The court directed the jail authorities to provide Bhujbal with prompt medical care in case of any emergency.
'The BJP, already falling short of a strong OBC leader from Maharashtra, will be more than happy to welcome Chhagan Bhujbal in its fold.'
A local Mumbai court on Tuesday remanded the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Chhagan Bhujbal in the custody of Enforcement Directorate till March 17, a day after he was arrested in a money laundering case in connection with the Maharashtra Sadan scam.
The agency, which placed the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader under arrest last night after a marathon grilling session on Monday, will seek his custody for further interrogation.
A day after Sharad Pawar announced his decision to step down as the Nationalist Congress Party president, senior party leaders held a discussion in Mumbai on Wednesday on the road ahead, even as Chhagan Bhujbal said Pawar's daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule was ideal for a 'national role'.
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
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.
Aam Aadmi Party has moved the Bombay high court seeking registration of an FIR against Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Chhagan Bhujbal for allegedly misusing his official position to award contracts for rebuilding Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi and Mumbai and receiving kickbacks from the contractor.
Jadhav said that after Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal answered Devendra Fadnavis's remarks on OBC reservation with 'evidence', the BJP became 'uneasy'.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
All eyes are now on the Sena factions, led by CM Shinde, backed by the BJP, and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and their performance in the coastal belt in the November 20 polls.
He did not divulge any further information on what is going to be an intricate issue and hard bargaining.
The article had criticised the BJP for forming an alliance with the NCP.
'Now Modi ji is saying it is his guarantee that every corrupt person will be made a minister'
Unofficially though, it is claimed that Ajit Pawar has the support of 29 MLAs, and the number could add up within two days.
Special Judge of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court, PR Bhavke heard the arguments of lawyers of Bhujbal and Enforcement Directorate before reserving the order.
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.
he ED had sought seven more days of custody of Bhujbal but judge P R Bhavke of the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases sent the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader in judicial custody till March 31, saying 'sufficient ground was not made out for further remand'.
The court would decide the bail plea after going through report of the board.
'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.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
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.
Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil (both from the NCP), Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut (both from the Congress), Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai (both from the Sena) took oath as ministers along with Thackeray.
The deputy chief minister's post may go to Ajit Pawar, sources said.
The ACB case against Bhujbal and the other accused is that they caused huge losses to state government by leasing out a plot to a private developer at a very low rate for which the accused persons received huge kickbacks.
'Praful Patel, Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal are not the ones who will go with Ajit Pawar'
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday faced a major setback as over 600 party workers and officials from the Pune city unit resigned.
Breaking his silence over ongoing probe by the anti-corruption bureau against his party colleague Chhagan Bhujbal, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday came out in strong defence of the former deputy chief minister.
Governor of Maharashtra S C Jamir, on Tuesday called Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and his Deputy Chhagan Bhujbal to discuss the government formation in the state.
Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats.
He expressed confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, NCP (Sharad Pawar group) and Congress will come to power in Maharashtra after the 2024 elections.
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.
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
Ahead of being sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra third time in four years, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar had called a meeting of party leaders and MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai.
The Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, will decide whether only the chief minister and deputy CMs will take the oath of office on December 5, or whether ministers will also be sworn in. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for the evening at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending. While BJP sources have indicated that Devendra Fadnavis is the frontrunner for the chief minister's post, the BJP legislature party leader is yet to be appointed. NCP chief Ajit Pawar has stated that the chief minister will be from the BJP, with deputy CMs from the Shiv Sena and NCP. The Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections, winning 230 seats out of 288. The government formation has been delayed due to disagreements on the chief minister's position.
An Enforcement Directorate official said that the searches would continue through the day.
The Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau, probing the Maharashtra Sadan scam, on Wednesday filed its charge sheet against senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal.
Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped down as Maharashtra chief minister, even as the suspense over who will succeed him as the new CM continued, three days after state assembly election results were announced.
The priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation.
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