Amid a tug-of-war between Congress and the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray over seat sharing in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Shiva Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Raut expressed confidence in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, saying that the discussion on seat sharing is underway.
Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as speaker of Maharashtra assembly on Thursday.
For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
Gaikwad, who was Dharavi MLA before being elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general polls, also alleged the redevelopment project was real estate's biggest scam.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that he, his deputies Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, will work in shifts to ensure round-the-clock governance. Fadnavis will work from 12 noon to midnight, Ajit Pawar, known for his early rising habits, will be on duty in the morning, and Shinde, known for his late-night work ethic, will handle the night shift. This arrangement comes after Ajit Pawar's controversial return to the BJP-led government following a split from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The NCP, under Sharad Pawar's leadership, is now a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). The recent assembly elections saw the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, securing a comfortable majority.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred the coveted Padma awards on 68 eminent personalities, including former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, dancer Shobana Chandrakumar, actor Anant Nag, and Vice Chancellor of King George's Medical University Soniya Nityanand. The awards were given in various disciplines and fields, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service. The Padma Vibhushan was awarded to Justice (retd) Khehar for public affairs, while nine individuals received the Padma Bhushan. The Padma Shri was awarded to leading immunologist and KGMU VC Nityanand, footballer Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, singer Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, actor Ashok Laxman Saraf, mask maker Reba Kanta Mahanta, and musician Ricky Gyan Kej, among others.
The Nationalist Congress Party is livid as Shivtare continues to criticise Pawar, whose wife Sunetra is likely to contest from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, even after meeting Shinde in Mumbai recently.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concerns about the Congress party's leadership role within the INDIA bloc, raising questions about their ability to justify their position. Abdullah highlighted a sense of disquiet among some allies, who feel the Congress isn't doing enough to earn its leadership position. While praising Sonia Gandhi's leadership, he also criticized the alliance's lack of consistent engagement and called for more structured communication to address potential disagreements. Abdullah's comments suggest underlying tensions within the opposition alliance, particularly regarding the Congress's electoral performance and seat distribution strategies.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
Lakshman Prasad Acharya has been made the governor of Assam with the additional charge of Manipur while Gulab Chand Kataria has replaced Banwarilal Purohit as the governor of Punjab under major gubernatorial appointments, the Rashtrapati Bhavan has announced.
Nadda enjoys warm relations with Modi, who was for a long time in charge of the party's affairs in Himachal Pradesh.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
The swearing-in of Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and several of his colleagues as deputy chief minister and ministers, respectively, on Saturday has meant Maharashtra has seen four oath-taking ceremonies in as many years at its stately Raj Bhavan.
The Commission, under Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, would recommend an amendment to the Constitution to add the "new chapter or part" on simultaneous elections, the sources said.
Jitesh Antapurkar, who won a bypoll in 2021 on a Congress ticket and is considered close to former chief minister Ashok Chavan, has been nominated from Deglur.
Amol Shinde, arrested for protesting outside the Parliament building on Wednesday, had left his village in Maharashtra's Latur district saying he was going to Delhi to take part in an army recruitment drive, a local police official said.
'BJP has shown that it can win even when Mr Modi is not the main figure on the ticket unlike 2014 to 2019.'
The BJP holds 28 of the 59 Rajya Sabha seats that will soon face election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda and several other leaders and prominent personalities were present at the ceremony.
However, induction in the NCP-SP will come with riders, asserted the former Union minister.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the results of the assembly elections were historic, and they decided to whom the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena belong.
Fadnavis' announcement comes at a time when a section of Bharatiya Janata Party in Kalyan has expressed reservations against fielding Shrikant Shinde, the sitting MP from Shiv Sena.
'Slogans like 'Ek hai toh safe hai' and 'Batenge toh katenge' resonated with voters.'
While the pilot suffered injuries, the helicopter's rotor blades got damaged in the incident.
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
In the final match between Mohol and Mahendra Gaikwad, the latter left the bout with 16 seconds remaining and later abused referees, for which he too was suspended by the controlling authority for three years.
"I have no interest left in contesting the elections," said the former Lok Sabha member.
This is for the first time that two members of the influential Pawar family are fighting an election against each other. This is Sunetra Pawar's first Lok Sabha election.
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.
The exit polls have predicted the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance getting elected in Maharashtra but have differed in their projection of a number of seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday fielded its president J P Nadda for Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from his home state.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
He said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was studying the poll results and "technicalities" behind them.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With the Maharashtra assembly polls underway on Wednesday, the young voters and first time electors in Nagpur appreciated the infrastructure development here, but raised concern over lack of job avenues and inflation.
Pawar acknowledged that his political career faced challenges, including a year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic and another year spent out of power, leaving him with only three active years.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday fainted while speaking at an election rally in eastern Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
