Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday claimed that Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar was "blackmailed" into joining hands with the BJP to form government in Maharashtra.
Sustained persuasion by his family members and senior Nationalist Congress Party leaders made the NCP leader quit as deputy chief minister.
Dismissing speculation that he was about to be replaced as chief minister, Shinde said these were baseless rumours which cause him no "tension", and the "higher ups" will take appropriate decision.
A man has been arrested in Mumbai for creating an AI-generated video that falsely linked a plane crash involving former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, with the intent to defame the latter.
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been allocated the portfolios of State Excise Duty, Sports and Youth Affairs and Minorities Development and Aukaf.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, on Sunday said his party decided to become part of the Eknath Shinde government for the development of the country, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
In a surprise development on July 2, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP split as his nephew Ajit Pawar and almost three dozen MLAs joined the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers.
Several ministers within Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance have voiced criticism regarding Sunetra Pawar's appointment as Deputy Chief Minister shortly after her husband, Ajit Pawar's, death, leading to disapproval from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Ajit Pawar-led group was the real Nationalist Congress Party when two factions emerged in the party in July 2023, Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held.
'We are in a state of confusion right now, but one thing is sure that everything will be good and Ajit dada will come back to the party fold'
All the current political upheavals in Maharashtra are with the 2024 elections in mind and there is a degree of white-knuckle tension in all parties.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra and is set to become the state's first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
Addressing a press conference in Pune, Pawar also responded to a query on Thursday's meeting between industrialist Gautam Adani and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, saying the two know each other and there is nothing wrong if two such persons meet.
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar pledges to carry forward the legacy and ideals of her late husband, Ajit Pawar, focusing on duty, struggle, and commitment to the people. She was sworn in as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Pinky Mali was an attendant on the Learjet 46, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, that crash-landed at the Baramati airport
'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said the decision to field his wife for Rajya Sabha bypoll was taken by his Nationalist Congress Party's apex body and denied reports that senior colleague Chhagan Bhujbal was upset over the move.
Two members of the Pawar family, Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Parth, are contesting Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, marking a potential first where both serve simultaneously in Parliament.
Ajit Pawar, who represented the Baramati segment, remained incommunicado.
A recent meeting between veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ignited a fierce internal conflict within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, with Shiv Sena-UBT expressing strong disapproval and NCP-SP defending Pawar.
Maharashtra Governor K Sankarnarayanan on Saturday accepted the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who quit following reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore irrigation scam.
"Do not worry. This relationship will go long. Our alliance will go a long way," the sources quoted Uddhav as telling the MLAs.
Pawar was addressing an election campaign rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad and announced the development.
The four-day-old government, however, collapsed on Tuesday, after Ajit Pawar resigned citing 'personal reasons'.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday shared the dais with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at an event in Pune and said the latter is now at the 'right place after a long time', but 'came very late'.
Shiv Sena-UBT leaders do not maintain any contact with those who left, said Raut whose party is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with NCP-SP and Congress.
Hitting out at Ajit Pawar for his dig at Sharad Pawar's age, Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule, in a stern response on Wednesday, asked the Maharashtra deputy CM not to disrespect her father.
Pawar said there is not an iota of truth in reports about any rift in the NCP and his joining hands with the BJP.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of late NCP leader Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as Maharashtra's first woman deputy Chief Minister after being elected as the leader of the NCP legislature wing.
The case pertains to an alleged scam in the Sahakari Sakhar Kharkhana (co-operative sugar factories) and Sahakari Soot Girnis.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former CM claimed.
"Pawar saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in the guard a few days ago. We should see his decision in the light of his age and health also. Everyone has to take a decision according to time, Pawar saheb has taken a decision and he won't take it back," Ajit Pawar said.
Sunetra Pawar, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, will be elected as leader of the legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, after which she is likely to take oath as deputy CM.
In the wake of nine Nationalist Congress Party leaders, including Ajit Pawar, joining the Eknath Shinde government, party chief Sharad Pawar has convened a meeting on July 5 in Mumbai to discuss the developments and the future course of action, its state unit chief Jayant Patil said on Sunday.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been appointed as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, marking a new chapter for the NCP and presenting her with the challenge of leading the party.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Sunday said the oath taken by nine NCP MLAs as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government does not have official support of the party.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said he would bring to light the whole truth about his formation of a short-lived government with Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar in November 2019.
On whether Ajit Pawar will be expelled from the NCP, he said the decision will be taken at the party-level.
But if the reports are found to be wrong, those who made these allegations against him should quit politics, he challenged the leaders from the Opposition parties, as he alleged that efforts were on to defame him.
