Police in Maharashtra have registered two FIRs against BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, party candidate Rajan Naik and others for allegedly distributing cash to voters at a hotel in Palghar ahead of the state assembly elections. A separate FIR was also registered against BJP and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi functionaries for allegedly attempting to hold a press conference, violating election code of conduct. The incidents occurred on the eve of the Maharashtra assembly polls, with allegations of cash distribution and attempts to influence voters.
Though the party has made no announcement, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister in the outgoing government, is being seen as the frontrunner for the key position.
Zubeen Garg was not just Assam's voice, he was its heartbeat, its rebellion, and its song of unity in a land often torn apart.
With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Manoj Jarange's protest for Maratha quota at Mumbai's Azad Maidan enters its third day. Jarange is demanding 10% quota for Marathas and recognition as Kunbis. Maharashtra ministers suggest the community avail the existing EWS quota.
'Everyone involved in this transaction must be punished and penalised.'
In a letter to Raosaheb Danve, chairman of the party's state election campaign committee, the former Mumbai MP termed the treatment given to him as 'insulting'.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to scuttle the possibility of his party's alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray ahead of civic polls.
When asked about Prahar Janshakti Party leader Bachhu Kadu's hunger strike, Fadnavis said district guardian minister Chandrashekar Bawankule will speak to him.
Here's the list of the seven accused who faced trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
BJP leader Nitesh Rane criticizes MNS after alleged assault on a man for not speaking Marathi, sparking political controversy.
Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma was forced to address an event in the dark in his hometown Mau due to a power outage. The incident, which went viral on social media, led to action against four power department officials, including the suspension of two. Sharma was in Mau for a three-day event marking eight years of the BJP government in the state. The power failure lasted for hours, causing inconvenience to the locals and creating an awkward situation for the minister. While some BJP workers alleged that the outage was deliberate, locals praised Sharma for his composure and humility.
Speaking a day after refusing to take up the responsibility given to him by the ruling outfit ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, he also said that he has been working as an ordinary worker of the party and was not greedy for any post.
Rane demanded that the police register an FIR and arrest Aaditya Thackeray into the Disha Salian death case.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case was a "slap on the face" of people who coined the term "saffron terror".
Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray has vowed to oppose the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi a mandatory third language for students of Classes 1 to 5, stating that his party will not allow it. Thackeray, addressing an event of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the workers' wing of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said his party has no aversion to the Hindi language but questioned the need to force it upon students. He also criticized the ruling BJP's approach, alleging their aim is to keep people under pressure and prevent unity. He accused the current government of working against the interests of Marathi and Maharashtra, and slammed Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his alleged subservience to those he believes are harming the state's interests. Thackeray further criticized the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, arguing against the appointment of non-Muslims on the Waqf Board and questioning the government's intentions in appointing non-Hindus to Hindu religious organizations. He also claimed that his government was overthrown because he had stalled the implementation of labor codes in the state. Thackeray concluded his speech by urging party members to prioritize the hiring of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena union members in workplaces where the union has a presence.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has criticized his cabinet colleague, Nitesh Rane, for making "misleading" statements about Muslims not being part of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army. Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, called for restraint from political leaders and stressed the importance of maintaining communal harmony in the state. He emphasized that Shivaji Maharaj never discriminated based on caste or creed and highlighted the contributions of Muslims during his reign.
Facing mounting opposition to the introduction of Hindi language in Maharashtra schools from classes 1 to 5, the state cabinet on Sunday decided to withdraw two GRs (government orders) on the implementation of the three-language policy.
The 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, spanning nearly 17 years, was marked by changes in investigating agencies and five different judges, contributing to significant delays, according to victims and accused.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashta Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan as their candidate for Vice-President of India. The announcement was made by BJP President J P Nadda, highlighting Radhakrishnan's extensive public service and cross-party respect.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
Nearly 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, noting there was 'no reliable and cogent evidence' against them.
Uddhav Thackeray criticized BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his controversial remarks amid the Marathi-Hindi language row, accusing him of trying to divide people and disturb harmony.
A controversy has erupted after an NCERT Class 8 textbook depicted present-day Rajasthan as part of the Maratha Empire, drawing criticism from royal families and political leaders who call the depiction factually incorrect and misleading.
Archana Patil, the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Home Minister Amit A Shah took a break from his frenetic governmental and political decision making to worship at the famed Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal in Mumbai.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
Devendra Fadnavis, who is set to become the chief minister of Maharashtra for a third time, was a sensitive, polite and helpful student who never boasted about his family's political background, recalls one of his school teachers. Savitri Subramanium, who was Fadnavis' teacher in Saraswati Vidyalaya from Class 8 to 10, says he was an average student but studied well. She remembers him as a polite and simple student who never boasted about his family's political background even though his father Gangadharrao Fadnavis was an MLC at the time. Subramanium said she never thought that Fadnavis would become a good orator as he never came on stage or performed on stage during the school days. She added that he may have inculcated these qualities during his participation in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student activist.
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.
Congress MLA Nana Patole was suspended from the Maharashtra assembly for a day on Tuesday after he climbed the speaker's podium, demanding action against Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Babanrao Lonikar and Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate for allegedly 'insulting' farmers.
'We were told that the 'yuvaraj' had announced to contest 151 seats, and they were not willing to back down on that number'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the results of the assembly elections were historic, and they decided to whom the Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena belong.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has opted not to grant tickets to eight MLAs, followed by Congress which replaced five MLAs.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed the BJP over its stance on the Waqf Amendment Bill, accusing the party of a "fraudulent" approach and of trying to take away land for its industrialist friends. He also dared the BJP to remove the green color from its party flag if it disliked Muslims. Thackeray's comments come after the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Congress leader Udit Raj criticized party colleague Shashi Tharoor for his reported remarks that India breached the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time during the 2016 surgical strike on a terror base, saying he should be declared a "super spokesperson of the BJP". Raj argued that India had crossed the LoC in 1965 and 1971, and that the UPA government had also conducted surgical strikes. Tharoor had reportedly said that India breaching the LoC to conduct a surgical strike was "something we had not done before". This is not the first time Raj has criticized Tharoor for his comments on India-Pakistan relations. Last month, Raj had hit out at Tharoor for his reported "no country has 100-per cent foolproof intelligence" remarks, questioning how Tharoor could be giving the BJP a "clean chit" on the Pahalgam terror attack. Tharoor had hit back at Raj, saying the latter is a former BJP MP and "is better qualified to understand who speaks for the BJP".
An organisation where workers function in different directions never succeeds, BJP sources quoted Shah as telling a party gathering in Mumbai on Tuesday. Shah has also asked the Maharashtra BJP to undertake 'Ghar Chalo Abhiyan' to reach out to every household in the state and called for strengthening the party's booth-level network, a party leader said.
Maharashtra's outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will decide on the new CM and assured his full support while ruling out differences among Mahayuti allies over the government formation.
"I feel no one can reject the contribution of Maharashtra and Marathi people in the history and present of the country. If someone is rejecting it, then I feel it is wrong," Fadnavis said.
Special NIA court judge AK Lahoti, conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been transferred to Nashik just days before the court was likely to reserve the matter for judgement. The transfer order, issued by the registrar general of the Bombay High Court, will come into effect on June 9. The order directs the judge to finish judgments in all cases where hearing has concluded and to dispose of part-heard cases before handing over charge. In the last hearing on Saturday, judge Lahoti directed the prosecution and defense to wrap up the remaining arguments by April 15 and was expected to reserve the matter for judgement the following day, a defense lawyer said.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of differences in the ruling Mahayuti alliance over the presence of Ajit Pawar-led NCP and his party's opposition to the anti-Muslim tirade by some BJP leaders.
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