'He is the key to unravel the 26/11 conspiracy.'
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The Maharashtra government would soon notify the appointment of two public prosecutors to take up the female foeticide cases of Beed district, Health Minister Suresh Shetty said on Monday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said Health Minister Suresh Shetty and Women and Child Welfare Minister Varsha Gaikwad were not allowed by the Election Commission to visit Beed district, where many cases of female foeticide have come to light recently.
A 28-year-old woman from Maharashtra's Beed district, infamous for high incidence of female foeticide, has registered a case of harassment against her husband and in-laws after she was allegedly tortured for years and subsequently driven out of home for having a girl child, police said on Wednesday.
The National Investigation Agency has let off two of the four persons who were detained in Beed in the last two days, sources said.
Pawar urged people not to fall prey to the Opposition's "fake campaigns", highlighting government schemes for the youth, women, Warkaris (followers of Lord Vithoba) and others.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
Living up to name: Beed's Little Sachin Dhas lives his father's dream
Here are glimpses of famous faces who got their fingers inked.
Pawar said PM Modi's charisma is seen all over the country and hoped Maharashtra which follows secular thoughts will benefit from this charisma.
The activist claimed that state minister Uday Samant phoned him in the morning to assure that the chief minister and the deputy CMs were committed to granting reservation.
A total of 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday, a poll official said.
Rediff readers tell us how the festival keeps tradition alive and brings their community together.
The attack on the convoy of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray in retaliation to a similar incident involving Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray revived the old rivalry between the estranged cousins who claim to champion the cause of Marathi manoos ahead of assembly elections.
Peasants from Maharashtra's drought-affected Beed district feel the government machinery and politicians are indifferent to their plight.
Avinash Sable broke his own 3000m steeplechase national record while finishing sixth at the Diamond League meet in Paris.
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.
He also sought framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, and warned of fielding candidates from all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming state polls if his demands were not approved.
Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.
Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday reiterated that he will stop drinking water from Wednesday evening if his demand for reservation to the Maratha community is not fulfilled by the Maharashtra government.
Several legislators cutting across party lines in Maharashtra on Thursday staged an agitation outside the Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, in support of the demand for reservation to the Maratha community.
State-run bus services have been completely suspended in five Marathwada districts while curfew and Internet shut-down have been imposed in parts of Beed where the houses of political leaders were targeted by protesters.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday named 72 more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, including Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Anurag Singh Thakur, and former chief ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Basavaraj Bommai.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday named as the guardian minister of his home district Pune in place of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
Later, authorities can decide whether the complaint is proper or not, Munde told reporters in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday, adding that she expects action to be taken in the present case.
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
'There is no grain of truth in the speculation that the Congress is thinking of contesting the Lok Sabha elections without taking Sharad Pawar along'
The Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
Hingoli MP Hemant Patil submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi on Monday, while Nashik MP Hemant Godse sent his resignation letter to CM Shinde.
Truck drivers protesting against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents, called off their strike in Nashik district of Maharashtra on Tuesday after the local authorities assured to look into their demands.
The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar 10 seats.
150 BJP elected local representatives in Beed resign in protest against Pritam Munde's exclusion from the Union ministry.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
The incident took place at Majalgaon in the district on Tuesday following which many locals gathered around the banner. Authorities promptly took it down, the official said.
The NCP leader asked how suddenly a number of records showing Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi caste were being found.
Leaders at an all-party meeting on Maratha quota chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday passed a resolution asking activist Manoj Jarange to call off his indefinite fast.
'It is now the government's duty to find a way out of this impasse without hurting interests of any sections of Maharashtrian people.'
