Matondkar has been given the ticket after Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora on Thursday said that the city unit of the party had requested the high command to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the actor.
The Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced the completion of "Operation Tiger" as six Lok Sabha members from the Shiv Sena (UBT) officially defected to the ruling Shiv Sena. This move further formalises a split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, strengthening Shinde's party and marking a significant political development in Maharashtra.
Shetty, who won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by margins of more than four lakh in 2014 and 2019, was denied a ticket in the 2024 general elections.
Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), has strongly refuted Union Home Minister Amit Shah's assertion that Eknath Shinde leads the sole Shiv Sena. Addressing party workers in Bhandup, Thackeray declared his faction as the original Shiv Sena, criticising the BJP for allegedly trying to dismantle his party. His remarks come amidst a rebellion by six Sena (UBT) MPs, further intensifying the political struggle for the party's legacy.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil allegedly abused and threatened journalists, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to ask him to express regret. The incident occurred after journalists questioned Patil about a letter from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and his daughter's political stance, leading to a political controversy.
Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha MP Nitin Gadkari, late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam, former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil are a few of the 29 new entrants to the 16th Lok Sabha among the 48 MPs from Maharashtra.
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.
Two Lok Sabha MPs from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena-UBT, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, have confirmed their defection to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, citing reasons including a fund crunch and Thackeray's absence from local body polls. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have virtually acknowledged the success of 'Operation Tiger', aimed at splitting Thackeray's faction.
Nikam has replaced two-time MP Poonam Mahajan, who is the daughter of the late BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan.
In her statement, Dutt has hailed and thanked her "mentor" United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has written to the Mumbai Police Commissioner, seeking action against MP Sanjay Dina Patil for allegedly threatening to "throw bombs" at protesters and claiming to have "killed five people" in the past. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that police will take appropriate action against anyone issuing threats.
'I thought this generation was no good, will not be able to do much with all this social media etc. But then, they surprised us.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
Investigations reveal that many of them had been residing in the country for the past six to eight years.
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam stated that his party would not allow any "Khan" to become the mayor of Mumbai, later clarifying that he was referring to an "anti-national mentality" and not a specific community. He cited concerns about radical elements and appeasement politics.
On camera, youngsters gave their names, where they'd come from, where they were studying or working - and then proceeded to criticize Modi. On camera, they held up posters mocking Modi, points out Jyoti Punwani.
'Earlier, Congress used to contest five seats in Mumbai, leaving only Mumbai North-East to the undivided Nationalist Congress Party. So we were demanding equal seat-sharing this time'
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena is keen to contest eight out of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with some 'give and take' in the next elections, sources said on Tuesday.
Farhan Azmi, son of state Samajwadi Party chief Abu Asim Azmi, on Tuesday said he was in the reckoning to contest against sitting Congress Member of Parliament and Union minister Milind Deora from the posh Mumbai South constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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.
Thakur College of Science and Commerce, post the controversy, said the event aimed to encourage students, particularly first time voters, to participate in the upcoming general elections but added "the matter", possibly a reference to students being forced to attend, was "under review".
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP has nominated Sanjay Upadhyay from the Borivali seat for the November 20 state assembly polls.
This will be the first major electoral test after the political realignment that emerged in 2019.
BJP leader Poonam Mahajan explains why she believes that NRIs joining Parliament will strengthen democracy.
'The prime minister didn't come to Parliament.' 'But the BJP MP is charging that you wanted to assault the prime minister.' 'Only a person who has the intellect and ideology of the BJP can come up with such bizarre charges.'
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Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is among four persons nominated to Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to inform and spoke in Marathi.
'I am hopeful of getting all six seats from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, either for the BJP or with our allies.' 'The same is true about Meghalaya.' 'We will have to work hard in Mizoram and in Tripura.' 'In Assam, we won seven seats. In 2019 election, we will add to this number.'
The BJP leader also asked the EC officials to discuss the matter with the collectors of Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban District and ensure voters do not face any problem due to the slow pace of voting at the booths.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
The BJP has also not declared the candidate for Mumbai North Central, which was won by Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan, in 2014 and 2019 on the party ticket.
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.
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Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday released its first list of 20 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, pitting Kumar Vishwas from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's seat, and former banker Meera Sanyal and social activist Medha Patkar from Mumbai.
Bollywood actor and former Congress Lok Sabha MP Govinda on Thursday joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai.
The constituency of Mumbai South, home to industrialists as well as high-ranking government officials, fared the worst with 47.7 percent voting.
While at some places people who had turned up at polling booths early in the morning left without casting their vote after waiting in line for a long time, Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray alleged that the process was slowed down deliberately.
One of the key attractions of the park, which houses a wide array of plant, animal and bird species besides ancient caves, the revamped toy train is set to provide an elating and exciting experience to visitors, especially children.
