Deshmukh, however, won't walk out of jail as the high court has kept the order in abeyance for ten days after the CBI sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court.
The contrast between the two meetings couldn't have been more stark, yet, both were organically linked, the latter a show of support for the former.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Anna Hazare on Friday said that Maharashtra had "no future" under the current Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition government, because it was controlled by corrupt politicians.
'If the Pawars are so powerful, then why are they scared of me?'
Kejriwal charged that the BJP toppled Manipur, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments.
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.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
Raut said industrialists should be supported, but not corruption.
Uddhav Thackeray dared PM Modi to fulfil Savarkar's dream of "akhand Bharat"
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
He is one of the four ministers accused of corruption by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.
An editorial in the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray mouthpiece Saamana claimed the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not only 'muddied' politics of Maharashtra but also of the country.
The businessmen in the Maharashtra have given a cry of 'remove Ajit Pawar' against the high tariff of electricity.
The Australian newspaper reported on Saturday the documentary will allege spot-fixers bribed the groundsman at Galle to doctor the pitch used for the 2016 second Test between hosts Sri Lanka and Australia.
Rahul Gopal was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Monday.
'If they don't make Ajit Pawar chief minister, what can he do?'
Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde finds herself in the middle of a Rs 206 crore scam, in what maybe called the first case of impropriety of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.
On Sunday, a team comprising deputy commissioner of police Hemraj Singh Rajput, assistant commissioner of police Nitin Jadhav and two inspectors, reached Fadnavis's bungalow 'Sagar' around noon.
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.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'They want to win 45 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general elections and joining hands with Ajit Pawar is in that direction.'
Hitting out at Ajit Pawar for his dig at Sharad Pawar's age, Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule, in a stern response on Wednesday, asked the Maharashtra deputy CM not to disrespect her father.
A government official said that Daya Nayak had been suspended. He, however, declined to comment on what led to this development.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday cited Delhi's alleged 'liquor scam' to accuse Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of being under 'remote control' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress on Wednesday said the Supreme Court judgment on certain matters relating to transactions by the Adani Group has proven to be 'extraordinarily generous' to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and asserted that the party's fight against crony capitalism and its ill-effects on prices, employment and inequalities will continue.
Prithviraj Chavan said, "I will meet Anna Hazare and will discuss at length on a range of issues. The state government is committed for a strong Lok Ayukta. Besides, my effort has been to bring in transparency in administration and sanity in governance. During my tenure as the chief minister of Maharashtra since November 2010, I have given priority for a public cause and not for personal gains. Discretionary powers have been reduced."
Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'This move rendered the chiefs of important investigative agencies to the status of daily wage earners. It undermined the autonomy and independence of the agencies.'
Meet the richest and poorest candidates contesting the election to the richest civic body in the country.
"It is complete red herring. I thought the state will see some sense. But, these are different nature of battles. Sorry, dismissed," the bench 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.
'You (Modi) come here and don't even take the name of your Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and (B S) Yediyurappa (former CM). Your speeches are all about Narendra Modi'
The 73-year-old leader was greeted by senior leaders of his party as he walked out of Mumbai's Arthur Road prison around 4.45 pm.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed for the second week of July a plea by jailed former Maharashtra minister and Nationalists Congress Party leader Nawab Malik against a Bombay high court order putting off the hearing on his bail plea in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.
Interestingly, Kanal's crossover to Sena came on a day Aaditya Thackeray led a morcha against alleged scams and corruption in the Mumbai civic body.
Political observers feel that the outcome of the elections weighs in favour of the BJP which had won a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, held earlier this year.
Even as the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress were burning the candle at both ends to hammer out a deal over forming the government in Maharashtra, the Amit Shah-led BJP was quietly planning its moves.
At least four FIRs related to extortion were registered against Singh in Mumbai and adjoining Thane.
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