Now, the state has an unprecedented situation where there are six major political players with three on each side.
The minister neither provided any age-wise break-up nor specified the causes behind the death of the children.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance on Saturday retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats, as the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 50 seats.
'... Rahul Gandhi's name came to my mind at that time.'
'I not only came back, but returned after breaking two parties'
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
The action comes 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. Tatkare's daughter Aditi was among the ministers who took oath on Sunday.
The Sharad Pawar faction quoted lines from a popular poem 'Tutari' written by Jnanpith awardee Kusumagraj.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, has said that helming the NCP away from the shadows of his uncle and founder Sharad Pawar after the split is a huge responsibility.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has condemned adverse remarks made against his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party-Saradchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar by ruling Mahayuti legislator Sadabhau Khot, and said such comments will not be tolerated.
When asked about Prahar Janshakti Party leader Bachhu Kadu's hunger strike, Fadnavis said district guardian minister Chandrashekar Bawankule will speak to him.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to revise electoral rolls in Bihar. The hearing is scheduled for July 10.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
A video showing an auto-rickshaw driver being beaten up allegedly by Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray workers in Maharashtra's Palghar district for 'anti-Marathi' remarks has gone viral on social media, further fuelling controversy over the language issue in the state.
Pawar recalled that he was a member of a delegation sent by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao to the UN under the leadership of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
''He is being operated upon by a team of doctors, led by neurosurgeon Dr Nitin Dange, cosmetic surgeon Dr Leena Jain and anaesthesiologist Dr Nisha Gandhi.'
"The decision has been taken. The ropes of retreat have been cut," Mushrif said
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has assured the public that the government's flagship 'Ladki Bahin' scheme, which provides financial assistance to women, will continue. This scheme, which is believed to have been a significant factor in the ruling Mahayuti's victory in the state polls last year, provides women with Rs 1,500 every month. Pawar, who is also the state's finance minister, clarified that there is no question of scrapping the scheme and that budgetary allocation has been made for its implementation. Earlier, state Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare also clarified that there has been no change in the amount of assistance provided under the scheme. The only adjustment made is that women already receiving Rs 1,000 under another scheme are being paid the difference of Rs 500, ensuring that they receive the full Rs 1,500. Tatkare addressed media reports claiming the aid under the scheme had been reduced, stating that this was not the case and that no eligible woman had been excluded from the scheme.
Activist Manoj Jarange's hunger strike demanding Maratha quota continues for the third day in Mumbai, following a meeting with a government delegation. The protest has caused traffic disruptions and highlights the ongoing debate over reservation policies in Maharashtra.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
Days before the first vote for the Lok Sabha polls is cast, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the rival Nationalist Congress Party factions led by party founder Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to abide by its directions on the use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the elections.
The 83-year-old former Union minister emphasised his status as an undefeated politician since he became an MLA in 1967 at the age of 27 and said, "I have my own experiences."
This came after Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday stated that Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had tasked him to lead a delegation to present Pakistan's case on the recent escalations of tensions between the two nations.
Amid talks of cross-voting, three of the 37 Congress MLAs in Maharashtra skipped a meeting called by the party ahead of the legislative council polls on Friday.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
'Maharashtra election result is a chamatkar of EVM.' 'There has been a sudden one percent rise in the voting percentage after the counting day.' 'This is what made the difference to the election results.' 'How did this vote percentage increase after counting day?
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to use the 'clock' symbol in its publicity material in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections with a disclaimer that the matter was sub judice before it.
The likes of Sengottaiyan can help Vijay navigate it better and faster -- but not necessarily to his goal, which is farther, and can move towards or away from him as well in the weeks and months to come, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
Sudhakar Badgujar, the leader in question, denied the allegations while speaking at a news conference in Nashik.
An unknown person sent a letter to his office in Nashik informing him about a contract to kill him.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
It asked the Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led faction to issue a public notice in newspapers in English, Hindi and Marathi saying that the 'clock' symbol is sub-judice and its use is subject to adjudication.
The controversy deepened after a video surfaced showing Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the wedding, personally handing over a Fortuner SUV and making a remark widely interpreted as normalising dowry.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday demanded that Chief Justice India D Y Chandrachud recuse himself from the cases tied to the disqualification petitions concerning rebel Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party MLAs.
The next meeting of opposition parties will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18, the Congress announced on Monday, and asserted their resolve to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has been strengthened by the 'Mumbai operations' of the 'BJP washing machine'.