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.
Despite forging an alliance with the faction led by his uncle, Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday failed to protect the party's traditional bastions of Pune and neighbouring Pimpri-Chinchwad, as the Bharatiya Janata Party decimated both the NCPs in the municipal corporation elections.
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.
Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, had resigned as speaker of Maharashtra assembly on Thursday.
A local court in Mumbai has accepted the police's closure report in the alleged Rs 25,000 crore scam at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB), giving a clean chit to the late deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and other accused.
'The entire Pawar family -- Sunetra Vahini, Jay and Parth Pawar (Ajit Pawar's sons), Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule -- will sit together and decide how to move forward.'
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.
A dispute has erupted between MVA allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress after the Sena (UBT) supported the BJP in the Chandrapur mayoral elections, leading to a BJP victory despite Congress being the single largest party.
Nationalist Congress Party MLA Sangram Jagtap has triggered controversy with his appeal to prioritize Hindu shopkeepers during Diwali, later justifying his statement by referencing the Pahalgam terror attack. NCP president Ajit Pawar has strongly condemned the remarks, and the party plans to issue a show-cause notice to Jagtap.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar has alleged a link between a godman and the fatal plane crash involving his uncle, Ajit Pawar, and has demanded a CID interrogation.
The sister of NCP leader Rupali Chakankar was questioned by police regarding her alleged connection to the financial dealings of arrested self-styled godman Ashok Kharat.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are leading in the early trends of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in Maharashtra. Counting began on Monday morning for elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis.
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.
There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being sent to take organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry.
Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif admitted that Ajit Pawar was holding talks with NCP (SP) leaders on the merger of the two factions before his death.
Despite their top leaders frowning upon such practices, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Congress came together in the Achalpur Municipal Council in Maharashtra's Amravati district to ensure unopposed election of various committee chairpersons.
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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral.
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.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been appointed as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, marking a new chapter for the NCP and presenting her with the challenge of leading the party.
A 13-year-old rape survivor in Palghar district was visited by an official, sparking outrage and calls for stricter laws and swift justice in the case.
65 candidates from ten municipal corporations in Maharashtra were declared elected unopposed ahead of elections held on January 15, according to the State Election Commission (SEC). The BJP led with 43 unopposed candidates.
The Election Commission on Wednesday allotted 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the group led by Sharad Pawar.
The sister of NCP leader Rupali Chakankar is being questioned in connection with the alleged use of her bank account by arrested self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, who is accused of financial irregularities and land grabbing.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra and is set to become the state's first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has convened a meeting of OBC leaders to discuss Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha reservations under the OBC category.
Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced the alliance between the factions for the Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls.
Multi-cornered contests, deep divisions within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, reflected in the Congress and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray fighting separately and lack of a robust plan among its rivals helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai polls as it looks poised to rule India's richest civic body for the first time.
Several ministers within Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance have voiced criticism regarding Sunetra Pawar's appointment as Deputy Chief Minister shortly after her husband, Ajit Pawar's, death, leading to disapproval from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Jay Pawar, son of the late Ajit Pawar, is seeking a thorough investigation into the plane crash that killed his father, citing possible serious lapses and demanding a ban on the aviation company involved.
The Congress party has announced its support for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
'Because of him, we learned how to work for people, how to take responsibility, and how to stand by our decisions.'
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.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
A Mumbai court has accepted the closure report submitted by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case, giving a clean chit to Ajit Pawar and other accused.
Ajit Pawar granted Rediff an interview in Baramati at 6 am. Why? 'To be a successful politician one needs to sleep less, and I never sleep for more than 4 hours' Ajit Pawar told Syed Firdaus Ashraf as Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff captured the encounter on his camera.
Polling for the 288 seats of the Maharashtra assembly will take place on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
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 Mahayuti landslide in Maharashtra will leave the state assembly without a leader of opposition as no party outside the ruling alliance has been able to get the mandatory minimum 29 seats.
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.
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.