The Congress on Friday won the Amravati division graduates constituency, taking the tally of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to three in elections for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a result which has come as a jolt to the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Balasahebnachi Shiv Sena alliance.
The groups led by Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday expressed satisfaction after the Election Commission allotted them new names which mention 'Balasaheb' (Thackeray).
Against the backdrop of the Eknath Shinde-led government winning the trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday alleged it was the Bharatiya Janata Party's ploy to finish his party, and challenged it to hold mid-term elections in the state.
Notwithstanding the recent bickering between the former allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced that it will start afresh talks with Shiv Sena on the issue of the latter's joining the four-week-old government in Maharashtra.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Tuesday didn't discuss the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and has decided to take a 'wait and watch' approach amid political developments in the state, a senior leader said.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
Meanwhile, Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi said the verdict will determine if democracy "exists" in the country and judiciary "functions" independently.
He also demanded mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him.
Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday claimed nearly '50 people', including 'some middlemen' and personal assistants, will be part of the delegation that will travel with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in Davos, Switzerland.
"We had taken signatures from MLAs for attendance, it was misused as a basis for the oath," said the senior NCP leader.
The unlikely power sharing agreement between the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress had fizzled out in June following large-scale dissidence in the Sena ranks.
Bhujbal said he had an elaborate discussion with the CM on the prevailing political and social atmosphere in the state.
Describing the unrest among party members as just the "tip of the iceberg," the report shed light on the underlying discontent within the BJP.
The Andheri East bypoll is the first after Shinde and the BJP unseated the MVA government in June.
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
Pawar also said that the Eknath Shinde faction, which was camping in Guwahati after rebelling against the Uddhav Thackeray government, had not expected that their leader would become anything more than a deputy CM.
Shrikant Shinde said Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal had sent the disqualification notice to his father and 15 other dissident legislators under pressurer.
The former chief minister noted that he had worked with Pawar in his cabinet and knew his style of functioning. Pawar was Thackeray's deputy in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Even as discussions with Bharatiya Janata Party over his party's role in the new Maharashtra government remained inconclusive, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday held a meeting of party leaders in Mumbai.
While addressing a joint press conference with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai, NCP chief Sharad Pawar paraded 3 MLAs to display that all are with him.
"We want to see Aaditya Thackeray as the next chief minister. But Uddhav ji will take the final decision," said Pratap Sarnaik, MLA from neighbouring Thane city.
He dubbed the rumours of 'alternate formulae' being worked out to form the state government as 'entertainment'.
Fadnavis is the local remote control, but the ultimate remote control is in the hands of the BJP leadership in Delhi, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
An alleged attack on a Marathi-speaking family by a government employee in Thane district sparked outrage in the Maharashtra Assembly, where the BJP-led government assured justice and condemned the incident. Opposition parties demanded immediate action against the accused, Akhilesh Shukla, and his wife, who have been arrested. The incident has raised concerns about discrimination against Marathi people and fueled tensions in the state.
The governor's move comes following Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's letter to the governor seeking the withdrawal of MLCs.
'Why don't you go and ask the BJP if it will authenticate what Sanjay Kakade said?' 'They would not say a word because they are enjoying themselves.'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of 'one party with brute majority', and batted for a coalition rule.
'Young people say they know all this emphasis on Hindu-Muslim differences is politically motivated.' 'If you stop watching TV and turn off social media, you'll find the situation on the ground different.'
The swearing-in of Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and several of his colleagues as deputy chief minister and ministers, respectively, on Saturday has meant Maharashtra has seen four oath-taking ceremonies in as many years at its stately Raj Bhavan.
The development assumes significance as Congress' ally Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar group) had named Jitendra Awhad as the new LoP in the assembly following a split in the party due to Ajit Pawar's rebellion last month.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Sunday said the oath taken by nine NCP MLAs as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government does not have official support of the party.
People are standing with the Shiv Sena and not these traitors, Aaditya claimed.
After being outwitted by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is now facing another challenge of getting all its six candidates elected to the state Legislative Council in the June 20 polls, which has once again put the spotlight on Independents and smaller parties.
'The sixth seat was a risk for the MVA, but Uddhav Thackeray took the risk,' Pawar said. 'In politics, one has to take risks.'
'Look at the impropriety of the Anti-Corruption Bureau giving Ajit Pawar a clean chit!'
The MVA government had planned to arrest Devendra Fadnavis and when he objected, they planned to arrest him as well, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde
Raut claimed Sharad Pawar recently told Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP.
Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.
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.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, he claimed that his decision to not contest the election was aimed at preventing 'horse-trading', and accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of breaking his promise on providing Shiv Sena's support for his second term in the Upper House of Parliament.
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