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.
Sources in the BJP said the expansion of the cabinet was unlikely before the session though the allocation of portfolios to the NCP ministers might happen in the coming days.
BJP leader and caretaker chief minister Pramod Sawant is the clear favourite for the post of the CM but faces some opposition.
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to form a "final opinion" on the meeting of Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria with ex-IPL boss Lalit Modi in London based on the report on the matter to be submitted by the Home Secretary on Tuesday evening.
'He deliberately encouraged my rivals to diminish my influence in the party.'
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai on Tuesday, a day after quitting the Congress.
Describing the unrest among party members as just the "tip of the iceberg," the report shed light on the underlying discontent within the BJP.
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.
Under pressure from political and other outfits, Bollywood film producers have announced that they will not engage with Pakistani artistes, clearing decks for the smooth release of Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' as the MNS withdrew its threat to stall the screening.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said his party will throw more weight behind its Mahayuti partners Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena in the upcoming state polls and denied reports of a 'friendly fight' proposal for seats where there is a tussle among allies.
Speaking after laying the foundation stone of the Bombay high court's new complex on land allotted by the Maharashtra government in Mumbai's upscale Bandra area, he noted the mega project was a collaboration between the state and the judiciary to provide modern infrastructure to citizens.
He also said the Naxals were spreading in urban areas and were trying to mislead the people.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat and discussed "important" issues, but said there was no talk on politics in Maharashtra where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in the process of government formation.
A boat with three AK-47 rifles and bullets was found off the Raigad coast in Maharashtra on Thursday, officials said adding that there was no security threat.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took time out from his hectic schedule for his daughter Divija, as he made a visit to the KG student's school on Wednesday.
The Shiv Sena on Monday said it was not surprising to see the Bharatiya Janata Party winning the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker's election as the Sena was broken and 'someone from the party' was pitted against it.
The Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first preference votes for its candidate Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to its ally Sena (UBT)'s nominee Narvekar, party sources said. Eventually, Satav got 25 and Narvekar 22 first preference votes, which meant at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted.
Raj Thackeray listed out his expectations from the PM in his third term in office.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
MNS workers will gather at every toll booth and ensure that four, three and two-wheelers are not charged tolls, Thackeray said.
At least 12 people were killed and 23 others injured when a speeding mini-bus hit a container truck on Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the early hours of Sunday, police said.
Sharad Pawar expressed surprise over the PM taking a "different stand" now.
On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation finished the excavation work for the second and final undersea tunnel being built as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project from Swarajya Bhoomi (Girgaon Chowpatty) to Priyadarshini Park.
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its tally dwindling by less than half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar was on a roll, pocketing 30 of the 48 seats.
Uddhav claimed that splits were engineered in many parties using central agencies and arrests were made illegally.
Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast.
Sudhakar Badgujar, the leader in question, denied the allegations while speaking at a news conference in Nashik.
NCP leaders including, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar were present at the Bada Qabrastan during the last rites of Baba Siddique.
The way the Bahraich riot has played out should worry the BJP. The party has emboldened Hindu youngsters to such an extent that its MLAs feel the need to go to the police against their party members. Is this what the BJP wants, asks Jyoti Punwani.
Shinde said some people took an "adamant stand" after the polls which implied that they didn't want to form a government with the BJP despite both the parties winning the mandate of the people and resolving the issue of the post of the CM.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
The poster came up on the eve of swearing-in of Sena president and the Aghadi nominee Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai.
The EOW stated in its closure report that it did not see any criminality or wrongdoing in the matter, adding that the bank in question did not suffer any losses in the process of sanctioning loans or selling the Jarandeshwar Sugar Mill.
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.
Addressing a rally at Nanded as a part of the BJP's outreach campaign to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Shah said the BJP didn't bring down the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last year.
Schemes like the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items.
The Maharashtra CM said he would order an inquiry after cops stopped traffic.
Baseless allegations are being made against Pune MLA Sunil Tigre linking him to the Porsche crash that left two software engineers dead, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday.
The chief minister's reply came on a query on Sharad Pawar's statement a day before wherein he said there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is its leader. Pawar later denied making such a statement.
