Leaders of the Maharashtra NDA alliance, including the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, are set to meet with the BJP's national leadership on Thursday to finalize the composition of the new state government. The meeting is expected to confirm the formula of one chief minister and two deputy chief ministers, with the BJP likely to hold the chief ministerial post and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP sharing the deputy chief minister positions. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won a landslide victory in the recent state assembly elections, securing 230 seats in the 288-member House.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar's remarks on Monday virtually declaring new entrant Harshavardhan Patil's candidature for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra has irked a section of party leaders that was eyeing ticket from the Indapur seat.
Their eyes trained on the big-ticket T20 World Cup in the Americas in June, the national selectors aren't finding it easy to pick just one among Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the upcoming Afghanistan series.
Ajit Pawar had also slammed Raut without taking the latter's name and said spokespersons of other parties were behaving like NCP's spokespersons.
If Shinde does not accept the deputy CM's post, then some other leader from our party will get it. He (Shinde) will take a call on this by evening, said Shirsat, who retained his Aurangabad assembly West seat.
'More than Eknath Shinde's wish, we want him (Shinde) to lead us in the government.'
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.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance on Saturday retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 50 seats.
'Karyakartas felt we should have fought independently'
Ahead of the crucial legislature party meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis met with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
Preparation of a turning pitch for the Mumbai Test, resting Jasprit Bumrah and Gautam Gambhir's coaching style were discussed threadbare.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
Virat Kohli began training with the Delhi team on Tuesday ahead of his eagerly-awaited Ranji Trophy comeback after a 12-year gap.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat has demanded that the party be given the crucial home department in the new Maharashtra government, indicating fissures among the Mahayuti allies. He also alleged attempts to sideline caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is reportedly upset with the BJP's decision to claim the chief minister's post.
'Knowing that a no-confidence motion would succeed, the BJP central leadership forced N Biren Singh to resign.' 'If he had lost on the floor of the House, it would have been a major setback for the BJP.'
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday pulled off a stunning performance in Maharashtra winning a record number of seats to propel the party-led ruling Mahayuti alliance to a landslide victory while the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) stormed back to power in Jharkhand on the back of a spectacular showing by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the weather situation with senior officials and asked them to incorporate technologies such as drones to assess the deluge and accordingly plan the relief works.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
Devendra Fadnavis, a seasoned politician known for his strategic maneuvering and resilience, has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time. His political journey has been marked by both triumphs and setbacks, including a short-lived coalition with the NCP and a period in opposition. Fadnavis's leadership is expected to focus on infrastructure development and addressing the concerns of the Maratha community.
Kirti Azad made a major disclosure that BCCI secretary Jay Shah wanted Virat Kohli out of the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.
Devendra Fadnavis, a seasoned politician with deep roots in the RSS, is set to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time, after his party, the BJP, won a landslide victory in the state assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience and strategic maneuvering, as he has navigated through challenging times, including political upheavals and controversies.
Mohammed Shami is making significant strides in his recovery from an ankle injury that has kept him out of cricket since the ODI World Cup last November.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should be willing to make 'sacrifices', in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact.
Ajit Chandila has been handed a life ban, while Hiken Shah has been banned for five years for their role in match-fixing during the Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Monday. The BCCI's Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Shashank Manohar, also comprising Jyotiraditya Scindia and Niranjan Shah, made the decision after their meeting in Mumbai. Chandila and Shah appeared in person before the Committee on December 24 last and were given time till January 4 to file a written response to the charges against them.
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, with Gadchiroli district logging more than 69 per cent voting, poll officials said.
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.
'People's expectations were very high.' 'We felt both sides had understood each other.' 'But the removal of Article 370 triggered apprehensions within the Naga people.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, who was shot dead in Mumbai, was a popular figure in Bollywood circles and had earned praise for supplying life-saving medicines to patients during the Covid pandemic.
The fate of tainted cricketers Ajit Chandila and Hiken Shah will be decided by the BCCI's (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Shashank Manohar, in Mumbai, on Monday
Shah reiterated the Board's position that Indian players will have to prioritise domestic cricket.
Gurnoor Brar has been drafted in specifically to get some simulation for the high-arm action of Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said his party will throw more weight behind its Mahayuti partners Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena in the upcoming state polls and denied reports of a 'friendly fight' proposal for seats where there is a tussle among allies.
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.
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said.
Rohit Sharma said the feeling of winning the World Cup that ended India's decade-long drought in global tournaments could not be described in words.
Police have launched a probe into the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday.
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