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.
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
"There can be an exchange of seats," Raut on Thursday said, stressing merit and winnability will be the key factors in selecting a candidate.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the Mahayuti allies have agreed to conduct a 'performance audit' of ministers during their tenure.
With this, the Shiv Sena has become the second major political party to release its list of candidates for the state assembly polls. Its ally BJP released a list of 99 candidates on Sunday.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray has sparked speculation about a potential political rapprochement with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting their past differences are "trivial" and uniting for the greater good of "Marathi manoos" is not a difficult task. The comments come amid a political landscape in Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena (UBT) is facing a tough battle to retain its stronghold in Mumbai in upcoming civic polls, with competition from the Shinde-led Sena and BJP.
The Shiv Sena has a message for Maharashtra's new chief minister as he takes charge on Saturday.
'We don't believe in violence. Shiv Sena doesn't believe in violence. But...'
The order draws sharp reactions from the Opposition NCP-SP and Shiv Sena- UBT leaders who called it an infringement of people's food choices.
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.
The Sena-UBT pointed out that the Congress only spoke about itself in the Ahmedabad meet, and INDIA or Bharat was nowhere in the discussion.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged BJP cadre to ensure the opposition is defeated in the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra. He emphasized the party's strength and commitment to performance-based politics, citing PM Modi as an example.
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.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA's defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don't believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.
Thackeray said that the MNS will contest more seats than any other party.
A first information report (FIR) was registered in Mumbai on Friday against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Arvind Sawant for referring to Shaina N C, an assembly elections candidate of the rival Shiv Sena, as 'imported maal'.
The estranged cousins came together to mark the Maharashtra government's decision to scrap a contentious order making Hindi a compulsory third language in the state's primary schools, which they said hit at the Marathi manoos.
The Uddhav faction was shocked to see Pawar felicitate Shinde with an award.
The Raj Thackeray-led MNS senses an opportunity after the Shiv Sena-UBT candidate's lead fell to less than 7,000 votes in the Worli assembly segment during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray planned to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, but first the Bharatiya Janata Party and later Maha Vikas Aghadi allies including Sharad Pawar played a spoilsport.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urged party workers to end internal disputes, citing his reunion with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray as an example. He emphasized strengthening the party ahead of local body elections.
Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat has announced the renaming of Khultabad, the town where Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb is located, to Ratnapur. The move comes after a demand from the minister, other state leaders, and right-wing groups for the removal of the tomb. The minister stated that many place names were changed during Aurangzeb's reign and the government plans to change the names of all places with "bad" in them. The government also plans to construct a memorial showcasing the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji Maharaj in Khultabad.
A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the talks with Shiv Sena over power sharing were 70-80 per cent complete, a senior Sena leader on Tuesday said both the parties have "buried" their differences and agreed on a "suitable" formula.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The BJP in the last few years lost a major ally like Telugu Desam Party but also gained a big regional partner like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and several smaller allies in northeastern states.
A Govinda squad in Thane, India, formed a 10-layer human pyramid during a Dahi Handi event, with organizers claiming it as a world record. A prize of Rs 25 lakh was announced for the team.
Thackeray also declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively.
'Let's see how this love story shapes up in the run up to the municipal corporation election.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the Maharashtra government of a land scam involving government land reserved for Dalits being sold to a company linked to a state minister's son. He questions Prime Minister Modi's silence on the issue.
Shiv Sena-UBT leader Anil Parab on Monday won the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls from Mumbai Graduates constituency by defeating the BJP's Kiran Shelar.
It is only the chief minister who can "treat" his nausea, the NCP hits back.
Confirming the development, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray said the boycott is a mark of protest against a "dishonest government".
Raj Thackeray announced unconditional support to the ruling 'Mahayuti' alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP in the state and backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said talks on the chief ministerial candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls can be held later as its first task is to dislodge the 'corrupt' Mahayuti-led dispensation in the state.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has stated that there are ongoing "emotional talks" between his party and the MNS, though no formal alliance has been announced. Raut clarified that Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has not set any preconditions for rapprochement with his cousin, MNS president Raj Thackeray. The speculation about a possible reconciliation began after Raj Thackeray expressed willingness to work with Uddhav in a podcast interview. However, the MNS spokesperson downplayed the significance of Raj Thackeray's remarks, emphasizing the need for the Sena (UBT) to support the MNS's agitation for Marathi language and people. Uddhav Thackeray, while open to reconciliation, has cautioned against working with those deemed "enemies" of Maharashtra, an apparent reference to the BJP and the Shinde-led Sena.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed gratitude to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray for their positive remarks in a coffee table book released on his birthday, emphasizing that they are ideological opponents, not enemies.
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.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents have decided to house all its newly-elected MLAs together in Mumbai after the Maharashtra election results, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday, a move aimed at preventing poaching ahead of government formation. Raut said MVA leaders met on Thursday and carried out an assessment of every seat. The counting of votes for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will take place on Saturday. Raut expressed confidence that the MVA would win 160 seats in the elections. The term of the Maharashtra legislative assembly ends on November 26. The opposition fears that President's rule could be imposed in the state if a new government is not formed till then.
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