Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
Counting of votes has begun in the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, with a focus on the Mumbai battle between the BJP-led alliance and the Thackeray factions.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis orchestrated a significant victory for the BJP in the recent civic polls, solidifying his position as a key strategist and influential leader within the party.
Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and 28 other civic bodies in the state were held on January 15.
A long-billed vulture, J132, released in Maharashtra's Pench Tiger Reserve, has travelled nearly 750 km in 17 days, reaching close to Anjaneri hills near Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district. The vulture's journey is part of a conservation program by the state forest department and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
Campaigning for the elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra has ended, with the battle for Mumbai's BMC taking center stage. Key political players are vying for control, with a focus on Marathi and Hindu voters.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
The upper portion of the vehicle was damaged before locals rushed to the spot and helped douse the flames.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Maharashtra heads to the polls for 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai's BMC election taking center stage as the BJP-led Mahayuti faces off against the Thackeray front. Key issues include promises for women, pollution control, and the city's financial health.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
A BMC spokesperson said the average voter turnout stood at 29.96 per cent till 1.30 pm in the metropolis, which has more than 1 crore eligible electors.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
More than 750 houses and crops on over 33,000 hectares were damaged in Dharashiv district, where helicopters and boats had to be deployed to rescue stranded people, they said.
The Eastern Freeway, Sion-Panvel highway, V N Purav Road, P D'Mello Road, Wallchand Hirachand Marg, Dr Dadabhai Nauroji Road and Hajarimal Somani Road will be closed for all types of vehicular traffic except emergency service vehicles, said the official.
As violence broke out, police baton-charged the protesters and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them. Several persons, including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 state transport buses were set ablaze. More than 360 persons were booked in connection with the violence, police said.
Activist Manoj Jarange, advocating for Maratha reservation, reached Shivneri Fort with supporters en route to Mumbai for a fresh agitation. He demands a 10% quota for Marathas under the OBC category and has been granted permission to protest peacefully in Mumbai.
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
Ten police personnel, including a sub-divisional officer, have been suspended in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district for allegedly looting hawala money being transported to Maharashtra.
The constituency is being represented by senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve, who has won this seat five times on the trot.
Cattle trade has been suspended in several weekly markets in Jalna district, Maharashtra, following allegations of harassment and attacks by cow vigilantes. Traders cite prolonged legal battles and selective targeting as reasons for the boycott.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
'All commercial and banking transactions happen in South Mumbai.'
The BJP-led government's decision to grant Kunbi status to individuals from the Maratha community has opened a Pandora's box.
"Out of 100, I will give minus zero marks to this GR," said activist Vinod Patil.
Activist Manoj Jarange has criticized the Maharashtra government for extending the permission for his hunger strike for Maratha reservation by only one day. He warned that Marathas from across the state will come to Mumbai if their quota demand is not met quickly, threatening to escalate the protest and stop taking water in the next two days.
'I am simply highlighting a wrongdoing. This is why my complaint has merit, and the chief minister has ordered an inquiry.'
Jarange's hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai over the demand for Maratha quota entered the fifth day on Tuesday.
Activist Manoj Jarange is set to launch a hunger strike in Mumbai on August 29 to demand reservation for the Maratha community, despite government attempts to dissuade him. The Bombay High Court has stated that he needs prior permission to protest.
The activist urged his supporters not to block Mumbai's roads. "Clear the streets in two hours and ensure Mumbaikars are not troubled. Those who want to leave the city today can do so," he said.
'Shinde, via Jarange Patil, is making his moves to become the sole leader of the oppressed, poor, backward Marathas in Maharashtra.'
'Devendra Fadnavis is stating that Marathas must feel OBCs are not happy with reservations for the Marathas and therefore they are protesting.'
A young man from Jalna city in Maharashtra, who recently returned from Kashmir, has claimed that one of the suspected attackers in the Pahalgam terror case spoke to him a day before the carnage.
A video of Lonikar's controversial remarks surfaced on social media on Thursday and invited strong criticism from the opposition.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Congress MLA Nana Patole was suspended from the Maharashtra assembly for a day on Tuesday after he climbed the speaker's podium, demanding action against Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Babanrao Lonikar and Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate for allegedly 'insulting' farmers.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, Pangarkar joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday inaugurated the final 76-km-long stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg, making the entire 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur corridor fully functional and bringing down the travel time between the two cities to eight hours from around 18 hours.
Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, which outraged the nation, joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Jalna ahead of assembly polls.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
