'When it is an open ballot, the division taking place in the open house will be for all to see.' 'As they say sunlight is the best disinfectant, this (aspect of the order) brings in transparency and it's in keeping with the best democratic principles.'
Shinde will consult the MLAs with him and then decide when to return to Mumbai, his associate said.
'Even if we have laws in place, which we must, we need a societal change.' 'Rather than telling our daughters that, "Listen, leave your house at so and so time, come back by so and so time," we must tell the men and boys that "Whatever point of time you encounter a woman in public space or wherever, you treat her with respect, dignity, and as an equal participant in these public spaces".'
A section of Shiv Sena lawmakers had raised certain concerns after the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar joined the one-year-old Shinde-BJP government.
The dramatic swearing-in of BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar as his deputy was preceded by days of talks between key party leaders and the junior Pawar, who was facing probe in corruption cases being investigated by central agencies.
Sources in the BJP said the expansion of the cabinet was unlikely before the session though the allocation of portfolios to the NCP ministers might happen in the coming days.
"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
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.
Keeping patience is the need of the hour, Sena MP Krupal Tumane
As its government braces for a trust vote in Maharashtra on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said it welcomes the support of all parties except the Congress party for development of the state.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Monday named Chhagan Bhujbal as the next deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.Earlier, a meeting of the NCP legislature party had authorised party president Sharad Pawar to name the new leader.Pawar's nephew and state Water Resources Minister Ajit Pawar and former deputy CM R R Patil were the other aspirants for the post.
Observing that the sanctity of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution should be maintained, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs by December 31.
The crisis in Maharashtra government after Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's resignation is expected to draw to a close with the intervention of Union Agriculture Minister and NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday.
'The BJP leaders will go crazy if they are thrown out of power. They will lose their mental balance'
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he would build new leadership in the party and asserted he gets more energy to work when such situations come up.
Given the dismal show of the Congress in the recently concluded assembly polls and the JMM eating into its vote bank, the possibility of Congress MLAs switching sides is not bleak, reports R Krishna Das.
NCP MLA Anil Patil has expressed faith in the leadership of Sharad Pawar, indicating his return to the party fold.
A statement from Raj Bhavan said that Koshyari requested the ECI to declare elections to the nine vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council 'at the earliest'. The state cabinet had on April 9 recommended Thackeray's nomination as one of the governor nominees in the Legislative Council.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
Debacle in four states prompts party to step up efforts to fare well in general elections, reports Sanjay Jog.
Seventy-seven MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting.
He also demanded mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him.
The arrest of Chhagan Bhujbal by the ED rocked Maharashtra Legislature with protesting Opposition alleging it was "vendetta politics".
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
The Democratic Alliance of Nagaland with 34 members, including four Independents, met Nagaland Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday and formally staked claim to form the next government in the state. After electing Neiphiu Rio as the DAN legislature party leader, the MLAs of NPF (26), BJP (2) and NCP (2), accompanied by Lok Sabha MP of NPF W Koniyak, met the Governor.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has tested positive for Covid-19.
'We have not hijacked the party, the NCP and the Congress have hijacked it'
'The timing of the current episode involving Ajit Pawar is important. The episode has elements of deceit, betrayal and falsehood intertwined'
'You can wake up a person who is sleeping, but how do you wake up a person who's pretending to sleep.'
The Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing announcement comes a day after the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls was over.
'If the BJP doesn't want to accept the will of the people, then we will show them what a majority means.'
Fadnavis rules out holding special session of legislature and instead assures of relief measures, says Sanjay Jog
The approval by Maharashtra assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal to appoint Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House in place of rebel leader Eknath Shinde may expedite the need for the ruling coalition to prove its majority through a floor test, feels a constitutional expert.
Three MLAs abstained, while 20 legislators, most of them from Congress and the NCP, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, both former ministers, were absent during the trust vote.
Pawar said, "I will meet PM Narendra Modi on July 18. During the meeting, I will take up various issues related to farmers with him. (NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting."
'The Maharashtra government is not being very clear; they are keeping quiet.'
The Congress on Friday won the Amravati division graduates constituency, taking the tally of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to three in elections for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a result which has come as a jolt to the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Balasahebnachi Shiv Sena alliance.
There are many life lessons to be learnt from the way Sharad Pawar handled the Maharashtra political crisis.
Pawar was the deputy CM twice in the 15-year regime of Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra during 1999-2014.
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