The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana has joined the saffron alliance in Maharashtra. Will the votes it brings to the table loosen the political hold of the entrenched Maratha-dominated sugar barons of the NCP-Congress in western Maharashtra?
A more informed electorate, rather than the Lokpal, can fight corruption better, argues Neeta Kolhatkar.
At a time when elections, both Parliament and assembly, are round the corner, die-hard Shiv Sainiks believe that Uddhav Thackeray needs to reconcile with some important leaders, because they can make or break the party's performance, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'It is widely believed that such posts require lobbying. Maybe they do, but I can say this straight up, I did not lobby. This appointment has been on pure merit. My lobby is myself and I don't need to lobby,' Waman Kendre, newly-appointed director of NSD, tells Neeta Kolhatkar
'Now, it feels like the darkness has descended again.'
A rebellion by NCP leaders in Sindhudurg may scuttle Congress MP Nilesh Rane's chances of regaining the seat. Neeta Kolhatkar explains the politics behind the turmoil in Maharashtra's Konkan region.
'This government has made it compulsory to teach some languages that have died.' 'You can't keep languages alive by making them compulsory.'
Some Shiv Sena veterans say, "The Sena is eroding on its own, we don't have to quit this party. It breaks our heart to see the end, but it is inevitable." Neeta Kolhatkar on the crisis confronting the Shiv Sena.
'If the person is silenced, then everyone else is terrorised and won't speak up.' 'See what happened to Kiran Mane, you will face the same fate.' 'They want to send this message to the world through my example.' 'We have to fight this and show that they cannot throttle everyone.'
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A day after the anti-superstition and black magic ordinance was passed by the Maharashtra cabinet, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan tells Neeta Kolhatkar in an exclusive interview that 'fundamentalists' behind the cold-blooded murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar will try to scuttle the Bill, but he will fight for it.
'What shame is there in the government accepting a drought situation and taking appropriate measures to help people live?' a Marathwada farmer asks Neeta Kolhatkar.
'I cannot say I like watching porn, or that I like to party, or that I enjoy my drink and, worse still, that I like Rahul Gandhi.'
'That is how our machinery operates and sees every prisoner.'
'Only when they are in a group or in mobs, then they attack.'
'When a young Indian family who had recently moved into my locality found out that I live here, the lady volunteered to send food; she said that since she was going to cook for three people anyway, she had no problem cooking for me as well.' 'Thanks to her kindness, I get one home-cooked meal every day.'
'With the exception of a few cases, where it really was a mistake, in most cases it was the lackadaisical approach of voters which resulted in them not being on the list.'
From mistreatment, sexual harassment to low wages, domestic workers are in a poor state in India with hardly any legal protections, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The major cause of the floods in Mumbai in 2005 and in Chennai in 2015 has been the reclamation of reservoir areas and rapid, unplanned, urbanisation.
'His poise and body language were 'cool. He brought a whiff of fresh air to our television screens, a welcome break from not-so-fit loud politicians and male anchors,' says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'It is time the Sena realises that voters can see through its divisive actions. It needs to have a wider vision before the party is reduced to a slapstick political comedy.'
'The way the society functions, I don't know, they are more concerned about animals than humans.'
'I can't help it if people don't love the minorities, the Dalits and Adivasis; they are as much of this country as any other Indian.' 'If I love them, it does not mean I do not love my country.' 'It is ironic and funny that they have laid such severe anti-national charges against me.'
A divided party -- not the quashing of the Adarsh report -- will spell doom for the Congress in Maharashtra, argues Neeta Kolhatkar.
What the AAP becomes eventually in New Delhi will impact whether citizens would want such a model replicated in Mumbai or opt for one from the existing system, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
Devendra Fadnavis -- who completes a year as Maharashtra's chief minister this weekend -- knows his rivals in the party remain hungry for power and want to seize every opportunity to pull him down, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
Prithviraj Chavan helping out Delhi's government tide over high onion prices has not gone down well in his home state of Maharashtra, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The politician who has come a long way, from being a one-time vegetable vendor to one of the most powerful politicians in the state, is in big trouble today, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The Bombay high court order quashing the gag order on reporting the court proceedings in the Sohrabuddin encounter case is a victory for every journalist and Indian, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
This is one bill that will ensure that no politician, official or person can play politics with the lives of any other person and if they do, they will be arrested. It is time for such a bill to protect the minorities, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'The talk in police circles is that Maria was about to crack the money transaction trail in the crime. The Mumbai police's Economic and Offences Wing had begun investigations into the money trail and Mumbai police officers had visited Singapore in this connection.'
As Uddhav Thackeray consolidates his hold over the Shiv Sena, conflict within the ranks seems inevitable, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The underlying tone of a call for separate Mumbai city is always seen as a class war and a linguistic war, says Neeta Kolhatkar
To some the public humiliation of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi at the party's annual Dussehra celebrations in Mumbai may have come as a shocker, but his relationship with the party and the Thackerays has always been rocky, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
Admiration for Sachin Tendulkar has broken barriers. For a country that is accused of turning cricket into a religion, Neeta Kolhatkar says, the batting icon unified us all.
The Congress has kept quiet on the way the Union home ministry has handled innumerable blast cases under its rule. It has not openly condemned the bias that pervades within its government and the security agencies, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
'The BJP said they want less government and more governance. But they are doing neither. It is shocking to see them so ineffective.'
Aditya Thackeray may want Mumbai's shops and restaurants to remain open 24x7 but the Maharashtra government won't be okaying it in a hurry, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
The veteran politician's desire to quit politics may just be a new entry into the long list of occasions where he has gone back on his word, notes Neeta Kolhatkar.
The Manmohan Singh government's rush to pass the Food Security Bill reflects extreme paucity of logic and action, says Neeta Kolhatkar
With the Supreme Court quashing the ban on dance bars in Maharashtra, bar-owners and dancers look forward to business starting once again, reports Neeta Kolhatkar. However, some issues need to be sorted out
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