Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to form a government with his nephew and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar had one benefit, as it ended President's rule in Maharashtra in 2019.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
NCP led by the former Union minister said the Election Commission had sought its response to a petition filed by Ajit Pawar, and the party submitted its "preliminary response" to the poll panel on September 7.
The respect for the four-time former chief minister, often referred to as Saheb, in his stronghold of western Maharashtra is palpable in much of the region. But his estranged nephew also appears to enjoy a stature of his own in Baramati, a constituency represented by the senior Pawar for six terms before he passed the baton to Ajit Pawar in 1991.
Friendship with Ajit Pawar and the eventual destruction of the NCP can only strengthen him and the BJP.
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
The Uddhav faction was shocked to see Pawar felicitate Shinde with an award.
Hours after Congress leadership picked up suave technocrat-politician Prithviraj Chavan as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, ally Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday replaced Chhagan Bhujbal with party chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit as his deputy.
Hours after Congress leadership picked up suave technocrat-politician Prithviraj Chavan as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, ally Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday replaced Chhagan Bhujbal with party chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit as his deputy.
Addressing a press conference in Satara, Sharad Pawar also said he has launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP and boost the confidence of party workers, unfazed by actions of a few leaders.
The Congress leader was Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008 and the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was the Governor of Punjab and also served as Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
Upset over being denied tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party despite being its 'loyal workers for years', several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
Speaking to reporters in Maharashtra's Pune city, Rohit Pawar said he is firmly with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Ajit Pawar asked in his speech at his faction's meeting when would Sharad Pawar, who is 82 years old, "going to stop".
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
'If you stay out of power for long, you become irrelevant, your party members become restless and start looking to jump ship.'
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
The Sharad Pawar faction quoted lines from a popular poem 'Tutari' written by Jnanpith awardee Kusumagraj.
Amid the relentless clamour by the Opposition for Ajit Pawar's resignation over his controversial remark on drought, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the matter should have ended with an apology by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister. "The matter should have ended with the apology," Pawar told reporters.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
In his lifetime, it was his prerogative to decide who should use his photograph, he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday declined NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar's invite for a meal at his residence in Baramati in Pune district on Saturday, citing a hectic schedule.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday paid floral tributes at the city police headquarters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique alleges a 'casual' approach by Mumbai police in the investigation into his father, Baba Siddique's, murder. He cites procedural delays and reluctance to take decisive action.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed officials to declare leopard attacks on humans as a "state disaster" and proposed reclassification of leopards under the Wild Life (Protection) Act to better manage man-eating animals. The decision follows a rise in leopard attacks in the state, particularly in the Pune district.
Raut claimed Sharad Pawar recently told Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP.
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 luncheon meeting was held at the INS Angre auditorium, a state government official said.
The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 after the state assembly elections had lasted for three days.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the results of the assembly elections were historic, and they decided to whom the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena belong.
Bhujbal took a veiled attack at Sharad Pawar for the opposition's boycott of an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue.
Pawar made the announcement at the 25th anniversary of the party, founded by him and P A Sangma in 1999.
Sharad Pawar expressed surprise over the PM taking a "different stand" now.
The Nationalist Congress Party is livid as Shivtare continues to criticise Pawar, whose wife Sunetra is likely to contest from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, even after meeting Shinde in Mumbai recently.
Ajit Pawar's resignation from the post of the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra has brought to the fore the widening rift between him and Sharad Pawar, writes Sanjay Jog.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has expelled a local leader and his son after they were named in a dowry harassment and abetment to suicide case in Pune, India. The victim, Vaishnavi, allegedly hanged herself on May 16 after facing harassment from her in-laws for dowry. The police have arrested her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, while the father-in-law and brother-in-law are absconding. The case has garnered attention due to the involvement of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who attended the couple's wedding and gifted them an SUV.
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.
On Friday, Ajit caused a flutter in the party when he sent his resignation as the MLA from Baramati segment to Legislative Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade, which has been accepted.
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