Even before the first votes are counted in Maharashtra, fissures have emerged within the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on who will head the next government. Both camps are claiming the chief minister's post, with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. The MVA, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), and the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, have expressed confidence that their respective alliance will form the next government after votes are counted on Saturday. While a majority of exit polls have predicted that Mahayuti will retain power, a few have favored the MVA.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's son Sanket, who is in eye of a storm after his luxury car hit several vehicles in Nagpur, did not consume beef at a city-based bar before the accident involving his vehicle, police said on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday hit out at the BJP for opposing Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's directive to state police to keep a record of migrants coming here from other states, claiming the BJP was raking up the 'outsider' card with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and Mumbai civic elections due next year.
Raut's remarks came in the wake of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray being recently targeted by the opposition for not moving out of his house during the pandemic. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said Thackeray has given directives to ensure that Fadnavis, who is leader of opposition in the state Assembly, gets the best treatment.
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.
Ahead of assembly polls, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasahev Thackeray president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday declared he will support any chief ministerial candidate announced by allies Congress or Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar to 'save' Maharashtra, repeating a demand for the second time since August.
Shiv Sena leader and former MP Rahul Shewale said around 2 lakh people are expected to attend the rally at Azad Maidan to hear the CM.
Raut also said the "ongoing Mahabharat" in West Bengal is more fierce than the real Mahabharat.
A woman allegedly killed her three-year-old daughter after a fight with her husband in Maharashtra's Nagpur city and roamed around 4 km on streets with the body before informing the police about the incident, officials said on Wednesday.
Raut complained of chest pain on Monday following which he underwent angioplasty, a procedure to restore blood flow through the artery.
Asked if he represented views of his party amid the logjam over government formation in the state, Raut said, "I put forth views of Uddhav Thackeray."
After the Congress' shock defeat in Haryana, the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties flexed their muscles on Wednesday, accusing the grand old party of ignoring them.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday suggested the Opposition needs to come together and strengthen the alliance.
When asked about his recent altercation with the actor, Raut said the matter is over for him.
Amid standoff with ally its ally -- the Bharatiya Janata Party -- over formation of the next government in Maharashtra, Raut is scheduled to meet with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday evening.
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.
'Bring Mossad and KGB too. There is nothing to hide. We are not opposing the CBI. When the Mumbai Police is already on the job, what will the CBI do?'
He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.
Karim Lala was one of the three top underworld dons of Mumbai for over two decades, from the sixties to the early eighties, the other two being Mastan Mirza alias Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.
'If machines (EVMs) are so reliable, if our electoral system is so reliable, then why has the Election Commission so far not even responded to an ADR plea to share data of 79 (Lok Sabha) constituencies where there's a (alleged) dispute?'
Raut said the issue of passage of farm sector bills in the Parliament will have no impact on the elections in Bihar as the state votes "only on the basis of caste and religion".
Jaishankar briefed the leaders of all parties about the situation in the violence-hit nation and the steps taken by the Indian government.
The probe agency, while seeking Patkar's custody, also told the court that an offence of such magnitude was not possible without the "explicit complicity of senior functionaries" of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
'It was a reaffirmation of his party's unrelenting defiance of its erstwhile ally, the BJP; an attempt to forge a new relationship with the community the Shiv Sena had always targeted; and a pointer towards the political imperative of taking everyone along if the fight against the ruling party had to succeed,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
Raut jumped eight places to 18th after scores of 62 not out, 77 and 104 not out in her last three matches.
Chief Minister Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut said.
The Bombay high court on Thursday asked Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to file a reply to actor Kangana Ranaut's petition against the demolition of a part of her bungalow in Mumbai, and said it will start final hearing from Friday.
'Both the parties stood by the BJP through thick and thin, while others joined when they smelt power. The Shiv Sena was forced to quit the NDA last year while the Shiromani Akali Dal quit over farm bills'
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive should pass a resolution to demand investigation by these agencies in the land case.
With all the evasions, one assertion made by the Pune (Rural) police stood out: They had found no connection of the Elgar Parishad with the violent incidents of January 1, 2018. Yet, the case against the 'Bhima Koregaon 16', which is based on exactly this alleged connection, continues, and seven of the accused continue to be behind bars under the UAPA, explains Jyoti Punwani.
'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.
Raut also said it will not be surprising if the Shiv Sena forms government at the Centre after having installed its chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) in Maharashtra.
'My meeting with Raut had no political connotations. He asked me for an interview to Saamana, to which I agreed'
Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the Maharashtra government's Ladki Bahin scheme, introduced to provide financial assistance to women, could affect the timely payment of subsidies in other sectors.
'We are also Maharashtrians. We are all proud Maharashtrians. But we don't go and break someone's house'
"The majority is very thin and anything can happen. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party -- JD-U finished third and if anyone is celebrating the win, it's a joke. The BJP has done well, for which it had to do a lot of political strategising," he said.
"The time for offers has ended," the Shiv Sena leader said, when asked about reports that the BJP had agreed to share the CM's post with the Sena.
Pawar met Thackeray at the latter's official residence and the meeting lasted for about 40 minutes, sources said.
"Even Lord Ram is not helping the party to win polls. They (those two Indians) shared their views on the day of vote counting (for Delhi polls)," the Sena leader said.
Notably, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis last week said incidents of 'love jihad were taking place in the country and therefore, laws to curb the practice were justified.
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