Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday held a meeting of Nationalist Congress Party MLAs following his party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
'Maharaj was never a plunderer. He never bothered a common man.'
Three Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have threatened to contest as Independents from Jalna in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls after the seat went to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as part of the Mahayuti's seat-sharing arrangement.
The formation of a new government in Maharashtra has been delayed due to a disagreement between the Shiv Sena and BJP over who should be the next chief minister. Shiv Sena insists on Eknath Shinde continuing as CM while the BJP favors Devendra Fadnavis. The delay comes despite the BJP-led coalition winning a landslide victory in the recent assembly elections. Sources suggest that the coalition has not reached a consensus on the CM, with various leaders from both parties voicing their opinions on the matter.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
'If there is Sabka Saath, then why are you only talking about Hindu-Muslim?'
Both Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi have been named as wanted accused in the April 14 firing incident outside the Bollywood actor Salman Khan's Galaxy Apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area.
In the coming assembly election, negotiations over seat-sharing will be as important as actual outreach to voters.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Wednesday slammed ally Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's MP Sanjay Raut for his remarks on Haryana poll outcome, stressing that accusations against Congress won't be tolerated.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Kerala high court order rejecting NCP leader Mohammed Faizal's petition seeking suspension of his conviction in an attempt to murder case, an order which may lead to revocation of his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP for a second time.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has shifted its focus back to Hindutva after suffering significant losses in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. The party has been vocal about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and has taken a stance to "protect" a Hanuman Temple in Mumbai. Observers say this move is an attempt to regain its core voter base and counter the BJP's narrative on Hindutva, ahead of the upcoming civic polls. Analysts believe the party's "secular" stand may not be effective in the BMC elections and that its return to Hindutva is a sign of frustration from electoral setbacks.
Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections will begin at 8 am on Saturday, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.
Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday accused the government of imposing Hindi by bringing new bills with titles only in that language, a charge the treasury bench contested while alleging they were stuck with a colonial mindset.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
Bhujbal took a veiled attack at Sharad Pawar for the opposition's boycott of an all-party meeting on the Maratha quota issue.
NCP ministers joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government hasn't been given any clean chit in corruption probes, claims the BJP leader.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra was issued the first summons for appearance on May 12 but he had sought deferment for about 10 days citing some personal and official engagements.
At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.
Rumblings in the Maha Vikas Aghadi camp came to the fore on Wednesday with Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole accusing ally Nationalist Congress Party of being a "backstabber", a day after the Sharad Pawar-led party joined hands with rival Bharatiya Janata Party in Gondia zilla parishad elections to keep the Congress from power.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, in the biennial elections to 11 seats from the legislative council, taking the number of candidates in the fray to 12.
The strains are telling as old friends and new enemies face each other in the battlefield.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Patole asserted there are no disagreements within the MVA, adding that discussions on seat-sharing were underway and would conclude soon.
An impressive performance in Jharkhand and, especially, Maharashtra assembly polls next month by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will lay to rest the doubts over the party's political dominance after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls and strike a body blow to the Opposition.
'More than 9.5% new voters have been added to the electoral voters' list compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha election.' 'This led to an increase in about 5% to 6% in total votes polled for this assembly election.' 'That has tilted hugely in our favour because we worked hard for registration of these voters and concentrated on bringing out these new voters out during this assembly election.'
Praful Patel did not disclose the reason for the sudden move.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday blamed Congress leaders in Maharashtra for the delay in Maha Vikas Aghadi's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming assembly elections.
On his part, BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, himself no stranger to controversies, got into damage control mode and sought to calm frayed nerves, saying he has chided his son over the remarks.
'The reason I am not anxious about the opponent facing me in the front (Ajit Pawar) is because of who is standing behind me like a rock (Sharad Pawar).'
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
Chaudhari was released from Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai after completion of formalities, including furnishing of a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh, his lawyer Mohan Tekavde said.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
'Pro-incumbency worked big time for the ruling party.' 'It has never happened in the past of pro-incumbency working so much for the ruling party.'
Gurnail and another alleged shooter Dharmaraj Kashyap were arrested immediately after the attack, whereas their accomplice Shivkumar Gautam managed to flee.
The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the ruling Mahayuti's below par performance in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The senior BJP leader said voters have always rejected coalition politics as the political parties forming such an alliance don't have any policy or leadership.
In an apparent dig at Ajit, Pawar senior said if someone keeps saying he will take everything, people may not say anything but will disapprove of it.
This would give BJP the chance to explore Constitutional options for government formation if there is no clear-cut mandate, explains Sheela Bhatt.
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