He termed the allegations as "just random statements" and demanded that people making such allegations should demonstrate how the EVMs can be "hacked"
'If you are going to make undeserving MLAs as ministers, then why should sincere and hard-working people like us continue?'
The Mahayuti landslide in Maharashtra will leave the state assembly without a leader of opposition as no party outside the ruling alliance has been able to get the mandatory minimum 29 seats.
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.
The Congress party in India has alleged "serious and grave inconsistencies" in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party has sought an in-person hearing from the Election Commission to present evidence of alleged discrepancies, including the arbitrary deletion and addition of voters and inexplicable increases in voting percentages. The Congress leaders claim these irregularities benefited the ruling BJP-led alliance, which won a decisive victory in the polls.
Pawar will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.
The Congress continued its losing spree on Saturday posting its worst-ever show in Maharashtra and ending up a distant junior partner to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand, further diminishing its role in the opposition bloc as other allies perform better.
Ajit Pawar left the stage just moments after party leader Jayant Patil was given the chance to speak before him which sparked rumours of a rift in the party.
In signs of friction in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the chief minister's post, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said ally Congress should understand his party's contribution in increasing the grand old party's tally in the Lok Sabha polls.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, announced the latest list which also has the name of Sanjana Jadhav, daughter of former Union minister and BJP leader Raosaheb Danve.
Their lists show that a significant number of contenders are closely related to the current ministers, legislators or MPs, including their sons or daughters, wives and brothers or sisters.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the Mahayuti allies have agreed to conduct a 'performance audit' of ministers during their tenure.
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the Mahayuti partners will meet Governor C P Radhakrishnan to stake a claim to form a government in the state.
The Mumbai police have named Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as the main conspirator in the killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique. Eight accused in the case, including the alleged main shooter Shivkumar Gautam, have been remanded in police custody till December 7. The police invoked provisions of the stringent MCOCA against all 26 accused in the case. Anmol Bishnoi, who was recently detained in the US and lodged in a prison there, has been shown as a wanted accused in the case. He was providing financial support to other accused, and a probe is underway to ascertain the source and utilization of funds. The crime branch has so far arrested 26 persons in connection with the case.
The parliament is to the nation what soul is to the body, the 57-year-old actor said in the clip.
'Karyakartas felt we should have fought independently'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the Kerala high court order suspending the conviction and sentence of Lakshadweep Lok Sabha MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case and remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh adjudication in six weeks.
How did the thug access Saif Ali Khan's home?
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has attributed the recent state assembly election victory to the role of Hindutva and counter-polarization. He described BJP's Hindutva as a way of life and said it played an important role in mobilizing voters. Fadnavis also alleged that the opposition alliance had an agreement to withdraw riot cases against Muslims. He further commented on PM Modi's inclusive Hindutva and the increased voter turnout in the election.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said talks on the chief ministerial candidate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls can be held later as its first task is to dislodge the 'corrupt' Mahayuti-led dispensation in the state.
Speaking to ANI, Chaturvedi said, "If Devendra Fadnavis's name has been finalised, then announce it quickly; what is stopping you? Why are you depriving the people of Maharashtra of the promises made to them, why are you keeping them away and why are you ignoring the steering crisis of Maharashtra? They are so power hungry... it's been days since the election came and yet the results have not been announced."
The Mumbai Police held the accused from Patna on Wednesday for allegedly issuing the death threat to Pawar by making a call on the latter's landline phone, the official said.
'We were apprising the CM on such issues and he assured us these would stop but in vain'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
Shinde was reportedly not happy as he had to cede the top post to the ally BJP, and was reluctant to take the deputy CM post.
Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Monday said he is not bothered about his criticism by others and is only concerned about what key leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance say.
Pawar's remark is in stark contrast to the stand taken by NCP which was among the 20 opposition parties that skipped the inauguration of new parliament building on Sunday.
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 Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first preference votes for its candidate Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to its ally Sena (UBT)'s nominee Narvekar, party sources said. Eventually, Satav got 25 and Narvekar 22 first preference votes, which meant at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted.
Amid intense discussions among Mahayuti allies over the distribution of portfolios and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's insistence on the home ministry, the clarity on the composition of the council of ministers is expected by Sunday, sources said.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties are organising dinner meetings and arranging hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which are taking place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar on Thursday filed papers as an NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha elections.
Shrikant Shinde on Monday said the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti coalition government has been a bit delayed, and currently there are lot of discussions and rumours.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has claimed that the poll trends are in favor of the Mahayuti, crediting his flagship initiative, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. He expressed gratitude to the people of the state for their support and asserted that the outcome increases their responsibility. Shinde clarified that the alliance doesn't have a definitive formula for the chief minister's post, with a decision to be made by senior leaders from the three parties.
The country now has six national parties - Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, NPP and AAP.
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Jayant Patil appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai on Monday in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the now bankrupt financial services firm Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), an official said.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should be willing to make 'sacrifices', in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact.
Pratibha Pawar, wife of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, was allegedly stopped from entering the premises of Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park in Pune district on Sunday for half an hour. This was informed by the office of Baramati MP Supriya Sule. Notably, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife and Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar is the chairperson of the Baramati Hi-Tech Textiles Park. A video shared by Supriya Sule's office shows female aides of Pratibha Pawar and Sule's daughter Revti Sule asking a security guard at the Park to open the gate as they wanted to do some purchasing. The guard told them he was instructed by one Anil Wagh to not open the gate. A male aide accompanying Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule confirmed to PTI that they were not allowed to enter the premises for at least 30 minutes. When contacted, Textile Park chief manager Anil Wagh said he was not aware that Pratibha Pawar was supposed to visit the premises. He claimed he instructed security personnel to not allow any political rally inside. When he was told that Pratibha Pawar had arrived, he immediately asked security guards to open the gate and allow them inside. According to Wagh, Pratibha Pawar and Revti Sule visited some companies on the premises of the Park and interacted with women workers. Baramati Hi-Tech Textile Park is one of 26 parks approved by the Union Ministry of Textiles. Under the chairmanship of Sunetra Pawar, this park was set up in the year 2008 over an area of 65 acres in Baramati in Pune district. A fierce electoral battle is playing out in the Baramati assembly constituency between Ajit Pawar, who revolted against uncle Sharad Pawar last year, and his nephew Yugendra Pawar.
Fissures have emerged in Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti over the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' with a Shiv Sena minister raising objection against ally Nationalist Congress Party and its president Ajit Pawar for 'omitting' Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's name from advertisements and promotional material of the scheme.
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