Despite their top leaders frowning upon such practices, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and Congress came together in the Achalpur Municipal Council in Maharashtra's Amravati district to ensure unopposed election of various committee chairpersons.
All eyes are now on the Sena factions, led by CM Shinde, backed by the BJP, and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, and their performance in the coastal belt in the November 20 polls.
Popularly known as 'Ajit Dada', he was known to say things as they were, without couching it in any soft padding.
Hardening its stand against the Shiv Sena leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that negotiations on seat-sharing for the coming Lok Sabha elections could not begin unless statements made by a Sena leader that his party would back Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar for the prime ministerial post are publicly retracted by senior Sena leaders.
Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh also witnessed a tense atmosphere amid confrontation between the party workers.
Ajit Pawar granted Rediff an interview in Baramati at 6 am. Why? 'To be a successful politician one needs to sleep less, and I never sleep for more than 4 hours' Ajit Pawar told Syed Firdaus Ashraf as Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff captured the encounter on his camera.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image.
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.
He will meet Uddhav Thackeray at his home and address Gujaratis all over the city.
The sources said Thackeray also had talks with former prime minister and NDA chairman Atal Bihari Vajpayee a couple of days back.
Shiv Sena Bhavan at Dadar in central Mumbai, the political party's headquarters, was evacuated on Wednesday afternoon following a bomb scare on the premises, which later turned out to be a hoax, sources told rediff.com.
The Shiv Sena on Monday alleged that the Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was being tortured by the Mumbai police and that she had stopped partaking food for the last eight days.
Jet Airways' management may not able to implement the pay cut it wanted in lieu of retaining 800 retrenched employees. That's because the Shiv Sena has now got into the act after the breakaway Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's prominent supporting role to retrenched employees.
The rally is being organised to protest against alleged electoral roll manipulation in the Maharashtra assembly elections, with opposition parties alleging that there were around 96 lakh fake votes which had been added in the 2024 assembly elections.
The 25-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance split on Thursday amid continued deadlock over seat-sharing for the October 15 Maharashtra assembly polls.
Kunal Kamra has accepted money from Uddhav Thackeray and is targeting Eknath Shinde, Mhaske alleged.
The NCP and NCP (SP), led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar respectively, have formed an alliance for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections. This development follows a similar alliance for the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections and aims to consolidate their position in the region.
Despite Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray's warning, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Mumbai on Friday.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is under attack from the Shiv Sena again, this time for his criticism of yoga guru Baba Ramdev's proposed hunger strike against corruption.
Shiv Sena-UBT leaders do not maintain any contact with those who left, said Raut whose party is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance along with NCP-SP and Congress.
The Bhartiya Janata Party has denied any rift between L K Advani and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on any issue. When Advani was in Mumbai on Turesday, Thackery refused to meet the BJP leader saying that he was unwell and should not be disturbed. But the mouth piece of Shiv Sena, Saamna disclosed that it was the Sena chief who prevented sacking of Narendra Modi after the Godhra incident.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
A delegation of Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and Raj Thackeray, met with the state's chief electoral officer to raise concerns about alleged irregularities in the poll process, particularly regarding the voters' list, ahead of local body elections.
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 the Thackerays don't save a Marathi school in their backyard, who will, wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday claimed their leaders had never given hate speech and they only highlighted key issues of the day.
"This was an election fought for the very existence of Mumbai and voters have shown that they still want Mumbai to be part of Maharashtra," Uddhav said.
If the INDIA bloc and NDA develop consensus then Shiv Sena-UBT will also be part of that process, Raut said.
Shinde He said anyone can go anywhere, it is their personal choice, but people support those who work for them and think about their welfare.
The Congress won elections to the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) in central Maharashtra on Friday, bagging a clear majority with 43 seats in the 70-member body, leaving the Bharatiya Janata Party a distant second with 22 seats.
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan criticized Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's allegations of corruption in the Pimpri Chinchwad civic body, suggesting they are politically motivated ahead of upcoming elections.
After Shiv Sena's protest at BCCI office, Kasuri book release function and Ghulam Ali concerts, films starring Pakistan artistes have become latest target of the political outfit.
By the next election, the Shiv Sena too may end up like Raj Thackeray's MNS.
Angry Shiv Sena workers on Saturday shouted slogans against senior party leader Manohar Joshi and forced him to leave the venue of Sena's annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) polls and commented on the NOTA option, stating it indirectly helps promote an unwanted candidate.
The Maharashtra Minister enjoyed SRK's latest release, MNIK.
Shiv Sena on Friday attacked Bollywood super star Shah Rukh Khan for raising concern about the exclusion of Pakistani players from the Indian Premier League and dared him to take the players in his team Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
Under fire for a party member of Parliament allegedly forcing a fasting Muslim worker to eat, Shiv Sena on Thursday said it was a "protest against mismanagement" at Maharashtra Sadan and held that the entire issue was given a "communal colour only to derive "political mileage" and to "malign" the party's image.
'Talks are on between Uddhav Thackeray and other party leaders (about whether to go solo) for the BMC polls. Workers want the party to contest the polls solo'
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