While ruling out any alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for the Ferbruary 22 BMC polls, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said, "I realised that he is vocal about the rights of Maharashtrians and fights for them. Simultaneously, he does not want to spread hatred against non-Maharashtrians."
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he 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.
'Maharashtra's asmita was crushed under Delhi's feet.' 'Marathi Manoos is definitely angry.'
Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Monday said MNS chief Raj Thackeray's speech in Aurangabad, wherein he remained firm on the May 3 deadline for removal of loudspeakers from mosques, was aimed at "creating a divide in society", and hinted at action against him.
Schemes like the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana strain fiscal resources amid rising unemployment and prices of food items.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray anti-toll agitation brought Mumbai to standstill, almost. Here are some dramatic pictures from the agitation.
In a riposte to former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari's recent overtures to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, the Shiv Sena on Friday decided to field its candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections.
The Sena witnessed the first major jolt in 1991 when Chhagan Bhujbal, the Other Backward Class face of the party who was also credited with expanding the organisation's base in rural parts of Maharashtra, decided to leave the party.
'If the Maha Vikas Aghadi thinks that they have won 30 (Lok Sabha) seats and that would translate to winning 180 assembly seats they would be living in a fool's paradise.'
Alleging a "pattern" of triggering communal riots and winning elections, Raut said this will break the country into pieces.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
Raj Thackeray should apologise to all North Indians with folded hands, MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said.
Activists of the Swarajya Sanghatana on Wednesday smeared black paint on the signboard of Karnataka Bank at its branch in Nashik city of Maharashtra amid a simmering border dispute between the two states.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday remained unfazed over the reported threat by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to disallow Bihar divas celebrations in Mumbai, saying no one can stop him from attending the event and he did not require a "visa" to travel there.
The Maharashtra government told the Supreme Court on Monday, that it has taken effective steps for protection of lives and religious faith of north Indians and non-Marathis in the wake of an alleged hate campaign launched by the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
While 72 per cent of mosques have stopped using loudspeakers for morning prayer, many others have reduced the volume of loudspeakers, claimed a police official.
Despite belonging to a political dynasty of sorts, Aaditya Thackeray is the first in his family to contest an election.
After emerging as the single largest party but failing to secure a simple majority in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation elections, Shiv Sena on Monday started negotiations with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a party source said in Mumbai.
The MNS, which has one MLA, had backed the Bharatiya Janata Party in the last month's elections to the Rajya Sabha as well as state Legislative Council seats.
'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.'
Reacting to the meeting of former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said if a senior leader from BJP supports Raj or Sharad Pawar, it can affect the alliance.
Loudspeakers will be removed from masjids, Bal Thackeray said in the old clip.
Bollywood veteran Ramesh Deo passed into the ages following a heart attack on Wednesday, February 2.
In a damage control exercise, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday night spoke to Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray amid fissures in the saffron alliance over BJP's overtures to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
It is the Hindu community that has faced the biggest setback as far as the issue of loudspeakers is concerned, the Sena MP added.
A MNS leader had in a tweet said the tomb should be destroyed.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena bubble has burst in the Lok Sabha polls.
After the anti-halal meat drive, right-wing outfits led by Bajrang Dal and Sriram Sena have now called for a ban on loudspeakers in mosques.
Thackeray also slammed the "Owaisi brothers" (AIMIM leaders) for allegedly ridiculing the names of Hindu gods.
Modi should implement the Uniform Civil Code in this country, Thackeray said.
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
From politics to fashion, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance remains intact. Prasanna D Zore reports
Seeking to downplay speculation that it was reviewing its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said the bond between the two parties was "strong" and there was need for worry.
Praising the Centre for CAA, he said: "I do not understand why Muslims are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. CAA is not for the Muslims who were born here."
Kejriwal called Thackeray on Sunday to apprised him about the situation in the national capital.
The ongoing agitation in Kolhapur against levy of toll found its echo in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday with two Shiv Sena members of legislative assembly from the area being suspended and physically evicted for disrupting the proceedings.
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
Two days after MNS chief Raj Thackeray declared his support to the Modi government over eviction of Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators, the Shiv Sena said in its mouthpiece that Muslim infiltrators from these countries should be thrown out. It also took a dig at Raj over his ideological shift towards Hindutva.
'We, the Mangeshkar family, don't wish to be drawn into this controversy and this controversy should end and politics on Didi's name must be stopped.'
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