The trigger was Raut spitting on the ground in front of cameras during a press conference on Friday when reporters sought his reaction to Shiv Sena MP Shrikant' Shinde's jibe targetting Uddhav Thackeray.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday termed the criticism of Uddhav Thackeray in Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar's autobiography "wrong information" and downplayed it by claiming books are read for two days and then put into libraries.
In a letter addressed to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, the former Thane mayor said Shivsainiks are feeling (politically) "suffocated" because of "Rashtravadi" (NCP) in the last two-and-a-half years.
Addressing an event in Wardha, Deshmukh said, "You all know I was kept in jail for 14 months under false allegations. I had received an offer for a deal. Had I accepted, I wouldn't have been in jail."
The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has been facing flak after Vedanta-Foxconn chose Gujarat to set up its multi-billion semiconductor plant.
It will be the first assembly byelection after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra in June, making it a litmus test of his faction's hold over the Sena's vote bank in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena leader Anil Desai, in a recent communication to the poll panel, has urged it to give Shiv Sena a hearing in case of claims to the party's election symbol -- bow and arrow.
His reaction comes in the backdrop of Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar losing the sixth seat in the Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra held on Friday, a contest which had become a high-prestige battle between the ruling Sena and the opposition BJP in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp's MLAs, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others held a meeting on Saturday night after the legislators returned to Mumbai.
The INDIA bloc is also likely to announce a secretariat for smooth coordination between the constituents and it is likely to be set up in the national capital. Besides, the members will also discuss the issue of having a coordinator or a chairperson to head the alliance.
'Most leaders, from Lalu Yadav and Mamata to M K Stalin, respect and trust Sonia. She should continue unless she expressly declines.'
The matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday.
The verdict will be delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
Sena workers vandalised an office of rebel Shiv Sena MLA Tanaji Sawant, who is currently in Guwahati.
Contestant Sudhakar Adbale, supported by the MVA, won the Nagpur teachers constituency defeating his closest rival Nagorao Ganar, a BJP-backed independent and the sitting MLC from the seat, they said.
According to political analysts, the results of these bypolls, which saw a high-voltage campaign by senior leaders from various parties, will set the tone for the forthcoming elections in the state, including of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies.
"The committee has unanimously passed a resolution. It unanimously rejects his decision to step down and urges him to continue as party president," Patel said after a meeting of the committee.
'The BJP used Shinde and Shiv Sena to decimate Uddhav Thackeray, humiliate him by taking away his party as well as party symbol.' 'The Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde have served their purpose.'
Notably, CM Shinde on Monday said no claim will be laid on any party property post the Election Commission's decision on the real Shiv Sena as "we are heirs of Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology and have no temptations".
"The 40 MLAs betrayed Uddhav. How can they remain true to the people and the state?" Aaditya asked.
For the first time, a presiding officer was declaring in public what decision he will be taking, the Rajya Sabha member said.
Addressing a rally at Nanded as a part of the BJP's outreach campaign to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Shah said the BJP didn't bring down the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last year.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that some leaders often seen at agitations are a part of the Barsu refinery protests and they have inputs that a group trying to create disruptions in the state is also playing a role there to defame the state government.
Pawar, who was also the deputy CM in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which was in power from November 2019 to June 2022, enjoys the image of a grassroot leader and an able administrator.
In a fresh setback to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, party spokesperson and former Mumbai corporator Sheetal Mhatre crossed over to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction on Tuesday.
On Friday, Shrikant Shinde had said some leaders were trying to create hurdles in the alliance in Dombivali area (under Kalyan Lok Sabha seat) for their own selfish politics and that he was ready to leave the seat since the aim was to ensure the Narendra Modi government returns with a thumping majority in the 2024 LS polls.
The two-day deliberations, which will be held at Grand Hyatt in the suburbs, will begin in the evening of August 31 and from 10am on September 1. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, Raut informed.
'The BJP should not treat Shinde saheb as a lightweight.'
At least four FIRs related to extortion were registered against Singh in Mumbai and adjoining Thane.
The Bharatiya Janata Party never contacted Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and certain imaginary news is being spread, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed on Monday.
He also said the topic of Sharad Pawar's resignation as NCP chief and its withdrawal is over and the matter need not be discussed.
Hours after asserting that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is its leader, party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday claimed that he did not make any such statement.
The ex-CM said he had the honesty to face the protesters. He said the government should hold a dialogue with locals before coming up with any project.
The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has issued a whip to "all" its legislators to remain present full-time during the budget session of the Maharashtra legislature which began on Monday, in an apparent move to corner the faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
'I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs'
Koshyari, 80, was admitted to the private hospital in south Mumbai on Wednesday after testing positive for the infection.
In their first cabinet meeting held hours after coming to power, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis took the first step towards overturning the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government's decision of relocating the proposed Mumbai Metro Line-3 car shed from Aarey Colony.
Fadnavis was speaking here as the chief guest at the launch of a booklet inspired by the thoughts of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shah.
All mosques have taken permission for the use of loudspeakers, Raut said.
Pawar said there is not an iota of truth in reports about any rift in the NCP and his joining hands with the BJP.
