Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations. Thorat, who is among the senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar, said he enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance. He also criticized the ruling Mahayuti coalition, accusing it of corruption and communal politics.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was given the finance and planning portfolio on Friday, nearly two weeks after he broke away from the original party and took oath as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar camp, on Wednesday said they took the decision of joining the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra after 'proper consideration'.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the three ruling allies in the state will retain their existing constituencies while deciding a seat-sharing formula for the coming assembly elections.
He said the RPI-A will also demand tickets to contest at least two Lok Sabha seats (out of the total 48 in Maharashtra) and 10 to 15 assembly segments in the 2024 elections from the NDA quota.
Sources in the BJP said the expansion of the cabinet was unlikely before the session though the allocation of portfolios to the NCP ministers might happen in the coming days.
As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday left the Vidhan Bhavan premises without completing his address to the joint session of the state legislature amid slogan-shouting by legislators.
In a jolt to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party won four of the six seats in the state legislative council, including Nagpur, and wrested the Akola-Buldhana-Washim seat from the Shiv Sena.
The name of the Maharashtra chief minister will be announced on Wednesday, a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, after the Bharatiya Janata Party elects its legislature party leader, a senior functionary said on Monday.
Raj Bhavan sources said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 11 am on Sunday, a day before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, the last before assembly polls later this year, begins.
Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he does not see any hurdle in issuing an order by January 10, 2024 on the cross-petitions filed by rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, which was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray faction, that the matters required urgent listing and hearing, has now fixed as many as five petitions for hearing on Wednesday.
The decades-old boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over Belagavi has again flared up as both the State governments are readying for a legal battle.
The Shiv Sena-BJP combine repeatedly asked the Congress and NCP members to make their stand clear on the issue.
The price per kilogram of onion came down to Rs 2 to Rs 4, which angered the growers, who had stopped the auction at the APMC last week for a day.
Bommai alleged that in the name of providing insurance to the people on Karnataka's side of the border, the Maharashtra government is taking declaration letters from them stating that they belong to Maharashtra. "This is condemnable."
The firing took place outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui's office.
'Ajit Pawar is trying to sideline us; he is trying to be in the BJP's good books at our cost.'
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Tuesday didn't discuss the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly and has decided to take a 'wait and watch' approach amid political developments in the state, a senior leader said.
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
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.
Sharad Pawar and other NCP-SP leaders will take a decision on whom to take back in the fold, said the MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday assured his government will continue the Ladki Bahin Yojana and fulfil Mahayuti's pre-poll promise of hiking the monthly stipend under the scheme to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 now to eligible women.
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
Narvekar's father-in-law Ramraje Naik of NCP is the chairperson of the Legislative Council.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader was speaking in the assembly on a resolution moved by Speaker Rahul Narvekar urging the government to formulate a new women's policy.
His statement comes a day after both the Sena factions faced off at the party's office in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in south Mumbai.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that he will ask his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde not to send his ministers to Belagavi, amid the raging border dispute between both the state, as it may disrupt the law and order situation in the border district.
The MES and some political outfits in Maharashtra have been pressing for this demand on the ground that the district and a few other neighbouring areas of Karnataka have a substantial Marathi speaking population.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said he has given details about the state's stand and facts regarding the raging border dispute with Maharashtra to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is likely to call a meeting of chief ministers of both states next week.
The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has issued a whip to "all" its legislators to remain present full-time during the budget session of the Maharashtra legislature which began on Monday, in an apparent move to corner the faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has launched a veiled attack on party president Ajit Pawar, claiming that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in favor of his induction in the cabinet. Bhujbal expressed his disappointment and humiliation over his exclusion, alleging that he was treated like a "toy" by the party leadership. He also alleged that Ajit Pawar makes decisions for the NCP like Fadnavis does for the BJP and Eknath Shinde does for the Shiv Sena.
The monsoon spelt mayhem in several parts of the country on Monday, particularly Mumbai where local train services and flight operations were hit and everyday life disrupted as well as Assam that was grappling with floods yet again.
Devendra Fadnavis is the frontrunner to become the next chief minister of Maharashtra, according to a senior BJP leader.
'How long will you hide in Guwahati, you will have to come to chowpatty,' the Sena MP tweeted in Hindi along with a photo of the state Assembly's Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal looking into the distance.
The Centre on Sunday extended Y-plus security cover of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos to at least 15 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, officials said.
The march had started from Dindori town, located around 195 km away from Mumbai, on March 12 demanding relief of Rs 600 per quintal to onion growers hit by price crash, 12-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers, and waiver of farm loans.
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