Shah visited the residences of CM Ekanth Shinde, and DCM Devendra Fadnavis to take darshan of Lord Ganesh.
In an attack on the Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has alleged that the party was more interested in 'Marathi votes' rather than the 'Marathi manoos'. Addressing an election rally in Pune on Tuesday night, Thackeray said the Shiv Sena had stopped fighting for the rights of Marathi man and it was the MNS which had taken up the cudgels to fight injustice, to which the 'Bhoomiputras' were subjected to.
Alleging a failure by the Maharashtra government to act on inputs from central intelligence agencies of a possible terror strike in Pune, Opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party MPs walked out of a meeting convened by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan to raise the state's issues in Parliament.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya has come under opposition fire over a purported video of the former MP that showed him in a compromising position, even as Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday promised a detailed probe into the matter.
Commenting on Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's statement that coal block allocation scam would be soon forgotten, Shiv Sena on Sunday said he articulated 'attitude' of the United Progressive Alliance government.
The constituency is being represented by senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve, who has won this seat five times on the trot.
The drug network was busted based on an intelligence input received by the Crime Branch, he said, adding that three persons were arrested and a case has been registered by the DRI.
According to political analysts, the results of these bypolls, which saw a high-voltage campaign by senior leaders from various parties, will set the tone for the forthcoming elections in the state, including of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies.
The Leader of Opposition in the assembly also told an interviewer that he will "100 per cent" like to be chief minister of Maharashtra.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday failed to retain Kasba Peth assembly seat, its stronghold in Maharashtra's Pune district, as Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar defeated the saffron party nominee Hemant Rasane in the bypoll.
'Amit Shah had promised Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel that even if there were only one third of MLAs with them, they would be given the party symbol.' 'He promised them that the Election Commission would not take a decision against them and that they would get the party name and symbol.'
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Monday said there was no confusion within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance over his meeting with nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said his government has taken serious note of the death threat to Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and that he has given instructions for a probe.
Speculation about Ajit Pawar's next political move started swirling last week when he suddenly cancelled his scheduled meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp.
The former Union minister also said the people in Maharashtra are looking for a change.
The leading constituent in Maharashtra's ruling coalition said it had always respected Indira Gandhi, who it said, had a towering and strong personality. Whenever there were attempts to malign her image, the Shiv Sena acted as a shield. She was a powerful leader who split Pakistan and avenged Partition, the Marathi daily said.
Sena said many banking frauds have come to fore during the Modi regime.
A few days later, three members of the Bishnoi gang delivered a letter threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan, police had said.
'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 (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.
'The Mumbai-Pune expressway took shape during the BJP rule in Maharashtra and I had declared that time that it would be named after popular Marathi litterateur P L Deshpande, the most versatile and loved personality of the state famously known for his creative and artistic genius,' Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray said in the editorial of party mouthpiece Saamana on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Pawar played down the buzz saying that he is not able to attend the NCP meeting as he has to remain present for some other programmes happening at the same time.
After attacking migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has now trained his guns at a growing number of North Indian students coming to Pune for higher education. "Pune, with its large number of reputed universities and institutions imparting higher education is attracting students from these states who are being given admissions on massive donations leaving in the lurch the deserving Marathi aspirants," he said.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former CM claimed.
Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast.
The Sena and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray labelled each other gaddar (traitor) after Shinde's rebellion split their original party last year, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis publicly asserted he had exacted revenge on Thackeray for his betrayal.
"However, some members were ready to face the inquiry. (Ex-home minister) Anil Deshmukh was in jail for 14 months. Even Deshmukh was asked to change his role (loyalty) but he stood firm on his decision (to not quit NCP)," Pawar said.
The buzz about the "health" of Shinde, who was at his native village in Satara, grew louder after his supporter and MLA Sanjay Shirsat recently claimed the CM has fallen sick as he works for 24 hours.
The extremist outfit has a tainted past and has been entangled in different legal cases for extortion, rioting and instigating violence
Shiv Sena on Monday continued to demand the resignation of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Legislative Council over his controversial remarks on drought and load-shedding.
Former corporator Yashodhar Phanse posed as Shiv Sena MLA Gautam Chabukswar and visited the constituency of Chabukswar, after party chief Uddhav Thackeray had directed all MLAs of the drought hit areas to meet farmers.
Police resorted to mild cane-charge to disperse activists of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in Pune on Thursday during a demonstration staged by the latter to condemn an editorial in the saffron outfit's mouthpiece that allegedly carried derogatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The trouble started when Sena workers tried to prevent the NCP activists from burning copies of their mouthpiece Saamna at a city square.
Activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena staged a noisy protest in the premises of the Pune Municipal Corporation on Monday when the scam-tainted Congress leader and city MP Suresh Kalmadi visited the civic body headquarters.
Air India said it has also written to the Shiv Sena communicating the decision to cancel the ticket. Shiv Sena Secretary Anil Desai said that he has asked Gaikwad to change his travel plans as the party doesn't want the tensions to escalate.
Gaikwad was travelling from Pune to New Delhi when the scuffle broke out over the sitting arrangement.
Sena has not supported Gaikwad's act but senior party leaders have expressed reservations over the airlines' action against him
After rebelling against the Shiv Sena leadership, the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will face its first popularity test in the November 3 bypoll to the Andheri (East) assembly segment in Mumbai, which was represented by Shiv Sena MLA the late Ramesh Latke.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at the function that he would request CM Shinde to rename Ahmednagar city as Ahilyanagar'.
After Air India and IndiGo, SpiceJet is the third carrier to cancel the ticket of the Lok Sabha member.
Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.