Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who took oath as Deputy Chief Minister in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government on Sunday, has the support of more than 40 MLAs and over six MLCs of his party, sources claimed citing a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan.
Pawar said PM Modi's charisma is seen all over the country and hoped Maharashtra which follows secular thoughts will benefit from this charisma.
Rohit Pawar further claimed "four-five" leaders around Ajit Pawar were trying to project the latter as the "villain" and putting all the blame for the party's split on him.
Upset over being denied tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party despite being its 'loyal workers for years', several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
Maharashtra MLAs were in New Delhi for a training programme in legislative procedure and Sharad Pawar -- the senior-most politician from the state -- hosted a dinner for the visitors at his bungalow in the national capital on Tuesday evening.
Days before the first vote for the Lok Sabha polls is cast, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by party founder Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to abide by its directions on the use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the elections.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he aspired to become the CM of the state and also took a jibe at his 83-year-old uncle asking when will the Maratha strongman retire from active politics, as he appeared to be ahead in the numbers game for control of the Nationalist Congress Party after its vertical split.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.
Milind Narvekar, the close aide of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad are also contesting the election and have filed their nominations from the panel formed by Pawar and Shelar.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
"I am putting efforts to get the Opposition together. I am not in the race to become the prime minister as I am not contesting the next (Lok Sabha) election," he told reporters.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday claimed Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has failed to create a successor who could take his party forward.
Suresh Kalmadi brought several top-class events to India including the 2003 Afro Asian Games, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
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.
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.
The Election Commission has called the rival factions of the NCP for a personal hearing on October 6 following a petition filed by the Ajit group claiming that he has been elected as the party's national president.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said he would bring to light the whole truth about his formation of a short-lived government with Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar in November 2019.
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.
There were several factors that contributed to chief selector Dilip Vensgarkar's sudden departure from Kolkata. But what probably hurt him most was being asked by Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sharad Pawar whether he allows the other selectors also to watch international matches.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Activist Manoj Jarange vows to intensify his hunger strike for Maratha reservation under OBC, while the Maharashtra government seeks legal opinion on the issue.
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.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
'Mr Bindra stressed the importance of marketing the game which helped Indian cricket massively. Not only have state associations become self sufficient but the cricketers have also benefitted greatly.'
Thackeray said there was no certainty that people will vote for the ruling alliance even after schemes like the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
'At the start of the session, (Prime Minister) bows down at the door of Parliament. This is theatrics'
In the wake of nine Nationalist Congress Party leaders, including Ajit Pawar, joining the Eknath Shinde government, party chief Sharad Pawar has convened a meeting on July 5 in Mumbai to discuss the developments and the future course of action, its state unit chief Jayant Patil said on Sunday.
He alleged Union Home Minister Amit Shah had directed BJP leaders in a "closed-door" meeting to "stop" him (Uddhav) and Sharad Pawar politically.
'With one fell swoop he (Sharad Pawar) won the sympathies of the NCP workers at the grassroots, his own flock of MLAs and bolstered his position as the NCP chief'
Amid suspense over Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)'s prime ministerial face for the 2024 general elections, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the 1977 Lok Sabha polls were fought by the opposition without projecting Morarji Desai as the PM candidate.
'Ajit Pawar's speech leaves no room for reconciliation.'
He recalled that Indira Gandhi faced a similar situation in the aftermath of the Emergency.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
Rohit Sharma was honoured with a stand named after him at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
