Exit polls predict a clear victory for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, while forecasting a defeat for the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena alliance. Polls also predict results for Pune and Thane.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has made significant progress in challenging the Thackeray family's control over Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after nearly 25 years. The results mark a potential shift in Mumbai's civic politics, with the BJP emerging as a central force.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of late NCP leader Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as Maharashtra's first woman deputy Chief Minister after being elected as the leader of the NCP legislature wing.
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the results of the assembly elections were historic, and they decided to whom the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena belong.
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat has demanded that the party be given the crucial home department in the new Maharashtra government, indicating fissures among the Mahayuti allies. He also alleged attempts to sideline caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is reportedly upset with the BJP's decision to claim the chief minister's post.
Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, inducted 39 ministers into his cabinet on Sunday. The new cabinet includes members from the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, reflecting the coalition government formed after the recent state elections.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed concerns about discriminatory fund allocation and reports of a rift with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, dismissing both as unfounded.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
Pratapsinh Mohite-Patil defeated Congressman Anandrao Devkate by 1,22,817 votes.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has assured the public that the government's flagship 'Ladki Bahin' scheme, which provides financial assistance to women, will continue. This scheme, which is believed to have been a significant factor in the ruling Mahayuti's victory in the state polls last year, provides women with Rs 1,500 every month. Pawar, who is also the state's finance minister, clarified that there is no question of scrapping the scheme and that budgetary allocation has been made for its implementation. Earlier, state Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare also clarified that there has been no change in the amount of assistance provided under the scheme. The only adjustment made is that women already receiving Rs 1,000 under another scheme are being paid the difference of Rs 500, ensuring that they receive the full Rs 1,500. Tatkare addressed media reports claiming the aid under the scheme had been reduced, stating that this was not the case and that no eligible woman had been excluded from the scheme.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry in Maharashtra has successfully passed a trust vote in the state assembly, securing a commanding majority of 230 seats in the 288-member house. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' coalition, with a majority mark of 144, had a comfortable win with the support of smaller parties and independent MLAs. The trust motion was tabled by Shiv Sena MLA Uday Samant and others, and was passed by a voice vote. The 15th legislative assembly began its tenure on December 7, and the floor test was considered a mere formality. Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister for the third time on December 5, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as deputy chief ministers.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that he, his deputies Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, will work in shifts to ensure round-the-clock governance. Fadnavis will work from 12 noon to midnight, Ajit Pawar, known for his early rising habits, will be on duty in the morning, and Shinde, known for his late-night work ethic, will handle the night shift. This arrangement comes after Ajit Pawar's controversial return to the BJP-led government following a split from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The NCP, under Sharad Pawar's leadership, is now a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). The recent assembly elections saw the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, securing a comfortable majority.
Violence marred the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls in Pune on Sunday when some unknown persons fired at a Shiv Sena candidate who escaped unhurt even as his driver suffered bullet injuries.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal expressed disappointment at not being included in the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra. He stated he would decide his future course after consulting with his constituency. Bhujbal was one of several prominent leaders excluded from the new cabinet, which was expanded on Sunday. The exclusion sparked reactions from other political figures, including former minister Deepak Kesarkar and Congress leader Bhai Jagtap.
It is not clear how much money the government will transfer into the bank accounts of women in Maharashtra.
Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Republican Party of India on Tuesday appealed to people of Maharashtra to observe bandh on May 31 to demand complete rollback of the steep petrol hike of Rs 7.50 per litre.
"We will not support Kalam. He has lost place in my heart," Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said.
Free power and waiver of farmers' loans and reservation in jobs and education for women are among the various promises made in the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena manifesto released on Tuesday in Mumbai.
He further said that he believes Ajit Pawar will play a key role as a "kingmaker" after the elections.
A day after the MNS chief declared his unconditional support for the ruling Mahayuti alliance, Sanjay Shirsat, the spokesperson for the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, claimed the move would avoid the potential vote division in elections.
Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolio with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that there has been no discussion with the latter, however, adding that the talks will happen soon.
'Everybody knows that both of them will face loss if they are going to fight over a matter'
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party appears to win with a bigger mandate this time in Maharashtra and Haryana, exit polls have predicted. Both Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections were held on Monday. So will the exit polls be right or will the states witness a surprise? Catch all the leads and results HERE
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday claimed that there will be major changes in the state government, including the 'main seat', in the coming weeks.
The deputy chief minister called for the "strictest of strict" action against perpetrators of such crimes.
The NCP chief was accompanied by his wife Pratibha Pawar, Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan, NCP spokesperson Ankush Kakde, party's Pune city unit president Prashant Jagtap and many other party workers.
Parliament was adjourned during Question Hour on Wednesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Samajwadi Party members protested against "police brutality" on its workers in New Delhi and farmers in Pune, and demanded dismissal of the Maharashtra government.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is preparing his excuses for future defeats in the upcoming assembly elections, including Bihar, Fadnavis said in his articles published in the Indian Express and Marathi daily Loksatta.
The imbroglio in Parliament over a joint parliamentary probe into the alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation continued for the ninth day, with the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha adjourning till noon following uproar by the opposition parties. Even before Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar could take her seat, opposition members including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal, Janatal Dal United and Samajwadi Party trooped to the well.
The Shiv Sena has insisted that the two parties had a '50-50' power-sharing agreement before the elections.
Women-centric schemes could have proved a game-changer in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand, as both states witnessed a surge in women voters in the recently held assembly polls as well as return of the ruling alliances with a thumping majority.
In a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed rebel leader Eknath Shinde was pressured to go against the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and also alleged that at least two MLAs accompanying the minister in Surat were beaten up by the police and goons under the BJP's "Operational Kamal".
"We told the Governor that even 13 days after the assembly poll results, there is no sign of a government being sworn in. The ruling alliance partners are haggling over plum portfolios, thereby delaying government formation," Sena group leader in assembly, Subhash Desai told media persons at Raj Bhawan.
Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily on Saturday attacked a top aide of Rajiv Gandhi for suggesting that the then prime minister may have had a role in the release of former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson accused in Bhopal gas case, saying he was a new convert to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena camp.
Shiv Sena rebel Narayan Rane on Tuesday resigned from the post of the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra assembly.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for nearly two hours.
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