"Be it Delhi or Maharashtra, the atmosphere should be fear-free. It is the responsibility of the rulers to create such an atmosphere that those in public life can work fearlessly. There is no objection to withdrawing the security cover when such atmosphere prevails," the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the single-day election in Uttarakhand and Goa, two states known for political volatility where the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting to retain power, and for the second phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on February 14.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's cartoon ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah over their party's humiliating rout in the Delhi Assembly polls has invited sharp rebuke from the saffron party.
Some relatives of the deceased COVID-19 patients have alleged that the "lowered supply of oxygen" claimed the lives of their kin.
The Janata Dal-United, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, opposed the government's move on Article 370 through a fresh Presidential Order ending special status to Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, opposing the Narendra Modi-led government's decision, they walked out of the Rajya Sabha where the bill to split the state into two Union Territories was passed. Similarly, on Tuesday, the JD-U walked out of Lok Sabha while the bill was being discussed. In Patna, JD-U national spokesperson K C Tyagi said: "We completely differ with the Central government's move on Jammu and Kashmir. There was a need for wider consultations on it, but no consultation was done even within the NDA. We own the legacy of socialist leaders Ram Manohar Lohia and Jai Prakash Narayan, who had opposed attempts to tamper with Article 370 during Congress (government in the past)." Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on the same, the JD-U leader said that 'walking out of Parliament won't affect their ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party'.
'For Modi and Shah, the humiliating setback is bigger than the electoral defeats in New Delhi and in Bihar in 2015.'
With the BJP backing off from the race, the onus to form government now rests with the Sena, which has indicated that it might rope in the Congress and the NCP to prop up a government.
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
Though authorities and NGOs have made arrangements for their food, most of them want to go back to their native places to escape the hardship brought by the sweeping curbs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance looked set to return to power in Maharashtra while Haryana could be a cliffhanger with no clear majority for the BJP or the Congress, Election Commission trends indicated.
Ranaut, who had said she feared Mumbai Police after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and likened the Maharashtra capital to Pakistan occupied Kashmir, thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and declared that no one could crush a patriot.
A scene of a play and a conversation between two key characters were snipped from the first episode Tanashah, a day after the cast and crew of the nine-part starry political saga on Amazon Prime Video once again apologised and said they had decided to implement changes to address the concerns raised.
There's no telling how long this government will last or how cordial the relations between the alliance partners will be, but it tells us that while constancy and fealty pay, timing is everything, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Modi, Shah and Nadda have created a strategy to boost the BJP and the government's image.
During the meeting, the two leaders are expected to discuss the current political situation in Maharashtra in view of the tussle between the BJP and its ally the Shiv Sena.
Tension within the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance over seat sharing for upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls became perceptible with BJP on Sunday disapproving Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's statement that in the event of a saffron victory, the top post would go to Shiv Sena and that he was not averse to assuming it.
A day after Bharatiya Janata Party formally commenced talks with estranged ally Shiv Sena on the its participation in the Devendra Fadvanis government, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday visited Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's residence.
The party, which shares power with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, said that Gandhi took a stand in public interest and displayed political maturity when he said that he might have differences with Modi, but this is not the time to quarrel as the country needs to give a united fight against the pandemic.
The BJP has been inducting leaders from the NCP and the Congress since the last few months to expand its footprint in the regions where the party lacks organisational base.
The street-fighter attitude is what keeps Rane going even at 69. The expectation is -- at least in the BJP camp -- that he will be itching for a battle royale with the Shiv Sena in its bastions.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress leaders met party chief Sonia Gandhi amid talks in state political circle about possibility of the Shiv Sena forming government in Maharashtra backed by opposition parties.
He dubbed the rumours of 'alternate formulae' being worked out to form the state government as 'entertainment'.
The police on Friday arrested two more Maharashtra Navnirman Sena students' wing activists in connection with the death of an Hindustan Aeronautical Limited employee due to the violence sparked off after the arrest of party chief Raj Thackeray.
By the next election, the Shiv Sena too may end up like Raj Thackeray's MNS.
While the BJP and ally Shiv Sena are yet to announce the seat-sharing pact for the polls, scheduled on October 21, the Amit Shah-led party believes it will be back to power with a thumping majority.
Not relenting on seat sharing in Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said it would fight in all the 288 assembly seats if it is "compelled" to part ways with the Shiv Sena, its ally of 25 years.
Gandhi had decided not to celebrate her birthday because of rape incidents and assaults on women in the country.
Tropical storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te) which had intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm, lies close to the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department said. "The landfall process has started and will continue during next two hours," the IMD said.
Shiv Sena said it will soon take a decision on its continuance in the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.
The move came at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
Hitting out at the opposition BJP over its 'lust for power' and 'dirty politics', Thakur said that Maharashtra has given a new formula to the country. She also said that the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was stable.
Late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray made BJP leaders remove posters that proclaimed Modi, then CM of Gujarat, as the 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'.
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
PM to take a call on reopening places of worship on Saturday; state governments empowered to take a call on malls and wedding halls; domestic flights expected to resume on May 18, with Air India being first off the blocks.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said his party had anticipated such an action against its leader Malik as he 'speaks openly'.
Rane's move comes after days of speculation that he may join the Bharatiya Janata Party
The two oldest NDA allies insisted they did not want the alliance to come apart.
He will meet Uddhav Thackeray at his home and address Gujaratis all over the city.
Amid continuing stand-off with Shiv Sena, BJP's Maharashtra Assembly poll in-charge Om Mathur said his party was the new "big brother" in the state and others should not think themselves as bigger when "the people's verdict is otherwise".
Rane accused the Congress of reneging on its promise of making him the CM after he joined the party 12 years ago.
