'If the Pawars are so powerful, then why are they scared of me?'
Activist Manoj Jarange vows to intensify his hunger strike for Maratha reservation under OBC, while the Maharashtra government seeks legal opinion on the issue.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra that were on Friday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in the biennial polls in Mumbai.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that on March 19, this court passed a reasoned order in which they (Ajit Pawar group) were asked to issue advertisements that the allocation of 'clock' symbol is sub judice before this court and they were permitted to use the same subject to final outcome of these proceedings.
'Our problem is not a budget deficit but a trust deficit. We need to trust our institutions and industries to innovate and lead. That is the way forward for India.'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said talks on the chief ministerial candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls can be held later as its first task is to dislodge the 'corrupt' Mahayuti-led dispensation in the state.
Activist Manoj Jarange's hunger strike demanding Maratha quota continues for the third day in Mumbai, following a meeting with a government delegation. The protest has caused traffic disruptions and highlights the ongoing debate over reservation policies in Maharashtra.
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
Tension prevailed outside a polling booth in Baramati town in Maharashtra's Pune district after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar's mother alleged intimidation and malpractices by workers of the rival Nationalist Congress Party led by sitting MLA Ajit Pawar.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Tuesday named a stand each after the incumbent India Test captain Rohit Sharma, former skipper Ajit Wadekar and ex-BCCI president Sharad Pawar here at the Wankhede Stadium.
Pawar tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram's daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP.
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.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are set to be a defining moment for several regional heavyweights, including Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The two Pawars, Shinde, and Thackeray are engaged in a fierce battle for political dominance, with the outcome potentially deciding the fate of their respective parties. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition alliance, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and the NCP (SP) 86. The election is also marked by intense factional fights, with the two claimants of Shiv Sena's legacy competing in over 50 seats and the two Pawars facing each other in nearly 37 constituencies.
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, particularly before parliamentary, state assembly and local body elections. The court has agreed to hear a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to undertake special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Pawar pressed for forging alliances of anti-BJP parties at state level and favoured picking up the prime ministerial candidate after the election results, as happened after the 1977 and 2004 general polls.
The Election Commission on Friday met the warring factions of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party name and poll symbol.
The respect for the four-time former chief minister, often referred to as Saheb, in his stronghold of western Maharashtra is palpable in much of the region. But his estranged nephew also appears to enjoy a stature of his own in Baramati, a constituency represented by the senior Pawar for six terms before he passed the baton to Ajit Pawar in 1991.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar has invited Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during their visit to his hometown on March 2.
Addressing a press conference in Satara, Sharad Pawar also said he has launched a statewide tour to strengthen the NCP and boost the confidence of party workers, unfazed by actions of a few leaders.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, has said that helming the NCP away from the shadows of his uncle and founder Sharad Pawar after the split is a huge responsibility.
He urged people to ignore politicians who only make speeches and instead, vote for those who work.
It was significant that the ceremony took place at 24, Akbar Road, the party's former national headquarters, and not at its new office in Kotla Road.
Five months after a couple of Pawars jousted in an electoral battle in Baramati, two other Pawars will take on each other at the hustings on November 20, 2024.
'We know these are mind games Ajit dada is playing, but he (Sharad Pawar) doesn't get swayed by such gestures.'
'There is no grain of truth in the speculation that the Congress is thinking of contesting the Lok Sabha elections without taking Sharad Pawar along'
An NCP worker from Pune wrote a letter in blood, appealing to Pawar to withdraw his decision and not make him and several other party workers "orphan".
Asked about the Sharad Pawar faction taking action against MLAs who are joining his group, Ajit Pawar said they can exercise their rights.
Pawar did not entertain requests from members of the opposition INDIA alliance to not share stage with Modi.
'Praful Patel, Dilip Walse-Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal are not the ones who will go with Ajit Pawar'
'For a meaningful alliance, every party has to do some sacrifice.' 'That sacrifice will come only when you persuade people.' 'And that task can be done by only a leader like Sharad Pawar.'
Hitting out at Ajit Pawar for his dig at Sharad Pawar's age, Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule, in a stern response on Wednesday, asked the Maharashtra deputy CM not to disrespect her father.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray planned to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, but first the Bharatiya Janata Party and later Maha Vikas Aghadi allies including Sharad Pawar played a spoilsport.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the office of the speaker, that some more time will be needed to pass orders on the disqualification pleas.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has said that his party's top brass will discuss with Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar his much-debated meeting with politically estranged nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) holds its conclave in Mumbai later this month.
MLAs cutting across party lines spoke about Thursday's clash, and expressed concern over overcrowding in the legislature premises.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
'I had told Fadnavisji that I will be with the party till the Lok Sabha election and I will give my 100 per cent to campaign for the BJP. But ultimately I will have to take this decision (to quit the BJP).' 'When I requested him to see this from the point of view of an elder brother, he could not say anything more after that.'
The old posters which had Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel alongside Sharad Pawar have been removed from outside the office premises.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he did not request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a campaign rally in his Baramati constituency because the fight there is within the family.
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