The delay in deciding the disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him Friday came under strict scrutiny by the Supreme Court which came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker, saying the proceedings cannot be a 'charade' and he cannot defeat its orders.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to form a government with his nephew and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar had one benefit, as it ended President's rule in Maharashtra in 2019.
The Maratha quota matter snowballed into a major challenge for the state government after the police earlier this month baton-charged a violent mob at Antarwali Sarati when protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift Jarange to hospital.
'If they don't make Ajit Pawar chief minister, what can he do?'
Bhujbal said Sharad Pawar announced support to the BJP in 2014 after it formed government following the Assembly polls without the Shiv Sena's backing.
The Dahi Handi ritual, part of the Janmashtami festival that marks the birth of Lord Krishna, saw enthusiastic participation by revellers in the metropolis, its adjoining areas and other parts of Maharashtra. The festival was celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety in Mumbai and other parts of the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday failed to retain Kasba Peth assembly seat, its stronghold in Maharashtra's Pune district, as Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar defeated the saffron party nominee Hemant Rasane in the bypoll.
Fadnavis said it is made to appear the border dispute has arisen only after the Shinde-led government came to power (in June this year).
'We were discussing government formation with Sharad Pawar. We had even finalised portfolio distribution and guardian ministers' responsibilities'
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday alleged that a scam of Rs 500 crore took place in the state information and publicity department during the tenure of the government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
'The strategy of frontal organisations of the Maoists is to create unrest and ensure that such unrest leads to a law and order problem.' 'To cover such acts it was necessary to bring in a different definition of unlawful activities which is different from the definition of unlawful activities in the UAPA.'
'We were apprising the CM on such issues and he assured us these would stop but in vain'
Reacting to Patole's suggestion that he was under watch, the NCP, which handles the home department, on Monday said his claim was based on incomplete information, while the Shiv Sena asserted that all was well in the ruling alliance.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday.
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
The case was registered 47 days after Solanki allegedly ended his life by jumping off a building on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on February 12.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
The Congress on Friday won the Amravati division graduates constituency, taking the tally of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to three in elections for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a result which has come as a jolt to the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Balasahebnachi Shiv Sena alliance.
While arithmetic political stability is a reality, the end result of politics in Maharashtra is hard to predict.
Fadnavis (52), in an explanatory statement submitted to civil judge VM Deshmukh on April 15, said there was no intention to deliberately conceal information about the two "insignificant" complaint cases.
Addressing a press conference in Satara, Sharad Pawar also said he has launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP and boost the confidence of party workers, unfazed by actions of a few leaders.
Tributes were also paid at the places targeted by terrorists including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Cama and Albless Hospital, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, the Oberoi Trident, Nariman House, the Jewish community centre, and the memorial of ASI Tukaram Omble who was martyred while overpowering Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist who was captured alive.
The Congress Legislature Party, which met at a private hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday evening, passed a unanimous resolution authorising the party chief to pick its leader.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday welcomed the Bombay high court's decision to allow his faction to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai, and said his party's faith in the judiciary stood vindicated.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal would have become the chief minister of Maharashtra had he not quit the Sena.
'But the coldness between the two is definitely melting.'
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pankaja Munde on Friday said she was planning to take a break for "one or two months" as she was anguished at her integrity being questioned time and again.
'People will teach a lesson to those who are compromising it for the sake of power and money.'
He, however, made it clear that his party candidates, as and when they contest elections, will do so only on MNS symbol 'railway engine'.
Observing that the name and photographs of Sharad Pawar cannot be used by the Ajit Pawar faction for political gains, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister on a plea of the veteran Maratha leader alleging misuse of his popularity by the rival camp.
He also expressed confidence about getting justice in the Supreme Court, as Karnataka's stand on the issue is both legal and constitutional.
'Shinde saheb won't let anybody (Ajit Pawar) act like they did during Uddhav Thackeray's tenure.' 'Shinde saheb knows how to deal with such people (Ajit Pawar).'
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.
Rana, who currently represents the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, joined the ruling BJP at the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's residence in Nagpur along with her supporters late Wednesday night.
Shelar demanded that Desai's death should not be treated just as a case of accidental death, but must be dealt with from a larger perspective.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday expressed confidence that his faction will emerge victorious in the legal tussle with the rebel group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The 36 new ministers included 10 cabinet and four ministers of state (MoS) of the NCP, eight Cabinet and four MoS of the Sena, and eight Cabinet and two MoS of the Congress.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said his government has taken serious note of the death threat to Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and that he has given instructions for a probe.
Even before NCP-Ajit Pawar leaders came to meet in Delhi, the central government decided to buy 200,000 tonnes of onions from farmers at Rs 24.1 per quintal. This was among the highest prices at which onions have ever been bought from farmers.
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