Maharashtra politics is at crossroads. Anything can happen in this dynamic situation. Uddhav will have to prove he is a worthy inheritor of his father's legacy and keep his cadre and leaders in the party stable. Fadnavis will have to prove that manoeuvrings on floor of the house was an inevitable political necessity to change the destiny of Maharashtra eventually. Modi and Shah will have to show that they can and will are resist use of 'the system' in the pursuit of power. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com analyses the situation.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
A round up of the second day's play from the Ranji Trophy games being played across the country.
However, the Sena's demand for elevation of the existing ministers of state to the Cabinet rank was turned down by the chief minister.
The Bharatiya Janata Party prefers to simply overlook the Shiv Sena's swipe and this has sent the latter into a sulk.
It seems that the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is leaving no stone unturned to make grand the October 31 oath-taking ceremony of its first chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, at the Wankhede stadium in South Mumbai.
On Friday, Khadse made a futile bid to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as well as senior party leaders in New Delhi.
With neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Shiv Sena willing to yield ground on the number of Assembly seats they want to contest, the alliance between them seems to be on the brink.
Following Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam's death, Twitter was flooded with tributes to the late president.
The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, officials said.
With just a week left for the Fadnavis government to prove its majority in the Maharashtra assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena are yet to resolve their differences over terms for the latter's participation in the ministry, deputy chief minister's post being one of the sticking points.
Two and a half hours into voting day and Maharashtra saw its top netas and Bollywood celebrities come out and vote. Among the early voters on Wednesday were...
'More people will come out of the BJP. You just wait and watch.'
In the heat and dust of a Baramati rally with Supriya Sule.
Facing the media together for the first time in several days, senior Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Tuesday said the two parties were "firm" on continuing the alliance as they resumed the deadlocked seat-sharing talks for Maharashtra assembly polls.
Facing the media together for the first time in several days, senior Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Tuesday said the two parties were "firm" on continuing the alliance as they resumed the deadlocked seat-sharing talks for Maharashtra assembly polls.
With no state leaders worth projecting, the BJP is left with no option but to focus on Modi for the Maharashtra assembly poll and harp on the importance on smooth Centra-state relations, says N Suresh.
Delhi survived a mighty scare before their lower order, led by Nitish Rana and Sumit Narwal, saved the day with some gritty batting as they beat Rajasthan by two wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Wayanad on Thursday. Resuming the final day on 51 for 3, needing 102 runs more to win, Delhi suffered a batting collapse but finally crossed the target of 153 with Rana (31) and Narwal (27 not out) playing some sensible cricket to take their side home at the Krishnagiri Stadium. The day's start for Delhi was a horrible one with overnight batsman Vikas Tokas (10) being bowled by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over of the day with the addition of just five runs to his individual overnight score. The score was 62 for 4 at that stage.
In a show of strength, Bharatiya Janata Party bulldozed the opposition - the Nationalist Congress Party, Congress and estranged ally Shiv Sena -- to wrest power in the state.
'Four years ago, when Gadkari was BJP president, Fadnavis was president of the state BJP, I had gone on a fast unto death demanding separate statehood for Vidarbha.' 'They had come to meet me and promised that once the party comes to power at the Centre and in the state, we will get separate statehood.' 'Four years have passed, but no change is seen on the ground.'
Political stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, Sharad Pawar and former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Carnatic musician K J Yesudas were among the 89 people who were selected for this year's Padma awards.
Skipper Ishant Sharma shone with the ball with three wickets while debutant Kulwant Khejroliya impressed with his pace as Delhi restricted Assam to 224 for seven at stumps on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match.
Fadnavis, BJP's state unit chief and MLA from Nagpur Southwest constituency, was unanimously chosen at the legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.
'As I was getting out of my car at Haji Ali some activists charged towards me with lathis and knives.'
Bhilar, a strawberry farming hub in Maharashtra, has been transformed into India's first 'books village'.
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.
In Delhi, the poor are pitted against the middle class, with the former led by Arvind Kejriwal and the latter by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ram Nath Kovind is the first Bharatiya Janata Party leader and second Dalit in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement about demonetising Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was hailed as a "bold step" by President Pranab Mukherjee and the BJP, which called it a "surgical strike" on black money, but his rivals denounced it as a "heartless and ill-conceived" decision that would inconvenience people.
'The strange thing about the Karnataka election is that the BJP looks more like the Congress of the past and vice versa.' 'Siddaramaiah has been able to out think the BJP almost every single day on every single issue.'
With the Supreme Court reinforcing its stay on jallikattu, the state BJP hopes it can persuade its party leadership to bring in an ordinance. But this is a path filled with risk, reports R Ramasubramanian.
'Secularism is associated either with corruption, malgovernance or minority votes.' 'That allows the BJP to construct its own majority vote.' 'It will remain a feature of electoral contests, but it is not the only reason for the BJP's success.'
Opposition parties ask the government to listen to the concern of the intellectuals returning awards.
Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.
Narendra Modi's meeting with J Jayalalithaa in Chennai has set the rumour mills abuzz. Will the Tamil Nadu chief minister ally with the BJP ahead of the 2016 polls, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Attempting to break the deadlock in seat-sharing talks for the October 15 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party will send a fresh proposal to the Shiv Sena even as it said it would like to contest seats its saffron ally had not won in years.
'If you look at the entire protest on April 2, you will find it was not only about the Atrocities Act dilution, but the accumulated anger of the Dalit community against the BJP over the last four years.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that vague laws that lend themselves to different interpretations are the foremost reason for pendency of cases in courts.
Higher interest rates in the US do not necessarily coincide with capital outflows.
As the dust finally settles on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Bharatiya Janata Party along with its NDA allies emerges as the clear winner, here is a list of who won in each of the 7 phases of elections.
