Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the PM was not conducting an aerial survey of the cyclone-hit areas in Maharashtra because he knew that the state is led by a strong chief minister unlike in his home state Gujarat.
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
Shinde said his new deputy Ajit Pawar has chosen the path of development and expressed his faith in the leadership of Modi.
Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Thursday claimed that Gautam Adani prospered during the Congress regime in Gujarat and said one cannot become the prime minister by growing a 'beard', referring to Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the industrialist in Parliament.
The PM said the Congress and its allies should not encourage the "Pakistan agenda" and speak the language of separatists.
The Shiv Sena has decided to move its MLAs to a luxury hotel at Powai in northeast Mumbai ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, a party leader said on Friday, as the ruling coalition spearhead treads a cautious path after being outsmarted by the BJP in the last week's Rajya Sabha polls.
Addressing a public event in Kolhapur city on Monday evening, Fadnavis pointed out instances wherein women were tricked into inter-faith marriage and subsequently abandoned after they gave birth to children.
Pawar said state Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat had met him and extended an invitation to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The constituency is being represented by senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve, who has won this seat five times on the trot.
'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.'
However, induction in the NCP-SP will come with riders, asserted the former Union minister.
Raut said his party has decided to support independent candidate Shubhangi Patil from the Nashik division graduates constituency after she sought backing from former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that the tri-party alliance has passed the first test and was confident of clearing the second test regarding the election of the Speaker.
Members of the BJP and the Shinde faction staged a demonstration in the Vidhan Bhavan complex on Thursday while holding banners which read: "AU kaun hain" (who is AU).
In Telangana, for more than two months, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao ran his government with just one cabinet colleague Mohammed Mahmood as Home Minister.
Matondkar had last year resigned from the Congress party, a key ally of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
The former CM is expected to sound the poll bugle for next year's Lok Sabha elections with the convention and rally.
Raut's claims have drawn sharp reactions from the BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Congress's candidate from Nagpur.
In their first cabinet meeting held hours after coming to power, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis took the first step towards overturning the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government's decision of relocating the proposed Mumbai Metro Line-3 car shed from Aarey Colony.
'There is no grain of truth in the speculation that the Congress is thinking of contesting the Lok Sabha elections without taking Sharad Pawar along'
'I am shocked that the BJP makes so many commitments. What did they deliver as the NDA?'
10 vacancies in the Upper House after Rajya Sabha members were elected to the Lok Sabha.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
Shinde recently formed a national executive of his faction, claiming it to be the real Shiv Sena.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, while the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as deputy chief minister.
The former Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the "bow and arrow" symbol became famous due to the tireless work of Bal Thackeray.
Thackeray said since the SC directed Narwekar in May last year to take a decision on the pleas seeking disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, the speaker has met the chief minister twice.
The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has been facing flak after Vedanta-Foxconn chose Gujarat to set up its multi-billion semiconductor plant.
Kumar also hinted that the Maharashtra elections could be held after Diwali.
But the atmosphere is now conducive for the Mahayuti to continue in power in Maharashtra thanks to the government's people-centric schemes, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is giving promises that it cannot execute, he said.
"How many ministers take the oath will be decided tonight. One or two MLAs from each party will take oath as ministers," he said.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the Bharatiya Janata Party though some 'well-wishers' are trying to persuade him.
"If Gadkari decides to build the bridge between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, he can approach Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and request him," Sattar said.
"The state-wide bandh will commence from 12 midnight," NCP spokesman and state minister Nawab Malik said on Sunday.
The former Maharashtra CM also said that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government was free to conduct an inquiry into the phone-tapping charges against the previous BJP-led dispensation.
Thackeray's tour comes a week after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances