Last month, ink was thrown at Patil during an event in Pimpri town of Pune district in an apparent protest against his controversial remark about Dr B R Ambedkar and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
The elections for the 288-member House are due in September-October this year.
What began as a car accident in Pune has now spiralled into a full-blown political controversy, drawing in senior state leaders and sparking a debate over political interference, selective targeting, and law enforcement priorities in Maharashtra.
Union minister Raksha Khadse of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged that Shiv Sena workers were intimidating people in the Muktainagar assembly segment in her home district of Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, a claim exposing strains between the two Mahayuti allies.
Shiv Sena leader Shahajibapu Patil accuses the BJP of undermining him politically by supporting his rival in Sangola during the Maharashtra assembly elections. He claims the BJP helped PWP candidate Babasaheb Deshmukh despite his support for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election.
Activist Manoj Jarange's hunger strike demanding Maratha quota continues for the third day in Mumbai, following a meeting with a government delegation. The protest has caused traffic disruptions and highlights the ongoing debate over reservation policies in Maharashtra.
Manoj Jarange's protest for Maratha quota at Mumbai's Azad Maidan enters its third day. Jarange is demanding 10% quota for Marathas and recognition as Kunbis. Maharashtra ministers suggest the community avail the existing EWS quota.
State BJP minister Chandrakant Patil last week said Harshvardhan Patil will regret his decision to join the Pawar-led party.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday named as the guardian minister of his home district Pune in place of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.
Of the ruling alliance Mahayuti, NCP ministers Dilip Walse Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal filed the papers for Ambegaon and Yeola seats, respectively, while their cabinet colleague from the BJP
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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
BJP's Maharashtra unit chief Chandrakant Patil on Friday asserted that his party did not play any role in the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance bagged 53 of the 70 assembly seats in the region.
Shinde was speaking in the presence of Union Home Minister Ami Shah at the inauguration ceremony of the 'Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre' built by the Shree Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj in Pune's Kondhwa.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said he has followed the principle of '80 per cent social work and 20 per cent politics' of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his career and pledged to continue working for the common man. Shinde's remarks came after the state assembly passed a unanimous resolution congratulating him for receiving the 'Adya Jagatguru Shri Sant Tukaram Maharaj Puraskar', a prestigious award from the Warkari (devotees of Lord Vitthal) community, earlier this month. The resolution comes amid a row over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged defamatory remarks against Shiv Sena leader Shinde, with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an apology from Kamra even as the opposition came out in his support.
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
The list also includes the names of Mumbai BJP president Ashish Selar, fielded from the Vandre West seat, and senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, fielded from Kankavli, a seat he currently represents in the assembly.
Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.
To a question about the BJP's next move, as it is the single largest party in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Patil said, "The next steps will be decided by Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde."
Yakub Memon, one of the Memon brothers who were prime conspirators of the 1993 serial blasts, was hanged in 2015 following his conviction.
Many of BJP leaders said that Fadnavis will soon helm the state.
The incident had occurred in Pimpri city on Saturday in apparent protest against minister Patil's controversial remark about Dr BR Ambedkar and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings in Mumbai on Thursday to decide the future course of action, where party's state in-charge C T Ravi will remain present, party sources said.
Chandrakant Patil also took a swipe at Uddhav for accusing Eknath Shinde of stealing the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
Many areas witnessed waterlogging and at least 31 incidents of tree fall were reported.
While ruling out any alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for the Ferbruary 22 BMC polls, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said, "I realised that he is vocal about the rights of Maharashtrians and fights for them. Simultaneously, he does not want to spread hatred against non-Maharashtrians."
With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The Maharashtra legislative council on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution to rename seven stations on the Mumbai local train network.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till the ongoing budget session ends on March 26, over his remarks eulogizing Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Another chartered plane with four MLAs from Maharashtra arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday to join the rebel Shiv Sena legislators who reached the city earlier in the day, sources said.
The police probing the ink attack on Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil in Pimpri Chinchwad city will summon a television journalist again in connection with the case, a top officer said on Monday.
Patil revealed that CM Shinde called him on Tuesday morning after his remarks caused a row and asked him to clarify.
'We are here to reason it out with Shinde saheb.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday expanded his two-member ministry, 41 days after taking oath as the CM.
The Congress leader submitted his resignation as an MLA to Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade at his office. Bagade accepted his resignation, along with that of Congress MLA Abdul Sattar and state minister Girish Bapat.
Bawankule's remark gave ammunition to the opposition parties, with the Nationalist Congress Party saying that it showed the Bharatiya Janata Party had no value for current CM Shinde.
Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form a government in Maharashtra in March 2022.
Shinde said Patil told him that he did not mean to disrespect the late Sena supremo.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances