Former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari on Monday met Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, triggering speculation that the saffron party is trying to win over the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief into the National Democratic Alliance for the upcoming elections even as he said there is no reason for Shiv Sena to be annoyed by his meeting with Raj.
The MNS chief demanded that videos of such people being thrashed be made viral on social media, to instill sense of "trust" among people.
Aaditya Thackeray had a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi.
Mumbaikars can finally heave a sigh of relief. They will be able to celebrate this Valentine's Day in peace, as both Bal Thackeray and his nephew are busy campaigning for the crucial elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Shiv Sena, led by Bal Thackeray, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, led by Raj Thackeray, have in the past been infamous for coming down heavily against young couples celebrating Valentine's Day, which they think is a Western concept.
The first day of the newly elected Maharashtra assembly got off to a stormy start, with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena carrying out its threat and assaulting Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Asim Azmi, who too carried out his threat to take his oath in Hindi. Action was quick in following, with four MNS legislators -- Vasant Geete, Shishir Shinde, Ram Kadam and Ramesh Wanjale -- being suspended for four years by the pro-tem speaker for the violent incident
Asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party's alliance with the Shiv Sena is firmly in place, senior party leader Gopinath Munde on Saturday said that the saffron combine cannot accommodate a third partner. Addressing a press conference after inducting former Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Nana Patole into the party fold, Munde who has been made in-charge of the BJP for the upcoming assembly elections, said there will be no change in the seat sharing formula.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said that he has now decided not to contest the Maharashtra assembly polls. "Things were different earlier but now I have decided not to contest the polls myself," said Thackeray.
Commenting on Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's purported extension of an olive branch to Maharashtra chief Raj Thackeray, the Nationalist Congress Party said if the estranged Thackeray cousins wanted to team up, one of them would have to shed his ideology.
The event witnessed the who's who of Maharashtra politics -- including three former chief ministers of Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday claimed their leaders had never given hate speech and they only highlighted key issues of the day.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Thursday met his uncle and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who is not keeping good health.
Ashish Shelar, the city Bharatiya Janata Party chief, rubbished the reports of a secret meeting between former party president Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray at a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Monday.
Asking the state government to bring transparency in toll collection at various nakas, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday appealed to the people from the state not to pay toll henceforth.
Asking the state government to bring transparency in toll collection at various nakas, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday appealed to the people from the state not to pay toll henceforth.
'I came here to witness the historic message this oath-taking ceremony has sent to the nation and Maharashtra.'
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday accused Shiv Sena of adopting dual standards, saying the party was insisting on an apology from Shah Rukh Khan over his pro-Pakistan remarks while keeping mum on megastar Amitabh Bachchan's campaign for good ties with that country.
The march, which commenced from Nashik on March 6, will culminate in Mumbai on Monday and protestors plan to gherao the Vidhan Bhavan where the Budget session of the state legislature is underway, said organisers.
Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's 2nd death anniversary on Monday saw BJP reaching out to Sena with a promise to construct a memorial befitting the leader's stature as it brought together the squabbling claimants to his legacy-son and successor Uddhav and nephew Raj of MNS.
He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.
'The biggest loser is Raj Thackeray's MNS. The MNS may inspire fear, but fear doesn't fetch votes.'
Sena President Uddhav Thackeray who is said to be upset over the recent meeting between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Nitin Gadkari, on Wednesday ruled out the possible inclusion of any new players in the 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) even as he took a dig at the former BJP chief by calling him an "apt businessman".
Reacting to the meeting of former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said if a senior leader from BJP supports Raj or Sharad Pawar, it can affect the alliance.
The silence is specially deafening from three parties that symbolised hope for Muslims: The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party. 'What fear prevents these leaders from at least talking about the way our community is being targeted?' 'Will they really lose Hindu votes if they do so?'
On behalf of the Apex Council members of MCA, all the member clubs as also the cricketing fraternity we condole his demise," secretary Sanjay Naik and joint secretary.
"What's the difference between north Indians and Indians? All of us are Indians," a bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi quipped, while posting for Monday a PIL seeking judicial inquiry into the killing of a Bihari youth, Rahul Raj, in a police encounter and the murder of another north Indian in Mumbai last month
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray, once considered close to Narendra Modi, on Thursday said that the Gujarat chief minister should have resigned the day he was nominated BJP's prime ministerial candidate, a suggestion immediately rejected by the saffron party.
Prakash Mahajan, brother of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, has been appointed Shiv Sena spokesperson and a deputy leader.
A Delhi court has asked Maharahstra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to appear before it on July 26 in connection with a complaint about his alleged hate speeches against Bihar natives, rejecting his plea for exemption from personal appearance.
The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday, stayed the arrest warrant of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray till February 17, in connection with stone pelting by the party activists on a bus near Aurangabad in 2008.
The Supreme Court on Friday shifted to a Delhi court seven cases registered against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in Jharkhand and Bihar for promoting animosity among citizens by his alleged hate speeches against north Indians.
The Supreme Court on Friday shifted to a Delhi court seven cases registered against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in Jharkhand and Bihar for promoting animosity among citizens by his alleged hate speeches against north Indians.
Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata on Friday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is back, in an implicit admission that he erred in his political judgement. A few years ago, Thackeray had annointed his son Uddhav as the party's executive president bypassing his cousin Raj, who went on to form the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Incidentally, the MNS spoiled the prospects of the Shiv Sena in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The Samajawadi Party will honour its Maharashtra unit president and newly elected legislator Abu Asim Azmi for taking oath in national language despite being assaulted by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena legislators inside the Maharashtra Assembly.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and the MNS for their tirade against people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, under flak for his strident anti-north Indian campaign, has decided to send letters to every household in the state, urging them to use Marathi in daily life. "Thackeray will pen the letter in Marathi and MNS workers will go to households in the state on February 27 to deliver the letter," a MNS leader said. "In the letter, the MNS chief will urge the people to use Marathi everywhere, including offices, trains and markets."
How has Raj Thackeray, who is as much a businessman as politician, been able to pull it off, when most Opposition politicians live in fear of IT and ED and CBI, asks Krishna Prasad after attending a Raj rally in Nashik.
Karan Johar's latest production Wake Up Sid has come into trouble from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena because the film used the word Bombay.
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.
