The Election Commission on Friday met the warring factions of the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar over their claims to the party name and poll symbol.
Amid the deepening political turmoil in Maharashtra, state Congress president Nana Patole accused Deputy CM and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar of harassing Congress legislators and ministers by stalling their development funds.
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.
This is apparently the first visit of Ajit Pawar to Silver Oak after he rebelled against his uncle, split the NCP and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
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.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who took oath as Deputy Chief Minister in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government on Sunday, has the support of more than 40 MLAs and over six MLCs of his party, sources claimed citing a letter submitted to Raj Bhavan.
Pawar, who was also the deputy CM in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which was in power from November 2019 to June 2022, enjoys the image of a grassroot leader and an able administrator.
He also said the topic of Sharad Pawar's resignation as NCP chief and its withdrawal is over and the matter need not be discussed.
"Politics of development is being backed by a man of development. When a deserving party worker gets a secondary role, such things happen," Shinde said about Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar who is known to display rebellious streaks.
Nationalist Congress Party minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a court upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. This marks the second NCP minister to resign this year.
Congress leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Ziauddin Siddique, popularly known as Baba Siddique, on Thursday said he had resigned from the party and will be joining the Ajit Pawar led-Nationalist Congress Party.
"I was unwell so I cancelled tours and events scheduled for Friday. Over the past few days, I have travelled across Maharashtra and have not got enough rest. Due to lack of proper sleep, pulmonary irritation was also on the rise. I took medicines and took rest at home as advised by the doctor," he said.
As many as 35 of 53 Nationalist Congress Party MLAs were present at the party meeting convened by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Mumbai on Wednesday, party sources said.
This is the second meeting of Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister on July 2, and his MLAs with the NCP supremo in two days.
In a surprise development on July 2, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP split as his nephew Ajit Pawar and almost three dozen MLAs joined the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers.
Dismissing speculation that he was about to be replaced as chief minister, Shinde said these were baseless rumours which cause him no "tension", and the "higher ups" will take appropriate decision.
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.
Maharashtra Opposition leader Ajit Pawar, who belongs to Nationalist Congress Party, on Saturday said Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) are trustworthy and the system cannot be manipulated by a single person.
Glimpses of Home Minister Amit Shah's busy busy Sunday, crisscrossing India.
The former chief minister noted that he had worked with Pawar in his cabinet and knew his style of functioning. Pawar was Thackeray's deputy in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar was on Monday named the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly.
'We cannot accept Ajir Pawar if he comes to join us as a member of the NCP.' 'NCP is not welcome to us.'
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
'They know Sharad Pawar will be playing a huge role in unifying the Opposition.'
Ajit Pawar left the stage just moments after party leader Jayant Patil was given the chance to speak before him which sparked rumours of a rift in the party.
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.
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP will hold their meetings in Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and Bhujbal Knowledge City in suburban Bandra, respectively.
By ditching his uncle, the towering Sharad Pawar, and taking his party to the verge of a split, has Ajit Pawar over-reached? asks N Suresh.
The court will now decide whether to accept the report or direct the agency to continue the investigation and file a chargesheet.
The case pertains to an alleged scam in the Sahakari Sakhar Kharkhana (co-operative sugar factories) and Sahakari Soot Girnis.
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday shared the dais with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at an event in Pune and said the latter is now at the 'right place after a long time', but 'came very late'.
Hitting back, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar demanded proof of the allegations.
'This daylight robbery of elections is happening in the commercial capital of India, Mumbai city, so you can imagine what they will do to win elections in the interiors of India.'
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who took oath as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, on Sunday said his party decided to become part of the Eknath Shinde government for the development of the country, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
All the current political upheavals in Maharashtra are with the 2024 elections in mind and there is a degree of white-knuckle tension in all parties.
In the wake of nine Nationalist Congress Party leaders, including Ajit Pawar, joining the Eknath Shinde government, party chief Sharad Pawar has convened a meeting on July 5 in Mumbai to discuss the developments and the future course of action, its state unit chief Jayant Patil said on Sunday.
'Now there is no fight between us (Thackerays); now the fight is with them.'
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase on Sunday said the oath taken by nine NCP MLAs as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government does not have official support of the party.
Baseless allegations are being made against Pune MLA Sunil Tigre linking him to the Porsche crash that left two software engineers dead, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday.
