Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Mahayuti partners will meet Governor C P Radhakrishnan to stake a claim to form a government in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
Shrikant Shinde on Monday said the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti coalition government has been a bit delayed, and currently there are lot of discussions and rumours.
Brought up in penury, the sensational Yashasvi Jaiswal says he now uses the experience gained from those difficult days as ammunition to conquer the battles on and off the field.
The Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, will decide whether only the chief minister and deputy CMs will take the oath of office on December 5, or whether ministers will also be sworn in. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for the evening at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending. While BJP sources have indicated that Devendra Fadnavis is the frontrunner for the chief minister's post, the BJP legislature party leader is yet to be appointed. NCP chief Ajit Pawar has stated that the chief minister will be from the BJP, with deputy CMs from the Shiv Sena and NCP. The Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections, winning 230 seats out of 288. The government formation has been delayed due to disagreements on the chief minister's position.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took charge of their new official responsibilities at the state secretariat 'Mantralaya' here after taking oath of office on Thursday evening.
Discordant voices emerged on Sunday from the Mahayuti even as the alliance continued to remain in the throes of government formation more than week after it swept the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Ahead of the crucial legislature party meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis met with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
The free education policy should be amended so that boys also get free education besides girls, and all Marathas should get free education "from KG to PG" (kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community gets reservation, he said.
As the race for Maharashtra chief minister enters the last lap, Hemant Waje looks at several scenarios which can play out.
The respective Dussehra rallies of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray were once again about whose version of Hindutva is genuine and who is the true inheritor of party patriarch Bala Thackeray's legacy.
The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra who will be elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting to be held either on December 2 or 3, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on Sunday night.
Maharashtra's outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will decide on the new CM and assured his full support while ruling out differences among Mahayuti allies over the government formation.
Jarange appealed to Shinde and his deputies to come together and resolve the issue of Maratha quota, an emotive issue which has been dominating the state's political discourse for the last few months.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
'Ajit Pawar is trying to sideline us; he is trying to be in the BJP's good books at our cost.'
While Uddhav Thackeray will address his party's Dussehra rally at the sprawling Shivaji Park in Dadar, the traditional venue of the event where Bal Thackeray charged up his workers with his fiery oratory for more than four decades, Shinde's rally will be at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray saying he buried the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray for power and joined hands with Congress and socialist parties.
Prolific opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his maiden Test double hundred in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, becoming the third youngest Indian to achieve the feat in his nascent-but-remarkable career.
The Mumbai batter lit the Chinnaswamy stadium with his brilliant batting.
'When the chief minister saw how Manoj Jarange Patil had successfully held the state government hostage to his whims, Eknath Shinde knew he had a very clear chance of enamouring himself to these Maratha agitators by accepting Patil's demands.'
Convict Pradip Modhiya, a resident of Dahod district, has been released from Godhra district jail on parole due to the death of his father-in-law.
Referring to the demand of giving a Kunbi certificate to all 54 lakh people whose proof of being Kunabi has been found till now, Patil said that they will be given the certificates soon.
When Yashasvi Jaiswal makes his Test debut for India in the West Indies on Wednesday, he will know that his amazing journey from living as a 12 year old in tents in Azad Maidan to being one of the most exciting talents in international cricket could not have happened without the faith of one man -- his coach Jwala Singh.
Patil said Shinde during his Dussehra speech at Azad Maidan in Mumbai assured the community of reservation.
With the arrest of two more persons in the August 11 violence in Mumbai, police are probing the possibility of a foreign hand in it as one of the accused was found to have made calls to Myanmar before and after the incident, police said on Monday.
NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said hundreds of party workers courted arrest against Rane's 'defamatory' tweet against the party chief.
Hundreds of farmers and their leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, took out a procession of urns containing the ashes from the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to the Gateway of India, a distance of nearly 3 km.
Sarfaraz Khan's dominating performance against England's spinners in just his debut Test was no fluke.
'You can still hear gunshots, and this time even children know they are not normal.'
"When an authority does not have the jurisdiction to deal with a matter or it is not within the powers of the authority i.e. the State of Gujarat in the instant case, to be the appropriate Government to pass orders of remission under Section 432 of the CrPC, the orders of remission would have no legs to stand," it added.
Chavan entered the ED office in south Mumbai at around 12.30 pm and came out at about 9 pm, the official said.
The Mumbai police have detained a 16-year-old boy from neighbouring Thane district for calling the police control room and allegedly threatening to kill Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, an official said on Tuesday.
'We need a candidate who will do our work and fight with the authorities; someone we can hold accountable.' 'Piyush Goyal is not that candidate.'
The top court said the faith of people in the efficacy of law is the saviour and succour for the sustenance of the rule of law.
As someone who has seen him grow from close quarters, Jwala Singh always had this deep-down conviction that Yashasvi Jaiswal will make a good start in national colours and the former coach is glad that his ward is proving him right.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has registered a case against Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Ravindra Waikar and five others in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in a western suburb, an official said on Friday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and England at Visakhapatnam.