The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Friday released its second list, comprising seven candidates including MLA Zeeshan Siddique and two former Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
The Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first preference votes for its candidate Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to its ally Sena (UBT)'s nominee Narvekar, party sources said. Eventually, Satav got 25 and Narvekar 22 first preference votes, which meant at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted.
Taking moral responsibility for cross-voting in legislative council elections, all the 11 Bharatiya Janata Party members of legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir today resigned and authorised the party central leadership to decide their fates.
The Congress on Friday won the Amravati division graduates constituency, taking the tally of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to three in elections for five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats, a result which has come as a jolt to the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Balasahebnachi Shiv Sena alliance.
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor alleges Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary escaped a murder trial by falsely claiming to be a minor. He demands Choudhary's dismissal and threatens to expose further financial irregularities.
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Maharashtra Minister Sanjay Shirsat received an Income Tax notice regarding an increase in his assets between the 2019 and 2024 elections. He initially claimed MP Shrikant Shinde also received a notice but later retracted the statement.
Saying that the constitutional right to vote is not absolute, the Bombay high court on Friday rejected petitions filed by Nationalist Congress Party leaders Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh seeking temporary release from prison for casting ballot in the June 20 Maharashtra Legislative Council election.
Two candidates each of the ruling coalition allies Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena and four nominees of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday night won elections to the Maharashtra legislative council, an official said.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, is also credited with the creation of the Election Commission of India. An amendment he brought to the Constituent Assembly led to the establishment of the Election Commission as an independent body responsible for conducting elections. Ambedkar's amendment consolidated election authority into a centralized body, headed by a chief election commissioner appointed by the President, rather than separate commissions for the Centre and states. This article delves into the historical context and the importance of Ambedkar's contribution in establishing the Election Commission of India.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sought to put up a brave face as he conducted a post-mortem on Friday of the results of the legislative council election from the Assembly quota.
A video of Lonikar's controversial remarks surfaced on social media on Thursday and invited strong criticism from the opposition.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
Raut said his party has decided to support independent candidate Shubhangi Patil from the Nashik division graduates constituency after she sought backing from former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Reddy faced the biggest challenge of his political life in 2015 when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole claimed Thackeray had selected a candidate finalised by Congress for the Nashik Teachers' constituency without consulting coalition partners.
The timeline of the Shiv Sena-centric political crisis in Maharashtra.
Devendra Fadnavis, a veteran politician from Maharashtra, is set to become the state's chief minister for the third time following a decisive victory by the BJP in the recent assembly elections. Fadnavis' political journey has been marked by resilience, strategic manoeuvring and a string of successes, including becoming the youngest mayor of Nagpur. He is known for his articulate speeches and effective governance, but his tenure has also been marked by challenges, including the Maratha reservation issue and the irrigation scam. He faces a new set of challenges, but his ability to adapt and make tactical decisions could prove crucial for him and his party in the coming days.
A statement from Raj Bhavan said that Koshyari requested the ECI to declare elections to the nine vacant seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council 'at the earliest'. The state cabinet had on April 9 recommended Thackeray's nomination as one of the governor nominees in the Legislative Council.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray and his MLA son Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on the premises of Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
Senior state BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde don't find a place in the list, which instead has lesser-known faces like Gopichand Padalkar, Praveen Datke and Ajit Gopchhade.
Polling on three graduates and two teachers constituencies of the council was held on January 30 and counting of votes by ballot began on Thursday evening and was completed on Friday.
The Jain community, for whom feeding pigeons is a sacred tradition, have fiercely opposed the closure, with demonstrations in Mumbai highlighting the cultural significance and the distress of pigeons dying on streets.
Failure to get elected by May 28, ie within six months of taking oath as CM, would have resulted into a Constitutional crisis for the Thackeray-led government, which was averted after the Election Commission announced elections to the nine seats in the Council.
The ruling Shiv Sena on Wednesday announced the candidature of Sachin Ahir and Aamshya Padvi for the upcoming Maharashtra legislative council polls as it decided against renominating senior leader and state minister Subhash Desai and another party veteran Diwakar Raote for the election to the upper house of the state legislature.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party MLC C T Ravi was arrested after a first information report (FIR) was registered against him, for allegedly using a derogatory word against minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the Legislative Council on Thursday, police said.
He cautioned the party workers and emphasised the importance of management to ensure electors reach polling booths and cast their votes.
With local body elections approaching in Maharashtra, a significant portion of the Congress party is advocating for contesting independently to regain lost ground amidst the BJP's growing influence. The party is currently part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The Supreme Court Monday declined the plea of jailed Nationalist Congress Party leaders and MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh seeking temporary release from prison to cast their votes in the Maharashtra legislative council election.
Seeking to end confusion regarding the use of 'none of the above' option in the Rajya Sabha and state legislative council elections, the Election Commission has come out with a fresh set of instructions to prevent rejection of vote.
How much is a vote worth? In Telangana, it seems the going price for a vote in the Legislative Council elections is Rs 5 crore.
The remarks of the bench came after advocate MS Dhingra, appearing for UP legislative council chairman's office, sought time to file the reply.
'If the BJP doesn't want to accept the will of the people, then we will show them what a majority means.'
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on December 5. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is considered the frontrunner for the chief minister's post, with the BJP having recorded its best-ever electoral performance in the state. The Mahayuti coalition includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
