The BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions.
'You know how politics is. You never know what will happen the next moment.'
The Bombay High Court criticized the shifting allegiances of NCP members in the Ambernath Municipal Council, referring to it as "globe-trotting," while addressing orders related to alliances within the civic body.
A battle of nerves is unfolding between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena on Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde's home turf, Thane, with a BJP leader pitching for a substantial share in power on the back of the party's 100 per cent strike rate in the civic polls.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday sacked senior leader Ramdas Kadam and former MP Anandrao Adsul for indulging in 'anti-party' activities.
In a fresh setback to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, party spokesperson and former Mumbai corporator Sheetal Mhatre crossed over to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction on Tuesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said all was well between the BJP and Shiv Sena. He was speaking to newsmen after a luncheon meet with the Sena's Lok Sabha members led by Udhav Thackeray.
Chandrakant Patil also took a swipe at Uddhav for accusing Eknath Shinde of stealing the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
The Congress party has announced its support for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced that his party, the NCP, is in discussions with the Shiv Sena regarding seat sharing for the upcoming Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls. This comes as alliances blur in the state-level elections.
Maharashtra legislative council's privileges committee has summoned comedian Kunal Kamra and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare for a hearing over alleged insulting remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The hearing has been rescheduled to February 17 after both expressed their inability to attend the initial date.
After weeks of negotiations over seat-sharing, the Mahayuti alliance appears to have broken down ahead of municipal corporation elections in Latur and Jalna, with partners deciding to contest the January 15 polls independently.
Pangarkar had contested as an Independent candidate from electoral ward No. 13. He defeated his nearest rival, Raosaheb Dhoble of the BJP.
Raut also said the state will never forgive Ajit Pawar for this act of his.
The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combined opposition on Tuesday took the Maharashtra government to task for the Mumbai terror attacks and demanded removal of state's Director General of Police A N Roy and Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor for alleged lapses.The BJP sought a probe into utilisation of funds given by the Centre to deal with possible terror attacks through sea routes following an intelligence report. The removal of Home Secretary was also made.
Multi-cornered contests, deep divisions within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, reflected in the Congress and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray fighting separately and lack of a robust plan among its rivals helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai polls as it looks poised to rule India's richest civic body for the first time.
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated corporator Ritu Tawade for the Mumbai mayor election, while its ally Shiv Sena declared Sanjay Ghadi as its candidate for the deputy mayor's post.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party's MPs will chant 'Vande Mataram' loudly in Parliament, daring the BJP to throw them out.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will announce the quantum of seat sharing, Patil told reporters.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are leading in the early trends of the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in Maharashtra. Counting began on Monday morning for elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis.
'Whatever happens, we have decided to go alone.' 'This is the Shiv Sena's word and we will never go back on it.'
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
He also said that all political parties need to ask the poll watchdog the definition of a political party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of Maharashtra for supporting the NDA's agenda in the recent municipal corporation elections, which saw the BJP-led alliance secure significant wins.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has entered into post-poll alliances with rivals Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in some municipal councils in Maharashtra, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday rejected the tie-ups and warned of action against party leaders involved.
He had resigned from his post as a deputy leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Khotkar told reporters in Jalna.
The seizure included the cutouts put out as the decoration display for the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival which began on Wednesday.
'When a grassroots worker has laboured day and night for the organisation, does the party not have a responsibility to recognise and uplift such workers?'
As the Bharatiya Janata Party is falling short of a majority in the municipal corporations of Sangli and Akola in Maharashtra and needs the support of other parties or elected members, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar has emerged as one of the decisive factors with three seats in its kitty in each civic body.
The absence of NCP-SP leaders from a key Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting in Maharashtra has ignited concerns about opposition unity ahead of the crucial budget session and upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
In a virtual address to party corporators, he said the common Shiv Sena workers were his "wealth", and as long as they were with him, he did not care about criticism by others.
State industries minister Uday Samant and party leader Ramdas Kadam gave information about the resolutions passed in the meeting.
'This is only a passing phase and the Sena would rise again like a phoenix'
'Imagine, for the last 12 years the prime minister belongs to the BJP, the home minister belongs to the BJP... If that is the case, you have waited for 12 years to remove infiltrators. Which means you and your central government has failed India on stopping infiltration.' The Rediff Podcast Featuring Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aditya Thackeray.
Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.
Polling for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in these municipal corporations began amid tight security at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates.
Most Shiv Sena ministers in Maharashtra's BJP-led government were absent from a cabinet meeting, signaling tensions over defections between the parties. Only Deputy CM Eknath Shinde attended. Sena ministers later met with the Chief Minister to express their displeasure.
His remarks come after the Sindhudurg Police registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane on Friday on the charge of trespassing on a BJP supporter's house, days after the Shiv Sena MLA alleged that bags of cash meant for distribution to voters were found there during his "sting operation".
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