Sharma, one of the Mumbai police officers who were famous for killing gangsters in encounters, resigned from the police force in July.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray to finalize seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming civic polls. The meeting occurred as the deadline for filing nominations ended. The alliance aims to challenge the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.
The 'flaming torch' symbol was used by the Sena in the past during civic body and assembly polls.
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.
Following a hung result in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation elections, both the Congress and BJP are claiming they will secure the Mayor's position. Congress emerged as the single largest party, but the BJP claims to have support from Congress corporators.
The BJP has expanded its footprint in Maharashtra following strong performance in assembly elections, while other parties are seeing their political bases shrink, according to a party official. The assessment is based on the BJP's performance in civic polls across 29 municipal corporations.
He had resigned from his post as a deputy leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Khotkar told reporters in Jalna.
'Whatever happens, we have decided to go alone.' 'This is the Shiv Sena's word and we will never go back on it.'
In a big political win for Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Wednesday held that the Shiv Sena faction led by him was the "real political party" when rival groups emerged in June 2022, and did not disqualify any MLA from the two camps, a verdict that adds another chapter in the Sena legacy war.
With the Congress coming third overall and having done much better than Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, its allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, political analysts said it will force a rethink as far as coordination, seat-sharing and leadership are concerned ahead of the 2029 assembly polls.
He also said that all political parties need to ask the poll watchdog the definition of a political party.
Two members of the Pawar family, Sharad Pawar and his grandnephew Parth, are contesting Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, marking a potential first where both serve simultaneously in Parliament.
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has mandated that all commercial passenger vehicle drivers in the state must possess a working knowledge of Marathi, warning of strict action against those who refuse to comply.
65 candidates from ten municipal corporations in Maharashtra were declared elected unopposed ahead of elections held on January 15, according to the State Election Commission (SEC). The BJP led with 43 unopposed candidates.
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.
Civic polls in Mumbai are to take place in late March or early April.
'This is only a passing phase and the Sena would rise again like a phoenix'
'We cannot accept Ajir Pawar if he comes to join us as a member of the NCP.' 'NCP is not welcome to us.'
A Shiv Sena MLA's controversial statement comparing Marathi people to a mother and North Indians to an aunt has triggered widespread criticism and protests in Maharashtra, leading to an apology and reigniting the Marathi vs. Hindi debate.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in the Pune district of Maharashtra, following widespread outrage over the heinous crime.
Activist Anjali Damania alleges phone calls between Maharashtra politicians and a rape-accused godman, sparking controversy and raising questions about their connections.
Shrikant Pangarkar is in the fray from ward 13. His opponents are candidates from the BJP and several other parties, though the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has not fielded a contestant.
Arguing before the entire EC, Mahesh Jethmalani, the counsel for the Shinde faction, also said the 'surreptitious and unconstitutional' change to the Shiv Sena's constitution by Uddhav Thackeray in 2018 and the ideological shift in the party, which aligned with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to form the government in Maharashtra in 2019, led to a split in the outfit.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party by claiming that those who are crying hoarse over the grave of Yakub Memon, executed for his role in the 1993 serial blasts, were "hiding in burrows" during the Mumbai riots.
Activist Anjali Damania defends her use of AI to analyse call data records of arrested godman Ashok Kharat, amidst opposition scrutiny and allegations of illegal activity.
All mosques have taken permission for the use of loudspeakers, Raut said.
The seizure included the cutouts put out as the decoration display for the ten-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival which began on Wednesday.
Uddhav Thackeray, his son and Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray figured in the list of campaigners.
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.
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.
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.
A video of Sattar's visit to the Shiva temple in Rahimabad in his assembly constituency Sillod on the occasion of Mahashivratri on Sunday went viral on social media, triggering protests from the BJP and other outfits.
In a jolt to the Bharatiya Janata Party, its candidate on Thursday lost the mayoral election in the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation as 27 party corporators cross-voted.
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.
As the rebellion by senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde plunged the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra in a political crisis, an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana on Thursday said the renegade legislators should "mend their ways in time".
The Sena-UB has fielded popular wrestler Chandrahar Patil from Sangli despite the Congress announcing Vishal Patil's name from the same seat.
An irate woman confronted Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan during a BJP demonstration in Mumbai, blaming him for the traffic chaos caused by the protest over the women's reservation bill. The incident, captured on video, has sparked criticism of the BJP's protest tactics.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said the matter is listed for hearing after advocate Amit Anand Tiwari sought urgent listing of the plea.
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