Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Parties in Maharashtra are engaged in intense negotiations to finalize seat sharing arrangements for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled for January 15.
He said that ruling party MLAs Manda Mhatre (BJP) and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena) have also spoken about the duplication of voters and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with MNS, held a protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in the voters list, claiming it favors the ruling BJP. Key leaders participated and addressed a rally highlighting issues like multiple entries and wrongful deletions.
Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, estranged cousins and leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS respectively, will share a public stage after two decades to celebrate the Maharashtra government's decision to roll back the three-language policy in primary schools.
An editorial in the Sena-UBT mouthpiece Saamana also claimed the possibility of rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray has rattled "Maharashtra baiters".
Fadnavis said the talks between Shah and Raj Thackeray were positive, and the picture would be clear in the next few days.
If the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys some influence.
'If you look at the average age of all our candidates, you will notice that their average age is between 35 and 40. It is a kind of revolution that the MNS is bringing in Maharashtra.'
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray will not participate in the all-party meeting called by the state government to resolve the loudspeaker dispute, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said on Monday.
MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar met Maharashtra Home Minister over a letter threatening Thackeray.
Thackeray's tweet came amid reports that he is unwell.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Wednesday launched a veiled attack on the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, led by his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray, following publication of a photo showing an MNS leader with a functionary of Raza Academy.
Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena looks all set to get its candidate elected as Mayor of Nashik with likely support from Bharatiya Janata Party.
'If the Thackeray cousins love the media, the media too adores the two bespectacled Thackeray scions, who in their bid to espouse their Marathi manoos agenda, have become an easy bait for a medium that depends for its survival on high TRPs and ad revenues.'
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, on Wednesday, sought to revoke the four year suspension of four of its legislators, saying it had already apologised for any "disrespect" caused to a woman MLA during Monday's mayhem in the Maharastra assembly but made no mention of the assault on Samajwadi Party member Abu Asim Azmi.
Shinde and Killary, along with MNS sympathiser Bala Nandgaonkar and other MNS activists, were picked up from Matunga in central Mumbai for instigating people and rioting, deputy commissioner of police Sunil Ramanand said.
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
'BJP is cutting him down to size as he is trying to emerge a Hindutva national hero.'
The Sena witnessed the first major jolt in 1991 when Chhagan Bhujbal, the Other Backward Class face of the party who was also credited with expanding the organisation's base in rural parts of Maharashtra, decided to leave the party.
'We don't feel that the law and order situation will turn bad because of our agitation.'
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena bubble has burst in the Lok Sabha polls.
In a significant political move, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday announced candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and also declared his party's support for the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's cartoon ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah over their party's humiliating rout in the Delhi Assembly polls has invited sharp rebuke from the saffron party.
"Does one need bullet train or improvement of basic rail infrastructure," the MNS chief said.
A day after over two lakh Mumbaikars, including several prominent personalities, were left disenfranchised after their names were found missing from the electoral rolls, the Bharatiya Janata Party asked the election authorities on Friday, to revise electoral rolls.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena refused to blink, the opposition, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are keen to take the benefit, reports Sanjay Jog.
As the standoff over eviction of Campa Cola society residents stretched into the third day, Mumbai civic officials today said they would not hesitate to use force if they are not allowed to enter the complex to cut water and power supply to the illegal flats.
'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
Union Minister of State for IT and Communications Milind Deora will be taking on Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Aam Aadmi Party candidates as he tries to win the South Mumbai seat for the third time in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's 2nd death anniversary on Monday saw BJP reaching out to Sena with a promise to construct a memorial befitting the leader's stature as it brought together the squabbling claimants to his legacy-son and successor Uddhav and nephew Raj of MNS.
Maharashtra registered over 64 per cent voter turnout while a record 76 pc polling in Haryana, which witnessed stray incidents of violence, in the first eight hours of polling on Wednesday in the riveting contest to elect assemblies in the two states.
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