Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and 28 other civic bodies in the state were held on January 15.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ritu Tawde of the BJP has been elected as the new Mumbai Mayor, marking a historic moment as the party secures the position after 44 years in the BMC.
With the Congress coming third overall and having done much better than Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, its allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, political analysts said it will force a rethink as far as coordination, seat-sharing and leadership are concerned ahead of the 2029 assembly polls.
The tactical alliance between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not have aided the Thackeray cousins to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, but the pact helped them keep intact their traditional strongholds.
The Congress party is intensifying its efforts to strengthen its organizational base in Uttar Pradesh, with plans to contest all 403 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections. Senior leaders emphasize grassroots preparations, voter outreach, and public meetings to regain political ground in the state.
Following Raut's statement, the MNS, however, said the party's stand is decided by its chief.
Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad announced the party's intention to contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently, signaling a potential strain within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has refuted reports that indelible ink marks on voters' fingers were being wiped off during the ongoing civic polls. The BMC clarified that the Municipal Commissioner had not made any such statement.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday asked what was the need to "impose" Hindi on students and appealed to schools in Maharashtra to foil the government's "hidden agenda to deliberately create a language divide".
The numbers tell us the BJP's acceptability in Maharashtra is growing -- at the expense of the Shiv Sena, no matter what the faction, points out Aditi Phadnis.
An amended government order issued on Tuesday said Hindi will "generally" be the third language, instead of being mandatory, but gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena General Secretary Satish Pradhan resigned from the post on Saturday giving a blow to the Raj Thakre-led party just before the assembly election.
Amid violence against Hindi-speaking people, Maharashtra minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashish Shelar on Sunday drew parallels between the Pahalgam terror attack and the beating of 'Hindus' in Mumbai, which he said is condoned by some leaders.
Estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will unite for the cause of the Marathi language, as their parties will stage a joint protest against the 'imposition' Hindi and the state government's three-language formula for Classes 1-5.
Against the backdrop the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's demand to remove loudspeakers from mosques, the Maharashtra director general of police on Tuesday instructed the officials to enforce the law and Supreme Court's guidelines on the issue strictly.
The MNS joining the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra could help it with a 'Thackeray versus Thackeray' narrative, fielding Raj Thackeray, an articulate speaker, to take on his cousin Uddhav Thackeray.
Many office-bearers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have resigned in protest after their party chief Raj Thackeray declared support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minster Ashok Chavan on Thursday condemned Uddhav and Raj Thackeray for 'touching a new low' in politics with their comments on All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi. "Nowhere in Indian politics has such a low level of personal allegations been witnessed. I condemn their (Uddhav and Raj Thackeray) utterances," said Chavan.
The Haryana victory will be a morale booster for the Bharatiya Janata Party and increase its bargaining power in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, according to political analysts.
Favouring a stringent law to deal with attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today said rowdyism by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or Shiv Sena workers should not be tolerated at any cost.
'I don't know whether the top Gujarati leaders of Indian politics (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) in Delhi realise that the narrative of HindiHinduHindustan will eventually destroy their own language too.'
Schemes like the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items.
A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray reiterated his warning to take down loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, the state home department on Monday stated that the use of loudspeakers at religious sites will only be allowed with due permission.
The rivalry between the local leaders of the two parties could be a cause of concern for Shinde.
'Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris.' 'This has created anxiety about survival and ownership over Mumbai and Maharashtra.'
Athawale said nobody can do any dadagiri at the mosques.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
'If you look at the average age of all our candidates, you will notice that their average age is between 35 and 40. It is a kind of revolution that the MNS is bringing in Maharashtra.'
Jayant Naiknavare, deputy inspector general of police (VIP security), will replace Pandey as the Nashik police commissioner.
Bollywood item girl Rakhi Sawant has joined the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's cine wing -- Chitrapat Karmachari Sena.
The approval by Maharashtra assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal to appoint Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House in place of rebel leader Eknath Shinde may expedite the need for the ruling coalition to prove its majority through a floor test, feels a constitutional expert.
Maharashtra Director General of Police Rajnish Seth said Aurangabad police commissioner will take appropriate legal action against Thackeray over his speech against loudspeakers on mosques.
Shalini Thackeray, general secretary, Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, the cine wing of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, told rediff.com that the MNS is not targeting ABCL chairman Amitabh Bachchan in its bid to strengthen its position for the upcoming civic polls in Mumbai in 2012.
'Maharashtra's asmita was crushed under Delhi's feet.' 'Marathi Manoos is definitely angry.'
Pressing his party's demand for employment to 'sons of soil', Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has warned the post master general to give priority to locals for the post office jobs or else cancel the recruitment procedure.
Pressing his party's demand for employment to 'sons of soil', Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has warned the postmaster general to give priority to locals for the post office jobs or else cancel the recruitment procedure.
The Maharashtra government is seeking the opinion of the state's Advocate General on the issue of the arrest of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray for his remarks against north Indians, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Thursday. "For an arrest warrant, we are seeking legal opinion. The police will take action according to advise," he said. Deshmukh said it was the government's job to provide all residents of Mumbai protection.
They are political rivals, but when it comes to celebrating Bihar Diwas in Mumbai, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has backed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and has urged him to ignore Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's threat. The impending visit on April 15 has become controversial in Maharashtra.
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