With hours to go for the results to be out in one of the most keenly-watched assembly elections in Maharashtra, major parties are keeping their cards close to the chest as most exit polls projected a hung House.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and various other state ministers sat on a dharna in Mumbai on Thursday to protest against the arrest of their cabinet colleague Nawab Malik by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he is not completely opposed to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the charges against the Adani group, but a Supreme Court committee will be more useful and effective.
The event witnessed the who's who of Maharashtra politics -- including three former chief ministers of Maharashtra.
What some of our leaders were up to on Monday and Tuesday.
The crucial, neck-to-neck contest was necessitated as the Bharatiya Janata Party fielded three candidates while Shiv Sena put up two and Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party one each.
The discussion will be about setting up various coordination committees, he said.
The 62-year-old Nationalist Congress Party leader was taken into custody shortly before 3 pm after he was questioned for about six hours at the ED office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate area.
The first Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra headed by state party chief Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in on Friday with Shiv Sena unlikely to join the new dispensation for now as talks continued between the two saffron parties for a tie-up.
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
Uddhav Thackeray and his followers have the option to stop riding a tiger and commence work around a more meaningful and enduring political ideology. It is an option Eknath Shinde's side may not have, supported as they were by the BJP, to maintain continuity of the old Sena, argues Shyam G Menon.
Pawar thanked the Shiv Sena and the Congress for backing him on the ED action issue.
As the House took up the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a frontal attack on opposition parties specially the Congress for their stance against the CAA, saying they were trying to divide the nation.
By ending the Shiv Sena's political untouchability, the Congress is creating a level playing ground for itself in the political battle of Hindu identity, explains Sheela Bhatt.
Khan, 54, was "out of danger" following an emergency surgery, said the doctors at the Lilavati Hospital where he was rushed following the incident that took place around 2.30 am at his apartment in `Satguru Sharan' building.
Somaiya, an old BJP hand and one of its leading speakers on economic issues in Parliament, had been a trenchant critic of the Sena.
Talking to reporters in Pune, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj also said all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. "The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours.
The central government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave.
'It was Dr B R Ambedkar's foresight which saved us from some marauding state political leaders who could have indirectly disfranchised large sections of our population as we see some attempts even now,' says V Balachandran.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday ordered a probe into a road accident on the Samruddhi Expressway which claimed 12 lives.
'The Maharashtra government is not being very clear; they are keeping quiet.'
It is a question now whether the makers of the statue had comprehended all these factors before making it, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
"Incidents like Dadri and Ghulam Ali are really sad but what is the role of the Centre in these incidents?" PM Modi told the newspaper.
The court appointed an assessor to evaluate the damage caused so as to decide Ranaut's claim for compensation. The high court also came down heavily on Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut over his tirade against Ranaut.
"The nakli Shiv Sena wants to bury me alive. They abuse me in such a way that it will be liked by their favourite vote bank," Modi said.
A Nashik police team is on its way to Raigad to arrest the Union minister.
The probe agency, while seeking Patkar's custody, also told the court that an offence of such magnitude was not possible without the "explicit complicity of senior functionaries" of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
NCP president Sharad Pawar said the allegation against the social justice minister was serious and added the party will discuss the issue and decide on it "as soon as possible.
'The people decide who is a purush, yugpurush and a mahapurush'
'Shouldn't our investigation agencies be fiercely independent and conduct fair investigations, show some spine and say no to such witch hunting?' 'That they will not be cowed down by what the Centre wants them to do.'
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar distanced his party from Rane's view. "The situation in Maharashtra is grim, but it does not qualify for President's rule. We feel the state government is not serious enough about tackling the situation," the former state minister said.
What do the leads from Maharashtra tell you about the emerging trends in the state? Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com explains.
The BJP leadership believes these parties are flexing their muscles in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls for better seat-sharing deals.
Sheela Bhatt reveals how the BJP and Amit Shah have halted -- for now -- the Shiv Sena's dream of forming a government in Maharashtra.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that Malik is being troubled because he spoke against the Union government and 'misuse' of central probe agencies.
A mob hurled stones at shops during the bandh (shutdown) allegedly organised by local Bharatiya Janata Party workers in protest against the rallies organised by Muslim organisations the day before to condemn the recent violence in Tripura, police said.
Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha MP Nitin Gadkari, late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam, former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil are a few of the 29 new entrants to the 16th Lok Sabha among the 48 MPs from Maharashtra.
'If you want to have fair elections you should have an officer, who is appointed as per the rules laid down for such appointments, which is based on seniority.'
Known for making controversial statements, Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Sakshi Maharaj has demanded that a strict law for family planning be brought in for all to check population growth and those who do not follow it should be stripped of their voting right.
