Alleging a "pattern" of triggering communal riots and winning elections, Raut said this will break the country into pieces.
The high-pitch campaign ended on Sunday in Maharashtra for the October 13 assembly elections which saw Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena fighting for the same political space and the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party aiming a hat-trick.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Raj Thackeray's latest political ploy and wonders if this Thackeray versus Thackeray skit will help the BJP finally achieve its goal of ejecting the Maha Vikas Aghadi government from a state that has largely been insulated from the communal disharmony sweeping across parts of north India.
Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane of Congress suffered a jolt on his home turf in Sindhudurg district in Konkan, as the Nationalist Congress Party made considerable inroads into Vengurla, Malvan and Sawantwadi, as counting of votes of 133 municipal councils was underway.
"The Home Ministry is providing central forces to the state government as requested by it. Rapid Action Force units are already positioned in Mumbai," a senior Home Ministry official said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday charged the Centre and Maharashtra government with failing to rein in Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for his threat to throw Biharis out of Maharashtra.
'BJP is cutting him down to size as he is trying to emerge a Hindutva national hero.'
Known for its abhorrence of Samajwadi Party Member of Legislative Assembly Abu Azmi, Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is likely to back the Congress candidate in the by-election to the Bhiwandi assembly seat in Maharashtra against the SP leader's son Farhan.
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on a petition seeking protection for life and property of all citizens in the wake of recent attacks against the north Indians.
Giving a new dimension to his son-of-the-soil campaign, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray said on Friday that land under irrigation in the state should be given only to Marathi people.
Schemes like the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy issued notice to the Maharashtra government, Mumbai civic body, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and others on an appeal filed by the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association challenging the February 23, 2022 order of the high court.
The ruling Congress party in Maharashtra is seeking party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's help to take on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray in order to consolidate its position by luring youths in the party organisation.
The BJP has been inducting leaders from the NCP and the Congress since the last few months to expand its footprint in the regions where the party lacks organisational base.
Pressing his party's demand for employment to 'sons of soil', Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has warned the postmaster general to give priority to locals for the post office jobs or else cancel the recruitment procedure.
Senior state BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde don't find a place in the list, which instead has lesser-known faces like Gopichand Padalkar, Praveen Datke and Ajit Gopchhade.
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
As the political turmoil in Maharashtra continues to unfold, rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shide spoke to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray about the recent political situation in the state, confirmed MNS leader on Monday.
Thackeray's latest statement is expected to spark more controversy as the MNS chief will be on a statewide tour, starting February 13.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
While the ruling combine faces strong anti-incumbency factor, opposition Shiv Sena-BJP needs to strive to win majority. Sanjay Jog reports
As his statement made during an event on Friday evening kicked up a row with political parties objecting to it, the Governor on Saturday said his comments were 'misconstrued', and also made it clear that he had 'no intention of belittling the hard work of the Marathi-speaking people in the progress and development of Maharashtra'.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
All eyes are now on 13 Independents and 16 MLAs from smaller parties.
The approval by Maharashtra assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal to appoint Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House in place of rebel leader Eknath Shinde may expedite the need for the ruling coalition to prove its majority through a floor test, feels a constitutional expert.
It will be the first major electoral contest in the state after Shinde's rebellion brought down the previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray in June this year.
The 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly constitutes the electoral college Rajya Sabha elections, scheduled on June 10, and a candidate needs 42 votes to win a seat.
The Thackeray faction on Tuesday claimed that voters were being paid to choose None Of The Above or NOTA option.
Sharad Pawar-Ajit Pawar, Bal Thackeray-Raj Thackeray, Gopinath Munde-Dhananjay Munde. Troubled uncle-nephew relationships have rocked the boat of more than one party trying to steer its way through Maharashtra's troubled political waters with the crisis in the Nationalist Congress Party only the latest in the series.
In a veiled attack on MNS president and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, the chief minister said he does not pay attention to 'new players' of Hindutva.
The BJP is set to make decisive gains in civic elections in Maharashtra even as it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with its bickering ally Shiv Sena in Mumbai.
Walse Patil said MNS chief Raj Thackeray will also be invited for the meeting.
The 29-year-old next-gen Thackeray, whom his party wants to be the deputy chief minister in the BJP-Sena alliance government, won with a thumping majority from Mumbai's Worli constituency.
Notably, leaders of 13 Opposition parties on Saturday expressed deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country and urged people to maintain peace and harmony.
The Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday revoked the suspension of the five legislators who had allegedly assaulted a policeman on the assembly premises in March this year.
The decision was taken considering the complaints of harassment made against the woman by some leaders from the opposition, the BJP and the MNS.
State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhya termed it as "vendetta politics", while former chief minister Fadnavis said this would not impact his plans to travel and meet people.
Hitting back at Patole, senior NCP leader Pawar wondered whether the Bharatiya Janata Party, too, should accuse the former of backstabbing it as he had quit the saffron party to join the Congress in 2018.
'For the Shiv Sena, Hindutva is like a shawl which can be put on and discarded at will.'
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