'Over the last 65 years the state has seen majority of Maratha chief ministers and cabinet ministers, even Union cabinet ministers.' 'The Marathas have always wielded disproportionately significant political, commercial and social influence in the state and yet they are asking for reservations today.'
Referring to the demand of giving a Kunbi certificate to all 54 lakh people whose proof of being Kunabi has been found till now, Patil said that they will be given the certificates soon.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray described how Bhujbal, once like a canon in Shiv Sena, was reduced to a water-pistol in the NCP
Jarange, who was earlier on a hunger strike in the village over his demand for reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category, had ended his fast on September 14 on the 17th day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met him and assured to fulfil his demand.
Did the fear of central agencies probing scams involving NCP leaders that forced these politicians to jump ship?
Union Minister Praful Patel and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is the Nationalist Congress Party's OBC face, are among 18 candidates announced by the party on Thursday for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
The two Nationalist Congress Party leaders were administered oath of office by Governor Mohammed Fazal at a function at Azad Maidan in south-Mumbai.
Maharashtra is set to get a new government on Tuesday as Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal are expected to take oath of office.
Close on the heels of his indictment by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal has come under the lens of the office of the Charity Commissioner which has ordered inspection of a building owned by his family-run trust for violation of rules.
The Maharashtra deputy chief minister also advocated the need to take all political parties and consumers into confidence on CAS.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP are holding their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively, on Wednesday.
Abdul Rehman on Friday met Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in this regard.
The meeting comes on the heels of the gunning down of the key Mumbai blasts suspect, Nasir, in an encounter on Friday.
The Congress and the NCP, the main partners of the ruling Democratic Front in Maharashtra, appeared divided over the issue.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said he will set out on a tour of Maharashtra after the Diwali festival to meet Marathas and make them aware about the issue of reservation for the community.
Triggering a fresh set of problems for Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil, the state's Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has blamed Patil of evading his call of duty during the Mumbai terror attacks by staying indoors and refusing to visit the venue on the first day of the attacks.
Speaking to reporters at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, the activist said he would wait and see if the state government converts its draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas into law and then decide on the course of his agitation.
An NCP worker from Pune wrote a letter in blood, appealing to Pawar to withdraw his decision and not make him and several other party workers "orphan".
Pawar reminded PM Modi of his recent remarks about 'corruption' of NCP leaders, and asked him to act against those who are guilty.
Unofficially though, it is claimed that Ajit Pawar has the support of 29 MLAs, and the number could add up within two days.
The best-case scenario is that the BJP will top out at around 50 seats in UP -- a drop of 12 from the 62 it had won in 2019. Taken in tandem with Maharashtra and Karnataka, this is what is likely to put paid to the BJP's ambitions of a third term for Modi, argues Prem Panicker.
The MNS joining the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra could help it with a 'Thackeray versus Thackeray' narrative, fielding Raj Thackeray, an articulate speaker, to take on his cousin Uddhav Thackeray.
Known for its Paithani sari but drought-prone for many years, the Sena wrested the Yeola seat from Congress in 1990.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday claimed that Maratha leaders earlier did not support quota for the community and there was also pressure from OBC leaders on the government for 30-40 years to not give reservation to Marathas.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said: "We think it is a new group of Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Within a few days, the culprits will be tracked down.
Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
'The BJP is solely responsible for changing the image of the state, which is now known for political switch overs, and decline in its culture'
There is a growing unease among Lok Sabha ticket aspirants in the Shiv Sena amid its decision to drop three sitting MPs and the ongoing seat-sharing talks between the Mahayuti partners, party sources said.
Nationalist Congress Party Legislature party leader in Maharashtra assembly Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday said his party will never align with the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party for the sake of power.The comments came in the wake of senior party leader Ajit Pawar's interview to a national daily on Thursday, when he informed that the Shiv Sena-BJP had made an offer to him to join the combine with his followers, in exchange for the chief minister's post.
If the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys some influence.
'Now Modi ji is saying it is his guarantee that every corrupt person will be made a minister'
The Shiv Sena chief's comments come in the background of reports that the BJP is keen to allow the NCP to enter the NDA.
This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
On Thursday, Fadnavis wrote a letter to Ajit Pawar opposing NCP leader Nawab Malik sitting on a treasury bench seat.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he aspired to become the CM of the state and also took a jibe at his 83-year-old uncle asking when will the Maratha strongman retire from active politics, as he appeared to be ahead in the numbers game for control of the Nationalist Congress Party after its vertical split.
'They want to win 45 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general elections and joining hands with Ajit Pawar is in that direction.'
Displaying a washing machine on its press conference dais, the Congress on Saturday taunted the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a closure report in a 2017 corruption case against Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel and said the ruling party's 'fully automatic washing machine' works on the principle -- 'join BJP, case closed'.
'Praful Patel, Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal are not the ones who will go with Ajit Pawar'
The Nationalist Congress Party leader was speaking in the assembly on a resolution moved by Speaker Rahul Narvekar urging the government to formulate a new women's policy.
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