Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Meanwhile, a structural engineer named in the case registered in connection with the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue claimed that he was not the structural consultant for the project.
For 25-year-old Varsha Karia, July 13, 2011, was like any other day, till she reached Dadar Kabutarkhana in the evening. Ronjita Kulkarni tells her story
'We are happy that the money has come to us immediately after it was announced.' 'For once, the government did what it promised.'
A large number of police personnel have been deployed there to prevent any untoward incident in view of the prevailing situation, he said.
'Earlier, Congress used to contest five seats in Mumbai, leaving only Mumbai North-East to the undivided Nationalist Congress Party. So we were demanding equal seat-sharing this time'
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
'The political situation in the country will depend on the electoral outcome in Maharashtra.'
'We were optimistic that if only that single missing, magic ingredient were to be found -- leadership -- India would once again rise from the ruins. We looked forward to the day that India became a leading economy and power in the world.' Rajeev Srinivasan's personal tribute to his late friend Varsha Bhosle.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
The who's who of Bollywood lined up to attend the wedding reception of Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal at the Bastian restaurant in Mumbai.
They slammed the Union and state governments for the collapse, with Uddhav Thackeray calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology as one "smacking of arrogance", while Sharad Pawar said the episode was an example of corruption.
A total of 73 women got elected to the 18th Lok Sabha against 78 women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha.
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Suspense continues over the ownership of the pistol used by singer Asha Bhosle's daughter Varsha to end her life even as police recorded the statements of some members of the family and staff on Tuesday.
'Even while I was bothered, I knew she was doing what any fierce opponent should and must: Forcing me to be clear in my thinking, to spell out my own arguments and reasoning to the best of my abilities. I know I was doing the same to her (how I know, also later). That she pushed me to be at my best is something I am grateful for to this day.'
At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.
The constituency of Mumbai South, home to industrialists as well as high-ranking government officials, fared the worst with 47.7 percent voting.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
Nikam has replaced two-time MP Poonam Mahajan, who is the daughter of the late BJP stalwart Pramod Mahajan.
Campaigning continues for the final three phases of the Lok Sabha election.
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday suspended six Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel including a station in-charge in connection with the beating of a woman and her grandson in Katni district.
The Badlapur school, where two young girls were allegedly sexually abused, preferred to cover up the crime instead of helping their parents file a police complaint, said Susieben Shah, chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on Wednesday.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday said his party did not 'surrender' but took a step back in the seat-sharing negotiations with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partners as the talks could not go on indefinitely.
The pistol allegedly used by Varsha Bhosale for ending her life belonged to her mother and legendary singer Asha Bhosale, who had lost it nearly three decades ago, police said on Wednesday.
Waikar is a former standing committee chairman of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, a four time corporator and has been MLA from Jogeshwari for four terms.
In the post on X, Mahajan said, "I will be indebted to the family-like people from Mumbai North Central who treated me not just as an MP but gave me affection like a daughter."
The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra on Tuesday, with its tally dwindling by less than half compared to 2019, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi of Congress, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar was on a roll, pocketing 30 of the 48 seats.
In a letter to Kharge, Khan said he will not campaign for party candidates for the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls and is also resigning from the state Congress campaign committee.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray were among the famous faces who queued up at the polling booths on Monday to caste their votes in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
It's the season for glamorous Diwali parties, and after Manish Malhotra's fashionable bash, Varsha and Producer Ramesh Taurani threw a grand party at their residence.
The multi-crore Dharavi slum redevelopment project involves no land transfer to the Adani group but to the Maharashtra government's departments, and the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, as a project developer, will build houses that will be handed over to the same departments for allotment to residents of Asia's biggest slums, sources said. Denying allegations of land grab made by MP Varsha Gaikwad, sources close to the project said land parcels are to be transferred only to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA) of the state government's housing department.
The new chief minister will be one of the most closely watched politicians in the country in these media-driven times.
'The people preferred Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar...'
Taking note of complaints of indiscipline and anti-party statements, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved Nirupam's expulsion from the party for six years with immediate effect, an official communication from the party said.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.