The commission also asked Deshmukh to pay to the state government the expenses incurred during his air travel to Pune and Kolhapur districts last month to attend, what it called, "political and private functions."
Various constituents of the INDIA bloc condemned Kejriwal's arrest and claimed that the BJP is scared of the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and acting out of panic to create problems for the opposition.
An FIR was registered against Thackeray under Section 188 (disobedience to order by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code at the time for violation of a police notice asking him not to stay within the limits of Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation in Thane district.
Following the party's sweep of assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states against the odds, the BJP's brain trust is now busy game-planning as to how it can improve on its 2019 Lok Sabha election tally of 303 seats.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
The Delhi high court on Thursday reserved its order on an appeal by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray challenging a single judge's decision dismissing his plea against an Election Commission interim order freezing the Shiv Sena name and election symbol.
Over Rs 195 crore of cash has been seized so far by Election Commission appointed teams, with Andhra Pradesh topping the list.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, the little-known Hyderabad-based firm that in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, was the second largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.
Even as the two parties appeared confident that they have reached out to every voter and publicised their new symbols, experts suggested varying impact of the split and the symbols on the vote bank.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Counting of votes will take place on February 23. Model code comes into force.
Assembly elections in 288 seats in Maharashtra and 90 seats in Haryana will be held on October 15 and counting will take place on October 19, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.
While the Shinde-led Shiv Sena will organise its event at NESCO ground in Goregaon in northwest Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-UBT will hold its event in Shanmukhanand Hall at Sion in central Mumbai.
Maharashtra, including the Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India faction, for alleged failure to submit income tax returns and audited accounts between 2005 and 2014.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier this week, the Shiv Sena-UBT approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to hear the disqualification petitions expeditiously.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut has written to the United Nations, urging it to declare June 20 as 'World Traitors Day' to mark the 'desertion' of his party chief Uddhav Thackeray by 40 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Bhujbal took a veiled attack at Sharad Pawar for the opposition's boycott of an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue.
'To summarise, PM Modi's failures in the last nine years can be categorised under 'durniti' (bad policies), 'anyay' (injustice) and - perhaps most importantly - 'badniyat' (ill intention)'
The parties which lost their registration also include Revolutionary Party of India-Khobragade faction, led by Uttam Khobragade and Uttar Pradesh-based Peace Party.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
Senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Subhash Desai's son Bhushan Desai joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party on Monday, dealing a jolt to the rival camp.
The apex court also ordered the Election Commission of India not to decide till August 25 the application filed by Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde camp for recognition as the 'real Shiv Sena' party and allotment of the bow and arrow symbol to it.
Sena has challenged the Governor's June 30 decision to invite a coalition of the Shinde faction and the BJP to form government in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said the Election Commission's order recognising Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena was "dangerous for democracy", and he would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The Andheri East bypoll is the first after Shinde and the BJP unseated the MVA government in June.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday expressed confidence that his faction will emerge victorious in the legal tussle with the rebel group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
The government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by 5.35 per cent to Rs 2,300 per quintal for the 2024-25 kharif marketing season. The hike in paddy support price comes despite the government sitting on surplus rice stocks, but it is significant ahead of elections in states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
Hitting out at Ajit Pawar for his dig at Sharad Pawar's age, Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule, in a stern response on Wednesday, asked the Maharashtra deputy CM not to disrespect her father.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
For the first time, a presiding officer was declaring in public what decision he will be taking, the Rajya Sabha member said.
The Maharashtra government will bring an ordinance to grant OBC quota in upcoming by-elections to a set of local governing bodies without crossing the Supreme Court-mandated 50 per cent cap on reservation, said state minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Wednesday.
Ajit Pawar-led group was the real Nationalist Congress Party when two factions emerged in the party in July 2023, Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held.
Kharge accused PM Modi of inciting people over the issues "that the Congress will never do".
"The 40 MLAs betrayed Uddhav. How can they remain true to the people and the state?" Aaditya asked.
In an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana, the MVA lead party, in a rare move, praised BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for his 'cleverness and astute poll management.
Seen by political watchers as the favourite to retain power for a third straight term, the Bharatiya Janata Party has set itself an ambitious target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats, a goal aimed as much at projecting its strength as at diminishing the opposition in popular imagination.
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