While Uddhav Thackeray will address his party's Dussehra rally at the sprawling Shivaji Park in Dadar, the traditional venue of the event where Bal Thackeray charged up his workers with his fiery oratory for more than four decades, Shinde's rally will be at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
All legislators of the Sena have been summoned to Mumbai and they will stay together till the polls on June 10.
Hours after Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies can not demand that a Leader of Opposition must be appointed as they do not have the required numbers, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Bhaskar Jadhav on Saturday claimed there is no provision in the law which talks about the appointment of the LoP in legislature merely on the strength of the party.
After hearing arguments from Shiv Sena factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has decided to conduct the official hearing on disqualification petitions against the MLAs of the Shinde group on October 13, advocate Anil Sakhare, who is representing the CM, said on Monday.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
Ajit Pawar has the support of more than 40 MLAs of the NCP, according to sources citing a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan.
'Approaching the SC, getting a favourable decision and overturning the situation (the speaker's order), will be too much to ask for in too short time.'
"I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane came out openly in support of Eknath Shinde.
'How can the EC then deduce that 76 per cent of the people who voted for the united Shiv Sena's MLAs voted for Eknath Shinde?'
"I am also challenging these 13 turncoat MPs and 40 MLAs to resign and contest elections again and see if they can get elected," he added.
The deadline set by the Supreme Court for delivering the verdict was December 31, 2023, but some days before that, on December 15, the apex court gave a 10-day extension and set January 10 as the new date for a decision.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, and the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Wednesday announced to contest 85 seats each in Maharashtra assembly elections even as deliberations to seal a final seat-sharing pact are still underway.
Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations. Thorat, who is among the senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, said he enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance. He also criticized the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of corruption and communal politics.
For the first time, a presiding officer was declaring in public what decision he will be taking, the Rajya Sabha member said.
Narvekar, who polled 164 votes, defeated Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi who got 107 votes.
'When I felt that the party is drifting away from Hindutva, I tried to speak to Uddhavji. But nobody was ready to listen.'
'We pressurised him (to accept the deputy chief ministership).' 'Being out of power would have made him weaker.'
'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'
Shinde's appeal came after Sena workers loyal to party president and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray staged protests against the rebel MLAs led by him.
As Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday heard the disqualification petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, the Shinde group sought separate hearings.
Fadnavis on Saturday said the ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition in Maharashtra is a legitimate government.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs from Maharashtra have contributed Rs 51 lakh for the flood relief wok in Assam, where they have been camping since the last week, their spokesperson said on Wednesday.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote.
'We are the real Shiv Sena and we will remain in the Sena.'
Confirming the development, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray said the boycott is a mark of protest against a "dishonest government".
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Raosaheb Danve on Monday claimed 12 members of Parliament of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena are in touch with the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction and are ready to cross over.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has expressed his displeasure over the way a section of MLAs from his group danced in Goa following the announcement of his name for the top post.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former CM claimed.
Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday reached out to the functionaries of his party, which is currently battling a rebellion, and sought to allay fears surrounding the survival of his political outfit and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded that Maharashtra's Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar take a decision on the disqualification of 16 MLAs at the earliest.
A Sena legislator felt that Aaditya hitting the road has come very late, but stressed that this is also an opportunity for him to prove himself and build his own team.
By breaking ranks with his Maha Vikas Aghadi allies, Thackeray has shown that he can leave the MVA altogether.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday demanded an inquiry into Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar's claim that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde would have shot himself if his revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership had failed last year.
It is painful to see that those who won due to Sena workers and got everything has left me, Uddhav said.
At least five Congress MLAs did not attend a meeting of the party's lawmakers in Maharashtra on Thursday, called in the aftermath of the high-profile exit of former chief minister Ashok Chavan that has triggered speculation about more such defections.
Asked about some Shiv Sena MLAs issuing verbal threats, Rane said, "I wonder whether they had ever killed a mouse."
The former CM said his party's Hindutva is "nationalism" and the Bharatiya Janata Party should explain what is its Hindutva.
An MLA from Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction and a legislator of the Nationalist Congress Party virtually came to blows in the Vidhan Bhavan premises in Mumbai on Wednesday after shouting slogans against each other.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has voiced strong opposition to the cutting of trees for the construction of a 'Sadhu Gram' in Nashik ahead of the Kumbh Mela, urging the government to reconsider the decision. Actor Sayaji Shinde has also joined the protest, threatening opposition if the government proceeds with the tree removal.
