Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
"A BJP leader had told me that my phone was being tapped. I said if anybody wants to listen to what I am saying I welcome it. I am Balasaheb's chela (disciple), whatever I do, I do it openly," Raut told reporters. "In spite of the phone-tapping, we formed the government in Maharashtra," he said. Raut's remarks come a day after state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh alleged that the Fadnavis dispensation misused government machinery to tap the phones of opposition leaders, especially during the formation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's unexpected announcement on Sunday that he will resign after two days drew mixed reactions from parties, with some saying it was a compulsion due to bail restrictions on his functioning and others hailing it as a right call to go back to the people.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi threw the doors of their new home open to their friends, as they hosted a housewarming party on Sunday.
'A struggling actor once came to me and told me there's no work.' 'I said when there's no work, that's when you have a lot of work.' 'He said he didn't understand.' 'I explained that you have to keep reading, watching, writing, traveling.' 'It is like riyaaz for an actor.'
Reader Suresh Deshmukh sends us a photograph.
It's the season for glamorous Diwali parties, and after Manish Malhotra's fashionable bash, Varsha and Producer Ramesh Taurani threw a grand party at their residence.
The year was rich in content as far as Web series were concerned.
Arbaaz Khan chose Christmas Eve to wed make-up artist Shura Khan in an intimate nikaah ceremony at his sister Arpita Khan Sharma's residence in Mumbai.
'The Zomato delivery guy wants to click a picture with you.' 'My car has gone for servicing so I ended up going in rickshaws and they recognise me from ads.' 'When I'm walking my dog, people stop by and say, "Oh, we loved you in Bigg Boss.' 'I was shooting for Housefull in a village and there, people were coming over and clicking pictures with me.'
The book 'Modern Indian Political Thought', for MA course under the Distance Learning Programme, meant for the upcoming academic year, is not yet available in the market.
While Bollywood could not attend Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra's destination wedding in Rajasthan, they did line-up for another union in aamchi Mumbai.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
Two weeks after Sanjay Dutt was granted a month-long parole, the Bollywood actor was on Saturday released from Pune's Yerwada Jail.
Fadnavis also said the lathi-charge order was not given by any top official to the Jana Police last week.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan pits him and Tiger Shroff in titular avatars. While we wait to catch their distinct personality play off against each other, Sukanya Verma offers a lowdown on Akshay's two-hero jodis in the past.
'Some icons are living textbooks, teaching us about leadership, success, and legacy. Extraordinary yet human and approachable, they inspire and guide us.' 'India has lost a true son and champion.'
Shiv Sena legislator Nitin Deshmukh, who had accompanied party rebel Eknath Shinde to Surat, on Wednesday claimed that some people had forcibly admitted him to a hospital there and he was administered injections though he never suffered a heart attack.
An ACP-rank officer, named by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in his letter accusing then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption, told an inquiry commission here on Wednesday that Sachin Waze was an "obedient" and "high-performing" officer.
'There must have been some wonderful genetic disorder due to which I was attracted towards filmi songs.'
Deshmukh claimed that some people had forcibly admitted him to a hospital in Surat.
'Always smiling, creative, problem solver, ambitious and a man who walked ahead of an Industry.'
While Shah Rukh Khan was away in Dubai attending the opening ceremony of the DP World International League T20, his family was partying with Kajal Anand, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend.
There's a whole slew of sequels coming up, and Joginder Tuteja lists them for us.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the Bharatiya Janata Party though some 'well-wishers' are trying to persuade him.
'I was put in an anda cell. No window, light or air. Only grills.' 'During the monsoon, water would seep. There were rats running around all the time.' 'We were forced to sleep under bright lights all the time. Those bright lights are never switched off.'
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Bollywood stars celebrate Women's Day on March 8 in a special way.
So worried is Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde of desertions that he is asking rebel MLAs in Guwahati to sign affidavits affirming that they won't go back on supporting the 'cause of Hindutva' after reaching Mumbai.
The two-day deliberations, which will be held at Grand Hyatt in the suburbs, will begin in the evening of August 31 and from 10am on September 1. The meeting will be followed by a press conference, Raut informed.
Out of the 24 NCP MLAs who attended the session, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, cabinet ministers Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Patil and Dharmarao Atram were seated on the ruling side.
Springing a surprise, Pawar on Tuesday said he was stepping down as the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party
The truth will come out after a probe into the matter, Deshmukh told reporters at the Nagpur airport.
Days after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party levelled allegations of corruption against some leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Monday said his party should not be threatened with the use of central agencies and claimed that "three and a half" leaders of BJP will be behind bars in the next few days.
Fadnavis recently said the previous MVA government had given a target to then Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey to put me in jail, but the police officer could not succeed as he had done nothing wrong.
Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra's wedding reception was as star-studded as it can get.
'Since God was being shown in live action on such a large scale, Prasanth was initially sceptical about going with an animated character.'
'Their conduct is as if they have come to arrest some dacoit.' 'They behave with everyone in this manner, whether it's Manish Sisodia, Anil Deshmukh or anybody else.' 'It is as if they are ambassadors of god and we are satans.' 'This is solely due to the sections in some laws like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.' 'This is a cruel law. In fact, the death penalty is better.'
