Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), secured a comfortable win in the bypoll to Andheri (East) Assembly seat in Mumbai on Sunday, while votes polled in favour of the None of the Above (NOTA) option obtained the second position.
Even as Union ministers allay misgivings over Agnipath, figures show a meagre 2.4 per cent of the ex-servicemen who applied for a government job could get one as the Centre and the states have been unable to recruit against the reserved quotas. Public sector undertakings (PSUs), ministries, and officials of Sainik Boards have blamed it on the lack of skill among ex-servicemen. They say veterans' inability to qualify in selection exams is one of reasons for this. Also, non-recognition of qualifications obtained from the military are reasons why their recruitment has remained significantly low, pushing them towards low-skill jobs.
There are allegations that the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh govt is putting pressure on South Eastern Coalfields to not renew the contract with Sainik Mining whose promoter Rudra Sen Sindhu is the son-in-law of the late Sahib Singh Varma, a BJP leader and former chief minister of Delhi.
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
'The BJP has 106 MLAs and Eknath Shinde claims the support of 40 MLAs. So why are they both not forming the government right now in Mumbai? Why the delay?' Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf reports.
Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Vishwas Nangre Patil said his team visited Shivaji Park and BKC to take stock of security arrangements at the venues.
The septuagenarian leader has with this victory, broken the record of veteran leader SC Jamir, who helmed the northeastern state thrice.
Here are some of quotes from Uddhav Thackeray's resignation speech.
"The dirt has gone away. Now we can do something good," Thackeray said,
Thackeray's statement comes in the backdrop of rebel group leader Eknath Shinde daring the party to disclose the names of some of the MLAs camping in Guwahati who were reportedly in touch with the party leadership.
The letter was posted by Shinde on his Twitter handle, claiming these were the sentiments of the Sena MLAs.
These include home, industrial development (mining), justice, labour, excise, environment conservation and climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation and civil aviation.
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
'The message the BJP is sending is that they are in no way responsible for Uddhav's downfall and it was only Shinde who is to be blamed.'
Wielding saffron flags and chanting 'Pakistanis go back' and 'Vande Mataram', Shiv Sena workers on Tuesday barged into a press conference of a music band from Pakistan, heckled the artistes and vandalised the venue, police said.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today felicitated six party workers who allegedly smeared Observer Research Foundation chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni's face with black paint to protest former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri's book launch in Mumbai.
Former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India.
Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1, the defence ministry said on Friday.
How much do you know about the movies? Find out in Sukanya Verma's amazing quiz.
Without naming Uddhav Thackeray, Shah, who was speaking at the launch of Marathi version of the booked 'Modi@20', also reiterated there was no agreement on sharing the chief minister's post in the run up to the 2019 assembly polls.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has appealed to his party workers to not perform 'maha aarti' on May 3, the day of Eid ul Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya.
The crackdown came after the Shiv Sena stepped up its protest against the film over the actor's remarks.
Without naming the BJP, Raut said those who want to grab power can do so but the future will belong to Shiv Sena.
'His son fought bravely like a true Shiv Sainik and emerged victorious against those whose machinations were to finish the Shiv Sena in the state.'
'Eknath Shinde's credibility will not grow beyond Thane, Uddhav's credibility will rise across Maharashtra and perhaps in the rest of the country'
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday claimed that both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are trying to eliminate the Shiv Sena politically from Maharashtra and the MLAs made several attempts to inform Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the mala fide intentions of the alliance partners.
Azad would be accorded a grand reception on his arrival from Delhi Sunday morning, and a procession would accompany him to the venue of the public meeting at the Sainik Colony.
Lakhs gathered at Shivaji park to watch the funeral of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, mainly via giant television screens.
For years Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has enthralled his supporters with his fiery speeches from Shivaji Park at Dadar, central Mumbai. On Sunday, thousands of mourners will pay their last respect to him at the same ground.
The Shiv Sena said Opposition was not targeted in such manner even during Emergency
Slogans for his long afterlife rented the air, as coffin of Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal arrived at his home in Jinder Mehlu hamlet of border belt of R S Pura, where thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the fighter pilot.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to form a government with his nephew and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar had one benefit, as it ended President's rule in Maharashtra in 2019.
He, however, said if at all the party rebels want to return, the doors of 'Matoshree' (the personal residence of Thackerays) are always open for them.
Chavan was reacting to Sena MP Sanjay Raut's statement earlier in the day that the Sena was 'ready to consider' the demand of the MLAs led by Eknath Shinde that it should end the MVA alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
A white shawl draped on his left shoulder, rudraksha beads around his neck, red tilak on the forehead and sporting dark sunglasses, Kantilal Mishra bore a striking similarity to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray who had mesmerised lakhs of Shiv Sainiks.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.
Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday reached out to the functionaries of his party, which is currently battling a rebellion, and sought to allay fears surrounding the survival of his political outfit and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
President Droupadi Murmu will administer the Oath of Office to the elected Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11.45 am on Thursday.
Matondkar had last year resigned from the Congress party, a key ally of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
If it doesn't do that, what Uddhav Thackeray postpones addressing today will be there on the table to confront, for whoever anchors the Sena in the years ahead, observes Shyam G Menon.
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