'Mahayuti leaders will sit together and discuss and go to Delhi and then a decision will be taken'
Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers vandalised a Congress office in Mumbai on Thursday, claiming the party had always insulted Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The protest followed Congress leaders' accusations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for insulting Ambedkar in a Rajya Sabha speech. Several BJYM workers were detained and an FIR was filed against them.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support. He also said the Mahayuti government secured a majority in the recent elections. Shinde said that when he was the chief minister, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team. He added that he will now be "dedicated to the common man" 24 x 7. In the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony, officials were instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Shinde also rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made chief minister. He pointed out that 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him when he led a revolt in 2022, and today, the party has 57 MLAs, which he asserted was a seal of approval from the people. Shinde was given a rousing welcome at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane, following the swearing-in ceremony. Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise.
Leaders of the Maharashtra NDA alliance, including the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, are set to meet with the BJP's national leadership on Thursday to finalize the composition of the new state government. The meeting is expected to confirm the formula of one chief minister and two deputy chief ministers, with the BJP likely to hold the chief ministerial post and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP sharing the deputy chief minister positions. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won a landslide victory in the recent state assembly elections, securing 230 seats in the 288-member House.
'This is injustice to Shinde. Are they trying to say that he is not good enough to be the CM?'
Violent protests erupted in Parbhani, Maharashtra, India, for the second day over the vandalising of a replica of the Indian Constitution. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the city, banning gatherings of five or more people in public places. A mob indulged in arson and vandalised the district collector's office. Police arrested a man in connection with the incident, but protests continued. Protesters demanded a thorough investigation and blamed the government's lax approach.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
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
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Mahayuti partners will meet Governor C P Radhakrishnan to stake a claim to form a government in the state.
'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.
The development comes a day after a government resolution (GR) was issued, in which the state administration ordered disbursal of Rs 10 crore funds for strengthening the state Waqf Board.
Friendly fights, however, are more complicated for the MVA, especially since smaller parties who are part of the INDIA bloc are also in the mix.
Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
Discordant voices emerged on Sunday from the Mahayuti even as the alliance continued to remain in the throes of government formation more than week after it swept the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Gaikwad, who was Dharavi MLA before being elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general polls, also alleged the redevelopment project was real estate's biggest scam.
Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results. Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said. The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister. Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls. Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said. "The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said. During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader. Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion good and positive. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
Ahead of the crucial legislature party meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis met with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
The race for the Maharashtra Chief Minister post has intensified following the Mahayuti coalition's landslide victory in the state assembly polls. The Shiv Sena has backed Eknath Shinde for the top job, citing the Bihar model, while the BJP has thrown its weight behind Devendra Fadnavis, emphasizing his leadership qualities and understanding of the state. The BJP's preference for Fadnavis stems from its dominance in the alliance with 132 seats, compared to Shiv Sena's 57 seats. Amidst these developments, both parties have held meetings to discuss the matter, while Fadnavis and other BJP leaders have denied any dispute over the CM's post.
The Bombay high court on Friday upheld the tender awarded to an Adani Group firm by the Maharashtra government for the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai, ruling there was no 'arbitrariness, unreasonableness or perversity' in the decision.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the state assembly polls are expected to be held in the second week of November and seat-sharing among the ruling allies would be finalised in the next 8 to 10 days.
'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'
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
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.
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.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
'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.'
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.
A large number of police personnel have been deployed there to prevent any untoward incident in view of the prevailing situation, he said.
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.
'We are happy that the money has come to us immediately after it was announced.' 'For once, the government did what it promised.'
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.
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
A total of 73 women got elected to the 18th Lok Sabha against 78 women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha.
'The political situation in the country will depend on the electoral outcome in Maharashtra.'
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
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.
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 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.
The constituency of Mumbai South, home to industrialists as well as high-ranking government officials, fared the worst with 47.7 percent voting.
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