The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, while the rival group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also called a separate meeting of party legislators in Mumbai.
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.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India of engaging in "vote chori" (vote theft) to benefit the BJP, claiming his party possesses substantial evidence of electoral irregularities.
The Supreme Court on Thursday held the Maharashtra governor was not justified in calling upon then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority in the assembly on June 30 last year but refused to order the status quo ante, saying he did not face the floor test and resigned.
Fadnavis also reiterated that the three-party MVA dispensation will collapse under its own weight, and asserted that once that happens, his party would provide an alternative government in the state.
The CBI lodged the case after a two-year preliminary enquiry, which originated from a pen drive handed over to the then Maharashtra Assembly speaker by Devendra Fadnavis, who was in the opposition in 2020, they said.
The Sena (UBT) chief and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday met with Fadnavis and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar at Vidhan Bhavan premises in Nagpur. Aaditya said they extended good wishes to the two and talked about taking a step towards showing political maturity and working together in the interest of the people.
Hours after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Bhaskar Jadhav on Saturday claimed there is no provision in the law which talks about the appointment of the LoP in legislature merely on the strength of the party.
'Ajit Dada will have no role to play as NCP's leader in the assembly whenever it is convened'
Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.
In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party" when rival groups emerged in June 2022, and did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.
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.
The factional fight of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has reached the doorstep of the Election Commission, with the group led by Ajit Pawar filing over 40 affidavits of MLAs and MPs in his support.
The Maharashtra government has promised to investigate allegations of a honeytrap racket targeting state officials in Thane, Nashik, and Mumbai, following demands from a Congress MLA for a formal statement in the assembly.
Shinde said he would give a detailed reaction after the order but maintained that the Election Commission has allowed his outfit to keep the name 'Shiv Sena' and its 'bow and arrow' symbol.
'The Speaker has to act in an impartial way and in accordance with what the Supreme Court has laid out in its judgment.'
The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application.
'I had said that if they have a strong candidate, then I am ready to debate with that person. They can decide the topic, time, and place. I'm ready'
The development comes as a major setback to the Thackeray faction comprising 16 MLAs who will be bound by the whip to be issued by Gogawale for the trust vote.
Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections.
'The BJP is using its money and muscle power to break the MVA government.'
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to refer the cases related to the Maharashtra political crisis to a seven-judge bench for reconsideration of a 2016 judgment on powers of assembly speakers to deal with disqualification pleas.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is a "senior leader and MLA of the party", Supriya Sule said on Thursday when asked about the status of the former in the Nationalist Congress Party.
A Cleanathon was organised following the immersion of Lord Ganesha idols at Mumbai's Juhu beach.
NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad said that the number of 'love jihad' cases cited by Lodha two days ago was factually incorrect and that there have been nearly 3,000 cases of interfaith marriages.
Marking a vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party, its senior leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister on Sunday.
"One nation, one law can be understood. But we will never accept one nation, one party plan of the BJP", Thackeray said.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party president Jayant Patil on Sunday said his party has moved a disqualification petition against Ajit Pawar and eight others who took oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led state government.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday assured his government will continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana and fulfil Mahayuti's pre-poll promise of hiking the monthly stipend under the scheme to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 now to eligible women.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking initiation of breach of privilege proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "blatant lies and vilification campaign" during his speech in the House. Dubey alleged that Gandhi used his parliamentary privilege to spread canards without authenticating his charges and distorted historical facts during his speech. Gandhi had claimed that mobile phones were not made in India but only assembled here, China has captured the Indian territory, and India had sent Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony. He also made allegations related to the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the law for the appointment of the elections commissioner. Dubey accused Gandhi of misusing the Constitution's Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He urged the Speaker to initiate proceedings against Gandhi, alleging that Parliament's records and proceedings are a testimony to his irresponsible attitude.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has once again knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra assembly speaker to expeditiously adjudicate the disqualification petitions filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other Sena MLAs, who had tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new government in June 2022, in a time-bound manner.
Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly Narhari Zirwal on Friday asked the legislature secretary not to respond to the Supreme Court's notice on a plea filed by 12 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs challenging their one-year suspension.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray has sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting their past differences are "trivial" and uniting for the greater good of "Marathi manoos" is not a difficult task. The comments come amid a political landscape in Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a tough battle to retain its stronghold in Mumbai in upcoming civic polls, with competition from the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.
Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it, after a Shiv Sena-UBT MLA pointed to comments of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75 on Wednesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party launching over a fortnight long 'Sewa Pakhwada' to mark the birthday of its preeminent leader.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde could not have been sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra if the assembly speaker was not restrained from deciding the disqualification petitions pending against 39 MLAs, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
