With reports surfacing of differences between Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis, Fadnavis was out seeking new allies. A disgruntled Ajit Pawar was easy to persuade.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the Bharatiya Janata Party though some 'well-wishers' are trying to persuade him.
According to the sources, it was decided that the MVA will hold revenue division-wise rallies where leaders of all the three Opposition outfits will participate.
Speculation about Ajit Pawar's next political move started swirling last week when he suddenly cancelled his scheduled meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp.
The court will now decide whether to accept the report or direct the agency to continue the investigation and file a chargesheet.
Displaying a washing machine on its press conference dais, the Congress on Saturday taunted the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a closure report in a 2017 corruption case against Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel and said the ruling party's 'fully automatic washing machine' works on the principle -- 'join BJP, case closed'.
'For a meaningful alliance, every party has to do some sacrifice.' 'That sacrifice will come only when you persuade people.' 'And that task can be done by only a leader like Sharad Pawar.'
'It was the Congress which nurtured democracy, making it possible for Narendra Modi to become the Prime Minister despite his humble origins'
The Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday posted a four-year-old video of its leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announcing that he will return to helm the state, prompting speculation in political circles.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has said that his party's top brass will discuss with Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar his much-debated meeting with politically estranged nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) holds its conclave in Mumbai later this month.
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.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
The Election Commission on Friday met the warring factions of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party name and poll symbol.
Deepak Kesarkar, a Sena MLA and spokesperson for the rebel faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sought to know what Pawar gained by causing pain to Bal Thackeray.
His remarks come a day after Ajit Pawar apologised to the people of the state for the collapse of the structure which was installed in the coastal district's Malvan tehsil, around 480km from Mumbai.
"Pawar saheb himself had said about the necessity of change in the guard a few days ago. We should see his decision in the light of his age and health also. Everyone has to take a decision according to time, Pawar saheb has taken a decision and he won't take it back," Ajit Pawar said.
If the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys some influence.
A total of 161.30 acres of land, plant, machinery and building of the Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited (Kannad SSK) located in Kannad village of Aurangabad district has been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED said in a statement.
Of the 20,831 voters in this assembly constituency, an overwhelming majority of around 18,000 are not tribals.
Do not underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep State in America to have its way. Keeping the guard down will be a catastrophic mistake on the part of the Delhi establishment. We could get hit when least expected. That's what happened in Bangladesh and Syria, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the INDIA party leaders submitted a list of recent instances of central agencies targeting Opposition parties and alleged an absence of a level playing field for the opposition.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has moved the Bombay high court challenging the legality of the decision taken by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to not disqualify 14 MLAs belonging to the rival faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
"One nation, one law can be understood. But we will never accept one nation, one party plan of the BJP", Thackeray said.
There is little doubt that the prime minister's own charisma exceeds that of his party, but 2024 is proof that no party can ultimately depend on one person to deliver victory all the time, points out R Jagannathan.
The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar 10 seats.
Once the two parties finalise the common minimum programme, it would then be shared with the Shiv Sena which is then expected to add issues that are close to its heart, reports Prasanna D Zore.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal would have become the chief minister of Maharashtra had he not quit the Sena.
Modi unveiled the statue on December 4 last year on the occasion of Navy Day. He also participated in the celebrations at the fort.
Several leaders of the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have given a privilege notice against leader of the house in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal over his certain remarks against some opposition leaders.
'Ajit Pawar wants to escape from the clutches of the investigative agencies.'
Thackeray, along with top leaders of the Sena-UBT, went to Mumbra here to visit the razed shakha but had to face resistance from workers of the CM's Shiv Sena, who also showed black flags.
'We will do whatever is necessary when the day and moment arrives.' 'As a party which has ruled Maharashtra for most of its existence, we also have our base and turf to protect.'
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray as a part of his campaign against the BJP.
"It is a much more serious issue and is not like what the media is making it out to be, that Sharad Pawar is angry at being not made No 2. Being such a senior politician and minister, he has never asked for higher posts," says NCP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member D P Tripathi
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he is yet to ascertain whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a part of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government or is still in the Opposition.
A magisterial court in Mehsana on Thursday convicted Gujarat independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and nine others in a five-year-old case of holding an 'Azadi march' without permission and sentenced them to three months' imprisonment.
In his letter to Ajit Pawar, who too is a deputy CM, Fadnavis said Malik has the right to attend the assembly as an MLA and added that "we (the BJP) do not harbour any personal animosity or grudge" against him.
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