The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs on a plea moved by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party challenging Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring the group led by the deputy chief minister as the real NCP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has opted not to grant tickets to eight MLAs, followed by Congress which replaced five MLAs.
"The nakli Shiv Sena wants to bury me alive. They abuse me in such a way that it will be liked by their favourite vote bank," Modi said.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday reiterated that the Income Tax Department's raids on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's relatives and aides came after his comparison of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the British rule.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra will retain power with full majority and a decision on who will be the chief minister will be taken by the alliance partners after the state polls.
As the meeting was underway, several NCP workers wearing caps with the message 'I am with saheb' demanded that NCP president Sharad Pawar reconsider his decision to step down as party chief.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the Bharatiya Janata Party though some 'well-wishers' are trying to persuade him.
Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats.
About Ajit Pawar appearing to be the only NCP leader favouring his uncle's decision, Rane said, "Ajit was making big speeches. He found Pawar's decision correct while the party workers hold a contrarian view."
Friendship with Ajit Pawar and the eventual destruction of the NCP can only strengthen him and the BJP.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed on Wednesday that Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar was willing to form an alliance with the BJP in 2019, but with a rider that Devendra Fadnavis should not be made chief minister.
While addressing a joint press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, NCP chief Sharad Pawar paraded 3 MLAs to display that all are with him.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections saw a fierce contest between two coalitions and six major players. Despite securing over one lakh votes, 58 candidates lost the election. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar suffered the most, with 22 candidates losing despite receiving over one lakh votes. Other prominent losing candidates included former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and senior Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Dhiraj Deshmukh. The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power by winning 230 out of 288 assembly seats.
Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped down as Maharashtra chief minister, even as the suspense over who will succeed him as the new CM continued, three days after state assembly election results were announced.
The Congress in Maharashtra has a plan in place in the event of alliance with anti-Bharatiya Janata Party outfits doesn't materialise, state unit party president Nana Patole said on Wednesday amid buzz about the future of tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
"If anyone did suggest that we should support the BJP contrary to the stand we had taken, (even) then many in the party including me did not agree with that (suggestion). Our stand not to go with the BJP was very clear," Sharad Pawar said.
Confirming the development, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray said the boycott is a mark of protest against a "dishonest government".
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar might have appointed Praful Patel as working president along with his (Pawar's) daughter Supriya Sule to blunt probable allegations of "dynastic politics", the Shiv Sena (UBT) said on Monday.
As the tussle for control of the Nationalist Congress Party hotted up after its vertical split, Sharad Pawar on Thursday declared he was the president of the party and hit back at nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's retirement jibe, saying he will work more effectively "whether 82 or 92."
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
Amid intense discussions among Mahayuti allies over the distribution of portfolios and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's insistence on the home ministry, the clarity on the composition of the council of ministers is expected by Sunday, sources said.
Sharad Pawar on Friday evening announced that he was not stepping down as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party.
In a major setback to party founder Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission of India also allotted the NCP symbol 'Wall Clock' to the group led by Ajit Pawar.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Suraj Chavan on Sunday took objection to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the probe into the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.
The development comes amid a close aide of Pawar saying 36 out of 53 NCP MLAs have extended support to the new deputy CM and the numbers could go to 46 in a few days time.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
Pawar also said that instead of making unnecessary statements, Fadnavis, who is also home minister, should focus on ensuring women's security in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated corporator Ritu Tawade for the Mumbai mayor election, while its ally Shiv Sena declared Sanjay Ghadi as its candidate for the deputy mayor's post.
Asked if the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate prompted some NCP leaders to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government, Pawar said he didn't have any information regarding this.
The 36 new ministers included 10 cabinet and four ministers of state (MoS) of the NCP, eight Cabinet and four MoS of the Sena, and eight Cabinet and two MoS of the Congress.
When asked to spell out the exact number of MLAs backing Ajit Pawar, Patel claimed the entire party (53 MLAs) is together.
'This has been the history of these people,' Congress leader Ahmed Patel tells Sheela Bhatt.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday said he will speak to leaders of his party Congress and those from ally Nationalist Congress Party before taking a decision on the resignation of his deputy Ajit Pawar.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday came to the Y B Chavan Centre to meet NCP functionaries for the second consecutive day after announcing his decision to step down as the party chief.
Three years after he teamed up with Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar in an overnight coup to form the government in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the exercise had NCP chief Sharad Pawar's backing.
Pawar alleged that attempts are being made to disturb the social unity in Maharashtra and communal ideology is being promoted in the state.
The NCP chief was accompanied by his wife Pratibha Pawar, Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan, NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakde, party's Pune city unit president Prashant Jagtap and many other party workers.
Sharad Pawar's comments were at variance from ally Shiv Sena-UBT, whose leader Sanjay Raut had said PM Modi should come forward to inform about his academic qualification and that his degree should be displayed at the entrance of the Parliament building.
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