The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra was issued the first summons for appearance on May 12 but he had sought deferment for about 10 days citing some personal and official engagements.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena's tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has attributed the recent state assembly election victory to the role of Hindutva and counter-polarization. He described BJP's Hindutva as a way of life and said it played an important role in mobilizing voters. Fadnavis also alleged that the opposition alliance had an agreement to withdraw riot cases against Muslims. He further commented on PM Modi's inclusive Hindutva and the increased voter turnout in the election.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are taking place today, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance seeking to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) hoping for a comeback. The campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra crisscrossing the state to garner votes. The Mahayuti is banking on popular schemes while the MVA focuses on issues like caste-based census and social justice. The elections have also seen a significant rise in the number of candidates and voters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
The meeting in New Delhi etc is just the BJP being nice to the man who helped it realise its dream by stabbing Uddhav in the back, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will abstain from voting in the Legislative Assembly if a minority government headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party seeks trust vote.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray has denounced in the Supreme Court the "highly improper" meeting between Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and state legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, barely three days before the deadline set by the apex court for the latter to decide cross-petitions filed by rival Sena factions seeking disqualification of several of each other's MLAs.
Owaisi said 324 farmers have died by suicide in "Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) division", but no one is talking about it.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a Gujarat resident from Akola in Maharashtra in connection with the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 25. Salmanbhai Iqbalbhai Vohra, a resident of Petlad in Gujarat's Anand district, was arrested from Balapur in Akola. The 66-year-old NCP leader was gunned down on October 12 near his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office in Bandra East's Nirmal Nagar area. Vohra is alleged to have provided financial support to some of the accused in the case, including the brother of arrested accused Gurmail Singh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has opted not to grant tickets to eight MLAs, followed by Congress which replaced five MLAs.
With the Congress announcing its first list of candidates amid continuing stalemate over seat sharing for Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Nationalist Congress Party leadership has gone into a huddle to decide its future course of action.
The respect for the four-time former chief minister, often referred to as Saheb, in his stronghold of western Maharashtra is palpable in much of the region. But his estranged nephew also appears to enjoy a stature of his own in Baramati, a constituency represented by the senior Pawar for six terms before he passed the baton to Ajit Pawar in 1991.
Bawankule said that the BJP has always respected Matoshri (Uddhav Thackeray's home) and its legacy.
Shrikant Shinde on Monday said the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti coalition government has been a bit delayed, and currently there are lot of discussions and rumours.
Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested by US law enforcement authorities in Iowa. He is wanted in connection with several criminal cases in India, including the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique and the firing outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai home.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Rohit Pawar on Friday alleged 25-30 Bharatiya Janata Party workers at midnight tried to enter the strong room where electronic voting machines (EVMs) of Karjat-Jamkhed constituency, from where he contested, are kept.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday slammed ally Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's MP Sanjay Raut for his remarks on Haryana poll outcome, stressing that accusations against Congress won't be tolerated.
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is heavily banking upon a six to 10 per cent shift in voters -- mostly women -- in its favour to return to power with anywhere between 160 and 170 assembly seats, say four MLAs belonging to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Amid intense discussions among Mahayuti allies over the distribution of portfolios and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's insistence on the home ministry, the clarity on the composition of the council of ministers is expected by Sunday, sources said.
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.
Praful Patel did not disclose the reason for the sudden move.
Five months after a couple of Pawars jousted in an electoral battle in Baramati, two other Pawars will take on each other at the hustings on November 20, 2024.
The debate between the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party on seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections has taken a new turn. The NCP has told the Congress to go ahead on its own if it was sure of winning all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The Sena (UBT) chief and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday met with Fadnavis and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar at Vidhan Bhavan premises in Nagpur. Aaditya said they extended good wishes to the two and talked about taking a step towards showing political maturity and working together in the interest of the people.
The Nationalist Congress Party has claimed all the 28 Congress corporators in Malegaon city in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including the mayor, crossed over to the party on Thursday.
The Nagpur violence may have been prevented had the police considered the dangerous potential of the VHP/Bajrang Dal's demonstration; had they immediately stopped the burning of the chaddar and arrested the demonstrators; and had they fanned out to counter the rumours that spread among Muslims, observes Jyoti Punwani.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has asked his party workers to be prepared for snap polls in Maharashtra considering the political situation after the recent state Assembly elections.
A Mumbai court on Monday remanded the third person arrested for the killing of Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique to police custody till October 21.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday claimed that there will be major changes in the state government, including the 'main seat', in the coming weeks.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
'We have raised our complaints with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, that it was getting difficult to work with the NCP and Congress ministers'
Three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have threatened to contest as Independents from Jalna in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls after the seat went to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as part of the Mahayuti's seat-sharing arrangement.
However, induction in the NCP-SP will come with riders, asserted the former Union minister.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties are organising dinner meetings and arranging hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which are taking place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine was leading in 39 constituencies and Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party in 31, according to trends from 90 seats in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was leading in seven seats while the Third Front was leading in five seats. Those leading include Industry Minister Narayan Rane (Kudal), Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's daughter Praniti (Solapur) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Osmanabad.
Eknath Shinde, a former auto-rickshaw driver, has emerged as a key leader in Maharashtra, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister. His journey from a Shiv Sena rebel to a dominant figure in the state's politics is a testament to his resilience and political acumen. He gained popularity for his pro-people stance and his contributions to infrastructure projects and social welfare schemes, solidifying his position as a powerful player in the Mahayuti alliance.
Pawar's remark is in stark contrast to the stand taken by NCP which was among the 20 opposition parties that skipped the inauguration of new parliament building on Sunday.
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