Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj on Monday met expelled party veteran Jaswant Singh and is understood to have demanded that he step down from the post of chairperson of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
Hardening its stand against the Shiv Sena leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that negotiations on seat-sharing for the coming Lok Sabha elections could not begin unless statements made by a Sena leader that his party would back Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for the prime ministerial post are publicly retracted by senior Sena leaders.
Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, may contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, said senior party leader Gopinath Munde who also ruled out the entry of Rahul Mahajan, who is currently busy in a reality show after being in the limelight for all wrong reasons, into politics.
The party announced names of 83 candidates for the October 13 assembly election in Maharashtra.
The BJP had filed the notice last week.
Parliament was adjourned on Monday morning after condoling the death of 3 sitting members, including former Union minister Murli Deora.
Deshmukh's statement came after opposition leader Narayan Rane raised the issue during the adjournment motion.
'There may be more rebels and they will also face similar action,' Munde said.
She parried a question on why she had been inducted in the BJP ahead of Rahul, saying, "My entry into politics was not accidental."
With NCP president Sharad Pawar's meeting with Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray triggering speculation about a possible realignment of forces in Maharashtra, the BJP has that said the event will not disturb its existing alliance with the Sena nor would the tie-up expand to include a third party.
The BJP is ready for a snap poll anytime and is sure the UPA will not remain in office till 2009 in view of widening differences with the Left parties on the Indo-US nuclear.
She came under the cloud of allegation of clearing contract worth Rs 206 crore for purchase of a host of items under the Integrated Child Development Scheme.
Munde expressed confidence that the BJP, which won 34 seats and fell short of majority by just one seat in the 70-member state assembly with an effective strength of 69 would prove its strength in the House.
Azmi has slammed the Maharashtra government for atrocities against minorities.
The swearing in of the new members will begin on Thursday and continue on Friday, when the Lok Sabha speaker will be elected. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mittal reports
Pankaja Munde -- who lit the funeral pyre of her father Gopinath Munde on Wednesday at his ancestral village of Parli in Maharasthra along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party general secretary Amit Shah -- will lead the the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
Notwithstanding L K Advani's resignation, BJP President Rajnath Singh made it clear that there will be no going back on the decision to appoint Narendra Modi as campaign committee chief.
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.
'I am happy with the kind of roles I am getting. I started off with characters roles in television. I believe in Lambha khelo Rahul Dravid bano!' Sharad Kelkar chats with Rediff.com contributor Rajul Hegde.
Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.
Congress candidate Ashok Chavan, BJP's Gopinath Munde, NCP's Padmasinh Patil and All India Youth Congress chief Rajeev Satav cash in on their charisma and image. Sanjay Jog
Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is unhappy over being given only one ministerial berth and that too heavy industries portfolio in the Narendra Modi government and has complained to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat escaped unhurt after his car was hit by his security escort vehicle in Delhi on Wednesday while he was on his way to the airport.
A day after a city civil court restrained Union Minister Sharad Pawar from functioning as Mumbai Cricket Association president, the MCA managing committee appointed vice-president Ravi Savant as its interim chief.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
Pramod's brother-in-law Gopinath Munde's statement has come as shot in the arm for the prosecutors in the case.
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
'The Congress cannot speak the BJP's words while targeting Kejriwal.' 'What is the difference between the two? Where is the unity of INDIA then?'
Describing the unrest among party members as just the "tip of the iceberg," the report shed light on the underlying discontent within the BJP.
Sumitra Mahajan, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and one of the most experienced Parliamentarians, looks set to be the next Lok Sabha Speaker. According to sources, the 71-year-old leader from Madhya Pradesh has been sounded by party chief Rajnath Singh about the new assignment.
Narendra Modi is expected to have a 45-member council of ministers who will take oath along with him on Monday evening. The council of ministers is expected to have 23 Cabinet ministers, 10 ministers of state with independent charge and 11 ministers of state, according to sources.
Fadnavis said the 'minute details' will be gone into before an inquiry is ordered.
A host of high-profile personalities from the world of politics and business on Sunday paid homage to late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on his first death anniversary at the ShivajiPark grounds in Mumbai.
Sulking Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane on Thursday said he will quit the Prithviraj Chavan ministry on Monday but has decided to remain in the Congress.
Sharad Pawar will be elected unopposed as Mumbai Cricket Association president after BJP leader Gopinath Munde's appeal against the rejection of his application to contest for the top post in Friday's polls was turned down.
Bypolls to the Lok Sabha seats vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will be held on September 13, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
The senior BJP leader said he did not name the prime minister, the BJP nor did he speak of giving Rs 15 lakh.
Under fire over the "anti-Muslim" remarks by its leader Ramdas Kadam at the National Democratic Alliance rally in Mumbai ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Minister nominee Narendra Modi's address, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said those were personal views of Kadam and did not reflect the party position.
