'The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).'
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.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar's mother Sunanda has emphasised the need for party factions led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to come together as voices for unity emerged from both rival camps.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who resigned as Maharashtra deputy chief minister after allegations of irregularities in irrigation projects, today launched a veiled attack on chief minister Prithviraj Chavan over 'tardy pace' of clearing files.
"Ajit's brother Shriniwas was asked to maintain dialogue with him....My wife Pratibha and Ajit share a strong bond. Pratibha never gets into political developments, but Ajit's case was related to the family," Pawar said in his book.
'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.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday asked Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to mend ways and desist from the smear campaign against the Nationalist Congress Parry or face a "befitting reply".
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said future decisions on COVID-19 SOPs will be taken in consultation with the Union Health Ministry and the state Task Force, amid a difference between the Centre and the state over guidelines for international travellers in the wake of the new variant of SARS-CoV2.
I don't subscribe to begani shaadi mein Abdullah diwana, Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has stirred up a hornet's nest with his comments -- laced with crass humour -- ridiculing the acute water scarcity in the state.
Twelve newly-elected councillors in the Ambernath Municipal Council, suspended by the Congress for joining a post-poll front led by the BJP, have formally joined the saffron party. The Congress criticized the BJP, highlighting the hypocrisy of welcoming defectors despite the Chief Minister's disapproval of the alliance.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls.
People of Maharashtra have always strived to maintain communal harmony, said Pawar.
He expressed confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, NCP (Sharad Pawar group) and Congress will come to power in Maharashtra after the 2024 elections.
The first phase of polling for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra was disrupted by violence and allegations of bogus voting. Clashes occurred between supporters of ruling allies BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena. The Bombay High Court directed the SEC to postpone the counting of votes.
The Leader of Opposition in the assembly also told an interviewer that he will "100 per cent" like to be chief minister of Maharashtra.
Ajit Pawar was seen as an heir-apparent in the NCP, but his dalliances with the Bharatiya Janata Party, including an early morning swearing-in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister along with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2019, had not been received well by the party.
Hours after asserting that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is its leader, party chief Sharad Pawar on Friday claimed that he did not make any such statement.
Glimpses of Home Minister Amit Shah's busy busy Sunday, crisscrossing India.
"However, some members were ready to face the inquiry. (Ex-home minister) Anil Deshmukh was in jail for 14 months. Even Deshmukh was asked to change his role (loyalty) but he stood firm on his decision (to not quit NCP)," Pawar said.
He also said that it had been decided to give the houses to the MLAs at a certain price and not free of cost.
He also said the party workers and citizens need not worry about his health and that he will be back among all after a brief period of rest.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, veteran leader Sharad Pawar led faction moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) be given new poll symbols.
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.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday resigned following allegations of an irrigation scam when he was state's water resource minister and said he was prepared for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
The wife of a personal assistant to Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde allegedly committed suicide in Mumbai. Police have registered an abetment of suicide case against her husband and his relatives following allegations of domestic dispute and harassment.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday dared Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar to intimidate his party without the help of the state apparatus, saying stones can come from "our side" too in an escalating war of words between the two leaders from Maharashtra.
Surrounded by party workers, including 32 of Nationalist Congress Party's 53 MLAs, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday reminded his 83-year-old uncle Sharad Pawar that it was time for him to retire.
Upset over being denied tickets by the Bharatiya Janata Party despite being its 'loyal workers for years', several aspirants have rebelled against the party and are now contesting the upcoming elections to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) as independent candidates.
Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was on Friday re-inducted as Maharashtra deputy chief minister after a government white paper on irrigation gave him a clean chit even as the Opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party boycotted his swearing-in ceremony, terming his comeback as a "farce."
Maharashtra's former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and top Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal could be in for trouble after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a go ahead for probe against them in an alleged corruption case.
"We cut short the Assembly session recently. So far, over 10 ministers and over 20 MLAs have tested positive for coronavirus. Everybody wants to be part of the celebrations of New Year, birthdays and other occasions. Keep in mind that the new variant (Omicron) spreads fast and hence caution is needed," he said.
8 Member of Parliaments were suspended from Lok Sabha for tearing & throwing papers at the Chair till April 2. Uproar started when Rahul Gandhi was barred from citing former Army Chief, General M M Naravane's memoir on 2020 India-China clash. Rediff.com brings you the details of these MPs who were suspended.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
Supriya Sule and her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar file their nominations for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat.
The rout of Sharad Pawar-led faction has raised questions over his political future with a potential risk of a further slide in the party flock in future.
The Congress leader was Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008 and the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was the Governor of Punjab and also served as Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
The chief minister's reply came on a query on Sharad Pawar's statement a day before wherein he said there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is its leader. Pawar later denied making such a statement.
Hitting back at Patole, senior NCP leader Pawar wondered whether the Bharatiya Janata Party, too, should accuse the former of backstabbing it as he had quit the saffron party to join the Congress in 2018.
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