"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
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.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are expected to announce an alliance for the upcoming Mumbai civic elections. The announcement is expected to be made at a press conference on Wednesday.
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.
People of Maharashtra have always strived to maintain communal harmony, said Pawar.
NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Congress leaders and former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj and former speakers Dilip Walse Patil (NCP) and Haribhau Bagade of the Bharatiya Janata Party were among the members to take oath early.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday declared the candidature of Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, from Baramati Lok Sabha seat, pitting her against sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from the home turf of Pawars.
Expressing concern over the rise in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the use of face masks will have to be made mandatory if the spike continues.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, whose surprise resignation from the post on Tuesday has had the state's politics in turmoil, denied on Wednesday evening that any "rift" existed between him and his uncle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
"Ajit's brother Shriniwas was asked to maintain dialogue with him....My wife Pratibha and Ajit share a strong bond. Pratibha never gets into political developments, but Ajit's case was related to the family," Pawar said in his book.
Asked whether Ajit Pawar gave any offer to Sharad Pawar during the meeting, Raut said, "When did Ajit Pawar become so big to give an offer to Sharad Pawar."
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said that he and nephew Ajit Pawar are together as a family, but made it clear that the latter was heading a different political party.
This video is being viewed as the NCP-SP party's response to the appeal made by the rival camp's head and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to vote for the name 'Pawar' in Baramati in the upcoming general elections.
Ajit Pawar was seen as an heir-apparent in the NCP, but his dalliances with the Bharatiya Janata Party, including an early morning swearing-in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister along with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, had not been received well by the party.
Soon after being removed as Nationalist Congress Party working president, Praful Patel on Monday evening announced the appointment of Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare as the party's state unit chief , replacing Jayant Patil, and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar as its legislature wing leader.
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 move came after a Hindutva organization, Shiv Pratisthan, sent a memorandum to the Sangli collectorate demanding that Islampur's name be changed to Ishwarpur.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said an earthquake which impacted parts of the state on Wednesday was mild, and appealed to people to stay alert and not panic as the administration was taking all precautionary steps.
NCP led by the former Union minister said the Election Commission had sought its response to a petition filed by Ajit Pawar, and the party submitted its "preliminary response" to the poll panel on September 7.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar's mother Sunanda has emphasised the need for party factions led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to come together as voices for unity emerged from both rival camps.
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar camp, on Wednesday said they took the decision of joining the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra after 'proper consideration'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has entered into post-poll alliances with rivals Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in some municipal councils in Maharashtra, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday rejected the tie-ups and warned of action against party leaders involved.
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal to challenge Maharashtra government's order expediting Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas, citing concerns from OBC leaders and seeking legal opinion on the government's authority to change people's caste.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Amid the relentless clamour by the Opposition for Ajit Pawar's resignation over his controversial remark on drought, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the matter should have ended with an apology by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister. "The matter should have ended with the apology," Pawar told reporters.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, his predecessor and state unit chief R R Patil and senior ministers Ajit Pawar and Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil figure in the first list of 80 candidates announced by the Nationalist Congress Party for the state assembly elections scheduled to be held on October 13. The Sharad Pawar-led party, which has been a part of the ruling alliance with Congress in the state for the last 10 years, is contesting 114 of the total 288 seats.
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.
Tensions are rising within the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra amid internal conflicts and open threats over unresolved issues like cabinet expansion and Rajya Sabha nominations.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressed questions about advertisements featuring only CM Fadnavis, asserting that there is no race for credit among Mahayuti allies and that they are working as a team. He also commented on the Maratha reservation issue and the government's efforts to address it.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
Hours after asserting that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is its leader, party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday claimed that he did not make any such statement.
Embattled Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde on Thursday said he has been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes sudden weakness in face muscles, which had severely affected his ability to speak.
The Leader of Opposition in the assembly also told an interviewer that he will "100 per cent" like to be chief minister of Maharashtra.
The court also directed the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction to publish a disclaimer in newspapers, including Marathi ones, that the issue of allocation of "clock" symbol was pending in court.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar told reporters that his nephew Ajit deliberately made those remarks to avoid media.
Most Shiv Sena ministers in Maharashtra's BJP-led government were absent from a cabinet meeting, signaling tensions over defections between the parties. Only Deputy CM Eknath Shinde attended. Sena ministers later met with the Chief Minister to express their displeasure.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday demanded an additional portfolio in the new government even as the Congress was busy finalising its list of ministers
NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique alleges a 'casual' approach by Mumbai police in the investigation into his father, Baba Siddique's, murder. He cites procedural delays and reluctance to take decisive action.
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