The impasse over government formation continued in Maharashtra on Friday, eight days after the state assembly poll results were announced, even as the Congress targeted the BJP for "cheating" the Sena.
Pawar also announced a panel of senior party leaders to draw a future course of action. Party workers and leaders, however, demanded that Pawar withdraw his decision.
Maharashtra unit president of the BJP, Chandrakant Patil, on Wednesday said he has assured the party workers that the party will return to power in the state once the results of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are announced on March 10.
Maharashtra unit president of the BJP, Chandrakant Patil, on Wednesday said he has assured the party workers that the party will return to power in the state once the results of the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are announced on March 10.
Members of the Opposition bloc MVA latched on the HC ruling and staged demonstrations in the legislature complex in Nagpur against the state government.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress leaders met party chief Sonia Gandhi amid talks in state political circle about possibility of the Shiv Sena forming government in Maharashtra backed by opposition parties.
'I came here to witness the historic message this oath-taking ceremony has sent to the nation and Maharashtra.'
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".
The Bharatiya Janata Party has denied allegations it was trying to wean away MLAs from other parties.
Speaking at a video conference to take a stock of damage caused by the cyclone in the coastal district which is adjacent to Mubai, Thackeray also directed that electricity supply be restored quickly.
NCP spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said that AICC general secretary H K Patil was told about this scheduled meeting when he and other Congress leaders met Pawar in Mumbai recently.
A faction of Congress believes that that decision of the NCP benefitted the BJP which won 122 seats and staked a claim for power.
'Hindus have never been polarised across Maharashtra in any state election.'
The Congress has a feeling that the state leadership is being left out.
Firing a salvo against Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has alleged that the senior BJP leader is in a rush to take over the country's top post.
The Centre may pass any law undermining the Constitution and on the back of its majority, but once the common man and farmers rise, they will not keep quiet until the new farm acts and the ruling party are destroyed, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar said on Monday.
There's no telling how long this government will last or how cordial the relations between the alliance partners will be, but it tells us that while constancy and fealty pay, timing is everything, points out Aditi Phadnis.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar also ruled out any alliance with the Sena.
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.
Fadnavis was sworn in on November 23 in an early morning hush hush ceremony, with the support of Ajit Pawar, who then headed the 54-member Nationalist Congress Party legislature party.
Thackeray also claimed that the Maharashtra government is yet to receive a total of around Rs 38,000 crore from the Centre.
State Congress legislators made a pitch for a change in party leadership by bringing in more new faces, especially youngsters in their Thursday meeting.
SC dismisses plea against Sena-NCP-Congress alliance
Discussions on other issues are in progress, Pawar said after the meeting, held at the Nehru Centre in Worli.
Thackeray and Pawar held parleys at a suburban hotel ahead of the 7.30 pm deadline set by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for the Sena to stake claim for government formation.
'They want to keep the BJP out, but how to make it happen is the issue that the Congress high command will resolve.'
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
"We want to see Aaditya Thackeray as the next chief minister. But Uddhav ji will take the final decision," said Pratap Sarnaik, MLA from neighbouring Thane city.
'Who else will solve these issues if not the chief minister?' 'Who else shall we take our complaints to?'
While the BJP and ally Shiv Sena are yet to announce the seat-sharing pact for the polls, scheduled on October 21, the Amit Shah-led party believes it will be back to power with a thumping majority.
Addressing the Sena workers in Mumbai for the second consecutive day, he also said that doors of the state and party are closed for the rebels MLAs.
Thackeray said lockdown has been partially eased because economic activities need to continue as 'now we have to learn to live with the virus'.
Ahead of the floor test in Maharashtra, what is more crucial is who becomes the pro-tem speaker. And bagging this post is part of the BJP's plan to retain power, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com/
The meeting is significant as PM Modi heaped heavy praise for the NCP during a debate on Monday to mark the 250th session of the Rajya Sabha was viewed with interest.
Anna Hazare on Tuesday began his indefinite fast at his village in Maharashtra to press for immediate passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament even as Government said it was serious about getting the anti-graft measure passed in the current session itself.
The BJP's core committee will meet on Sunday and decide the future course of action, party leader Chandrakant Patil said.
He has also convened the first meeting of the extended CWC on July 22 to chalk out the party's future strategy.
Congress leaders and workers continued their protests in several states on Thursday against Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald money-laundering case with many of them taken into preventive custody including former Union minister Renuka Chowdhury in Hyderabad after she allegedly grabbed the collar of a police official.
'Raut saheb has mentally wired himself to spend some time in ED custody.' 'He knows the risk is huge, but rewards will be bigger if he comes out unscathed.'
While Cong has made sure that it will follow the central leadership's line on Citizenship Act, Sena and NCP said they will take a decision after discussing the matter.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances