The BJP in the last few years lost a major ally like Telugu Desam Party but also gained a big regional partner like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and several smaller allies in northeastern states.
The counting of VVPAT slips aims to verify the tally of votes recorded EVMs against the corresponding VVPAT slips, the ECI said, adding that representatives of candidates were present throughout the process.
Residents of a village in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Monday said they have planned a 'repoll' using ballots as the results of the recently-concluded assembly polls were 'doubtful' due to the presence of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Shiv Sena leader and former MP Rahul Shewale said around 2 lakh people are expected to attend the rally at Azad Maidan to hear the CM.
The Samajwadi Party announced on Saturday that it would walk out of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi after Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray's close aide hailed the demolition of Babri mosque and a related newspaper advertisement.
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.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
Supporting the rebel Shiv Sena candidate, Dhananjay Bodare, those who tendered their resignation were miffed over the Kalyan East seat falling into the BJP's quota.
Last month, Santosh Bangar said he would hang himself if Narendra Modi did not return as Prime Minister after the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
The BJP MLC said that while seeking votes for him, she felt like she was receiving a "send-off party" and was being freed of a responsibility.
The 75-year-old Eshwarappa, had remained steadfast in his decision to contest, spurning efforts by party leaders to pacify him. He had even filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
'The BJP is solely responsible for changing the image of the state, which is now known for political switch overs, and decline in its culture'
The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Friday released its second list, comprising seven candidates including MLA Zeeshan Siddique and two former Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'Even the late Balasaheb Thackeray had once stressed on the arrangement between Shiv Sena-BJP that the party having more number of elected legislators will have a claim on the post of chief minister'
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.
Right-wing organizations, including Bajrang Dal and All India Karni Sena, held a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony and chanted Hanuman chalisa at a long-abandoned Shiva temple in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The temple, located in a Muslim-majority locality, was "reopened" by members of these groups. The ceremony took place on Wednesday night amid tight security measures. Local residents, including a former Aligarh Mayor, have voiced concerns over the state of the temple and called for its restoration.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's bags were checked by poll personnel on Wednesday while he was onboard a helicopter to travel for poll campaign, and the Nationalist Congress Party leader said such measures are needed to ensure free and fair elections.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday mocked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for "handing over the remote control" of the party to the Congress as he took poll battle to Mumbai with less than a week left for voting in Maharashtra.
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has attributed the recent state assembly election victory to the role of Hindutva and counter-polarization. He described BJP's Hindutva as a way of life and said it played an important role in mobilizing voters. Fadnavis also alleged that the opposition alliance had an agreement to withdraw riot cases against Muslims. He further commented on PM Modi's inclusive Hindutva and the increased voter turnout in the election.
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.
The lack of clarity on who is next in line, when the time comes, as indeed it will one day some day, reflects poorly on the management of the world's largest political party. It scarcely need be said that a squabble between the contenders, Shah and Yogi, is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Opposition, notes Krishna Prasad.
Television visuals showed BJP workers mobbing the car at Khandoji Baba Chowk and vandalising it, resulting in the vehicle's windscreen and side panes getting damaged.
Shinde, an MLA from neighbouring Thane, was the leader of house in the previous term as well, besides being a cabinet minister in the BJP-Sena government.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar also ruled out any alliance with the Sena.
The rout of Sharad Pawar-led faction has raised questions over his political future with a potential risk of a further slide in the party flock in future.
'Whatever happens, we have decided to go alone.' 'This is the Shiv Sena's word and we will never go back on it.'
Shrirang Barne, an MP of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, on Monday expressed disappointment over the party not getting a cabinet berth in the newly-formed Narendra Modi-led government and alleged partiality.
The Sena also said the BJP leaders are creating sounds of empty vessels over the issue of who will become the Mumbai mayor.
In a virtual address to party corporators, he said the common Shiv Sena workers were his "wealth", and as long as they were with him, he did not care about criticism by others.
I was lucky to be born to the family of Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav said.
Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has expressed his support for a bus conductor, Mahadevappa Hukkeri, who was allegedly assaulted in Belagavi for not speaking Marathi. The incident has reignited the decades-old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka. Five people have been arrested in connection with the assault, but the Minister has called for the arrest of others involved. The attack has also led to allegations of a false POCSO case being registered against the conductor.
She further said that Rahul Gandhi's words were not driven by animosity, despite his disqualification and subsequent legal victory.
According to the woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in Satara district at one of the platforms around 5.45 am on Tuesday, a man approached her and engaged her in conversation, calling her 'Didi' (sister), and said the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform.
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.
Prasad dismissed accusations that BJP was committing "murder of democracy" by entering into an alliance with a group of NCP and referred to Shiv Sena joining hands with the Congress.
Gaikwad, an MLA from Buldhana assembly seat in Vidarbha region, is no stranger to controversies.
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