But the atmosphere is now conducive for the Mahayuti to continue in power in Maharashtra thanks to the government's people-centric schemes, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is giving promises that it cannot execute, he said.
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.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday came out in support of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was involved in a face-off with Union minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha, and said the 75-year-old leader was 'encircled and heckled pack-wolf style'.
Thapa, the trusted Man Friday of the Sena patriarch and helped him in his daily chores, had served him devotedly for 27 years before the Thackeray senior's death in November 2012.
All the current political upheavals in Maharashtra are with the 2024 elections in mind and there is a degree of white-knuckle tension in all parties.
Earlier, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the former Lakshadweep MP, had submitted that the person has not been reinstated as an MP despite his conviction and sentence being stayed by the high court.
Ahead of the Congress-nationalist Congress Party Coordination Committee meeting, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday held consultations with senior leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Earlier this week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a series of meetings, including with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed for the second week of July a plea by jailed former Maharashtra minister and Nationalists Congress Party leader Nawab Malik against a Bombay high court order putting off the hearing on his bail plea in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that former Mumbai police chief Sanjay Pandey had been given a "target" to arrest him but the police officer could not succeed as he had done nothing wrong.
The court directed the jail authorities to provide Bhujbal with prompt medical care in case of any emergency.
Speaking at an event over the weekend, Koshyari had said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of the 'olden days'.
We will do whatever we can for the justice of the Marathi-speaking population in Karnataka, said Fadnavis.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the ruling allies Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP in Maharashtra can win a seat each.
Chaudhari was released from Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai after completion of formalities, including furnishing of a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh, his lawyer Mohan Tekavde said.
Pawar said state Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat had met him and extended an invitation to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The meeting came days after Shinde denied that his Shiv Sena MLAs were uncomfortable with the inclusion of Ajit Pawar and 8 NCP leaders.
Latke was a two-time Sena legislator from Andheri East assembly constituency in Mumbai city. Prior to his becoming an MLA, Latke was also a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
A host of high-profile personalities from the world of politics and business on Sunday paid homage to late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on his first death anniversary at the ShivajiPark grounds in Mumbai.
A senior TMC leader will be present at the proposed meeting, he said.
The BJP on Sunday authorised its president J P Nadda and Union minister Rajnath Singh to hold consultations with different political parties, including those in the opposition, on the president's election, in what is being seen as an outreach by the ruling party to arrive at a consensus on the choice for the top constitutional post.
Asked if the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate prompted some NCP leaders to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government, Pawar said he didn't have any information regarding this.
Hinting at the possible post-poll strategy of his party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday said the chances of Narendra Modi becoming the prime minister were slim, and the Congress could form the next government by joining hands with "the Third Front".
Pawar will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.
This was the first meeting between Sharad Pawar and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
The 15-year-old Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance in Maharashtra broke up on Thursday with the regional party deciding to contest next month's assembly polls on its own and pulling out of the government, setting the stage for its fall.
He served as an effective link between the party and government during the two terms of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) between 2004 and 2014. As political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he had access to leadership that no other leader in the party had and worked the channels to work out various issues.
"If anyone did suggest that we should support the BJP contrary to the stand we had taken, (even) then many in the party including me did not agree with that (suggestion). Our stand not to go with the BJP was very clear," Sharad Pawar said.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said he would work for his party till he is alive and scotched speculation that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him might align with the ruling BJP.
While its widely being publicised that Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan resigned from the council of ministers to work for the Congress party ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls, political observers point out that 'growing unhappiness' over her performance during her ministership could have possibly led to the move. Renu Mittal reports.
Koshyari made the remarks after conferring D.Litt degrees on Gadkari, a senior BJP leader, and NCP president Sharad Pawar at an event held in Aurangabad.
Senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi on Tuesday invited nationalist President Sharad Pawar to join the Nationalist Congress Party, saying "he would be able to end quarrels within the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance and could also become Prime Minister".
Expecting the Bharatiya Janata Party to emerge as the single largest party, key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday aid the country should have a "stable" government which will "decisively govern" for the next five years.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said decision as to when to hold the meeting on seat-sharing for Maharashtra Assembly polls will be taken after consulting the state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Monday said he was not unhappy with his party, nor had it neglected him.
The senior NCP leader will have to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, whenever summoned for questioning.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had dissuaded Gopinath Munde from joining the Congress when the sulking Bharatiya Janata Party leader was planning a switch as he felt neglected, according to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
The Prime Minister's Office tweeted a picture of their meeting but shared no details about their talks.
