The Shiv Sena (UBT) has accused the BJP leadership of being the mastermind behind Sunetra Pawar's appointment as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, alleging that certain NCP leaders also desire to prevent the unification of the two NCP factions.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party is falling short of a majority in the municipal corporations of Sangli and Akola in Maharashtra and needs the support of other parties or elected members, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar has emerged as one of the decisive factors with three seats in its kitty in each civic body.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday nominated Rajan Vichare as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing MP Bhavana Gawali, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
Party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray and former CM Manohar Joshi, among others, paid tributes.
'We formed the government without the Shiv Sena and it will remain stable.'
Under fire for a party member of Parliament allegedly forcing a fasting Muslim worker to eat, Shiv Sena on Thursday said it was a "protest against mismanagement" at Maharashtra Sadan and held that the entire issue was given a "communal colour only to derive "political mileage" and to "malign" the party's image.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
The strategic move will also bolster the BJP's push to decimate Uddhav Thakceray-led party by depriving it of its pet Hindutva and ethnic sub-nationalism plank.
Opposing the demand for a separate state of Vidarbha, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said Maharashtra should get Marathi-speaking areas of Belgaum and adjoining areas in Karnataka. "The government should remove the injustice done to Maharashtra by giving it Belgaum-Karwar areas where the Marathi-speaking populace is being oppressed," Uddhav said in a statement. "As long as the Shiv Sena is there, no one will be allowed to divide Maharashtra," he said
The ruling Shiv Sena on Wednesday announced the candidature of Sachin Ahir and Aamshya Padvi for the upcoming Maharashtra legislative council polls as it decided against renominating senior leader and state minister Subhash Desai and another party veteran Diwakar Raote for the election to the upper house of the state legislature.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar also ruled out any alliance with the Sena.
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
'I don't think there will be many problems after the assembly election results.'
The Supreme Court had debarred Prabhu from contesting elections from 1995 to 2001 on the grounds that he had canvassed votes in the name of religion during the 1990 assembly polls.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
Founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena in its more than five decades long journey has allied with the Congress, formally and informally.
Campaigning for the elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra has ended, with the battle for Mumbai's BMC taking center stage. Key political players are vying for control, with a focus on Marathi and Hindu voters.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
While they have been watching every bit of development on television and through their contacts in the state of Maharashtra, those who have watched them closely say that the rebel Sena MLAs have maintained a reasonable calm so far.
A team of tax department officials is undertaking the raids against Jadhav, also the chairman of the BMC standing committee, since early morning, they said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde and other legislators of the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena visited the memorial of RSS founder K B Hedgewar in Nagpur. NCP legislators, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, skipped the visit.
Building a party from scratch and leading it to electoral success is an entirely different challenge.
'They are running the Shiv Sena on Facebook and Twitter.' 'So who will be scared of the Shiv Sena on the roads?'
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal would have become the chief minister of Maharashtra had he not quit the Sena.
The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded defeat in the elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats, accusing the election commission of 'facilitating' the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court it passed a "well-reasoned" order recognising the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting to it the original 'bow and arrow' symbol in its quasi-judicial capacity.
'If we have to join the government we will have to first decide upon the CMP.' 'Nothing can be decided without having a CMP first.'
The BMC polls will be held on February 21, and results will be announced on February 23.
Shiv Sena is confident that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't join hands with a "Naturally Corrupt Party". Prasanna D Zore reports
Hailing Banerjee as the "real Bengal tigress", the party, which had earlier said that it would join the electoral battle in the state, vowed to "stand in solidarity" with the TMC camp.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 16 said that talks are going on with Shiv Sena regarding seat-sharing and a decision will be taken soon.
Shiv Sena's Kolhapur district president Sanjay Pawar will be its second candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday, in what is a clear snub to Chhatrapati Sambhaji who was seeking support for his candidature.
'Modi had exuded confidence that we will win this battle against COVID-19 in 21 days. But it has been over 100 days and the coronavirus still persists and those fighting it have become tired'
After Uddhav Thackeray hit out at All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, his party Shiv Sena on Tuesday stepped up attack on the Hyderabad-based outfit, accusing it of poisoning the minds of minority community and demanded that Maharashtra government take strict action against it.
Besides late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, NCP president Sharad Pawar also figured in the posters.
Ahead of the Mumbai municipal election on January 15, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aditya Uddhav Thackeray launched a blistering attack on his political rivals in a hard-hitting interview with Rediff.
He said Shinde has already made it clear his faction is not interested in staking claim to the Shiv Sena Bhavan or any property linked to the Thackeray group.
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