'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, has resigned following criticism over her association with rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat. The resignation comes after opposition parties highlighted Chakankar's links with Kharat, who is accused of sexual assault and fraud.
Shinde's reaction came hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reached out to the rebels, saying he would quit his post if even one Sena MLA comes and tells him on his face that he was incompetent.
The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the ruling allies Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP in Maharashtra can win a seat each.
Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Prakash Paranjpe died on Wednesday night following a prolonged illness. He was 61.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismisses the alliance between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's parties as a move for political survival, asserting it won't significantly impact Mumbai's political landscape. BJP leader Ashish Shelar questions the motives behind the reunion, highlighting past criticisms and the Thackerays' changing stances.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will announce the quantum of seat sharing, Patil told reporters.
With Narayan Rane, the BJP looks to expand its footprint in Mumbai and Konkan. But a perceived self-goal by him may have galvanised the restive Shiv Sena cadre and voters to coalesce around their party. Dhaval Kulkarni reports
'If somebody compares Mumbai with the Taliban and PoK, then that person is anti-national.'
The Indian government and opposition parties are set for a showdown in Parliament over a Constitution amendment bill concerning the implementation of the women's quota law and the delimitation exercise. The Opposition is concerned about the potential impact of delimitation on the political representation of southern states.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faces a crucial test in the upcoming municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra after being defeated by the BJP-led Mahayuti in recent local polls. Political observers are calling the upcoming contest for 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, a mini assembly election.
Seeking to put aside speculation about a rift over Maharashtra assembly poll seat-sharing in Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, BJP president Amit Shah met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Thursday night.
The threat posed by Shiv Sena is growing into a 'monster' that may prove very hard to control, a leading Pakistani daily said on Tuesday and asked the Indian government to take action against the party to safeguard the country's image.
The Shiv Sena has plans to field 50 to 100 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, including in Ayodhya and Mathura and made it clear that the party will not be part of any alliance.
Once an auto-rickshaw driver in Thane city adjoining Mumbai, Shinde (58) quickly emerged as a key Sena leader in the Thane-Palghar region after joining politics and is known for aggressive approach towards issues of public interest.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party is falling short of a majority in the municipal corporations of Sangli and Akola in Maharashtra and needs the support of other parties or elected members, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar has emerged as one of the decisive factors with three seats in its kitty in each civic body.
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
The rebel Shiv Sena group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections in alliance, a rebel faction functionary said on Thursday.
Shiv Sena's Kolhapur district president Sanjay Pawar will be its second candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday, in what is a clear snub to Chhatrapati Sambhaji who was seeking support for his candidature.
The Congress party has suspended 12 newly-elected councillors in Maharashtra's Ambernath Municipal Council and its block president for forming an alliance with the BJP after recent civic polls. The BJP, along with the Congress and NCP, secured a majority in the council, despite Shiv Sena being the single largest party.
Nida Khan, a TCS employee accused of religious conversion and sexual harassment, has been arrested in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. An AIMIM corporator is alleged to have provided her shelter. The arrest has sparked political reactions and renewed focus on workplace harassment prevention.
Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
Nida Khan, a TCS employee accused of religious conversion and sexual harassment, has been arrested in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Police allege an AIMIM corporator provided her shelter. The arrest has sparked political reactions and renewed focus on workplace harassment prevention.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has accused the BJP leadership of being the mastermind behind Sunetra Pawar's appointment as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, alleging that certain NCP leaders also desire to prevent the unification of the two NCP factions.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
The Shiv Sena-UBT-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena panel has lost all 21 seats in the election to the BEST Employees Cooperative Credit Society Ltd, a platform where the two parties came together, sparking buzz about a pan-Maharashtra alliance.
He said Shinde has already made it clear his faction is not interested in staking claim to the Shiv Sena Bhavan or any property linked to the Thackeray group.
The top court said it would tag the fresh plea and hear it together with pending ones on August 1.
Hailing Banerjee as the "real Bengal tigress", the party, which had earlier said that it would join the electoral battle in the state, vowed to "stand in solidarity" with the TMC camp.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party's MPs will chant 'Vande Mataram' loudly in Parliament, daring the BJP to throw them out.
Rane, who arrived in Nagpur on Tuesday on his first visit to Vidarbha after quitting the Shiv Sena and joining the Congress, was greeted with black flags by Shiv Sena.
The Lok Sabha will hold a discussion on efforts to eliminate left-wing extremism (LWE) in India, ahead of the government's deadline. The debate will cover the government's strategy, review of affected regions, and future plans, including potential withdrawal of security forces and launch of welfare schemes.
Congress leaders from Maharashtra Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Balasaheb Thorat attended the meeting along with the top brass of the party, including Ahmed Patel.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Pune district, Maharashtra. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured a fast-tracked trial and pushed for the death penalty for the accused, amid public outrage and protests.
While they have been watching every bit of development on television and through their contacts in the state of Maharashtra, those who have watched them closely say that the rebel Sena MLAs have maintained a reasonable calm so far.
'The Shiv Sena as a party was going nowhere.' 'Now Uddhav Thackeray has shown his partymen that he can take the BJP head on.'
The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court it passed a "well-reasoned" order recognising the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting to it the original 'bow and arrow' symbol in its quasi-judicial capacity.
The Supreme Court had debarred Prabhu from contesting elections from 1995 to 2001 on the grounds that he had canvassed votes in the name of religion during the 1990 assembly polls.
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