'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
He said the "switch" to the Sharad Pawar-led outfit has started in the form of ex-corporators, referring to the resignation of Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief Ajit Gavhane and two former corporators.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday paid floral tributes at the city police headquarters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Chavan, however, made it clear that if the NCP merger happens and if that party goes with the National Democratic Alliance, it would become difficult for the Congress to continue the alliance with them in Maharashtra.
Now, with the INDIA bloc putting up an impressive show in the Lok Sabha polls and managing to stop the BJP juggernaut, opposition leaders will be looking at the senior Pawar for guidance in navigating the political space against the saffron party post-elections.
The move came after a Hindutva organization, Shiv Pratisthan, sent a memorandum to the Sangli collectorate demanding that Islampur's name be changed to Ishwarpur.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed officials to declare leopard attacks on humans as a "state disaster" and proposed reclassification of leopards under the Wild Life (Protection) Act to better manage man-eating animals. The decision follows a rise in leopard attacks in the state, particularly in the Pune district.
Five months after a couple of Pawars jousted in an electoral battle in Baramati, two other Pawars will take on each other at the hustings on November 20, 2024.
Pratibha Pawar, wife of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, was allegedly stopped from entering the premises of Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park in Pune district on Sunday for half an hour. This was informed by the office of Baramati MP Supriya Sule. Notably, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife and Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is the chairperson of the Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park. A video shared by Supriya Sule's office shows female aides of Pratibha Pawar and Sule's daughter Revti Sule asking a security guard at the Park to open the gate as they wanted to do some purchasing. The guard told them he was instructed by one Anil Wagh to not open the gate. A male aide accompanying Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule confirmed to PTI that they were not allowed to enter the premises for at least 30 minutes. When contacted, Textile Park chief manager Anil Wagh said he was not aware that Pratibha Pawar was supposed to visit the premises. He claimed he instructed security personnel to not allow any political rally inside. When he was told that Pratibha Pawar had arrived, he immediately asked security guards to open the gate and allow them inside. According to Wagh, Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule visited some companies on the premises of the Park and interacted with women workers. Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park is one of 26 parks approved by the Union Ministry of Textiles. Under the chairmanship of Sunetra Pawar, this park was set up in the year 2008 over an area of 65 acres in Baramati in Pune district. A fierce electoral battle is playing out in the Baramati assembly constituency between Ajit Pawar, who revolted against uncle Sharad Pawar last year, and his nephew Yugendra Pawar.
Pawar recalled that he was a member of a delegation sent by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao to the UN under the leadership of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
"The nakli Shiv Sena wants to bury me alive. They abuse me in such a way that it will be liked by their favourite vote bank," Modi said.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there was no question of taking back those leaders who had deserted the two parties.
Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate was shifted from the agriculture ministry to the sports and youth welfare department in a late-night reshuffle. Dattatrey Bharne will be the new agriculture minister. The reshuffle comes after Kokate faced controversy for playing online rummy during a legislative council session and allegedly equating farmers with beggars.
"Who are they to tell me to retire? I can still work," Pawar said in an interview
The Sharad Pawar camp described the ruling as a "murder of democracy" which would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Sharad Pawar's remarks on Monday virtually declaring new entrant Harshavardhan Patil's candidature for the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra has irked a section of party leaders that was eyeing ticket from the Indapur seat.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party never contacted Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and certain imaginary news is being spread, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed on Monday.
NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique alleges a 'casual' approach by Mumbai police in the investigation into his father, Baba Siddique's, murder. He cites procedural delays and reluctance to take decisive action.
Asked whether Ajit Pawar gave any offer to Sharad Pawar during the meeting, Raut said, "When did Ajit Pawar become so big to give an offer to Sharad Pawar."
Sharad Pawar on Friday evening announced that he was not stepping down as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party.
On Thursday, Fadnavis wrote a letter to Ajit Pawar opposing NCP leader Nawab Malik sitting on a treasury bench seat.
The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
I think Sharad Pawar invited Ajit Pawar for the INDIA bloc meeting, Raut said.
'Let Fadnavisji prove to the people of Maharashtra that he acts fairly against one and all.'
Is Deputy CM Ajit Pawar giving the CM shooting lessons?
The old posters which had Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel alongside Sharad Pawar have been removed from outside the office premises.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
Political sources say Modi is 'keen' on getting the NCP (SP) over to the Mahayuti to counter Eknath Shinde's 'demands' and to act as a cushion against his present allies, Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu, 'in case their relationship became untenable'.
Bhujbal said the recent developments in the NCP happened after legal experts were consulted to escape disqualification.
Ajit Pawar assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would work hard for people of the state.
Notably, when asked by reporters if he would take legal recourse after Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief minister on Sunday, Sharad Pawar had said he would not get into all this but will go among people.
We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his, Pawar tweeted.
The Uddhav faction was shocked to see Pawar felicitate Shinde with an award.
The 36 new ministers included 10 cabinet and four ministers of state (MoS) of the NCP, eight Cabinet and four MoS of the Sena, and eight Cabinet and two MoS of the Congress.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
Sule said the intra-family duel in the Lok Sabha polls will not waver her respect for Sunetra Pawar as she is her "elder brother's wife and like a mother".
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