Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra and is set to become the state's first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has forwarded the resignation letter of Anil Deshmukh to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari with a request that it may be accepted.
Maharashtra's political leaders, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, paid tribute to the late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar during the state legislature's budget session, remembering him as a capable leader and administrator.
Shiv Sena-UBT leaders do not maintain any contact with those who left, said Raut whose party is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with NCP-SP and Congress.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal expressed disappointment at not being included in the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra. He stated he would decide his future course after consulting with his constituency. Bhujbal was one of several prominent leaders excluded from the new cabinet, which was expanded on Sunday. The exclusion sparked reactions from other political figures, including former minister Deepak Kesarkar and Congress leader Bhai Jagtap.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry in Maharashtra has successfully passed a trust vote in the state assembly, securing a commanding majority of 230 seats in the 288-member house. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' coalition, with a majority mark of 144, had a comfortable win with the support of smaller parties and independent MLAs. The trust motion was tabled by Shiv Sena MLA Uday Samant and others, and was passed by a voice vote. The 15th legislative assembly began its tenure on December 7, and the floor test was considered a mere formality. Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister for the third time on December 5, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as deputy chief ministers.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance bagged 53 of the 70 assembly seats in the region.
Of the ruling alliance Mahayuti, NCP ministers Dilip Walse Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal filed the papers for Ambegaon and Yeola seats, respectively, while their cabinet colleague from the BJP
Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray reiterated his warning to take down loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, the state home department on Monday stated that the use of loudspeakers at religious sites will only be allowed with due permission.
'Praful Patel, Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal are not the ones who will go with Ajit Pawar'
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has maintained he will continue to be CM despite the NCP joining the state government, which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday named as the guardian minister of his home district Pune in place of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.
The factional fight of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission, with the group led by Ajit Pawar filing over 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in his support.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP are holding their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively, on Wednesday.
The NCP supremo, who was at the receiving end of his nephew's move during the day, had, 45 years ago, split the Congress and walked out with 40 MLAs, leading to the collapse of the Vasantdada Patil government.
The decision comes at a time when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is holding the executive meeting of Shiv Sena.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is a "senior leader and MLA of the party", Supriya Sule said on Thursday when asked about the status of the former in the Nationalist Congress Party.
Shinde made the sensational claim while speaking to reporters on the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly's Budget session.
Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil has refused Shinde's allegations.
He had taken both the doses of vaccine against COVID-19.
Thackeray on Sunday said he had deferred his visit to Ayodhya in UP as there was ploy to "trap" his party workers into legal issues.
This is the second meeting of Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister on July 2, and his MLAs with the NCP supremo in two days.
This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday shared the dais with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at an event in Pune and said the latter is now at the 'right place after a long time', but 'came very late'.
Raj Thackeray had also said if such a step was not taken, loudspeakers would be installed outside mosques to play Hanuman Chalisa at a higher volume.
Two days before rebelling against uncle Sharad Pawar and joining the Maharashtra government last Sunday, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar approached the Election Commission on June 30 staking claim to the party name as well as symbol and subsequently also declared himself as president with the support of 40 lawmakers, sources said.
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party president Jayant Patil on Sunday said his party has moved a disqualification petition against Ajit Pawar and eight others who took oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led state government.
Unofficially though, it is claimed that Ajit Pawar has the support of 29 MLAs, and the number could add up within two days.
Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was to visit the famous Dagdusheth Ganpati temple in Pune, took darshan of the deity from outside the complex as he had eaten non-vegetarian food, the party's Pune unit president Prashant Jagtap has said.
MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar met Maharashtra Home Minister over a letter threatening Thackeray.
Raut said the MVA government in did not have damage control machinery.
A delegation of the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss issues like Maratha and OBC reservation, and Cyclone Tauktae relief measures, informed State Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has informed the Election Commission that he has been elected national president of the party.
Mumbai Police was geared up to ensure full security for the IPL, a police release said earlier in the day.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ajit Pawar (NCP) and fellow NCP leader Dilip Walse- Patil, who was home minister in the previous MVA government, too have been given 'Y-plus-escort' cover.
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