Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar might have discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the delay in the appointment of 12 members to the state Legislative Council from the Governor's quota, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Wednesday.
Elections to the nine council seats which fell vacant on April 24 were postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak, but last week the Election Commission set May 21 as the poll date.
Most of the 40 MLAs in the Shinde camp don't have enough legislative experience to conduct business in the House and so the first ministry expansion needed induction of veterans.
Independent MLAs might approach Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari very soon.
A public interest litigation was filed in the Bombay high court on Monday against Eknath Shinde, who is leading the group of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs from Maharashtra, for causing a "political turmoil" in the state and instigating an internal disorder in the state government.
'The BJP has ordered the AIMIM to defame the Shiv Sena, to raise questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose Bharatiya Janata Party-backed government is facing attacks and legal challenges from a faction led by Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, has said that 'they are not doing anything illegal' and have followed all constitutional steps for the formation of new government in the state.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena has moved the Supreme Court against the proceedings of the Election Commission on the plea of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led group for recognition as the real Shiv Sena.
The Nationalist Congress Party has claimed all the 28 Congress corporators in Malegaon city in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including the mayor, crossed over to the party on Thursday.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said the rebels have chosen their way and there would be no hindrance from the party in the path of the dissidents to associate with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Sena will play the role of constructive opposition to the new government.
The Bombay high court on Thursday termed as "politically induced litigation" a PIL filed by seven citizens seeking action against dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other rebel MLAs of the party, and said it would hear the plea if the petitioners deposit Rs 1 lakh as security.
Luxury hotel Radisson Blu Guwahati, where dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde is camping along with other MLAs from Maharashtra, has stopped all new bookings till June 30.
Miffed over the Congress central leadership nominating poet-politician Imran Pratapgarhi, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, as its candidate from Maharashtra for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party functionary Ashish Deshmukh on Tuesday resigned from the post of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary.
Battling the political crisis faced by the party-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has filed a petition before the Deputy Speaker of the state assembly seeking the cancellation of membership of 12 rebel MLAs including Eknath Shinde for 'not attending' legislative party meeting held on Wednesday.
'The margin of victory or loss would make both camps rethink their strategies for the 2024 assembly election in Maharashtra.'
The Shiv Sena is leading a coalition government in Maharashtra with the Nationlaist Congress Party and the Congress.
The Sena also said this issue has now become a "matter of prestige" for the party-led government, a day after Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party ruled out resignation of Deshmukh.
Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form a government in Maharashtra in March 2022.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday suggested the Opposition needs to come together and strengthen the alliance.
Senior Congress leader Rajani Patil is set to be declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra after the opposition BJP on Monday withdrew its candidate from the next month's bypoll.
The counting was scheduled to start at 5 pm Friday, but it could not be taken up as the Bharatiya Janata Party approached the Election Commission alleging violation of rules by three MLAs of the state's ruling alliance of Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has written a letter to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, claiming he was approached by "certain people' who asked him to assist in toppling the MVA government in Maharashtra so that the state could be forced into mid-term elections.
In an important decision, the new government in Maharashtra on Thursday announced lifting of the stay on the construction of Mumbai Metro-3 car shed at the controversial site in the Aarey Colony, a green belt in the city's western suburbs.
Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj, who is facing first information reports (FIRs) in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra for allegedly using derogatory words against Mahatma Gandhi, remained defiant and said he does not have any remorse for his utterances.
'We are the real Shiv Sena and we will remain in the Sena.'
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday the issues related to the Maharashtra political crisis, triggered by the differences in the Shiv Sena, are "tough" constitutional questions to decide as they have "very serious" ramifications for the polity.
When there is a state government committed to development, it is important that Mumbai has a civic body that, too, shares that goal, Modi said.
While guests who had arrived earlier are leaving one by one, sources revealed that the hotel, situated on Dumas Road of the diamond city, has stopped accepting new bookings for an indefinite period.
Somaiya had on Sunday claimed he was barred from entering Kolhapur with the district authorities citing law and order as well as security concerns following his allegations of corruption against Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, he claimed that his decision to not contest the election was aimed at preventing 'horse-trading', and accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of breaking his promise on providing Shiv Sena's support for his second term in the Upper House of Parliament.
'Shouldn't our investigation agencies be fiercely independent and conduct fair investigations, show some spine and say no to such witch hunting?' 'That they will not be cowed down by what the Centre wants them to do.'
A faction of Congress believes that that decision of the NCP benefitted the BJP which won 122 seats and staked a claim for power.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the Bombay high court order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a money laundering case.
Shinde, Thackeray can't use party name and its symbol in the Andheri East assembly bypoll.
All the Shiv Sena rebels who had resigned as ministers of the previous MVA government to join the Shinde camp were inducted into the new cabinet on Tuesday.
Fadnavis said that with this win in the Rajya Sabha elections, the BJP has started its victory march, which he said would continue till the next polls.
The counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections was delayed on Friday in Maharashtra and Haryana over alleged violation of rules, officials said.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to install a "so-called Shiv Sainik" as Maharashtra chief minister when it did not keep its 2019 promise of rotating the top post, and slammed the new government's move to relocate a Mumbai Metro car shed to green belt of Aarey Colony, reversing a key decision of the previous regime.
The high court's observation came while dismissing an appeal by Samata Party challenging a single judge's order which had rejected its plea against allotment of 'flaming torch' election symbol to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading fear, hatred and violence and said the country can not progress under these circumstances as he asked the government to be compassionate in handling farmers' problems to prevent suicides.
