The activist urged his supporters not to block Mumbai's roads. "Clear the streets in two hours and ensure Mumbaikars are not troubled. Those who want to leave the city today can do so," he said.
This will be the first major electoral test after the political realignment that emerged in 2019.
'You know how politics is. You never know what will happen the next moment.'
The Jain community, for whom feeding pigeons is a sacred tradition, have fiercely opposed the closure, with demonstrations in Mumbai highlighting the cultural significance and the distress of pigeons dying on streets.
'If you are going to make undeserving MLAs as ministers, then why should sincere and hard-working people like us continue?'
Comedian Kunal Kamra has been granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court in a case filed against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a stand-up comedy show. Kamra, who resides in Tamil Nadu, was summoned by the Mumbai Police and feared arrest, prompting him to seek bail from the Madras HC. The court granted him bail until April 7, on the condition that he executes a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is heavily banking upon a six to 10 per cent shift in voters -- mostly women -- in its favour to return to power with anywhere between 160 and 170 assembly seats, say four MLAs belonging to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
Patil said after he cast his vote in Mumbai on June 20 for the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, he was called to Shinde's bungalow in neighbouring Thane.
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
The speaker had, in an order on January 10, declared the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the 'real political party' after its split in June 2022.
Uddhav Thackeray criticized BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his controversial remarks amid the Marathi-Hindi language row, accusing him of trying to divide people and disturb harmony.
Salian visited the office of the joint commissioner of police (crime) in south Mumbai accompanied by his lawyer, days after he moved the Bombay high court seeking a fresh probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of his daughter and former manager of actor Sushant Rajput in June 2020.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
'If Uddhav bhau and Raj bhau come together, who can stop us?' Prasanna D Zore reports on the fervour and hope set off by the Thackeray cousins coming together.
The T20 World Cup-winning Indian team returned to New Delhi from Barbados on Thursday morning to a euphoric reception.
'Who will answer for these lives crushed under their neglect?'
The much-delayed expansion of the 41-day-old Maharashtra ministry saw as many as 17 former ministers taking oath on Tuesday.
'They should not forget that had we decided not to rebel, they would still be chanting slogans from the footsteps of the Vidhan Sabha.'
Azmi said during Aurangzeb's reign, India's border reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar).
A purported video showing local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Babban Singh Raghuvanshi engaging in obscene acts with a dancer has gone viral and is trending rapidly on social media.
"If the Union government can send probe (agency) officials to the houses of (former Jharkhand CM) Soren and (Delhi CM) Kejriwal,?"
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
Shinde was speaking in the presence of Union Home Minister Ami Shah at the inauguration ceremony of the 'Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre' built by the Shree Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj in Pune's Kondhwa.
Tensions between Shelar and Raj Thackeray escalated after the latter, in a public speech, used the term khokebahaddar for some MLAs.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would soon form government at the Centre, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed on Wednesday as he predicted that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will not complete its five-year term.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday sacked senior leader Ramdas Kadam and former MP Anandrao Adsul for indulging in 'anti-party' activities.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Nitesh Rane on Wednesday surrendered before a court in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra in an alleged attempt to murder case.
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
Shinde's reaction came hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reached out to the rebels, saying he would quit his post if even one Sena MLA comes and tells him on his face that he was incompetent.
Maharashtra legislative assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal on Thursday said he has approved the appointment of Ajay Choudhary as the Shiv Sena's group leader in the House, replacing rebel legislator Eknath Shinde.
Mumbai police submit to the Bombay High Court that Disha Salian committed suicide, refuting claims of foul play by her father, who alleges gangrape and murder and seeks a CBI probe.
An Indian delegation led by the BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad will tour key European capitals to expose Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism and State-sponsored extremism.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party group under Sharad Pawar on Friday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the murder of Sena-UBT leader Abhishek Ghosalkar during a 'Facebook Live'.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it, after a Shiv Sena-UBT MLA pointed to comments of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra who will be elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting to be held either on December 2 or 3, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on Sunday night.
The slugfest comes a day after full-page advertisements were carried across major newspapers in the state on, citing a survey that showed CM Shinde ahead of his deputy Devendra Fadnavis in popularity. It did not have the pictures of either Fadnavis or Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who support Shinde returned to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday evening on the eve of the Assembly session, and were lodged in a luxury hotel in south Mumbai, where Vidhan Bhavan, venue of the floor test, is located.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances