The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said his party will throw more weight behind its Mahayuti partners Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena in the upcoming state polls and denied reports of a 'friendly fight' proposal for seats where there is a tussle among allies.
'This is what you get when you decide to be someone's slaves'
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed Thackeray had selected a candidate finalised by Congress for the Nashik Teachers' constituency without consulting coalition partners.
But the atmosphere is now conducive for the Mahayuti to continue in power in Maharashtra thanks to the government's people-centric schemes, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is giving promises that it cannot execute, he said.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
The NCP chief has not concealed his ambition to occupy the top post in the state in the past.
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
The Sena-UB has fielded popular wrestler Chandrahar Patil from Sangli despite the Congress announcing Vishal Patil's name from the same seat.
'If you want to have fair elections you should have an officer, who is appointed as per the rules laid down for such appointments, which is based on seniority.'
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
They slammed the Union and state governments for the collapse, with Uddhav Thackeray calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology as one "smacking of arrogance", while Sharad Pawar said the episode was an example of corruption.
...'hum decide karenge kaun banega mukhyamantri. This decision is not to be taken in Mumbai.'
The PM said the Congress and its allies should not encourage the "Pakistan agenda" and speak the language of separatists.
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.
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
A Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearer from Shirur in Maharashtra's Pune district has sought the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his Nationalist Congress Party from the ruling alliance, which also consists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
Schemes like the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items.
'There is a difference between a politician and leader.' 'A politician will have his pound of flesh first and do everything else later.' 'A leader will sacrifice everything to help people.'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray will not switch to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Jayant Patil asserted on Thursday, seeking to scotch speculation about a possible crossover by his key ally.
'For politicians, winning the next election has become more important than economic stability of the country and broader national interest.'
Amid talks of cross-voting, three of the 37 Congress MLAs in Maharashtra skipped a meeting called by the party ahead of the legislative council polls on Friday.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties are organising dinner meetings and arranging hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which are taking place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
'I had told Fadnavisji that I will be with the party till the Lok Sabha election and I will give my 100 per cent to campaign for the BJP. But ultimately I will have to take this decision (to quit the BJP).' 'When I requested him to see this from the point of view of an elder brother, he could not say anything more after that.'
With all the evasions, one assertion made by the Pune (Rural) police stood out: They had found no connection of the Elgar Parishad with the violent incidents of January 1, 2018. Yet, the case against the 'Bhima Koregaon 16', which is based on exactly this alleged connection, continues, and seven of the accused continue to be behind bars under the UAPA, explains Jyoti Punwani.
Addressing a public event in Kolhapur city on Monday evening, Fadnavis pointed out instances wherein women were tricked into inter-faith marriage and subsequently abandoned after they gave birth to children.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
He alleged that the MVA allies were refusing to consider the factor of Maratha activist Manoj Jarange.
'This isn't political. This fight is for justice. This is the fight to give justice to the party workers'
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
Virtually conceding the defeat, Fadnavis stated they will introspect and recover the loss in the upcoming assembly elections.
'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
All eyes are now on the Sena factions, led by CM Shinde, backed by the BJP, and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and their performance in the coastal belt in the November 20 polls.
Raut said they do not require the exit polls as they work on the field and know the "undercurrent".
Shinde also said a party grows when leaders reach out to the grassroot worker rather than sitting at home.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, in the biennial elections to 11 seats from the legislative council, taking the number of candidates in the fray to 12.
