It's possible that to counter the onslaught of the saffron aggression in the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra, both Congress and NCP will checkmate Narendra Modi by pitting Sharad Pawar as the chief ministerial candidate. However, the Congress wants the NCP to merge first, and only then it will be ready to nominate Pawar. Sheela Bhatt reports.
'It is now the government's duty to find a way out of this impasse without hurting interests of any sections of Maharashtrian people.'
The delay in deciding the disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him Friday came under strict scrutiny by the Supreme Court which came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker, saying the proceedings cannot be a 'charade' and he cannot defeat its orders.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday welcomed the Bombay high court's decision to allow his faction to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai, and said his party's faith in the judiciary stood vindicated.
The meeting is significant as PM Modi heaped heavy praise for the NCP during a debate on Monday to mark the 250th session of the Rajya Sabha was viewed with interest.
Three MLAs abstained, while 20 legislators, most of them from Congress and the NCP, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, both former ministers, were absent during the trust vote.
'...that he was in talks with the SS-UBT and would return if his ministry was snatched away and given to one of the NCP ministers.'
'Nitish may take such a decision because he was the first person who was with the INDIA front.' 'He went back only because he did not get proper encouragement from the Congress.' 'Nitish will take a decision provided there is a strong alternative.' 'If he feels ours is a weak coalition, he will not come.' 'Then, this government will continue for five years.'
Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force as a precaution.
'Party workers sit outside polling booths and they know everything that is happening.' 'Besides, as a voter when you push the EVM button to vote there is a paper slip that comes out showing you who you voted for.'
NCP MLAs have been moved to Hotel Grand Hyatt in Santacruz and Sofitel in Bandra-Kurla Complex
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Thackeray, 59, became the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post.
In a setback to the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday quit the Congress, amid speculation that he is veering towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Uddhav Thackeray claimed the new Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which was sworn in on June 9, will collapse and will be replaced by an INDIA bloc dispensation.
Earlier P K Sawant held the record of being the Maharashtra CM with the shortest term -- from November 25 to December 4, 1963. He was made the caretaker chief minister after the death of his predecessor Marotrao Kannamwar.
Even as the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress were burning the candle at both ends to hammer out a deal over forming the government in Maharashtra, the Amit Shah-led BJP was quietly planning its moves.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, an act coming in the backdrop of a huge row over the crash which provided ammunition to the opposition to target the Mahayuti government ahead of assembly polls.
He targeted the BJP, saying it gave the option to Opposition to either join them or go to jail.
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
The claim evoked a sharp reaction from Fadnavis, current deputy chief minister in the Mahayuti government of BJP, Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar, who said Thackeray has "lost his mind".
Without naming his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday launched a scathing attack on him, stating that it must be found out who betrayed the people's mandate, Bal Thackeray's ideology and an ally of 25 years.
The next meeting of opposition parties will be held in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18, the Congress announced on Monday, and asserted their resolve to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party has been strengthened by the 'Mumbai operations' of the 'BJP washing machine'.
'Since September 1, a senior cabinet minister has been to-ing and fro-ing between Jalna and Mumbai by chartered flight every single day with messages from the two deputy chief ministers and the chief minister to get Manoj Jarange-Patil to back down from his agitation.'
With uncertainty looming over the Maha Vikas Aghadi government's stability in the wake of Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde camping in Gujarat with some party MLAs, the stand of 29 legislators from smaller parties and Independents is likely to be crucial.
'The BJP used Shinde and Shiv Sena to decimate Uddhav Thackeray, humiliate him by taking away his party as well as party symbol.' 'The Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde have served their purpose.'
Prasanna D Zore reports on the backroom drama accompanying the efforts to cobble together the next government in Maharashtra. 'While the Congress is insisting upon equal power sharing structure among all the three parties, the NCP is of the opinion that ministries should be distributed based on the number of MLAs belonging to each of the three parties.' Prasanna D Zore reports on the backroom room accompanying the efforts to cobble together the next government in Maharashtra.
The Congress protested vociferously both inside and outside Parliament on Monday against the political developments in Maharashtra as it stalled proceedings and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of "murdering democracy" in the state.
Raut said that he did not need anyone's 'permission' regarding the issue.
Describing Fadnavis as a friend, Thackeray also said he does not view him as opposition leader.
Security has been tightened outside three luxury hotels, police said on Sunday.
'The Maharashtra government is not being very clear; they are keeping quiet.'
He is the fourth leader of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which is ruling in alliance with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, to face the heat from the central agency.
Indicating a shift in stand, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said his party is open to consider quitting Maharashtra's ruling alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) if the rebel MLAs camping in Assam return and discuss their grievances with CM Uddhav Thackeray, while coalition allies Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress vowed support to the beleaguered governing bloc and asserted its majority can only be determined in the assembly and not outside.
Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party will provide a strong government which will work for farmers.
Rana, who currently represents the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, joined the ruling BJP at the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule's residence in Nagpur along with her supporters late Wednesday night.
A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony, scheduled at Raj Bhavan at 11 am.
'The BJP, already falling short of a strong OBC leader from Maharashtra, will be more than happy to welcome Chhagan Bhujbal in its fold.'
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Senior state BJP leaders Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde don't find a place in the list, which instead has lesser-known faces like Gopichand Padalkar, Praveen Datke and Ajit Gopchhade.
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