A Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearer from Shirur in Maharashtra's Pune district has sought the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his Nationalist Congress Party from the ruling alliance, which also consists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
The tit for tat actions came a day after Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister along with eight other NCP MLAs who were inducted as ministers.
Asked how many seats INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."
The two oldest NDA allies insisted they did not want the alliance to come apart.
While political experts claim that the Modi Magic is missing in the 2024 general election, the common people in the street -- at least those in the crowd on Thursday -- vow that they will vote for Modi and the candidate who contests the election doesn't matter much.
The best-case scenario is that the BJP will top out at around 50 seats in UP -- a drop of 12 from the 62 it had won in 2019. Taken in tandem with Maharashtra and Karnataka, this is what is likely to put paid to the BJP's ambitions of a third term for Modi, argues Prem Panicker.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said he does not see any other strong leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level today.
As the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, the leaders of two prominent regional parties in Maharashtra, are fighting a battle for political survival.
The Sharad Pawar camp described the ruling as a "murder of democracy" which would be challenged in the Supreme Court.
'Maharashtra's asmita was crushed under Delhi's feet.' 'Marathi Manoos is definitely angry.'
Pawar said, "I will meet PM Narendra Modi on July 18. During the meeting, I will take up various issues related to farmers with him. (NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting."
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising -- what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.
With neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Shiv Sena willing to yield ground on the number of Assembly seats they want to contest, the alliance between them seems to be on the brink.
He dubbed the rumours of 'alternate formulae' being worked out to form the state government as 'entertainment'.
Shetti said the SSS had committed a "grave mistake" by extending support to the NDA.
The petition claimed that the voters had given a clear mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Sena alliance, and it cannot change now.
'I would like to express my anger at the way party affairs have been handled by some people.'
Mungantiwar expressed confidence that the formation of a new government will take place soon.
He also said that the BJP and Shiv Sena will go by what was "pre-decided" between them on sharing of power.
The impasse over government formation continued in Maharashtra on Friday, eight days after the state assembly poll results were announced, even as the Congress targeted the BJP for "cheating" the Sena.
Reiterating the Shiv Sena's demand for sharing the chief minister's post, Raut said the state's CM will be from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party only.
With an eye on upcoming assembly elections after the drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra's Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government will take a decision next week on the Rane committee's recommendation for 20 per cent quota for Marathas in government jobs and educational institutions.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance looked set to return to power in Maharashtra while Haryana could be a cliffhanger with no clear majority for the BJP or the Congress, Election Commission trends indicated.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name Maha Shiv Aghadi (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena)
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should resign as the term of the existing assembly is ending (on November 9), the Sena spokesman said.
If the BJP goes ahead with the idea of forming a minority government without the Shiv Sena like in 2014, the NCP is less likely to support the BJP in any way.
Fadnavis's resignation came a day before the expiry of the 13th Legislative Assembly of the state.
Reacting to the meeting of former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said if a senior leader from BJP supports Raj or Sharad Pawar, it can affect the alliance.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has denied allegations it was trying to wean away MLAs from other parties.
They have already prepared a draft common minimum programme (CMP).
Sena MP Sanjay Raut, however, said his party was firm on a written assurance from the senior alliance partner over power sharing, including rotating CM's post for 2.5 years.
Amid demands from his partymen for him to be declared as chief ministerial candidate, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said he respects their sentiments but has not given a thought to the issue.
With an eye on assembly elections after severe drubbing in Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government on Wednesday approved 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and five per cent for Muslims in government jobs and education institutions.
Former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari on Monday met Raj Thackeray in Mumbai, triggering speculation that the saffron party is trying to win over the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief into the National Democratic Alliance for the upcoming elections even as he said there is no reason for Shiv Sena to be annoyed by his meeting with Raj.
Even as its chief Uddhav Thackeray accompanied the Prime Minister for 'jal pujan' ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial, Shiv Sena on Saturday appeared unhappy with ally BJP, alleging that it has "hijacked" the occasion to take political benefit.
Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah on Thursday described the upcoming assembly elections as the second leg of the party's "Congress free India movement."
Hours after the Nationalist Congress Party rubbished rumours of making a pact with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the saffron party on Wednesday also ruled out the possibility of taking support from the Sharad Pawar-led outfit.
"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
The 25-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance split on Thursday amid continued deadlock over seat-sharing for the October 15 Maharashtra assembly polls.
A day after the split in the saffron alliance, Shiv Sena on Friday lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party, calling it the "enemy of Maharashtra", signaling a return to its original pro-Marathi agenda for next month's assembly polls.
