The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Confirming the development, Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve of the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray said the boycott is a mark of protest against a "dishonest government".
Kunal Kamra has accepted money from Uddhav Thackeray and is targeting Eknath Shinde, Mhaske alleged.
Before the violence and rioting that erupted in Nagpur on Monday, March 17, over Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb came provocative statements from various political leaders.
With this, the Shiv Sena has become the second major political party to release its list of candidates for the state assembly polls. Its ally BJP released a list of 99 candidates on Sunday.
Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan visited Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's home to attend Ganpati pooja on Sunday.
Kirtikar, who won from the seat in 2014 and 2019, is the 13th Shiv Sena MP to rebel against former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Shinde recently formed a national executive of his faction, claiming it to be the real Shiv Sena.
Gulabrao Patil said that they had not quit the party for power, but "left power while we were ministers."
After the Shiv Sena's division in Maharashtra assembly, its parliamentary party was also staring at a split with several MPs set to petition Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to recognise them as a separate group.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday nominated Rajan Vichare as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, replacing MP Bhavana Gawali, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
'Uddhavji has accepted now that the majority of his family wants to ally with the BJP, then we should think about it, but there are issues around how to go about it.'
According to insiders, "talks are on" between the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena at "an exploratory level".
Chandrakant Khaire, the Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, in a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has raised concerns about the leaking of an 'unofficial version' of the Supreme Court's judgment in the 2G spectrum case order announced February 2 and the media reporting incorrect facts based on that version.
He also demanded mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him.
'Not just 12 MPs, but 22 former Shiv Sena MLAs as well as four MLAs who are still in Uddhav Thackeray's camp will be switching to our side gradually.'
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports from Shivaji Park and the MMRDA ground to sense the mood of Shiv Sena workers -- from the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde camps.
'The BJP's real pain lies in the fact that all their skullduggery and chicanery has failed to cow down the Shiv Sena. They just cannot digest this fact.'
Chandrakant Khaire said his party -- the partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the National Democratic Alliance - was not consulted on the decision of NDA MPs sacrificing 23 days pay to protest the disruptions in Parliament.
The opposition would push for the passage of the two bills -- the farmers' freedom from indebtedness bill and the farmers' right to guaranteed remunerative minimum support prices for agriculture commodities bill -- in the Rajya Sabha
'Whatever happens, we have decided to go alone.' 'This is the Shiv Sena's word and we will never go back on it.'
'This is a long haul, god knows where it will end.' 'So it is best to conserve all the funds right now for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.'
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