In the season of scams, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and his close relatives were on Thursday dragged into a corruption scandal by a former India Police Service officer-turned-lawyer for benefiting a private developer by allegedly bestowing undue favours for the controversial Lavasa hill city project.
Pawar said it will complete its full five-year term and ruled out going with the BJP, in case the state government falls.
On Friday, Ajit caused a flutter in the party when he sent his resignation as the MLA from Baramati segment to Legislative Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade, which has been accepted.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been appointed as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, marking a new chapter for the NCP and presenting her with the challenge of leading the party.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to bring out a report on the state of Indian agriculture, to be presented to Parliament every year before the Union Budget.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was on Thursday slapped by a youth at a public function claiming he was angry with corruption and price rise.
Political and business leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Gautam Adani, gathered at Sharad Pawar's residence for a pre-birthday dinner.
Athawale, known for his rhyming repartees, added: "BJP ne Congress ko latka diya hai, Shiv Sena ko jhatka diya hai aur NCP ko sarkaar mein atkaa diya hai (the BJP has left the Congress in a quandary, shocked the Shiv Sena and taken the NCP along in formation of the government)."
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said he would build new leadership in the party and asserted he gets more energy to work when such situations come up.
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sharad Pawar took over as the International Cricket Council president on Thursday, July 1, becoming the second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to occupy the top post.
A state-of-the-art indoor cricket facility was inaugurated on Friday at Bandra-Kurla Complex at Mumbai Cricket Association Indoor Cricket Academy by BCCI and MCA President Sharad Pawar.
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil has ruled out the possibility of a merger between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party, stating that talks ceased following the death of Ajit Pawar.
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.
Sunetra Pawar, who is not a member of either house of the Maharashtra legislature, will be elected as leader of the legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party at a meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, after which she is likely to take oath as deputy CM.
'The BJP has all the instruments with them and they do have a sense of purpose, so I don't think there will be a challenge.'
Citing Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar on Saturday supported a probe into the controversial land deal allegedly linked to the company of his grandnephew Parth Pawar.
"The country and Maharashtra will benefit out of Pawar's vast experience and hence, it is extremely necessary for Pawar to consider joining the NDA. I invite him to join the NDA," the Union social justice minister said.
After meeting the BCCI chief, the selectors headed for Delhi where the Test team would be announced.
Chitale, 29, a film and TV actress, was arrested by the Thane police on Saturday over a post she allegedly shared on her Facebook page.
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday asked why Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was "silent" on the issue of the controversial remarks made by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on drought and load shedding.
Pawar, an ally of the Congress, however, took exception to Barack Obama's unflattering comments on the Congress leader.
Pawar stated that there was no need to take any congnizance of what a criminal has said.
The NCP skipped the meeting to express its displeasure over allegations by some Congress leaders that its two MLAs did not vote for Ahmed Patel in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections.
A Pune court has granted bail to NCP (SP) office-bearer Mahadev Balgude, ruling that criticism of the government or chief minister does not constitute "waging war" against the nation. The court emphasised every citizen's right to comment on and criticise government actions, noting that the charges under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 152 were debatable.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greeted him on the occasion, NCP's Praful Patel blamed the Congress party's internal culture for Pawar missing the opportunity to occupy the top post in the 1990s.
Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, are part of rival alliances in Maharashtra since the latter rebelled against his uncle in 2023 and joined the then BJP-Shiv Sena government.
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar has raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash and plans to provide a detailed presentation on the matter.
Senior NCP leader Narhari Zirwal says the public wants Sunetra Pawar, wife of late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, to be brought into the Maharashtra state ministry.
The Left parties, which severed links with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance on the issue of Indo-US nuke deal, are inclined to have a fresh understanding with secular partners in the ruling alliance, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar claimed on Wednesday.
Two months after the death of Ajit Pawar, leaders within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are advocating for a merger with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), amidst internal disputes and banner controversies.
Political analysts said that the meeting assumes importance as dissident Congress leader Narayan Rane is a 'common enemy' of both Thackeray as well as Pawar.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said the Centre's ruling coalition had become "vulnerable" after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's pullout and that elections were round the corner.
This is Kishor's first meeting with Pawar after the victory of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Trinamool Congress in the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. He had helped craft the election strategy for these parties in the assembly elections.
The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash, were held with full state honors in Baramati. Prominent leaders and thousands of mourners attended the funeral.
Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government should hold a dialogue with local villagers who are opposing a refinery project in the coastal Ratnagiri district.
The NCP on Friday sought to push the Congress leadership into a corner with its two senior leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel believed to have resigned from the Union cabinet aggrieved over a variety of issues including no 2 slot for Pawar and Congress' treatment of its allies.
Mumbai Cricket Association president Ajinkya Naik hailed Ajit Pawar for taking firm stands to help the association
The crisis in Maharashtra government after Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's resignation is expected to draw to a close with the intervention of Union Agriculture Minister and NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday.
Patole made a veiled reference to Pawar's exit from the Congress over two decades ago.
Sharad Pawar will attend a meeting of the NCP legislature party at 4 pm on Friday, party sources said on Thursday.
