal.
A court in Sindhudurg has sentenced Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane to one month's imprisonment in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, noting that lawmakers are not supposed to take the law into their hands.
In a surprising turn, rival Shiv Sena factions led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray have joined forces with NCP factions to contest local elections in Maharashtra's Barshi taluka, setting aside political differences.
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His remarks come after the Sindhudurg Police registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane on Friday on the charge of trespassing on a BJP supporter's house, days after the Shiv Sena MLA alleged that bags of cash meant for distribution to voters were found there during his "sting operation".
Shiv Sena leader Shahajibapu Patil accuses the BJP of undermining him politically by supporting his rival in Sangola during the Maharashtra assembly elections. He claims the BJP helped PWP candidate Babasaheb Deshmukh despite his support for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election.
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and questioned the need for Rane to remain part of the cabinet.
Shiv Sainiks had on Friday gone on a rampage protesting against the failure to arrest those accused of razing former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane's residence.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections witnessed the continued influence of political dynasties, with prominent families retaining their strongholds across the state. The Thackareys and the Ranes emerged as dominant forces, securing victories in various regions. The Rane brothers, Nilesh and Nitesh, won in Sindhudurg, while Uday and Kiran Samant secured victories in Ratnagiri. In Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray retained his Worli seat, while his cousin Varun Sardesai won in Vandre East. The results underscore the enduring power of family connections in Indian politics.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra in a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats.
The ordinance will be tabled in the next session of the legislature, it said, adding that 27 posts were approved for the commission.
The list also includes the names of Mumbai BJP president Ashish Selar, fielded from the Vandre West seat, and senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, fielded from Kankavli, a seat he currently represents in the assembly.
'Young people say they know all this emphasis on Hindu-Muslim differences is politically motivated.' 'If you stop watching TV and turn off social media, you'll find the situation on the ground different.'
Their lists show that a significant number of contenders are closely related to the current ministers, legislators or MPs, including their sons or daughters, wives and brothers or sisters.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
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"I have no interest left in contesting the elections," said the former Lok Sabha member.
He also said that all political parties need to ask the poll watchdog the definition of a political party.
Nitesh won the 2014 assembly polls from Kankavli seat in Sindhudurg district on Congress's ticket by defeating the then BJP MLA Pramod Jathar.
The assault on the engineer came days after a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator assaulted an official with a cricket bat in Madhya Pradesh.
Additional sessions judge R B Rote also held that the custodial interrogation of Nitesh Rane, the son of Union minister Narayan Rane, was necessary as police probe into the matter was 'incomplete.'
In the video clip that has gone viral on the social media, Rane and Kankavli Municipal Council president Samir Nalawade are purportedly seen tying Deputy Engineer Prakash Khedekar of the National Highways Authority of India to the railing of a bridge and pouring buckets of mud on him.
Congress candidate from Kankavli constituency in Maharashtra Nitesh Rane said he has earned his candidature for the legislative assembly elections through his work and not because he is the son of former chief minister Narayan Rane.
Sulking Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane on Thursday said he will quit the Prithviraj Chavan ministry on Monday but has decided to remain in the Congress.
Stakes are high for senior Congress leader Narayan Rane, who is facing a resurgent Shiv Sena on his home turf in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, where he is contesting the assembly polls along with his son Nitesh.
Over 16 lakh voters are eligible to cast their franchise in the by-election necessitated by the death of Dutt on May 25.
Sixty injured passengers have been admitted to various hospitals at Oros, Ratnagiri, Kankavli (in Maharashtra) and in Goa.
Railway sources said in a release that 50 persons were killed and 25 injured in the mishap and the figure was wrongly quoted as 51 as one body was counted twice in inter-hospital transfers.
'Why should we disclose how and from where we will get these numbers?'
'There is no future for the Shiv Sena under Uddhavji's leadership.'
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