On reports of the BJP opposing the NCP merger, Fadnavis asserted that his party hasn't opposed anyone.
This comes after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hinted at foul play behind the plane crash and demanded the Supreme Court's probe into the incident.
Eyewitnesses identified Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar at the site of a plane crash in Pune district by his wristwatch. The crash of the Learjet resulted in multiple fatalities, including the pilot, co-pilot, PSO, and flight attendant. An investigation is underway.
A senior official told PTI that the AAIB will be visiting the crash site and it will be investigating the accident.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
After his death, Sharad Pawar and other leaders of his party claimed that merger talks were in advanced stages and Ajit Pawar had finalised February 12 as the date to announce reunification between the rival factions.
Ajit's uncle and NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, however, has urged people not to politicise the death of his nephew.
The previous Congress-NCP government had issued an ordinance to grant a 16 per cent quota to Marathas and five per cent to Muslims.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15, even as the Opposition parties alleged the ruling combine used threats and money to force candidates to withdraw from the fray.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
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.
An ambulance driver recounts the tragic irony of driving the ambulance secured by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to carry his body after a fatal plane crash.
The incident took place around 12:20pm on the arterial LBS Road in front of Johnson and Johnson factory in Mulund area.
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar has raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash and plans to provide a detailed presentation on the matter.
Residents of Ahmedabad recall the Air India crash of June 2025 after news of the Baramati plane crash involving Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The earlier tragedy, which killed hundreds, remains a painful memory for those who witnessed it and lost loved ones.
Congress veteran and former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil passed away at 90. He served as Union Home Minister and held several key posts during his long political career.
Shiv Sena minister Dada Bhuse claims that despite being Deputy CM, Eknath Shinde is still considered the Chief Minister in the hearts of the people and predicts he will lead the state again.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed officials to declare leopard attacks on humans as a "state disaster" and proposed reclassification of leopards under the Wild Life (Protection) Act to better manage man-eating animals. The decision follows a rise in leopard attacks in the state, particularly in the Pune district.
The priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation.
The last rites of Vidip Jadhav, the Personal Security Officer to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in the Baramati plane crash, were performed in Satara district.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
Pinky Mali was an attendant on the Learjet 46, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, that crash-landed at the Baramati airport
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, will be held with full state honors in Baramati. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to attend.
Maharashtra legislative council's privileges committee has summoned comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare for a hearing over alleged insulting remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The hearing has been rescheduled to February 17 after both expressed their inability to attend the initial date.
Maharashtra's outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will decide on the new CM and assured his full support while ruling out differences among Mahayuti allies over the government formation.
NCP Maharashtra president Sunil Tatkare reaffirms the party's commitment to the BJP-led NDA, dismissing merger speculations and emphasizing the ideology of the late Ajit Pawar.
Voting for zilla parishads and panchayat samitis in Maharashtra has been rescheduled to February 7 due to a three-day mourning period declared after the death of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
A battle of nerves is unfolding between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena on Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde's home turf, Thane, with a BJP leader pitching for a substantial share in power on the back of the party's 100 per cent strike rate in the civic polls.
A specialized team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has arrived at the Baramati crash site to investigate the accident that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others. The investigation will focus on the technical factors that led to the crash of the Learjet 45 aircraft during its second landing attempt.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, stating the Mumbai civic body election is a fight for their political survival. He also defended development projects and economic growth under the current government.
The Black Box of the Learjet 45 aircraft that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday has been recovered, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
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.
'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
The co-pilot of the aircraft that crashed carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar sent a 'good morning' message to her grandmother before takeoff, which turned out to be her last communication.
Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party is part of the BJP-led Mahayuti but the two parties are fighting the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls separately.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra will retain power with full majority and a decision on who will be the chief minister will be taken by the alliance partners after the state polls.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
The BJP stunned the Pawars in the Pune polls, clinching 119 seats. The NCP came a distant second with 27 seats, while its ally, NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar, won three. The Congress managed 15 seats.
The Congress won elections to the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) in central Maharashtra on Friday, bagging a clear majority with 43 seats in the 70-member body, leaving the Bharatiya Janata Party a distant second with 22 seats.
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