'Crores of rupees have been spent on paper but nothing has actually happened on the ground.'
'The people preferred Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar...'
'I not only came back, but returned after breaking two parties'
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the state assembly elections.
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.
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
An accidental encounter between Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray in a lift in Vidhan Bhawan on Thursday caused ripples in state political circles.
Shinde also said a party grows when leaders reach out to the grassroot worker rather than sitting at home.
'If there is Sabka Saath, then why are you only talking about Hindu-Muslim?'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he will back any candidate announced by the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar as Maha Vikas Aghadi's chief ministerial face.
Gaikwad, who was Dharavi MLA before being elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general polls, also alleged the redevelopment project was real estate's biggest scam.
Friendly fights, however, are more complicated for the MVA, especially since smaller parties who are part of the INDIA bloc are also in the mix.
The BJP and Shiv Sena, which along with Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party comprise the ruling Mahayuti, for some time now have been courting Thackeray, who founded the MNS in 2006.
Even as the two parties appeared confident that they have reached out to every voter and publicised their new symbols, experts suggested varying impact of the split and the symbols on the vote bank.
"This is not the defeat of Shiv Sena. I don't think we failed because our battle was not for individual gains but for larger public interest," Uddhav told media persons at Sena Bhawan in central Mumbai.
Politicians across the political spectrum graced Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani's wedding ceremonies at the Jio World Convention Centre at the Bandra Kurla Complex in north west Mumbai.
This will be the first major electoral test after the political realignment that emerged in 2019.
Shivakumar said, "Mahayuti leaders should visit my state to see how Congress' welfare guarantees are benefiting people."
A product of the 1942 Quit India movement, a Gandhian and a Socialist who remains closely connected with grassroot movements, Dr G G Parikh remains a familiar figure in Maharashtra.
Speaking at a "people's court" and holding a "mega press conference", Thackeray said his fight would decide whether democracy survives in the country.
Devendra Fadnavis is the frontrunner to become the next chief minister of Maharashtra, according to a senior BJP leader.
The election campaign was one of the most vitriolic in the state, but you would not have guessed it from the smiles and selfies from the politicians.
He, however, made it clear that his party candidates, as and when they contest elections, will do so only on MNS symbol 'railway engine'.
Shah also challenged the Congress to implement its Lok Sabha election promise of providing Rs 8500 monthly to women in states ruled by the party.
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS senses an opportunity after the Shiv Sena-UBT candidate's lead fell to less than 7,000 votes in the Worli assembly segment during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday assured his government will continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana and fulfil Mahayuti's pre-poll promise of hiking the monthly stipend under the scheme to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 now to eligible women.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
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.
Raut said such friendly fights should happen on all 48 seats in Maharashtra as well as in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The third phase of polling will take place on May 7, 2024.
Uddhav said Modi lacks the self-confidence of 2014 and 2019.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear that it will not campaign for ally Nationalist Congress Party's candidate Nawab Malik in the assembly polls due to his alleged links with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, but has no objection to his daughter's candidature.
The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has said that he does not give importance to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, started by cousin Raj Thackeray, and neither do the people.
The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar 10 seats.
The Bombay high court on Friday upheld the tender awarded to an Adani Group firm by the Maharashtra government for the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai, ruling there was no 'arbitrariness, unreasonableness or perversity' in the decision.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are set to be a defining moment for several regional heavyweights, including Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The two Pawars, Shinde, and Thackeray are engaged in a fierce battle for political dominance, with the outcome potentially deciding the fate of their respective parties. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition alliance, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and the NCP (SP) 86. The election is also marked by intense factional fights, with the two claimants of Shiv Sena's legacy competing in over 50 seats and the two Pawars facing each other in nearly 37 constituencies.
Convert the Haryana result into a blessing in disguise; make the calamity into an opportunity. Maharashtra was always the big ticket game in town; MVA must win it. The Congress should shift headquarters to Mumbai for the entire month. Show urgency and a hunger to win, asserts Sanjay Jha.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday claimed that a forensic analysis and a statement made by a 'cash courier' have led to "startling allegations" that Mahadev betting app promoters paid about Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel so far, and that "these are subject matter of investigation".
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