The co-pilot of the aircraft that crashed carrying Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar sent a 'good morning' message to her grandmother before takeoff, which turned out to be her last communication.
Following a hung result in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation elections, both the Congress and BJP are claiming they will secure the Mayor's position. Congress emerged as the single largest party, but the BJP claims to have support from Congress corporators.
The NCP and NCP (SP), led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar respectively, have formed an alliance for the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections. This development follows a similar alliance for the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections and aims to consolidate their position in the region.
The Election Commission (EC) clarified that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is not required to appear for a hearing regarding discrepancies in the spelling of his name in the voter list. The correction will be handled administratively. The EC also issued instructions to ensure timely delivery of notices related to voter list discrepancies.
The Election Commission is ramping up preparations for a special intensive revision of voter lists across India, assessing the progress made on mapping current electors with voters as per the last SIR in different states.
The Indian Parliament will introduce a constitutional amendment bill on Tuesday that seeks to hold Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. The bill, popularly known as "one nation, one election", will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and is likely to be referred to a joint committee of both houses for wider consultations. The bill also aims to align elections in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and the NCT of Delhi. The move has been met with mixed reactions, with some supporting the idea of reducing election-related expenses and others expressing concerns about its impact on democratic processes.
Maharashtra heads to the polls for 29 municipal corporations, with Mumbai's BMC election taking center stage as the BJP-led Mahayuti faces off against the Thackeray front. Key issues include promises for women, pollution control, and the city's financial health.
A new study alleges that Muslim voters are disproportionately represented in Logical Discrepancy (LD) lists during Kolkata's voter roll revision, raising concerns about potential bias in the electoral process.
The Maharashtra municipal elections showed a troubling shift, where votes were traded for cash, convictions no longer mattered, and ideology became an afterthought, observes Ramesh Menon.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are expected to announce an alliance for the upcoming Mumbai civic elections. The announcement is expected to be made at a press conference on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar on Friday said the party was still part of the Mahayuti alliance because of mutual respect among allies and its commitment to the state's progress.
The tactical alliance between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) may not have aided the Thackeray cousins to win the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, but the pact helped them keep intact their traditional strongholds.
'Once demographic fear becomes campaign language, it legitimises social targeting.'
Six policemen were injured and a police vehicle vandalised in a mob attack during an attempt to arrest a TMC worker in Sandeshkhali, once again pushing the coastal block into political focus ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
The Congress, National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party have boycotted the first electoral exercise after abrogation of the state's special status.
The Assam government has introduced a bill to ban polygamy, proposing imprisonment for offenders while excluding Scheduled Tribes and Sixth Schedule areas from its purview.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan questioned the attempts being made to implement the SIR in poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal while the Constitutional validity of the Bihar SIR process is under consideration by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. The court is also addressing concerns about disenfranchisement and citizenship issues related to the revision process.
'You (Sharma) have been working in Mumbai for so many years...Mumbai has been your 'karmabhoomi' (land of work). The people of Mumbai like you and watch your shows. Mumbai is in our hearts, don't insult this city, don't insult the people of Mumbai...I am warning Kapil Sharma'
The BJP stunned the Pawars in the Pune polls, clinching 119 seats. The NCP came a distant second with 27 seats, while its ally, NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar, won three. The Congress managed 15 seats.
The Shiv Sena-UBT-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena panel has lost all 21 seats in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd, a platform where the two parties came together, sparking buzz about a pan-Maharashtra alliance.
Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA's defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don't believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.
'There has been an internal communication from ICC to BCB with regards to security in India. But what Asif Nazrul said is a complete lie.'
Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati expressed deep anguish over the incident, and stressed the need for a thorough and impartial investigation and strict punishment for the culprits as per the law.
Multi-cornered contests, deep divisions within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, reflected in the Congress and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray fighting separately and lack of a robust plan among its rivals helped the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai polls as it looks poised to rule India's richest civic body for the first time.
'The BJP's top leadership realised that their cadres are not happy with them, so they changed the ministers and got in new faces.'
The BJP in Kerala announced the launch of a 'Muslim Outreach Programme' aimed at building trust and dispelling what it claims are lies spread by other parties about the BJP's stance towards the Muslim community.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar says an inquiry has been initiated into the alleged illegal sale of government land to his son's company in Pune. The sale of 40 acres of land is under scrutiny, and the Chief Minister has stated that action is being taken as per law.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged BJP cadre to ensure the opposition is defeated in the upcoming local body polls in Maharashtra. He emphasized the party's strength and commitment to performance-based politics, citing PM Modi as an example.
Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel had said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the party high command will decide on the ongoing speculation about a chief minister change in Karnataka. This comes amid intensified power tussle within the ruling party as the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term.
"What's the point of all that I achieved?" wondered M C Mary Kom as she opened up to PTI about the "darkest phase" of her life, that included a painful divorce, near bankruptcy and a quiet emotional collapse.
Ghosh's elder son, Biswajit, claimed that this was a planned attempt to murder his father, and alleged that Shahjahan pulled strings sitting in jail to carry out the crime.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a leader of the July Uprising in Bangladesh, died after being shot, sparking protests and political unrest. The interim government has promised action, while demonstrators have targeted media outlets and blamed India.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urged party workers to end internal disputes, citing his reunion with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray as an example. He emphasized strengthening the party ahead of local body elections.
Following Raut's statement, the MNS, however, said the party's stand is decided by its chief.
The Maharashtra government has issued a new set of guidelines for its officials on how to interact with legislators and MPs, emphasizing respect, attentiveness, and timely responses.
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