A month after losing power in West Bengal and facing a rebellion by 58 MLAs, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) confronts an unprecedented challenge to Mamata Banerjee's absolute authority, raising questions about the party's survival and future.
While Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today reiterated that he would not be contesting the Lok Sabha election this time, some senior party leaders would have to brace up for moving out of the state.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Sunday declared that he was not going to be the party's chief ministerial candidate for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly election slated for September-October.
'While taking the decision regarding cricket, the Supreme Court has said that the officials should not be above 70 years of age and they have described these positions as "lucrative" which made me very sad and that's why I don't have any wish to work any more'
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and called for a probe, several opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge backed her demand.
Thackeray on Sunday said he had deferred his visit to Ayodhya in UP as there was ploy to "trap" his party workers into legal issues.
For his allies and rivals, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar is an unpredictable politician.
"People have asked us to sit in the opposition. The thought of trying to get into power doesn't even cross our minds. We will work to expand our base," he further said.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar on Saturday won from his traditional Baramati assembly constituency by defeating his nephew and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar by more than one lakh votes.
Election fever has reached its peak in Baramati in the last phase of the campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls with the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar leaving no stone unturned.
Senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif admitted that Ajit Pawar was holding talks with NCP (SP) leaders on the merger of the two factions before his death.
Parties in Maharashtra are engaged in intense negotiations to finalize seat sharing arrangements for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15.
Justice Jamdar then said that the bench will grant relief to Bhamare in the two cases where his bail pleas had been rejected, while the police are restrained from arresting him in the fourth and the fifth cases.
Raut complained of chest pain on Monday following which he underwent angioplasty, a procedure to restore blood flow through the artery.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are leading in the early trends of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in Maharashtra. Counting began on Monday morning for elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra is facing internal conflict over the allocation of a winnable Rajya Sabha seat, with the Congress staking its claim against the Shiv Sena (UBT). Discussions are ongoing to reach a consensus before the nomination deadline.
The tit for tat actions came a day after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister along with eight other NCP MLAs who were inducted as ministers.
Chavan submitted to the police some video clips in which the Rane brothers, sons of Union minister Narayan Rane, were purportedly seen making the remarks.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed gratitude to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray for their positive remarks in a coffee table book released on his birthday, emphasizing that they are ideological opponents, not enemies.
Inderjit Singh Bindra served as the BCCI president from 1993 to 1996, and was also the president of the Punjab Cricket Association from 1978 to 2014
'In any aviation emergency, the first rule is aviate -- fly the aircraft.' 'The fact that the commander's voice is not on the recording simply means he was focused entirely on flying. It does not imply anything more than that.'
'The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).'
Pawar recalled that he was a member of a delegation sent by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao to the UN under the leadership of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Sunil Gavaskar and former BCCI President Sharad Pawar will be honoured with life-size statues at the entrance of the new Mumbai Cricket Association's museum
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday trounced the opposition including the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar by winning decisive mandates in Pune and neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad in the civic polls, retaining power in both municipal corporations.
These meetings with Pawar has fuelled speculations about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to form a third front against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar's mother Sunanda has emphasised the need for party factions led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to come together as voices for unity emerged from both rival camps.
The court also directed the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction to publish a disclaimer in newspapers, including Marathi ones, that the issue of allocation of "clock" symbol was pending in court.
NCP MP Sunil Tatkare's remarks came amid the suspense over a merger of the two NCP factions
When the Boeing-737 reached the height of about 5,000 metres after taking off at 1725 hours, the cabin crew on the rear of the plane informed the pilot that they could hear 'a hissing sound and see the sky through one corner of the door'. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended at least two cabin crew members of the Delhi-Mumbai flight (9W362), official sources said in New Delhi on Saturday.
NCP president Sharad Pawar fuelled further speculation on getting back into cricket administration when he said that he may be "in some sports body in the future".
The senior Pawar, however, said that the entire family campaigns during elections.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP are holding their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and in Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively, on Wednesday.
But the party chief warned that those who had deserted him in the past were not able to get elected to the state assembly again.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar's remarks on Monday virtually declaring new entrant Harshavardhan Patil's candidature for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra has irked a section of party leaders that was eyeing ticket from the Indapur seat.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha to honour 59 retiring members, emphasising their contributions to national life and urging them to continue their service.
Former Union Minister Sharad Pawar has refuted claims made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the BJP's victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls ended the politics of betrayal and treachery started by Pawar in 1978. Pawar stated that he was the Chief Minister in 1978 and was unaware of Shah's whereabouts at the time. He also criticized the lack of communication between current political leaders and called for a return to respectful dialogue. He also highlighted Shah's past legal issues, including being externed from Gujarat. In response to speculation about the future of the MVA coalition, Pawar said discussions will take place within the next 10 days to address key issues. An editorial in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' also criticized Shah's remarks, calling them 'arrogant' and questioning the BJP's actions in relation to Pawar and Balasaheb Thackeray.