The Shiv Sena has turned down ally Bharatiya Janata Party's offer of a seat in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum scam as a multi-national company owned by one of its Rajya Sabha members is allegedly a beneficiary of the contract, sources said.
'The BJP has all the instruments with them and they do have a sense of purpose, so I don't think there will be a challenge.'
An editorial in the Sena-UBT mouthpiece Saamana also claimed the possibility of rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray has rattled "Maharashtra baiters".
The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashra Navnirman Sena deteriorated thanks to its own doing and absolute lack of vision. Now it seems it is only a matter of time before the Shiv Sena goes the same way. Both cousins will ensure they finish the 'Sena', says N Suresh.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15, even as the Opposition parties alleged the ruling combine used threats and money to force candidates to withdraw from the fray.
Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Rajan Vichare is in the centre of a raging controversy after the representative from Maharashtra's Thane constituency was seen force-feeding a Muslim employee of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation -- in-charge of handling catering at Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
Mahim is a mix of predominantly upper-class Maharashtrians, a sizeable cosmopolitan population and minority voters.
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.
Courts cannot be the only hope for those fighting hate speech. Countering its effects on the ground takes more effort. With our political parties unwilling to put in that amount of effort, it's left to citizens to do so, points out Jyoti Punwani.
Here are the famous faces who turned up to vote.
Shiv Sena member of Legislative Assembly Anil Kadam, who had allegedly abused women staff at a toll booth near Pimpalgaon Baswant on Mumbai-Agra national highway two days ago, submitted his resignation to party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday, sources said.
Maharashtra minister Pratap Sarnaik announced a special verification drive from May 1 to August 15 to enforce the decision making Marathi mandatory for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in the state, during which no punitive action will be taken.
A Zilla Parishad teacher, Suresh Borse, died in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after an alleged assault following a spat in Ellora. His wife claims police personnel were involved in the beating. Police have registered a case against unidentified accused and are investigating the role of police personnel, while protests have erupted demanding a murder case against the officers.
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.
With Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's grandson Aditya taking over the Yuva Sena's reins, the party, which once vociferously opposed Valentines' Day celebrations, has chosen to lie low on the issue, in a bid to woo young voters and avoid any controversy ahead of the civic polls.
The PCB is happy with the security arrangements in India and is confident that no harm would come to the players.
The CPI(M) will attend the INDIA bloc meeting on Monday, with its MP John Brittas expected to raise concerns about allegations made by Congress leaders during the Kerala Assembly elections. The Left party is awaiting a clarification from the Congress regarding claims of a CPI(M)-BJP understanding, which it views as inconsistent with alliance cooperation.
Top leaders of opposition parties including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC's Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, besides Left leaders and those from smaller parties, are likely to attend the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital.
Hearing a petition by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission's interim order freezing Shiv Sena's name and election symbol, the Delhi high court on Monday asked why it should not wait for the final decision of the poll panel on the dispute between the party factions.
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.
"This is not the defeat of Shiv Sena. I don't think we failed because our battle was not for individual gains but for larger public interest," Uddhav told media persons at Sena Bhawan in central Mumbai.
The Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana, said that it was very sad that on Thursday, when the whole country was paying tributes to the martyrs of the serial attacks in Mumbai, the BCCI went ahead and declared the venue of the Indo-Pak bilateral series in December.
The Bombay high court on Friday permitted the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in central Mumbai on October 5.
'Now if you break the party under the 10th Schedule you have to join another party.' 'You cannot join the NDA as it is not a party. You can only join another party, and that is the BJP.' 'So the question to ask is that these so-called 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs who are parting ways with the TMC, are they ready to join the BJP and accept Narendra Modi as their leader?'
Firing yet another salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena on Monday slammed its ally over the issue of supporting Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi saying backing him would be a "sin" as it would be an endorsement of "black era in politics".
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the incident of Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad slapping an employee of a canteen at the MLAs' hostel in Mumbai sends out a wrong message about all legislators that they indulge in misuse of power.
The Maharashtra legislature witnessed widespread protests as Opposition legislators accused the government of failing to prevent examination paper leaks, including the recent Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and NEET. Senior leaders alleged links between those behind the leaks and the BJP, demanding a comprehensive investigation into the examination process and government accountability.
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.
Pangarkar had contested as an Independent candidate from electoral ward No. 13. He defeated his nearest rival, Raosaheb Dhoble of the BJP.
The search and rescue operations are still underway.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U launched a frontal attack on ally BJP, asking it to rein in 'loudmouth leaders' whose 'arrogance' had cost it an old partner like the Shiv Sena.
The BJP has had a raise in its share of seats from 105 in 1990 to 121 in 2004.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
The Left has never been comfortable with Kalam and had even put up the late Captain Lakshmi Sehgal when the NDA sought to make him a consensus candidate in 2002 and the Congress had no option left but to support him.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
Its strength is set to increase by 3 seats once the current round of Rajya Sabha polls for 27 seats are concluded on June 28.
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.
