This was not Sharad Pawar or Prithviraj Chavan speaking. It was Uddhav Thackeray, the undisputed chief of the Shiv Sena!
As the news spread, workers of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray rushed to the spot and cleaned the premises.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Tuesday claimed the Bharatiya Jantea Party candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the Andheri East Assembly bypoll contest after realising that his defeat was imminent.
'Modi had exuded confidence that we will win this battle against COVID-19 in 21 days. But it has been over 100 days and the coronavirus still persists and those fighting it have become tired'
The Supreme Court said on Thursday that once a government is democratically elected in accordance with law, there is a presumption that it enjoys the confidence of the house and there must exist some objective material to dislodge this presumption.
The Election Commission is learnt to have given the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena 15 more days to submit documents in support of its claim on the party's election symbol.
'We have not decided yet if we will be joining hands with the BJP and, if so, what kind of ministries will be distributed among the rebel MLAs'
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
Attempting to break the deadlock in seat-sharing talks for the October 15 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party will send a fresh proposal to the Shiv Sena even as it said it would like to contest seats its saffron ally had not won in years.
Party chief Uddhav Thackeray, Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray and former CM Manohar Joshi, among others, paid tributes.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar also ruled out any alliance with the Sena.
Political consultancy firm I-PAC has reacted to the Enforcement Directorate's raids at its Kolkata premises, calling it an "unsettling precedent." The raids have triggered political upheaval in West Bengal, where elections are due in months. The firm, engaged by the TMC, said it would continue to work in an "unfazed and unperturbed" manner.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticized the BJP over the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and accused the party of corruption and divisive politics during his Dussehra rally.
'If we have to join the government we will have to first decide upon the CMP.' 'Nothing can be decided without having a CMP first.'
Seven candidates are in the fray for six Upper House seats from Maharashtra that will go to polls.
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.
'I don't think there will be many problems after the assembly election results.'
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
'Of course, we are secular. Three of our Hindu brothers have won seats from our party. Tell me where AIMIM has managed that.'
Flanked by his party MP Sanjay Raut, Uddhav received his cousin at the entrance of the Matoshree bungalow, one of the most recognised landmarks in Mumbai.
Security arrangements were on Monday tightened in the luxury hotel near Guwahati where rebel Maharashtra MLAs led by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are camping as advocates, senior police and government officials were seen entering there.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and called for a probe, several opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge backed her demand.
Nationalist Congress Party considers Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, for the position of NCP legislature leader, emphasizing the importance of family consent in the decision-making process.
A Shiv Sena 'shakha' (area office) in Dombivali in Thane district, Maharashtra, which was at the centre of a dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the party, has been taken over by functionaries of the latter after payment of pending dues to the landowner.
Pawar said no one gave such a proposal to the Nationalist Congress Party.
The nearly 13-minute speech, with a booming voice resembling that of Bal Thackeray, began with his trademark opening line Jamlelya majhya tamam Hindu bandhavanu, baghinino ani matano (greetings to my Hindu brothers, sisters and mothers who have gathered here).
Nishanchi actor Aaishvary Thackeray has signed up to play one of the leads in Yash Raj's new film, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
'We formed the government without the Shiv Sena and it will remain stable.'
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS are likely to form an alliance for the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra, with the final decision expected closer to the election date. Leaders from both parties acknowledge public pressure and the need to rejuvenate their cadres after poor performances in previous elections.
Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat denies allegations that a bag seen in a viral video contained money, claiming it only held clothes. The video surfaced amid scrutiny over a significant increase in his declared assets.
Sawant asserted that none of the Shiv Sena-UBT MPs had received any phone calls and condemned the attempts to "spread rumours" about mass desertions from the Thackeray-led party.
The BJP MLA alleged that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is "trying to create a kingdom of criminals in Maharashtra".
Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat of the Shiv Sena has taken an exception to his junior minister Madhuri Misal belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party holding a meeting with department officials 'without informing' him, with the latter responded saying it was very much within her powers.
In a letter to Shinde, who was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister a day earlier, Thackeray accused him of "indulging in anti-party activities".
The incident took place outside a temple in the city where Suri and some other leaders of the party were holding a protest, they said.
Opposing the demand for a separate state of Vidarbha, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said Maharashtra should get Marathi-speaking areas of Belgaum and adjoining areas in Karnataka. "The government should remove the injustice done to Maharashtra by giving it Belgaum-Karwar areas where the Marathi-speaking populace is being oppressed," Uddhav said in a statement. "As long as the Shiv Sena is there, no one will be allowed to divide Maharashtra," he said
After former Shiv Sena MP Pradeep Jaiswal, ex-MLA of BJP from Latur, Shivaji Patil Kavekar, has resigned from the party with his supporters. Similar revolts had been reported from Nanded, Beed and Hingoli districts also.
Shiv Sena is confident that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't join hands with a "Naturally Corrupt Party". Prasanna D Zore reports
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked state Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth to provide adequate police protection to the families and homes of rebel MLAs, a police official said on Sunday.