Even as the Opposition is cornering the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance over various issues, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday shared dais with Shiv Sena-BJP leaders at a function to mark the 75th birthday of former Lok Sabha speaker and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi.
Seeking to create a pressure group in the ruling United Progressive Alliance to take on the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday called up Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi.
A group of ministers, headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, has been formed to resolve inter-ministerial differences stalling the national manufacturing policy which aims at giving a boost to the sector.
Celebrating the 26th foundation day of the party, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday said there was no proposal of reunion with the rival faction, while Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MP Supriya Sule too avoided making any statement despite the recent buzz over the issue.
Suicide by farmers due to agrarian reasons have dropped significantly to 152 in the current year, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said `on Friday.
'Delimitation is scheduled for 2028. No matter how much the BJP currently depends on the Shinde Sena or NCP factions, it may not need them after delimitation.'
The NCP, along with other opposition parties, had repeatedly raised concerns over the possibility of EVM tampering.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday slammed as "completely mischievous" and "baseless" a media report about his meeting with BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Rohit Pawar highlighted the atmosphere of suspicion, grief, and political intrigue currently surrounding these events in Maharashtra. He mentioned an investigation into the accident, citing a book that suggests killing a person's driver is an easy way to target them.
Asked if the fear of possible defeat made him rethink of contesting from Madha, Pawar said, "I have successfully faced 14 elections. Do you think a 15th will deter me?"
Union ministers recently declared their assets to the Prime Minister's Office which put it up on its web site for public knowledge. We compared these declarations to the ones that some ministers made when in 2009, and here's what we found.
The veteran politician's desire to quit politics may just be a new entry into the long list of occasions where he has gone back on his word, notes Neeta Kolhatkar.
Interacting with media persons after the launch of the party unit, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said: "There are people here in the US who are passionate about India despite living here for so many years and we are here today to show our commitment to Indian Americans. We would like to lend a voice to their emotions, sentiments and thought processes and carry them back home."
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, whose surprise resignation from the post on Tuesday has had the state's politics in turmoil, denied on Wednesday evening that any "rift" existed between him and his uncle, NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged as the single largest party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also triumphed in Pune, where it made mincemeat of the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar.
It won't be surprising if Sharad Pawar plunges into the electoral fray if he finds that he has enough numbers to topple N Srinivasan.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday claimed that formation of any national alliance was not the topic of discussion at the meeting of eight opposition parties hosted by him earlier this week, but also said that if any such coalition emerges, its leadership will have to be 'collective'.
The Maharashtra Congress has convened a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday in view of the developments in the state that saw a split in the Nationalist Congress Party and Ajit Pawar being inducted as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday reaffirmed his party's support to Congress at the Centre and in Maharashtra, where a crisis has erupted in the wake of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's resignation.
Maharashtra's political leaders, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, paid tribute to the late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar during the state legislature's budget session, remembering him as a capable leader and administrator.
After 47 years in electoral politics, Union minister Sharad Pawar on Monday became a member of the Rajya Sabha for the first time.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
He said last-minute decisions by the Narendra Modi government with an eye on polls will not be helpful in swaying the mood of the electorates.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday did not rule out Sharad Pawar as prime minister after the coming Lok Sabha elections, as it sought to put pressure on Congress for convening an early meeting of the United Progressive Alliance to chalk out a common strategy and to finalise seat sharing with allies.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday after he sustained leg injury from a fall at his Delhi residence
Deepak Kesarkar, a Sena MLA and spokesperson for the rebel faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sought to know what Pawar gained by causing pain to Bal Thackeray.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra is showing signs of strain as both Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have announced their intention to field candidates for the upcoming legislative council elections.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
She had no greed for power and she sacrificed for the nation by appointing Manmohan Singh as the prime minister, the NCP chief said.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday joined the give-more-jobs-to-the-sons-of-the-soil bandwagon. Inaugurating Piaggio Vehicles India Limited's manufacturing plant in Baramati, Pawar from a public platform asked the Piaggio management to provide more jobs to the locals from Baramati. "I am very happy with Piaggio's investments in Baramati. I am happy with everything Piaggio does in India. However, there is one lacuna that needs to be filled," said Pawar.
Saying that he had loss a "dear friend" in Bal Thackeray's death, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday described the Shiv Sena supremo as a "magnanimous" leader who was ready "to pay any political price" for his stand.
'People have asked us to sit in the Opposition.'
Union Agriculture minister and NCP strongman Sharad Pawar filed his nomination for the presidentship of the Mumbai Cricket Association on Wednesday, a day after BJP leader Gopinath Munde did so, to make it a two-way fight at the October 18 biennial elections.
Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil met with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to discuss a potential alliance for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The meeting follows an alliance between Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Discussions are ongoing, with the NCP (SP) advocating for a united Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) approach.
Pawar said state Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat had met him and extended an invitation to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Such meetings are routine, the former state home minister added.
Refusing to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party for the attack on him, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday sought to downplay the incident and asked Nationalist Congress Party workers not to take the law into their hands and maintain peace. "I don't think it is appropriate for me to blame any political party for the incident. I should not go to that level of blaming anyone," he told reporters outside his residence, hours after a young man slapped him.
