NCP

BJP leader Pravin Darekar on Wednesday hinted that some MPs of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) could cross over to his party if development was their priority. Many Maha Vikas Aghadi MPs, especially those from the NCP (SP), represent constituencies where the BJP-led alliance won most seats in the assembly elections, he said. "If development is their priority, with both the central and state governments controlled by the BJP-led alliance, they may consider their political future carefully," Darekar said. In her reaction, NCP (SP) leader Vidya Chavan dismissed Darekar's claims. "The Union government led by the BJP is a fragile alliance with leaders like Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu. They live in fear of losing their support, which is why they resort to such tactics (of wooing MPs from Opposition parties)," she said. "Our MPs are firm and will not betray the coalition," Chavan asserted.

He said that the INDIA alliance has faith in the apex court and hoped that it will give a decision in their favour

BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar was on Monday elected unopposed as the speaker of the 15th Maharashtra legislative assembly. Narwekar filed his nomination papers on Sunday and was elected unopposed as the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) decided not to put up a contest. The BJP leader, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years, was re-elected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai in the November 20 assembly elections. The speaker's election will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state legislature. During his tenure as Maharashtra assembly speaker, Narwekar had ruled that the party led by Eknath Shinde was the legitimate and real Shiv Sena after a split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party. He also held that the faction under Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was founded by Sharad Pawar. In the recently conclu

BJP's Rahul Narwekar is poised to be elected unopposed as the speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, with the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) deciding not to put up a contest. Narwekar, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years and gave the key verdicts tied to the Shiv Sena and NCP, was reelected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai. Accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Narwekar filed his nomination before the legislature secretary Jitendra Bhole on Sunday. MVA leaders met Fadnavis and urged him to follow the protocol of giving the deputy speaker's post to the opposition. They also sought the post of the leader of the opposition. The speaker's election will be formally announced in the House on Monday. This will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state ...

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday hit out at the opposition, accusing it of misleading people about electronic voting machines and not accepting their mandate. Talking to reporters, Shinde said the ruling Mahayuti alliance won the November 20 assembly polls because of its work, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi must accept the people's mandate and support the government in development works. The Mahayuti combine of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP swept the recently held polls, winning 230 out of 288 seats, while the opposition bloc of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) managed just 46 seats. The opposition parties have alleged irregularities with EVMs for its poll losses and demanded the use of ballot papers. Slamming the opposition, the Shiv Sena chief said, "When you win, there is no EVM scam, but the machine becomes bad when you lose. This is not the right approach." He said the opposition must accept the people's mandate that they have been decisively

The ruling Mahayuti alliance on Sunday accused leaders of the opposition parties of misleading people about electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of accepting the losses it faced in the Maharashtra assembly elections. The November 20 elections saw the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP achieve a landslide victory by clinching 230 out of 288 assembly seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), managed just 46 seats. The opposition bloc has since claimed irregularities in the EVMs and demanded the use of ballot papers. Speaking to reporters, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant slammed the opposition for indulging in double standards. "It is because of the MVA's double standards that the Samajwadi Party has parted from the alliance. Yesterday, they boycotted the oath-taking ceremony, and today, they will hopefully take oath as members, which will again highlight their double standards," he said. He claimed the opposition

Opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) members in Maharashtra on Saturday decided not to take oath as MLAs on the first day of the special three-day assembly session, alleging misuse of EVMs in the recently-held state polls. The special session of the Lower House of the state legislature began here at 11 am. Several members belonging to the ruling parties, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, took oath as members of the assembly. However, members from the opposition parties - Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) - decided not to take oath. Talking to reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, "The MVA has decided not to take oath as members of the House today. When a government comes to power with such a thumping majority, there are celebrations. A question arises whether the mandate it received was given by the people or the EVM and Election Commission of India." The opposition i

Ajit Pawar also takes oath as deputy CM at event attended by Modi, Shah, among others

Devendra Fadnavis oath taking ceremony live: Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde had indicated that he was reluctant to join the new government as deputy CM. Catch all the latest live updates here

Raut claimed that Shinde was 'used' by the Bharatiya Janata Party and now has been tossed aside

Police have registered a case against NCP (SP) leader Uttam Jankar and 88 others after a section of people from Markadwadi village in Solapur district and nearby areas attempted to conduct a "re-election" using ballot papers, an official said. Prior to this, police had registered a case against more than 200 persons for allegedly defying prohibitory orders and trying to conduct the "re-election". On Wednesday, Jankar, who won the Malshiras assembly seat in the recent Maharashtra elections, and others were charged with unlawful assembly and disobeying orders issued by a public servant, among other sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said. Markadwadi village comes under the Malshiras assembly segment. On Tuesday morning, 250 to 300 persons gathered in the Markadwadi village to conduct a "repoll" by wilfully defying prohibitory orders and encouraging others to participate in the unauthorised polling process, the police said. The idea of conducting "re-election" with

The crucial legislature party meeting of the BJP will be held at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday to elect its leader, who is expected take over as the next chief minister of the state. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP Mahayuti government. The BJP legislature party leader elected in the meeting is then expected to meet the governor to stake a claim to form new government in the state. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani have been appointed as central observers for the BJP legislature party meeting. Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai Tuesday evening for the meeting, said late night that the legislature party leader's name will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs. If there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected, he said. The BJP achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securin

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, one of the two BJP observers for its Maharashtra legislature party meeting, on Tuesday said the name of the legislature party leader will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs. Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai late this evening for the meeting BJP's crucial legislature party to be held on Wednesday, said if there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected. The BJP has achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of 288 seats, marking its best performance in the state so far. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government. Speaking to reporters, Rupani said, "The government will be formed. Discussions with the elected MLAs will take place tomorrow. One name will be finalised and it will be announced later." He said the process of finalising the leader of the BJP's legislative party follows

The Mumbai police on Tuesday told a special court here that the name of Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has emerged as the main conspirator in the October 12 killing of NCP leader Baba Siddique. The police made this claim while seeking the remand of eight accused in the case, citing provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Special MCOCA court judge, A M Patil, remanded the eight accused, including main shooter Shivkumar Gautam, in police custody till December 7. Anmol, who was recently detained in the USA and lodged in a prison there, has been shown as a wanted accused in the case. During the remand hearing, the Mumbai police told the court that Anmol's name has surfaced as the main conspirator in the case during their probe. It said he was providing financial support to other accused and a probe was required to ascertain the source and utilisation of funds. The police told the court that Anmol had contacted the

Heavy police security was deployed on Tuesday at a village in Maharashtra's Malshiras assembly segment after some locals cast doubt on the EVMs and insisted on conducting a "re-election" with ballot papers, officials said. The Malshiras sub-divisional magistrate on Monday imposed prohibitory orders, under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, from December 2 to 5 in the area to avoid any conflict or law and order situation due to the "repoll" plan of some locals, an official said. Residents of Markadwadi village under Malshiras segment in Solapur district have put up banners claiming a "repoll" will be held on December 3. The village comes under the Malshiras assembly constituency, where NCP (SP) candidate Uttam Jankar defeated BJP's Ram Satpute by 13,147 votes in the November 20 state polls, the results of which were declared on November 23. Though Jankar won the seat, Markadwadi residents claimed he polled less votes in their village against Satpute which was not

Heavy police security was deployed on Tuesday at a village in Maharashtra's Malshiras assembly segment after some locals cast doubt on the EVMs and insisted on conducting a "re-election" with ballot papers, officials said. The Malshiras sub-divisional magistrate on Monday imposed prohibitory orders, under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, from December 2 to 5 in the area to avoid any conflict or law and order situation due to the "repoll" plan of some locals, an official said. Residents of Markadwadi village under Malshiras segment in Solapur district have put up banners claiming a "repoll" will be held on December 3. The village comes under the Malshiras assembly constituency, where NCP (SP) candidate Uttam Jankar defeated BJP's Ram Satpute by 13,147 votes in the November 20 state polls, the results of which were declared on November 2. Though Jankar won the seat, Markadwadi residents claimed he polled less votes in their village against Satpute which was not

Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has said the Maharashtra assembly polls were recently fought under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and it is up to the BJP's central leadership to decide how to maintain his stature. The contribution of Shinde, the caretaker chief minister of the state, should be duly recognised, Kesarkar said at a press conference here on Monday. The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena led by Shinde, BJP and Ajit Pawar's NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, results of which were declared on November 23. The BJP led with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena got 57 and NCP 41 seats. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, two-time former CM, is widely seen as the frontrunner for the top post. The BJP has already announced that the new chief minister will take oath on December 5 at south Mumbai's Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP's allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are each tipped to be given deputy CM posit

Shiv Sena MP Srikant Shinde, the son of Maharashtra's caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Monday said the speculations about him getting the deputy CM's post in the new state government were false and baseless. In a post on X, the parliamentarian also said he had the chance of becoming a minister at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, but he refused it and he wanted to focus on working for the party organisation. More than a week after the Mahayuti clinched a massive victory in Maharashtra polls with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 132 seats, the new government is yet to be sworn in. The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti government is scheduled for December 5 evening at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, a senior BJP leader claimed on Sunday night. Eknath Shinde left for his native village in Satara dist

While the EVM is a simple calculator, it increases the vote count automatically at night, Maharashtra NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Jayant Patil alleged

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra's caretaker Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, said he has recovered from a fever and is in good health