Chief Minister designate Ashok Chavan on Friday met Governor S C Jamir and staked claim to form the next government, 15 days after the Congress-NCP haggled over the portfolio issue.
'I had told Fadnavisji that I will be with the party till the Lok Sabha election and I will give my 100 per cent to campaign for the BJP. But ultimately I will have to take this decision (to quit the BJP).' 'When I requested him to see this from the point of view of an elder brother, he could not say anything more after that.'
Congress legislature party leader said the MVA is on a stronger wicket legally.
"We are here together for people of Maharashtra. A government was formed in the state without a majority. Karnataka, Goa, and Manipur, BJP didn't have majority anywhere but formed a government," said the NCP chief.
Former Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party ally Sadabhau Khot on Thursday filed his nomination for the upcoming polls to 10 seats of the state legislative council as a BJP-backed independent candidate.
First-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma was sworn in as the chief minister of Rajasthan at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership on Friday, 12 days after the party ousted the Congress in the assembly polls.
Sharad Pawar will attend a meeting of the NCP legislature party at 4 pm on Friday, party sources said on Thursday.
Shinde also took a swipe at the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray while responding to Jarange.
Shinde will consult the MLAs with him and then decide when to return to Mumbai, his associate said.
On Thursday, Fadnavis wrote a letter to Ajit Pawar opposing NCP leader Nawab Malik sitting on a treasury bench seat.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday that he would first speak with Nawab Malik to understand the former minister's position about his political affiliation before explaining his Nationalist Congress Party group's stand on the matter.
Bharatiya Janata Party-backed independent candidate Sadabhau Khot and Nationalist Congress Party's Shivajrao Gajre on Monday withdrew their nominations for the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, leaving 11 contestants in the fray for 10 seats as the state was set to witness another bitter fight between the BJP and the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after the last week's cliffhanger in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Observing that the sanctity of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution should be maintained, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs by December 31.
The Congress on Friday won the Amravati division graduates constituency, taking the tally of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to three in elections for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a result which has come as a jolt to the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Balasahebnachi Shiv Sena alliance.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, he said, everyone in Karnataka is united to protect the interest of the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved the Bombay high court challenging the legality of the decision taken by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to not disqualify 14 MLAs belonging to the rival faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The court indicated that it was not inclined to allow the amendment and sought to know from Malik's lawyers if they wish to withdraw the petition and file a fresh plea.
Surveys suggest that the AAP would win 40 seats in the 182-member assembly if elections are held tomorrow.
First-time Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rahul Narvekar on Friday filed his nomination as the party candidate for the post of Maharashtra assembly speaker, election for which, if required, will be held on July 3.
'When it is an open ballot, the division taking place in the open house will be for all to see.' 'As they say sunlight is the best disinfectant, this (aspect of the order) brings in transparency and it's in keeping with the best democratic principles.'
The Congress party's first list of 194 Lok Sabha candidates released on Saturday night has no major surprises. Anita Katyal reports
'If all we do is keep on celebrating, then next time you might find that the BJP government is out of Maharashtra'
Keeping patience is the need of the hour, Sena MP Krupal Tumane
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
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.
The visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was to attend a crucial Bharatiya Janata Party meeting in Mumbai on Monday, has been deferred.
In his letter to Ajit Pawar, who too is a deputy CM, Fadnavis said Malik has the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and added that "we (the BJP) do not harbour any personal animosity or grudge" against him.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday left the Vidhan Bhavan premises without completing his address to the joint session of the state legislature amid slogan-shouting by legislators.
Sources in the BJP said the expansion of the cabinet was unlikely before the session though the allocation of portfolios to the NCP ministers might happen in the coming days.
The monsoon spelt mayhem in several parts of the country on Monday, particularly Mumbai where local train services and flight operations were hit and everyday life disrupted as well as Assam that was grappling with floods yet again.
Seventy-seven MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting.
He dubbed the rumours of 'alternate formulae' being worked out to form the state government as 'entertainment'.
NCP MLAs Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale (Satara), Vaibhav Pichad (Akole) and Sandeep Naik (Airoli) and Congress MLA Kalidas Kolambkar (Naigaon) handed over their resignation letters separately to Speaker Haribhau Bagade at the state legislature building Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai.
Ajit Pawar-led group was the real Nationalist Congress Party when two factions emerged in the party in July 2023, Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.
'Fixing accountability in the Congress must be addressed on a war footing.' 'It is impossible for Sonia Gandhi to know each and every party worker, so she has to rely on advisors.' 'If they guide or misguide, the blame should go to them.'
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary to hold a floor test of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government at 11 am on Thursday.
The last time when more than 200 MLAs were part of the state government was in 1972, but at that time all the 222 legislators belonged to Congress. Also, the strength of the House was 270 at that time, a former state legislature official said on Monday citing data.
A day after Nationalist Congress Party extended unsolicited "outside support" to Bharatiya Janata Party in government formation in Maharashtra, party president Sharad Pawar on Monday said it was the "best alternative" to usher in a "stable" dispensation.
The meeting came amid rumours that Shiv Sena is considering a patch-up with the Baratiya Janata Party, its ally of 35 years.
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