Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress and its allies of plotting to have a separate Constitution for Kashmir and working to restore Article 370. Addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Modi claimed the Congress is speaking the language of Pakistan and that every Indian wants only Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution in Kashmir. He also highlighted the BJP's fulfillment of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's wish by renaming Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, emphasizing the Congress's opposition to the decision. Modi further contrasted the BJP's focus on national pride and development with the Congress's alleged support for Aurangzeb. He pointed out the BJP's achievements in granting classical language status to Marathi and attracting maximum FDI in Maharashtra after forming the Mahayuti government.
Right-wing group Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena's president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi was shot dead in the living room of his house in Jaipur on Tuesday by three armed men, one of whom was also killed in retaliatory firing, police said.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls.
The reunion of the two parties, which comes after a separation of three years due to what they termed "communication gap," may alter the political scenario in the state, where the local body elections are round the corner.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress.
Medha Somaiya, in her complaint filed through advocate Vivekanand Gupta, had alleged that Raut made baseless and completely defamatory allegations against her and her husband.
"Proper procedure of law is followed in Maharashtra. Police can take action against anyone if they have evidence. The state government hasn't acted out of revenge," Raut told reporters when asked about Goswami's arrest.
The Maharashtra minister alleged that Muslim voters were convinced that Uddhav Thackeray had "forsaken" Hindutva ideologies and the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray which led to them coming together to help the Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT candidates.
The PM said the Congress and its allies should not encourage the "Pakistan agenda" and speak the language of separatists.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took charge of their new official responsibilities at the state secretariat 'Mantralaya' here after taking oath of office on Thursday evening.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
Opposition leaders in India have expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of the deportation of Indian illegal immigrants from the United States during his recent visit. They criticized the manner in which the Indians were sent back, shackled and handcuffed on a military aircraft. The leaders also discussed the need for India to address the root causes of migration and the importance of national interest in diplomatic relations with the United States.
However, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Tuesday claimed Ajit Pawar-led NCP joining the Sena-BJP government is as per a larger strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls scheduled next year.
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.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
In a post on X, Thackeray said trolls in India are engineering hatred on the pretext of violence in Bangladesh, while the BCCI is hosting its team.
'I don't think there will be many problems after the assembly election results.'
Shiv Sena said that the party has no intention to change its political line of contesting all future polls independently.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
'The karyakartas who wanted to contest were disappointed and it took some time to explain to them why we needed an alliance.'
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
Two candidates each of the ruling coalition allies Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena and four nominees of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday night won elections to the Maharashtra legislative council, an official said.
While the Shinde-led Shiv Sena will organise its event at NESCO ground in Goregaon in northwest Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-UBT will hold its event in Shanmukhanand Hall at Sion in central Mumbai.
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
The Congress on Tuesday suffered a major upset in Himachal Pradesh at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha elections which were marred by cross-voting in all the three states though it won three seats in Karnataka while the saffron party pocketed an extra seat in Uttar Pradesh.
"We want to see Aaditya Thackeray as the next chief minister. But Uddhav ji will take the final decision," said Pratap Sarnaik, MLA from neighbouring Thane city.
"The intention of horse-trading stand exposed now. The lies of those promising transparent governance are becoming evident now," it said, adding that "unethical" ways do not suit the tradition of the state.
She further said that Rahul Gandhi's words were not driven by animosity, despite his disqualification and subsequent legal victory.
The two-day deliberations, which will be held at Grand Hyatt in the suburbs, will begin in the evening of August 31 and from 10am on September 1. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, Raut informed.
Kharge also hit back at the BJP for criticising his party colleague Rahul Gandhi over a copy of the Constitution with a red cover. He showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.
In the Saamana, the party went on to state that whatever has happened is a "conspiracy to downgrade the Shiv Sena."
The BJP was unable to win any seat in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala besides Puducherry in 2011.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there was no question of taking back those leaders who had deserted the two parties.
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress has tried to inflict capital punishment on true secularism, he claimed, asserting that the Waqf law has no place in the Constitution.
During his recent appearance on the show, Ranveer Allahbadia asked a contestant whether they would rather watch their parents have sex for the rest of their life or join them once and put a stop to it.
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