Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam reiterates his claim that Bal Thackeray's body was kept at his residence for two days before his death was announced, making further allegations against Uddhav Thackeray. Other politicians weigh in, demanding answers and clarifications.
The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party by claiming that those who are crying hoarse over the grave of Yakub Memon, executed for his role in the 1993 serial blasts, were "hiding in burrows" during the Mumbai riots.
Buoyed by exit poll surveys, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday claimed that it would form governments on its own in Haryana and Maharashtra, and stressed that it would not require support of the Shiv Sena to form government in the latter.
The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded defeat in the elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats, accusing the election commission of 'facilitating' the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party's MPs will chant 'Vande Mataram' loudly in Parliament, daring the BJP to throw them out.
The Bombay High Court criticized the shifting allegiances of NCP members in the Ambernath Municipal Council, referring to it as "globe-trotting," while addressing orders related to alliances within the civic body.
As the rebellion by senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde plunged the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra in a political crisis, an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana on Thursday said the renegade legislators should "mend their ways in time".
The numbers tell us the BJP's acceptability in Maharashtra is growing -- at the expense of the Shiv Sena, no matter what the faction, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The decision comes at a time when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is holding the executive meeting of Shiv Sena.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarifies the separation of powers between the legislature and executive branches following a directive to suspend a Satara Superintendent of Police. He emphasised that while the executive is accountable to the legislature, the legislature cannot assume the executive's role.
Maharashtra legislative council's privileges committee has summoned comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare for a hearing over alleged insulting remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The hearing has been rescheduled to February 17 after both expressed their inability to attend the initial date.
He had resigned from his post as a deputy leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Khotkar told reporters in Jalna.
'Both the parties stood by the BJP through thick and thin, while others joined when they smelt power. The Shiv Sena was forced to quit the NDA last year while the Shiromani Akali Dal quit over farm bills'
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil has criticised the Maharashtra government over farmer suicides and crimes against women, alleging widespread corruption within the ruling alliance.
In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party" when rival groups emerged in June 2022, and did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.
On instructions from the central leadership, Maharashtra BJP leaders have retreated behind a veil of silence, the senior leader said.
Civic polls in Mumbai are to take place in late March or early April.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde and other legislators of the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena visited the memorial of RSS founder K B Hedgewar in Nagpur. NCP legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, skipped the visit.
Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, a confidant of Uddhav Thackeray, said the party is now looking to implement the 50:50 formula with its ally the BJP.
In a riposte to former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari's recent overtures to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, the Shiv Sena on Friday decided to field its candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections.
This is the third time in two days that Singhal, the Assam Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, has met the dissidents.
Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party gave it an ultimatum to take a final call on the seat-sharing pact for the Maharashtra assembly elections, Shiv Sena said on Thursday night that it would not be dictated by anybody.
'This is only a passing phase and the Sena would rise again like a phoenix'
After weeks of negotiations over seat-sharing, the Mahayuti alliance appears to have broken down ahead of municipal corporation elections in Latur and Jalna, with partners deciding to contest the January 15 polls independently.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
"Farmers' organisations in western UP have expressed their willingness to support the Shiv Sena and we may ally with smaller parties. In Goa, efforts are on to explore a formula like MVA. Let's see if we succeed," Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said.
Reiterating the Shiv Sena's demand for sharing the chief minister's post, Raut said the state's CM will be from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party only.
With the Congress coming third overall and having done much better than Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, its allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, political analysts said it will force a rethink as far as coordination, seat-sharing and leadership are concerned ahead of the 2029 assembly polls.
'For the Shiv Sena, Hindutva is like a shawl which can be put on and discarded at will.'
With most exit polls projecting Bharatiya Janata Party's emergence as the single-largest party in Maharashtra but falling short of a majority, the Shiv Sena hinted at a possible reconciliation with its former saffron ally, saying there should be "no bitterness any more".
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata P president Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Wednesday that the 25-year-old alliance with Shiv Sena would not be snapped although Bal Thackeray's party had extended support to Pranab Mukherjee for presidential polls.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray to finalize seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming civic polls. The meeting occurred as the deadline for filing nominations ended. The alliance aims to challenge the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
A demolition drive targeting an allegedly illegal mosque in Mumbai's Bandra East area led to clashes between residents and police, resulting in injuries and detentions.
The BJP MLA alleged that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is "trying to create a kingdom of criminals in Maharashtra".
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
'We were told that the 'yuvaraj' had announced to contest 151 seats, and they were not willing to back down on that number'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances