The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Tuesday didn't discuss the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and has decided to take a 'wait and watch' approach amid political developments in the state, a senior leader said.
Asked if the fear of possible defeat made him rethink of contesting from Madha, Pawar said, "I have successfully faced 14 elections. Do you think a 15th will deter me?"
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.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and forest minister Ganesh Naik on Monday held a janta darbar in Thane, the home turf of Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, rejecting speculation of one-upmanship in the Mahayuti alliance.
The Congress' assertion came after Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's remarks on the unity of opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents in Maharashtra have created ripples in the state political circles.
Tensions are rising within the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra amid internal conflicts and open threats over unresolved issues like cabinet expansion and Rajya Sabha nominations.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
Speaking at a joint rally of Mahayuti partners in Mumbai, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis supported Shinde's claims, stating that the NDA leaders did not pay enough attention to the lies spread by the Opposition during the campaign.
Devendra Fadnavis, BJP legislature party leader, will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at a grand ceremony in Mumbai. NCP head Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are also expected to take oath as deputy chief ministers. This is for the third time that Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the CM of Maharashtra. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, where elaborate security arrangements have been made. The formation of the government under Fadnavis comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly polls. Fadnavis, joined by Shinde and Pawar, met with state Governor CP Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form the government. Following this meeting, the governor extended an invitation for Fadnavis to lead the new government. The swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with nearly 42,000 attendees, including PM Modi, several Union ministers, and chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states.
Pawar dismissed reports that Modi government offered to make him India's President.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the Mahayuti allies have agreed to conduct a 'performance audit' of ministers during their tenure.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who was to visit the famous Dagdusheth Ganpati temple in Pune, took darshan of the deity from outside the complex as he had eaten non-vegetarian food, the party's Pune unit president Prashant Jagtap has said.
'If the Maha Vikas Aghadi thinks that they have won 30 (Lok Sabha) seats and that would translate to winning 180 assembly seats they would be living in a fool's paradise.'
The Bombay High Court has reserved its order on comedian Kunal Kamra's petition seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The court also granted Kamra interim protection from arrest.
Three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have threatened to contest as Independents from Jalna in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls after the seat went to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as part of the Mahayuti's seat-sharing arrangement.
As reports of political parties swiftly switching loyalties -- to quench their thirst for power -- swirl over Maharashtra, Rediff.com speaks to different players involved in the game of thrones.
Mortal remains of senior NCP leader and ex-Home Minister R R Patil are kept at the party office in Mumbai.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
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.
Parth Pawar, who was publicly censured by the NCP patriarch recently for seeking a CBI probe into the case of Rajput's death, tweeted the remark, which means truth shall prevail, without making any reference to the case.
If Marathas get blanket Kunbi OBC certificates, there will be no separate identity of the Maratha community in Maharashtra, state minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said on Wednesday amid the quota row.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena's tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
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.
In a huge embarrassment to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, the United Progressive Alliance has lost the Khadakwasla assembly seat which had witnessed a by-election on October 13.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
Shiv Sena spokesman Rahul Narvekar, who recently withdrew his candidature from the legislative council elections, met Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday morning.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday claimed Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward.
The third phase of polling will take place on May 7, 2024.
The commencement of negotiations is close on the heels of the recent decision taken by the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party high commands, to continue alliance during the state assembly election.
The Congress on Monday claimed that the Tata-Airbus C-295 aircraft facility inaugurated in Vadodara was earlier supposed to be set up in Nagpur and alleged that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions, the Centre and the Mahayuti dispensation have conspired to ensure the 'wholesale surrender' of Maharashtra's interests.
MNS leader Abhijit Panse on Thursday met Raut, leading to speculation about a possible truce between the estranged Thackeray cousins against the backdrop of the changed political situation in Maharashtra.
The Shiv Sena chief will be the first from the Thackeray family to be sworn in as the chief minister.
'The intention is to let the governor know that we have the majority and the letters of support is the proof.'
The senior BJP leader said voters have always rejected coalition politics as the political parties forming such an alliance don't have any policy or leadership.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday said that the White Paper on irrigation projects in Maharashtra was not an enquiry report but a compilation of the status of various projects in the state. NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said there was no probe going on in the irrigation department and hence there was no question of a clean chit being given to former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
The incident occurred between Diva and Kopar railway stations when the overcrowded train was going towards Kasara, an official said.
Did the fear of central agencies probing scams involving NCP leaders that forced these politicians to jump ship?
The seat-sharing issue is being discussed with the central leadership, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule told PTI.
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.
Eknath Shinde has said Devendra Fadnavis gave up the opportunity to install a Bharatiya Janata Party mayor in Mumbai after the 2017 civic polls for the sake of the Shiv Sena at his request.