Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion against the party has pushed the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to the brink of collapse, said a 'national party' has termed their revolt as 'historic' and assured to provide all help to them.
Congress members don't want Rahul Gandhi back as party chief. But the problem is that Sonia Gandhi won't have anyone other than her son to take over the Family Firm, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Chavan was reacting to Sena MP Sanjay Raut's statement earlier in the day that the Sena was 'ready to consider' the demand of the MLAs led by Eknath Shinde that it should end the MVA alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Earlier, Raut said he has been holding discussions with Shinde and the talks are "positive".
After failing to stem revolts, both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress in Uttarakhand have started expelling rebellious leaders in the run-up to the January 30 assembly elections in a desperate bid to discredit them. The two parties have had their share of post-ticket distribution revolts in over 20-22 out of the total 70 constituencies.
'With one fell swoop he (Sharad Pawar) won the sympathies of the NCP workers at the grassroots, his own flock of MLAs and bolstered his position as the NCP chief'
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.
'You don't have any options within the BJP. You only have to follow the orders of the top leadership.'
On instructions from the central leadership, Maharashtra BJP leaders have retreated behind a veil of silence, the senior leader said.
The meeting came days after Shinde denied that his Shiv Sena MLAs were uncomfortable with the inclusion of Ajit Pawar and 8 NCP leaders.
Attacking rebel Congress Member of Parliament Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Union Minister and senior party leader from the state S Jaipal Reddy on Saturday said he was violating party discipline and termed his actions as "very undesirable".
Pilot said he has worked hard for bringing the Congress to power in Rajasthan and hoped the party would fulfil its promises made to the people.
All 140 MLAs turned up to cast their vote, sources in the legislature secretariat said.
However, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MLA Sanjay Shirsat on Tuesday claimed Ajit Pawar-led NCP joining the Sena-BJP government is as per a larger strategy ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls scheduled next year.
Responding to a query on when will the political crisis in Maharashtra end, Shinde, a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state, said things will be clear after some time.
Even as the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation is currently facing a survival crisis due to a rebellion by Sena minister Eknath Shinde, the departments -- mostly controlled by ruling allies Nationalist Congress Party and Congress -- have issued government orders for the release of funds for various development-related works worth thousands of crores in the last four days.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said Uddhav Thackeray will remain the chief minister of Maharashtra and the ruling coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi will prove its majority on the floor of the assembly if needed, an assertion coming against the backdrop of rebellion by senior Cabinet member Eknath Shinde that has put a question mark on the stability of the state government.
In a letter to Shinde, who was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister a day earlier, Thackeray accused him of "indulging in anti-party activities".
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has claimed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had come to his residence and cried that he will be arrested by a central agency if he did not switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), before revolting against the Sena leadership.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also moved to Jaisalmer along with the MLAs in five chartered flights.
The NCP also asked the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate to find out the source of "black money" involved.
He was a plain talker and never hesitated to put forth his point of view
The CBI has found the sting CD genuine, the sources said.
Pilot, who is also the president of the state unit of the party, on Tuesday night claimed he has the support of 30 MLAs and the Gehlot government is now in minority.
Shinde will consult the MLAs with him and then decide when to return to Mumbai, his associate said.
Maintaining that the letter of resignation was not written in accordance with the rules of conduct of business in the assembly, Banerjee said it did not have any mention of the date from which the legislator wanted to vacate his seat.
Shinde said Patil told him that he did not mean to disrespect the late Sena supremo.
Rebel Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday met Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan in Delhi and discussed the state's political issues, including his controversial Odarpu Yatra.According to sources, Jagan is also looking for a way out of the present crisis that is threatening to split the state unit of the Congress. Neither the Centre nor the state government wants an election in the state right now.
The meeting will be held in Shiv Sena Bhavan in which the chief minister will join virtually.
Keeping patience is the need of the hour, Sena MP Krupal Tumane
The Congress's decision to deny tickets to anyone involved in the mining scam in Karnataka is hurting the party, reports Vicky Nanjappa
A Sena legislator felt that Aaditya hitting the road has come very late, but stressed that this is also an opportunity for him to prove himself and build his own team.
Sending a tough message to the rebels, Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday said it was not possible to satisfy all aspirants for party tickets and warned that contesting against official nominees would invite stern action.
This includes 34 MLAs from the Shiv Sena and 8 Independent MLAs.
The presence of some high-profile rebels from all political parties in the Maharashtra assembly poll fray has made the electoral battle a curious tussle to see if the outcome would be a repeat of 1995 where over 40 independents had emerged victorious.
The SC has kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly till July 12
"Such are his core supporters that they will vote for him even if cooking oil sells for Rs 5,000 per litre under his leadership.' 'They don't think about inflation but Modi when they go out to vote.'
Shinde will spend the night at Radisson Blu hotel, the same hotel where the then rebel MLAs had stayed in June.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government saying that "Mughal rule" was prevailing in the state, and declared that he would contest the next assembly election from Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's bastion.