This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
NCP sources also added that the smaller parties which had allied with the Congress-NCP coalition are also on board to having a tie-up with the Shiv Sena.
MLAs of smaller parties like the Bachhu Kadu-led Prahar and Independent legislators also attended the meeting, Prabhu added.
Three months after two legislators allegedly assaulted a police officer inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly premises, the crime branch has filed 130-page chargesheet against them.
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.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Bal Thackeray and Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Monday announced an alliance, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.
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.
The Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday revoked the suspension of the five legislators who had allegedly assaulted a policeman on the assembly premises in March this year.
After being outwitted by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is now facing another challenge of getting all its six candidates elected to the state Legislative Council in the June 20 polls, which has once again put the spotlight on Independents and smaller parties.
Elections to the nine council seats which fell vacant on April 24 were postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak, but last week the Election Commission set May 21 as the poll date.
The seat-sharing issue is being discussed with the central leadership, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule told PTI.
'Modi is not assuring the nation that if he gets back to power in 2024 and remains in power till 2029, he will not change the Constitution.'
Rana, who currently represents the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, joined the ruling BJP at the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's residence in Nagpur along with her supporters late Wednesday night.
Three MLAs abstained, while 20 legislators, most of them from Congress and the NCP, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, both former ministers, were absent during the trust vote.
The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar 10 seats.
Among the retired police officials who lost was former 'encounter specialist' and Shiv Sena candidate Pradeep Sharma.
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party won all five seats it contested in the Maharashtra legislative council elections on Monday, Mohit Kamboj, its leader from Mumbai, claimed that three MLAs of the party indulged in "cross-voting".
All eyes are now on 13 Independents and 16 MLAs from smaller parties.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is in no hurry to engineer a split or woo legislators from other parties at this juncture, though it is short of numbers in the Maharashtra assembly.
The BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the state's conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption.
'ow can Aurangzeb be our leader? Our king is only one and that is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'
The BJP cannot afford to alienate the OBCs, who have explicitly voiced their opposition to the Maratha quota.
'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
At a time when a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra has hit the streets expressing displeasure over the party's proximity with the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has swung into action to bring together estranged partners BJP and Shiv Sena.
An estimated 47 per cent voters exercised their franchise on Sunday in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation polls
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote.
'The Shiv Sena and the Ambedkarites are two powerful social forces in Maharashtra with a presence in the toiling classes. However, they were made to fight each other by the powers that be. Now, they are joining hands while overcoming this contentious past.'
He is learnt to have discussed the formulation of a joint opposition strategy on the issue of Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the detention of prominent leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
'It's dull because this time the election is spread over such a long period.'
The MLAs, who are seemingly unhappy with their leadership, arrived in Surat on Monday night and are camping at the Le Meridian Hotel, they said.
The BJP suffered a loss in the voting percentage though it managed win the seat.
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
The three Independent MLAs who have announced their support to the BJP are Geeta Jain, Rajendra Raut and Ravi Rana.
'The BJP will be wiped out from all over India.'
Suggesting an alliance with ruling Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress in Maharashtra, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Imtiaz Jaleel has said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) can become a 'comfortable car' from the three-wheeled autorickshaw which can prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday won four seats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal retained the Mokama assembly seat in the bypolls to seven assembly constituencies in six states.
With Rahul showing a significant lead over Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in opinion polls across southern India but lagging in the north, the Congress believes his contesting from the south will help galvanise cadres.
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