Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
Actor-politician Vijay held his first public meeting in Puducherry, criticising the central government for neglecting the union territory's demand for statehood and praising the local government's impartiality. He also targeted the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, suggesting they could learn from Puducherry.
Attempting to defuse the controversy, the Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi and labelled misogynistic and crude, was light-hearted and made casually.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the TMC government in West Bengal of patronizing infiltration, leading to demographic changes and riots. He reassured refugees and promised action against illegal migration if the BJP comes to power.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Cracks appeared in the opposition ranks as some parties showed willingness to participate in the budget debate, while the government insisted on equal speaking opportunities for all members amidst ongoing disruptions.
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.
'Whether we like it or not, we have been separated by the Meiteis and therefore we have put up our demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union territory with legislature.' 'For us lasting peace is the achievement of our demand.'
Nitish Kumar was chosen as the leader of the JD(U) legislature party and is expected to be chosen as the leader of the NDA alliance in Bihar. He will take oath as Bihar CM for a record 10th time.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Stepping up political pressure ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress-led Opposition bloc in Assam has lodged an FIR against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Saikia, accusing him of directing BJP MLAs to delete Opposition voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Kerala's ruling Left government over the Sabarimala gold loss case, demanding a neutral investigation and accusing the government of protecting the real culprits. He also signals the start of the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
Amid speculation in political circles over Shiv Sena's stand vis-a-vis the next mayor of Mumbai, party leader and minister Uday Samant said the civic body polls were contested as the Mahayuti alliance.
Veteran BJP leader Prem Kumar was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Bihar assembly. The election took place on Tuesday, with Kumar being the sole candidate for the position.
The Shiv Sena has moved its newly elected corporators to a luxury hotel as the race to pick the next Mumbai mayor intensifies. The move comes amid political maneuvering and strategic positioning following recent civic poll results.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of having a 'deeper connection' with a Pakistani national and violating FCRA rules, prompting calls for a national probe.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
Pakistan are avoiding playing against India because they are aware they can't win against them, said 1983 World Cup winning all-rounder Kirti Azad.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded an apology from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi after Congress workers allegedly threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life at a rally.
Ajit Pawar granted Rediff an interview in Baramati at 6 am. Why? 'To be a successful politician one needs to sleep less, and I never sleep for more than 4 hours' Ajit Pawar told Syed Firdaus Ashraf as Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff captured the encounter on his camera.
Gehlot had on Wednesday refused to deliver the address to the Karnataka legislature, leading to a stalemate over the fate of the customary speech that outlines the government's policies.
The tactical alliance between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not have aided the Thackeray cousins to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, but the pact helped them keep intact their traditional strongholds.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar has offered Rs 10 lakh fund for villages in his Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency if they elect a BJP-backed candidate in the Gram Panchayat polls to be held in Telangana next month.
According to the PM, CMC means "Corruption, Mafia, Crime."
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
The Nationalist Congress Party, led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar, on Saturday released a joint manifesto for the upcoming elections to the Pune municipal corporation.
Campaigning for the elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra has ended, with the battle for Mumbai's BMC taking center stage. Key political players are vying for control, with a focus on Marathi and Hindu voters.
Both Mr Modi and Amit Shah like Nabin because they know he will never answer back, points out Aditi Phadnis.
'Both Rahul and Modi are the same in the way they run their parties. Modi too wants faceless people and so does Rahul Gandhi.'
The BJP alleged that the move would undermine existing reservation norms and was aimed at consolidating a particular vote bank.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
'Removing Nitish Kumar prematurely risks unsettling both the alliance balance and parts of the social coalition that delivered this victory.'
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
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