At this point at 85, Sharad Pawar is like a mature but ageing trapeze artist who is assessing if he will still land on his feet if he jumps from the safe perch of INDIA to the NDA. Can a Great Betrayal be presented as a tactical move? Watch Sharad Pawar do it, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
Buoyed by exit poll surveys, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday claimed that it would form governments on its own in Haryana and Maharashtra, and stressed that it would not require support of the Shiv Sena to form government in the latter.
In a riposte to former Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari's recent overtures to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, the Shiv Sena on Friday decided to field its candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi for the Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to opposition parties to support the delimitation-linked Women's Reservation Bill, highlighting its 40-year struggle. The bill aims to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and increase Lok Sabha seats, requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. Despite previous setbacks and ongoing efforts to secure numbers, the government continues to push for this crucial legislation.
Shiv Sena on Friday voiced its strong opposition to social activist Anna Hazare's plans to visit Pakistan in connection with anti-corruption movement.
Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam reiterates his claim that Bal Thackeray's body was kept at his residence for two days before his death was announced, making further allegations against Uddhav Thackeray. Other politicians weigh in, demanding answers and clarifications.
Here are who's who attending the wedding.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a grand memorial to Babasaheb Ambedkar at the Indu Mills compound in the heart of Mumbai, a function boycotted by Shiv Sena after its chief Uddhav Thackeray was not invited.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday that once a government is democratically elected in accordance with law, there is a presumption that it enjoys the confidence of the house and there must exist some objective material to dislodge this presumption.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS release a joint manifesto for Mumbai civic polls, promising free power, allowances for domestic helps, and property tax waivers.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata P president Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Wednesday that the 25-year-old alliance with Shiv Sena would not be snapped although Bal Thackeray's party had extended support to Pranab Mukherjee for presidential polls.
Shinde, an MLA from neighbouring Thane, was the leader of house in the previous term as well, besides being a cabinet minister in the BJP-Sena government.
Pawar said no one gave such a proposal to the Nationalist Congress Party.
Several ministers within Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance have voiced criticism regarding Sunetra Pawar's appointment as Deputy Chief Minister shortly after her husband, Ajit Pawar's, death, leading to disapproval from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.
Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray has equated nephew Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena with a carbon copy of the outfit he founded in 1966.
Taking the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena head-on, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday said that it has asked its volunteers to protect north Indians in Maharashtra and prevent the spread of anti-Hindi feelings. "The Sangh Parivar has asked its volunteers in Maharashtra to try and prevent the spread of anti-north Indian and anti-Hindi feelings," said RSS leader Ram Madhav.He said the RSS was opposed to discrimination on the basis of language.
'The made-up stories really angered me. Forget angering me, it actually made me feel, okay, if they want to play this game, let me play along.'
A Shiv Sena 'shakha' (area office) in Dombivali in Thane district, Maharashtra, which was at the centre of a dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the party, has been taken over by functionaries of the latter after payment of pending dues to the landowner.
In a letter to Shinde, who was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister a day earlier, Thackeray accused him of "indulging in anti-party activities".
There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being sent to take organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry.
The Shiv Sena, the party that champions the cause of Maharashtrians, has turned this year's stock market boom, which saw the Sensex rise some 700 points, into a political opportunity.
MNS president Raj Thackeray has alleged that Rs 18 crore is siphoned off annually from Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple and Rs 1,400 crore was stolen from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He demanded PM Modi address the issue, while the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust chairman confirmed arrests and increased income post-theft.
Amid renewed speculation about political realignments and a potential merger, senior leaders from two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule clarified her party's position on the proposed Delimitation Bill, stating that while a uniform 50 per cent increase in seats across states would be hard to oppose, any final decision would be made after discussions within the INDIA bloc.
Shiv Sena's alliance partner, the Republican Party on Wednesday extended its support to the saffron party on renaming Shivaji Park as 'Shiv Tirth'.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked state Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth to provide adequate police protection to the families and homes of rebel MLAs, a police official said on Sunday.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) are struggling to finalize seat sharing arrangements for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, particularly in areas where both parties have strong local influence.
The incident took place outside a temple in the city where Suri and some other leaders of the party were holding a protest, they said.
She was unhappy at the reinstatement of some party workers in Uttar Pradesh who had "misbehaved" and "threatened" her during her press conference in Mathura a few days ago.
The party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray made this clear on the opening day of the two-day conclave of Sena office-bearers in Aurangabad.
Congress party sources claimed the three, "...are scheduled to join the party on Friday."
The simmering tension between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party came to a boil on Sunday as Sena MP Anil Desai failed to take oath as union minister amid talk that Uddhav Thackeray will pull the party out of the government at the Centre and play opposition in Maharashtra.
Raut, the Executive Editor of Sena mouthpiece Saamana, was arrested from his residence at suburban Bhandup after the Centre directed the state government to deal sternly with those involved in the attack, sources said. Around 500 Shiv Sena workers had vandalised the lobby and kitchen of Lalit Group's Intercontinental Hotel to protest against sacking of 21 employees by the management on January 21.
Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali's concert in the city on Friday was on Wednesday cancelled after Shiv Sena threatened to disrupt it.
Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party gave it an ultimatum to take a final call on the seat-sharing pact for the Maharashtra assembly elections, Shiv Sena said on Thursday night that it would not be dictated by anybody.
With most exit polls projecting Bharatiya Janata Party's emergence as the single-largest party in Maharashtra but falling short of a majority, the Shiv Sena hinted at a possible reconciliation with its former saffron ally, saying there should be "no bitterness any more".
He is learnt to have discussed the formulation of a joint opposition strategy on the issue of Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the detention of prominent leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
