In a setback to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-backed candidates clinched two of the five legislative council seats which were up for grabs in biennial elections from teachers and graduates segments, and appeared poised to bag a third seat also.
The Congress won three seats, Shiv Sena won two, while the Nationalist Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and an Independent bagged one seat each.
'They want to win 45 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general elections and joining hands with Ajit Pawar is in that direction.'
The Congress has alleged that Shekhawat wants to destabilise chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan.
Thackeray, considered a soft-spoken man vis-a-vis his aggressive father, took oath as the 18th chief minister under the tripartite alliance in November 2019, the first in his family to hold a public office.
This tweet came following Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's remark on July 15, when without naming Pilot, he said leaders from new generation have become Union ministers and state chiefs without much toil.
Amid a stand-off with Congress leadership, rebel Andhra Pradesh MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday resigned from his Lok Sabha seat and announced his decision to quit the party alleging that the Congress "humiliated" his family and tried to drive a "wedge" in it.
'Nobody understands Gehlot's politics.' 'The Congress high command should wake up.'
It seems the grand old party is trying to stage a comeback in the state which it ruled at one time, but also to its progeny the Trinamool Congress which has vowed to come to power in Tripura in the 2023 state assembly elections.
'Unlike the Congress, the BJP is not a party that merely goes by family connections.' 'Scindia's future will depend on what he brings to the BJP table.' 'The BJP is also a party where vertical growth is mostly factored by RSS preferences.' 'To secure confidence of the saffron brotherhood, Scindia will have to be his grandmother's grandson and not his father's son,' notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Former Maharastra CM Prithviraj Chavan, who is contesting his maiden assembly election from Karad, is facing a formidable party rebel as an adversary in in Satara district, a traditional Congress bastion.
While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress alleged that the killings were a fallout of the TMC's infighting, the ruling party pointed fingers at the grand old party of India.
Pawar also said that the Eknath Shinde faction, which was camping in Guwahati after rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray government, had not expected that their leader would become anything more than a deputy CM.
'The cousins do not have a good rapport with each other in politics, though they may be having a good rapport with each other in family life.'
Thackeray claimed when the Shiv Sena was with the BJP, he (Shinde) would say the BJP is harming the Sena.
The EC had allotted 'flaming torch' (mashaal) election symbol to the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena.
Congress Legislature Party leader and Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah said no one would leave the Congress and there was no disgruntlement either.
Besides the MLAs, there were two other people in the SUV, which carried a board mentioning "MLA Jamtara Jharkhand" along with the Congress' election symbol, police said.
The governor also directed that the trust vote be held by division of votes and the process be recorded on video by the Vidhan Sabha through independent persons.
The party alleged that the governor's actions have created a 'constitutional crisis' and constitutional tenets of propriety are being 'wantonly disregarded'.
A total 2.51 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for the second phase of elections, including 1.29 crore men and 1.22 crore women.
Fadnavis said 39 Sena MLAs who belong to the Shinde faction have said they do not support the government.
After Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, discontent is brewing among Congress MLAs in Manipur.
The political drama in Rajasthan over leadership change continued on Monday with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot remaining non-committal on holding a meeting with Congress observers, who are likely to return to Delhi to apprise the high command about the developments.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take the final call on Wednesday on who will be the chief minister.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy held discussions with Congress leaders after the meeting.
The Congress high command on Saturday assured rebel Uttarakhand leader Harish Rawat that he will get his due but ruled out any change in the post of chief minister. The name of Rawat's wife Renuka is being considered among a few others for Rajya Sabha nomination for the lone vacant seat from the hill state, All India Congress Committee general secretary Chaudhary Birender Singh said.
Four days after Trinamool Congress heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the state cabinet, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee and election strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday met him, following which the party claimed that 'all the issues have been resolved'.
Fadnavis on Saturday said the ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition in Maharashtra is a legitimate government.
Pilot's demand to order a probe and take action in the alleged mining scam during the previous BJP government and other corruption allegations was supported by state cabinet minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.
Union minister files a case against Rajasthan officials, alleges that audio recordings of tapped phone conversations has tarnished his reputation and disturbed his mental peace.
'We repent our decision today as we feel we betrayed our (Congress) party, while the DAP betrayed us'
The Governor has no discretion and at best he can confer with the chief minister for change of date to hold the session.
The dissent in Congress ranks ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls has worsened in several districts over the alliance with the Trinamool Congress and selection of party candidates with Congress rebels filing nominations as independents in some places.
'Amritpal is the creation of journalists and the inaction of the government in Punjab.'
Rawat has been called by the CBI to join the probe on Monday, sources said.
In the interest of the people and welfare of the state, Pawar is always available for guidance and suggestions to whoever is in power, he said.
Following the week-long standoff between the Nagas and the Manipur government over Thuingaleng Muivah's visit to his native village, the Congress core committee decided not to allow the separatist leader to enter the state. After prolonged deliberations, the party top-brass on Wednesday felt that the visit of the country's top rebel leader from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-IM might worsen the law and order situation in Manipur.
The development suggested a worsening power struggle between the chief minister and Sachin Pilot who was tipped to be Gehlot's replacement after he declared his candidature for the Congress president's post.
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