This comes after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hinted at foul play behind the plane crash and demanded the Supreme Court's probe into the incident.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has alleged a link between a godman and the fatal plane crash involving his uncle, Ajit Pawar, and has demanded a CID interrogation.
Two months after the death of Ajit Pawar, leaders within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are advocating for a merger with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), amidst internal disputes and banner controversies.
Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party is part of the BJP-led Mahayuti but the two parties are fighting the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls separately.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed concerns about discriminatory fund allocation and reports of a rift with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, dismissing both as unfounded.
"The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843 IST (8.43 am). However, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance (did not respond to ATC). Next, the ATC saw the flames around the threshold of runway 11 at 0844 IST (8.44 am)," the civil aviation ministry statement said.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar on Saturday won from his traditional Baramati assembly constituency by defeating his nephew and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar by more than one lakh votes.
The BJP stunned the Pawars in the Pune polls, clinching 119 seats. The NCP came a distant second with 27 seats, while its ally, NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar, won three. The Congress managed 15 seats.
'The entire Pawar family -- Sunetra Vahini, Jay and Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar's sons), Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule -- will sit together and decide how to move forward.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has dismissed reports of a rift within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, stating that "everything is hunky-dory." He attributed any issues to differences that will be resolved through discussions. Shinde's comments come after reports of him complaining to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, Pawar and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar have denied the allegations, claiming Shinde would have directly approached them if there were any issues. The ruling alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, which retained power after the state assembly polls last year. The alliance has also faced challenges with the appointment of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik, with the Shiv Sena opposing the appointments of Aditi Tatkare (NCP) and Girish Mahajan (BJP).
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar defends the Congress party's right to contest the Baramati assembly bypoll, criticising his grandnephew Parth Pawar's remarks against the Congress candidate. Pawar cites the importance of electoral contest and questions Parth's political maturity.
'Amit Shah had promised Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel that even if there were only one third of MLAs with them, they would be given the party symbol.' 'He promised them that the Election Commission would not take a decision against them and that they would get the party name and symbol.'
Pawar said, "The state will have one chief minister from BJP and two deputies from other two parties of Mahayuti. Tentatively, the oath taking ceremony will take place on December 5. We have decided to move ahead with a strong vision."
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday admitted to 'mistakes' in distributing financial assistance to all women applicants of the Ladki Bahin scheme launched last year, which he said would be rectified through scrutiny to ensure only genuine beneficiaries receive the aid.
The government maintained that Hindi would not be compulsory, but mandated the consent of at least 20 students per grade in a school for studying any Indian language other than Hindi.
'Ajit Pawar is trying to sideline us; he is trying to be in the BJP's good books at our cost.'
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Sunetra Pawar on Tuesday took charge as Maharshtra's deputy chief minister, a fortnight after her husband Ajit Pawar died in an air crash.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of differences in the ruling Mahayuti alliance over the presence of Ajit Pawar-led NCP and his party's opposition to the anti-Muslim tirade by some BJP leaders.
The senior Pawar, however, said that the entire family campaigns during elections.
Ajit's remarks came at a time when Maharashtra is witnessing heated political debates over the Mahayuti government's demand to remove Mughal empire Aurangzeb's grave from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
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.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has condemned adverse remarks made against his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party-Saradchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar by ruling Mahayuti legislator Sadabhau Khot, and said such comments will not be tolerated.
After his death, Sharad Pawar and other leaders of his party claimed that merger talks were in advanced stages and Ajit Pawar had finalised February 12 as the date to announce reunification between the rival factions.
Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, are part of rival alliances in Maharashtra since the latter rebelled against his uncle in 2023 and joined the then BJP-Shiv Sena government.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will come to know 'in a few days' if his Nationalist Congress Party and cabinet colleague Dhananjay Munde has any link to the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, claimed Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas on Friday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat were among the early voters to exercise their franchise as polling was underway on Wednesday for the state assembly elections.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday didn't join his cabinet colleagues Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in visiting the Nagpur-based memorial of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder.
Senior NCP leader Narhari Zirwal says the public wants Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, to be brought into the Maharashtra state ministry.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said no one will be spared in the Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case even as he defended his party and cabinet colleague Dhananjay Munde.
He urged people to ignore politicians who only make speeches and instead, vote for those who work.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar said on Friday that the Mahayuti allies are still in talks over 11 of the 288 assembly seats for the November 20 elections in the state.
Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.
The process to merge the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar and the Nationalist Congress Party may now face a roadblock due to the death of Ajit Pawar, said Sharad Pawar on Saturday.
Pawar tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram's daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP.
This is for the first time that two members of the influential Pawar family are fighting an election against each other. This is Sunetra Pawar's first Lok Sabha election.
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 also said he was "not interested" in contesting elections anymore.
Nationalist Congress Party considers Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, for the position of NCP legislature leader, emphasizing the importance of family consent in the decision-making process.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar Maharashtra unit president Shashikant Shinde on Saturday said his party chief Sharad Pawar and other leaders had no prior knowledge about the decision that Nationalist Congress Party's Sunetra Pawar would take oath as the state deputy chief minister.
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