He targeted the BJP, saying it gave the option to Opposition to either join them or go to jail.
I was lucky to be born to the family of Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav said.
Comedian Kunal Kamra continues to face backlash for his jokes targeting Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. The Legislative Council admitted a breach of privilege notice against him, while a state minister demanded his arrest. The controversy stems from Kamra's stand-up performance where he made satirical remarks about Shinde, leading to protests and vandalism by Shiv Sena supporters. The comedian has been summoned by the police and faces legal trouble, with even Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw justifying the action, emphasizing the need to uphold legal safeguards. Amid the controversy, Kamra lashed out at the mainstream media, calling it a "miscommunication arm" of the ruling party.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Monday said it will be easier for them to get permission for their annual Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai, after the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde got nod to hold a rally in the Bandra Kurla Complex.
MNS leader Abhijit Panse on Thursday met Raut, leading to speculation about a possible truce between the estranged Thackeray cousins against the backdrop of the changed political situation in Maharashtra.
The Mahayuti landslide in Maharashtra will leave the state assembly without a leader of opposition as no party outside the ruling alliance has been able to get the mandatory minimum 29 seats.
As news of Bal Thackeray's health turning critical emerged, Rediff.com's Abhishek Mande witnessed contrasting scenes outside Matoshree, the residence of the Shiv Sena chief, and the Shiv Sena Bhavan.
In a veiled attack on MNS president and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, the chief minister said he does not pay attention to 'new players' of Hindutva.
Thackeray said let there be elections to make it clear whether people support him on the rebel faction.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Monday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's attack on freedom fighter V D Savarkar will lead to ebbing of sympathy he has gained due to his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP.
The Bombay High Court has reserved its order on comedian Kunal Kamra's petition seeking the quashing of an FIR registered against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The court also granted Kamra interim protection from arrest.
Deora had recently expressed disapproval at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that there is no need for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the state assembly elections.
In the detailed order made available on Thursday, the court said Medha Somaiya is a well qualified and reputed personality and that her image was shattered due the defamation.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are set to be a defining moment for several regional heavyweights, including Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The two Pawars, Shinde, and Thackeray are engaged in a fierce battle for political dominance, with the outcome potentially deciding the fate of their respective parties. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition alliance, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and the NCP (SP) 86. The election is also marked by intense factional fights, with the two claimants of Shiv Sena's legacy competing in over 50 seats and the two Pawars facing each other in nearly 37 constituencies.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his party will soon come out with a 'hydrogen bomb' of revelations about 'vote chori' and after that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to show his face to the country.
The chief minister, accompanied by his wife and sons Aaditya Thackeray and Tejas Thackeray, visited the Shiv Sena founder's 'smritisthal' (makeshift memorial) at the Shivaji Park in Dadar area in Mumbai.
Hours after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Bhaskar Jadhav on Saturday claimed there is no provision in the law which talks about the appointment of the LoP in legislature merely on the strength of the party.
In its party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena said, "The Congress has opposed the proposal of renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar. It has made the BJP happy. But the Congress's opposition to the proposal is not new and therefore, linking it to the MVA government is foolishness."
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday admitted to 'mistakes' in distributing financial assistance to all women applicants of the Ladki Bahin scheme launched last year, which he said would be rectified through scrutiny to ensure only genuine beneficiaries receive the aid.
Uddhav Thackeray, who played the bold gambit of taking on the ally Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019 and forged an unlikely alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, was on Saturday left struggling to make sense of his party's rout in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
'Hindutva doesn't teach you to stab someone in the back.'
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who parted ways with the Shiv Sena in January 2006, on Monday said he was willing to "walk a hundred steps" for his uncle Balasaheb Thackeray and added that the doors of his party were always open for the Sena founder.
The Mumbai Police on Tuesday registered a first information report (FIR) against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MLC and former Maharashtra minister Anil Parab and four others for allegedly assaulting and threatening a civic engineer, an official said.
Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Subhash Desai's son Bhushan Desai joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party on Monday, dealing a jolt to the rival camp.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is keen to join hands with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra with an aim to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is currently ruling the state along with two other parties, former MP Imtiaz Jaleel has said.
"It is rare in the 65 years of independent India that I have seen a political leader who has left such a deep and abiding imprint on the country's events as Balasaheb Thackeray. Uncompromising in his patriotism, he possessed remarkable qualities of leadership and abundance of attributes of head and heart," senior leader L K Advani said
The former CM is expected to sound the poll bugle for next year's Lok Sabha elections with the convention and rally.
Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane, a BJP leader, has sparked controversy by stating that supporters of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and other opposition parties will not receive development funds for their areas. He urged opposition party members to join the BJP if they wanted development in their constituencies. His remarks drew strong criticism from opposition leaders, who questioned his adherence to his oath of office.
The actor paid a visit to the Shiv Sena chief at his residence on August 15.
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 Shinde faction, which is now named as 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena', will be able to use the symbol for the Andheri East assembly bypoll, should it decide to contest the election scheduled for November 3.
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.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said the Election Commission's order recognising Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena was "dangerous for democracy", and he would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The Thackeray faction also alleged that the Commission had uploaded its letter conveying the preference for poll symbols and party names on the poll authority's website, making it accessible to everyone, including the rival faction.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
'If Uddhav bhau and Raj bhau come together, who can stop us?' Prasanna D Zore reports on the fervour and hope set off by the Thackeray cousins coming together.
The delay in finalising a seat allocation agreement among the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections has ignited concerns among smaller constituents as the nomination process commenced on Tuesday.
As reports of political parties swiftly switching loyalties -- to quench their thirst for power -- swirl over Maharashtra, Rediff.com speaks to different players involved in the game of thrones.
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