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.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
Mumbai police formed 11 teams and also roped in the Crime Branch to nab the 24-year-old son of a ruling Shiv Sena leader after a BMW car the youth was driving crashed into a scooter, killing a woman and injuring her husband, an official said.
The IMD issued a 'red alert' for Pune district and asked people to take precautions.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, an act coming in the backdrop of a huge row over the crash which provided ammunition to the opposition to target the Mahayuti government ahead of assembly polls.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena is keen to contest eight out of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with some 'give and take' in the next elections, sources said on Tuesday.
The strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees for salary hike and other demands entered the second day on Wednesday, which continued to cripple the services and cause inconvenience to lakhs of passengers, especially ahead of the Ganesh festival.
Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters captures scenes of villagers fetching water from the Vaitarna river, which flows from Trimbakeshwar to Palghar, and is also a source of water for Mumbai city.
Palghar Member of Parliament Baliram Jadhav who proudly claimed that the Dahanu-Churchgate suburban local services is his achievement, promptly ended up violating two rules immediately after the Union Railway Minister and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan inaugurated the service on Tuesday.
The official further said Mihir Shah's father and Palghar Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah took active part in ensuring his son's escape and also had plans to tow away the offending vehicle.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said media reports suggest that chargesheets filed in the case comprises of more than 10,000 pages.
They slammed the Union and state governments for the collapse, with Uddhav Thackeray calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology as one "smacking of arrogance", while Sharad Pawar said the episode was an example of corruption.
The main accused in the BMW hit-and-run case Mihir Shah was under the influence of alcohol when the horrific incident, in which one woman was killed, took place, a Mumbai police official said on Thursday.
When the IO and other police personnel started fumbling with answers, the magistrate passed a copy of the BNS and asked them to go through the section in question.
The employees called off the strike following government's assurance of a salary hike
Thackeray also declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively.
Rediff readers tell us how they are celebrating the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi in their homes.
Virtually conceding the defeat, Fadnavis stated they will introspect and recover the loss in the upcoming assembly elections.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Maharashtra Police to place on record the second supplementary charge sheet filed in the case related to alleged lynching of three people, including two seers, in Palghar district in April last year.
Western Railway stated that local train services were running normally on Monday morning, however, commuters claimed trains were running late by 5 to 10 minutes.
The attack on the convoy of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray in retaliation to a similar incident involving Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray revived the old rivalry between the estranged cousins who claim to champion the cause of Marathi manoos ahead of assembly elections.
There is a growing unease among Lok Sabha ticket aspirants in the Shiv Sena amid its decision to drop three sitting MPs and the ongoing seat-sharing talks between the Mahayuti partners, party sources said.
Mumbai police on Monday said Rajesh Shah, father of absconding prime accused Mihir Shah in the BMW hit-and-run case, instructed the latter to escape from the spot after the incident, in which a woman was killed and her husband injured.
History-sheeter Guru Waghmare who was murdered at a spa in Mumbai had tattooed on his body the names of 22 persons who could potentially harm him, police said on Thursday as they arrested at least three suspects a day after the crime.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Thursday, causing waterlogging on roads in some areas that led to traffic snarls and also delayed local train operations.
The police in Palghar district of Maharashtra, who are investigating the Mistry car accident case, have found this during their investigation.
'Crores of rupees have been spent on paper but nothing has actually happened on the ground.'
"My aim is to make Maharashtra the world's big financial powerhouse and to make Mumbai a global fintech capital," he said.
A purported video of three monks being attacked by a mob in West Bengal's Purulia over suspicion that they were 'kidnappers in disguise' has triggered a political row, with opposition Bharatiya Janata Party alleging collapse of law and order in the state.
The Valiv police filed the chargesheet, the local police official said without disclosing much details.
The Mumbai star said that the top-order has been weak but it has received more than enough compensation from the lower order in the team's collective aim to capture record-extending 42nd Ranji title.
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
The driver of the car in which Cyrus Mistry was travelling lost control due to overspeeding and rammed into the divider, said Palghar Police sources on Sunday.
Aaftab Poonawala, the accused in the case of brutal murder of his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar in May this year, shifted the belongings from his flat in Maharashtra's Palghar district to Delhi in 37 boxes in June and paid Rs 20,000 for it, a police official said on Monday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he has asked the state police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed.
'Usually the average rainfall per day is around 8 mm and India is receiving 10 to 11 mm per day since the last one week.' 'July seems to be very good for the entire country.'
Local train services came to a halt between Badlapur and Ambarnath section in Maharashtra's Thane district adjoining Mumbai due to water-logging on railway tracks after heavy rains, officials said.
Dr Anahita had only worn the shoulder harness from the back and had not adjusted the lap belt, police said.
The 27-year-old actor was arrested by Valiv Police in Palghar district on December 26 for allegedly abetting Sharma's suicide.
