'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
After the drubbing his party received in Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray has announced he and his party would contest the assembly elections in Maharashtra due later this year and would be the chief minister if his party got the mandate.
The death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has created a leadership crisis within the NCP, raising questions about the party's future and potential reunification with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
The process to merge the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar and the Nationalist Congress Party may now face a roadblock due to the death of Ajit Pawar, said Sharad Pawar on Saturday.
Shrikant Pangarkar is in the fray from ward 13. His opponents are candidates from the BJP and several other parties, though the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has not fielded a contestant.
The tactical alliance between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not have aided the Thackeray cousins to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, but the pact helped them keep intact their traditional strongholds.
Nationalist Congress Party considers Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, for the position of NCP legislature leader, emphasizing the importance of family consent in the decision-making process.
Shiv Sena leader Shahajibapu Patil accuses the BJP of undermining him politically by supporting his rival in Sangola during the Maharashtra assembly elections. He claims the BJP helped PWP candidate Babasaheb Deshmukh despite his support for the BJP in the Lok Sabha election.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Following Raut's statement, the MNS, however, said the party's stand is decided by its chief.
BJP and Congress workers clashed in Pune following controversial remarks equating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan, leading to injuries and police intervention.
The ruling Mahayuti is poised to retain power in Maharashtra with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) also putting up a strong show in assembly polls, most exit polls predicted on Wednesday after conclusion of polling on 288 seats in the state. Jharkhand is likely to see a change of government with BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coming to power in the state, three exit polls said on Wednesday with one poll giving majority to the ruling JMM-led alliance.
Thackeray said that the MNS will contest more seats than any other party.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleges 'vote chori' amid controversy over the quality of indelible ink used in Maharashtra civic polls. The Election Commission has launched a probe into the matter.
Uddhav Thackeray asserts that his alliance with MNS chief Raj Thackeray is permanent, dismissing speculation about their unity ahead of civic elections.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill which makes Marathi a compulsory subject across all schools in the state. The development came on `Marathi Bhasha Din' (Marathi language day) which is celebrated on February 27, the birth anniversary of poet and Jnanpith award winner late V V Shirwadkar. The state legislative council had passed the legislation, titled `Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Bill, 2020', on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra government plans to introduce a stringent anti-conversion law in the winter session of the legislature, with provisions stricter than those in other states.
Maharashtra minister's announcement regarding the disbursement of financial aid under the Ladki Bahin Yojana before Makar Sankranti has triggered a controversy, with the Opposition alleging a violation of the Model Code of Conduct ahead of municipal elections. The State Election Commission has sought a report on the matter.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
The final turnout in the Maharashtra assembly polls was 66.05 percent, up from 61.1 percent in 2019, according to the Election Commission. The polling percentage for the Nanded Lok Sabha bypoll was 67.81 percent. The increase, excluding postal ballots, highlighted the EC's efforts to engage a broader electorate, the statement added. Kolhapur led with 76.63 per cent, followed by 75.26 per cent in Gadchiroli, while the lowest was in Mumbai island city at 52.07 per cent and 55.95 per cent in the metropolis' suburban district. More than 68,000 citizens aged over 85 and 12,000 individuals with disabilities cast their votes through home voting.
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.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
The Shiv Sena-BJP combine repeatedly asked the Congress and NCP members to make their stand clear on the issue.
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
Among major engagements in 2026 is the visit of the European Union leadership, chief guests at the Republic Day parade.
'The writing is on the wall for both Shinde and Ajit Pawar.'
Parties in Maharashtra are engaged in intense negotiations to finalize seat sharing arrangements for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde and other legislators of the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena visited the memorial of RSS founder K B Hedgewar in Nagpur. NCP legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, skipped the visit.
Polling for the 288 seats of the Maharashtra assembly will take place on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
Gandhi's remarks came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.
If the Thackerays don't save a Marathi school in their backyard, who will, wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'After the 2020 Bihar assembly polls when our party got only 43 seats and our ally the BJP got 73 seats, Nitish Kumar refused to become chief minister and assured the BJP that he will support the government led by anyone.' 'But the BJP's top leaders told Nitish Kumar that as the NDA contested the polls under his leadership, the next government will be headed by him.'
The State Election Commission (SEC) has barred the Maharashtra government from releasing the January instalment of the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme in advance, citing the enforcement of the model code of conduct for municipal elections. The decision follows complaints about the timing of the release, coinciding with upcoming municipal elections.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
'When a grassroots worker has laboured day and night for the organisation, does the party not have a responsibility to recognise and uplift such workers?'
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
'What attitude has spawned such gruesomeness in the state of Saint Tukaram, Saint Dnyaneshwar, and great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chhatrapati Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar?'
With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS leader Raj Thackeray announced an alliance ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
