'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
Akhtar criticised vested interest groups in Pakistan, particularly the army, the political establishment and the extreme right wing, for blocking peace efforts between the two nations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
'We know how to deal with the BJP if push comes to shove.'
As Mumbai almost came to a halt after overnight rains, netizens and Mumbaikars took a dig at the Shiv Sena for the plight of their beloved city.
'I will not talk to people who call me a liar. I will not tolerate this,' the Sena chief said.
Sounding the bugle for Mumbai civic body polls, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Monday asked party leaders and workers to inflict a 'deeper wound' on Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on its home turf.
"Despite propagating that Rahul Gandhi is a weak leader, he is still standing and attacking the government at every opportunity he gets," it said. The Opposition will, at some point, rise from the ashes like the Phoenix," it added.
Malik said Congress leaders requested that the meeting be postponed to Wednesday.
'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
Mungantiwar also dismissed rumours that Union minister Nitin Gadkari may be appointed as the state's chief minister.
Raut said his party has decided to support independent candidate Shubhangi Patil from the Nashik division graduates constituency after she sought backing from former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
'When the BJP came into existence no party used to support it. When NDA was formed many leaders who are now holding posts in the present government were not holding any posts then and some of them were not even born,' the editorial said.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has alleged misuse of power and money to control the election mechanism in Maharashtra, calling for a mass revolt. He cites claims of EVM manipulation by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and says that the situation was unprecedented, with money and power used to control the entire election process. Pawar also expressed concerns about the suppression of opposition voices in Parliament and the lack of response to concerns about EVM manipulation.
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena on Monday took a swipe at Narendra Modi, saying the "wave" seen during the campaign lost its force even before reaching the shores and expressed doubts over survival of the state amid a hung House.
The Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP remains defiant despite 50 days in jail.
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
Addressing his party workers in Nagpur, the home turf of Fadnavis, Thackeray on Monday said the BJP leader, his former ally, was a taint on the city as he had aligned with a section of the Nationalist Congress Party despite asserting that he would never do so.
'Balasaheb Thackeray was a man who could control governments, despite not being in power. On the other hand, his son couldn't even control his party'
Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad refuses to apologise.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former CM claimed.
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.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday attributed early arrival of the southwest monsoon and heavy rainfall in a short span for the inundation of low-lying areas in Mumbai, which disrupted road and railway traffic.
Describing the unrest among party members as just the "tip of the iceberg," the report shed light on the underlying discontent within the BJP.
Sejal Shah's flatly-narrated timeline would probably serve better as a documentary, observes Sukanya Verma.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
"Why was the home minister not visible (during the violence)? The country got a strong home minister but he was not visible and this is shocking. During the assembly elections in Delhi, Amit Shah, despite being the home minister took out ample time for his campaigning. But he was not visible when the whole of Delhi was burning, said the party in its mouthpiece Saamana.
The Shiv Sena has particularly been upset with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has repeatedly attacked him.
Of the 288 assembly seats, the Shiv Sena will contest 124 and the BJP 150. Other seats will go to smaller NDA parties.
As reports of political parties swiftly switching loyalties -- to quench their thirst for power -- swirl over Maharashtra, Rediff.com speaks to different players involved in the game of thrones.
'Hindutva doesn't teach you to stab someone in the back.'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has responded to Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray's call to keep World Cup finals in Mumbai.
'The impression that Uddhav saheb is naram (soft or not-so-aggressive), anukool (congenial), manmilau (amiable) is true.' 'But he is Balasaheb's son. So, aggression comes naturally to him.'
The three Independent MLAs who have announced their support to the BJP are Geeta Jain, Rajendra Raut and Ravi Rana.
The rebel legislators have been maintaining that they were forced to go against Thackeray as he kept ignoring their plea to snap ties with the MVA allies despite being told that these constituents were trying to 'finish off' the Sena.
Reacting to the statements, the Shiv Sena said it was ready to take on whoever challenges it.
Neelam Gorhe, Shiv Sena spokesperson, debunks rumours that the tenuous alliance between the party and the Bharatiya Janata Party has come to an end, stating that 'no drastic step will be taken yet.
The trigger was Raut spitting on the ground in front of cameras during a press conference on Friday when reporters sought his reaction to Shiv Sena MP Shrikant' Shinde's jibe targetting Uddhav Thackeray.
Shah also challenged the Congress to implement its Lok Sabha election promise of providing Rs 8500 monthly to women in states ruled by the party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long harboured the dream of adding PoK to India's map, he said while speaking at a felicitation event organised by the Mahayuti alliance in Akola.
