The Congress leader was Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008 and the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was the Governor of Punjab and also served as Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
The wife of a personal assistant to Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde allegedly committed suicide in Mumbai. Police have registered an abetment of suicide case against her husband and his relatives following allegations of domestic dispute and harassment.
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
In an apparent dig at Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said that at times those at the helm should see beyond their own "image" and not hesitate in "bypassing" rules in the interest of the common man.
Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who had resigned from the Cabinet in September following charges of corruption in irrigation projects, is set to make a comeback on Friday as Maharashtra deputy chief minister.
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
The message from Raut read 'Namaskar mi Sanjay Raut. Jai Maharashtra'.
'Praful Patel, Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal are not the ones who will go with Ajit Pawar'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday paid floral tributes at the city police headquarters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Friday took a dig at Shiv Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and claimed a rift in the latter's party, saying Maharashtra will have a third deputy chief minister from the fold.
"The decision has been taken. The ropes of retreat have been cut," Mushrif said
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Upset over being denied tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party despite being its 'loyal workers for years', several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as new chief minister of Maharashtra while allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday evening.
The unexpected split in the Nationalist Congress Party set off a mini earthquake in not only Maharashtra politics but also sent aftershocks at a national level.
A poll flying squad conducted a search at an automobiles showroom belonging to NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar's father in Baramati town ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. The 'Sharayu Motors' outlet was searched late Monday night but nothing suspicious was found, officials said. Yugendra Pawar, candidate of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), is taking on his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP in a high-profile contest from Baramati seat in Pune district in the state assembly polls scheduled on Wednesday.
Discordant voices emerged on Sunday from the Mahayuti even as the alliance continued to remain in the throes of government formation more than week after it swept the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly Ajit Pawar on Thursday alleged that a scam of Rs 500 crore took place in the state information and publicity department during the tenure of the government led by Devendra Fadnavis.
Only 19 out of 41 ministers in the erstwhile Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra have vacated their official bungalows so far, whereas names of NCP stalwart Ajit Pawar and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane figure in the list of squatters, an RTI query has revealed.
In a veiled warning to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange who has announced a march to Mumbai, Ajit Pawar said nobody will be allowed to take law into his hands.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion against the party has pushed the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to the brink of collapse, said a 'national party' has termed their revolt as 'historic' and assured to provide all help to them.
The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance appeared set to retain power in Maharashtra, and was leading in 214 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures by the Election Commission.
8 Member of Parliaments were suspended from Lok Sabha for tearing & throwing papers at the Chair till April 2. Uproar started when Rahul Gandhi was barred from citing former Army Chief, General M M Naravane's memoir on 2020 India-China clash. Rediff.com brings you the details of these MPs who were suspended.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has said that his party's top brass will discuss with Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar his much-debated meeting with politically estranged nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) holds its conclave in Mumbai later this month.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
He said the "switch" to the Sharad Pawar-led outfit has started in the form of ex-corporators, referring to the resignation of Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Ajit Gavhane and two former corporators.
The plea was filed by Pawar senior in his personal capacity through lawyer Abhishek Jebaraj on Monday evening.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions for seat sharing in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with coalition partners Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed India's ICC Women's World Cup 2025 victory, calling it a historic moment for the nation and praising the team for "bringing the World Cup home."
The Sharad Pawar camp described the ruling as a "murder of democracy" which would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there was no question of taking back those leaders who had deserted the two parties.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
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