We left the Congress-NCP govt because we didn't want to be with them, Shiv Sena spokesperson said.
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.
The Governor has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers if the chief minister continues to enjoy majority, but can exercise discretionary powers in ordering floor test, dissolution of house or exploring possibilities for government formation if he has doubts over the majority of the ruling dispensation, according to legal experts on Thursday.
Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray's daughter-in-law and film producer Smita Thackeray on Tuesday met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who she said is an "old-timer" Sena activist.
'The BJP used Shinde and Shiv Sena to decimate Uddhav Thackeray, humiliate him by taking away his party as well as party symbol.' 'The Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde have served their purpose.'
Addressing a rally at Nanded as a part of the BJP's outreach campaign to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Shah said the BJP didn't bring down the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last year.
Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's statement that a meeting between a delegation of Maharashtra MPs and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue would not make any difference to the border dispute.
The MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena have filed a fresh plea in the Supreme Court challenging the disqualification proceedings initiated against them under the constitutional scheme and on Monday sought its hearing with other pending pleas on July 20.
Thackeray said he is 100 per cent confident that Latke will get the votes of the Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra assembly speaker to spell out the timeline within a week for adjudication of the disqualification petitions filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him who had tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new government in June 2022.
The ex-CM said he had the honesty to face the protesters. He said the government should hold a dialogue with locals before coming up with any project.
'With each ED, CBI raid on us the BJP thinks we will soften down.' 'But every such raid has strengthened the resolve of Shiv Sena leaders.'
Shinde said MLAs are keen on continuing the Sena founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of senior advocates led by Kapil Sibal that the several pleas of the Uddahav faction were to be listed on Monday.
The ruling Eknath Shinde camp in Maharashtra told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the rival side led by Uddhav Thackeray wanted the speaker of the state assembly to "usurp" the powers of the Election Commission when the ultimate test of majority in a democracy -- the floor test -- was ordered by the governor during the 2022 political crisis.
'We have not decided yet if we will be joining hands with the BJP and, if so, what kind of ministries will be distributed among the rebel MLAs'
'The BJP should not treat Shinde saheb as a lightweight.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday bitterly traded charges and used caustic terms like "traitors" and "betrayer" as rival Shiv Sena groups headed by them held Dussehra rallies in Mumbai in what was a parallel show of strength by the rivals after the change of government three months ago.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi must apologise and take back all his remarks against late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar before entering Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said in Nagpur on Friday.
The Nationalist Congress Party, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, on Friday won Aurangabad and Pune graduates' constituencies of the state Legislative Council.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he had proposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to make Eknath Shinde, who had rebelled against the Shiv Sena leadership, the new chief minister after the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government last week.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday reiterated that the Income Tax Department's raids on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's relatives and aides came after his comparison of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during the British rule.
'I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs'
On Sunday, a team comprising deputy commissioner of police Hemraj Singh Rajput, assistant commissioner of police Nitin Jadhav and two inspectors, reached Fadnavis's bungalow 'Sagar' around noon.
Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said he has received the notice and he would visit the police station at 11 am on Sunday as being asked.
Kayande claimed she waited for a year to see if the Thackeray-led faction would introspect over why party workers were leaving Shiv Sena-UBT.
'Please do not threaten us with street violence.' 'Do you have some humanity left in you?'
Speculation about Ajit Pawar's next political move started swirling last week when he suddenly cancelled his scheduled meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp.
Raut claimed Sharad Pawar recently told Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP.
Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force as a precaution.
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
It is painful to see that those who won due to Sena workers and got everything has left me, Uddhav said.
The first leg of Micron's semiconductor play in Sanand is crucial for the company to sprint towards India's goal of joining the chip race.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Bal Thackeray and Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Monday announced an alliance, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.
Dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday stepped out of Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati, where he and other rebel Maharashtra MLAs have been camping since June 22, and visited Kamakhya temple to seek blessings.
'How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty,' the Sena MP tweeted in Hindi along with a photo of the state Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal looking into the distance.
Shinde's counsel said that any delay in the floor test would cause more damage to the democratic polity.
That the MVA government, comprising Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress completed a year in office despite frequent murmurs of lack of coordination among the ruling alliance partners is being attributed to the rapport between Thackeray, 60, and NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar.
Pawar met Modi at the Prime Minister's Office in Parliament along with NCP Lok Sabha member P P Mohammad Faizal, who raised issues related to his constituency Lakshadweep.
Sources said the BJP is expecting Sena rebels, who include 39 MLAs and have been joined by at least 10 independents in a Guwahati hotel, to make the first move by approaching Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.