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.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya, who was vocal about allegations of corruption against many Nationalist Congress Party leaders, including the recently inducted ministers Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare and Hasan Mushrif, on Tuesday refrained from commenting against them.
NCP president Sharad Pawar may be busy getting ready for the INDIA Opposition bloc meeting in Mumbai with other Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents, but his close friend and industrialist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla has a piece of advice for the octogenarian leader.
Baramati Agro works in the fields of animal and poultry feed manufacturing, sugar and ethanol manufacturing, co-generation of power, trading of agri-commodities, fruits and vegetables and dairy products.
The committee members include Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, his nephew Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal, among others.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
"I am boring, steady and not impulsive...Emotional relationships and professional work are two different things. I will never mix the two," she said.
'He has a fierce will power; he has been a fighter all his life and even at this age his spirit is strong enough to take on any kind of adversity that comes his way.'
'Ajit Pawar's speech leaves no room for reconciliation.'
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday said that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has no prime ministerial ambitions and won't contest the next Lok Sabha elections.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote.
Bawankule said that the BJP has always respected Matoshri (Uddhav Thackeray's home) and its legacy.
Sharad Pawar-Ajit Pawar, Bal Thackeray-Raj Thackeray, Gopinath Munde-Dhananjay Munde. Troubled uncle-nephew relationships have rocked the boat of more than one party trying to steer its way through Maharashtra's troubled political waters with the crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party only the latest in the series.
There are many life lessons to be learnt from the way Sharad Pawar handled the Maharashtra political crisis.
Of the 288 seats in the state, BJP had won 105 in 2019 state polls, while the undivided NCP had bagged 54 seats.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry in Maharashtra has successfully passed a trust vote in the state assembly, securing a commanding majority of 230 seats in the 288-member house. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' coalition, with a majority mark of 144, had a comfortable win with the support of smaller parties and independent MLAs. The trust motion was tabled by Shiv Sena MLA Uday Samant and others, and was passed by a voice vote. The 15th legislative assembly began its tenure on December 7, and the floor test was considered a mere formality. Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister for the third time on December 5, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as deputy chief ministers.
Former MLA Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed as the new president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), tasked with reviving the party in the state after its crushing defeat in the last year's assembly polls. Sapkal, a veteran politician, replaces Nana Patole, who held the position since 2021. The Congress aims to rebuild its base and prepare for upcoming local body polls, including those in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Nagpur. The party will also need to work with its allies, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), to strengthen the opposition against the ruling BJP-led alliance.
MVA allies Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress on Thursday asserted that they will continue to support Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena is facing a rebellion in its legislative ranks, threatening the stability of his government.
Describing the unrest among party members as just the "tip of the iceberg," the report shed light on the underlying discontent within the BJP.
The buzz about the "health" of Shinde, who was at his native village in Satara, grew louder after his supporter and MLA Sanjay Shirsat recently claimed the CM has fallen sick as he works for 24 hours.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured a landslide victory in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections, is set to form the new government in the state. Outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to finalize a power-sharing agreement. The alliance partners, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, will decide on ministerial berths at the meeting with Shah. Political circles are abuzz about the social equations in Maharashtra influencing the choice of the next Chief Minister.
Pawar reminded PM Modi of his recent remarks about 'corruption' of NCP leaders, and asked him to act against those who are guilty.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena has maintained he will continue to be CM despite the NCP joining the state government, which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The ACB's clarification came after the Congress claimed Ajit Pawar was "exonerated" in lieu of his support to the Bharatiya Janata Party in forming a government two days ago.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
NCP ministers joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government hasn't been given any clean chit in corruption probes, claims the BJP leader.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday said the Maharashtra party leadership has been asked to ensure all rebels withdraw nominations and asserted there will be no friendly fights among the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies in the state assembly polls.
Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, who of late is talking about his retirement from active politics, has said only 'sanction' from people would decide as to who would be his political heir. Pawar, in an interview to a Marathi news channel on Monday night, was reacting to a question on speculations about his Parliamentarian daughter Supriya Sule or nephew and Maharashtra minister Ajit Pawar being his possible successors in politics.
The meeting took place at Fadnavis's residence in Mumbai late Thursday night and lasted for about half an hour, he claimed.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are taking place today, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seeking to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hoping for a comeback. The campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra crisscrossing the state to garner votes. The Mahayuti is banking on popular schemes while the MVA focuses on issues like caste-based census and social justice. The elections have also seen a significant rise in the number of candidates and voters.
'Maharashtra election result is a chamatkar of EVM.' 'There has been a sudden one percent rise in the voting percentage after the counting day.' 'This is what made the difference to the election results.' 'How did this vote percentage increase after counting day?
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
His new nameplate now reads 'Eknath Gangubai Sambhaji Shinde'.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
The Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has nominated Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora from Worli for the upcoming assembly elections.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi are facing multiple problems in Lok Sabha seats like Sangli, Madha and Satara in western Maharashtra due to political dynasties, old rivalries and one-upmanship, prompting a flurry of meetings before five phase polls begin in the state on April 19.
Ajit Pawar has the support of more than 40 MLAs of the NCP, according to sources citing a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan.
'Ajit Pawar and some other people felt it was better to be supporting the BJP and have a coalition with the BJP than support the Congress.' 'But Sharad Pawar did not want to be a party to this kind of an opportunistic alliance.'
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said there was a need to fight the forces creating communal divide in Maharashtra and the country.
The NCP says its support from outside to the BJP government is without compromising its ideology. Sanjay Jog reports
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances