Mumbai:

The Maharashtra Home Department has formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate whether the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray was planning to arrest then Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde and in a fake case. 

The probe team was announced in the assembly on Tuesday by senior cabinet minister Shambhuraje Desai, who said it would be headed by a senior IPS officer.

The move came after a businessman, Sanjay Punamiya, claimed the media has aired sting operations in which a former police officer, during a telephonic conversation, said the former Mumbai Police chief was preparing to get Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde arrested. 

The arrest, he claimed, would be linked to a case against him.
Following the claims, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar demanded that a SIT be set up to investigate the conspiracy. 

He even presented a pen drive in the legislative council, claiming it contains videos of a sting operation that revealed the plan. 

This SIT – which has been asked to submit its report to the government within 30 days — will be headed by Mumbai police officer Satyanarayan Chaudhary.

The Opposition has scoffed at the claims, questioning why the Mahayuthi government is making this move now, despite being in power for more than three years. 

Nagpur:

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said his party will contest the upcoming elections to the various local bodies alone. Talking to reporters, the Rajya Sabha MP said the INDIA bloc and Maha Vikas Aghadi alliances were for the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

“In an alliance, workers of individual parties don’t get opportunities, and it hampers organisational growth. We will contest polls to the Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and other municipal corporations, zilla parishads and panchayats on our strength,” he said.

He said party chief Uddhav Thackeray gave the party indications that it should go alone.

Hitting out at Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for indulging in a blame game over the MVA’s defeat in the state assembly, Raut said those who don’t believe in consensus and compromise have no right to be in an alliance.

He further claimed that the INDIA bloc did not hold a single meeting after the Lok Sabha elections.

“We were not able to appoint even a convenor for INDIA bloc. It isn’t good. As the largest party of the alliance, it was the Congress’s responsibility to convene a meeting,” the Sena (UBT) leader said.

Reacting to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s remark that he has never mentioned farm loan waivers in his speeches, Raut said, “Even if he hasn’t spoken about it. Farm loan waiver and Rs 2,100 for Laadki Bahin beneficiaries are mentioned in the BJP’s poll manifesto. These two promises have to be implemented. He is the finance minister in the BJP government, and he will have to do it.” To a query on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks during his first podcast that he is human and can make mistakes, Raut said, “He (Modi) is god. I don’t consider him a human. God is god. If someone declares him an incarnation of god, how can he be a human? He is the 13th avatar of Vishnu. If someone who has been considered god says he is human, something is wrong. There is chemical ‘locha’.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nagpur:

After a turbulent period in Maharashtra politics that saw a rearrangement of political alliances, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has clarified the BJP’s relationship with the Thackerays. “Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray was a friend, and now Raj Thackeray is a friend, but Uddhav Thackeray is not a shatru (enemy),” he said while interacting with senior journalist Vivek Ghalsasi.

While the Thackerays share Hindutva ideology with the BJP and have been natural allies for a long time, differences with Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray led to a separation in 2019. The BJP lost power and Mr Thackeray became the leader of a new alliance comprising the Sena, Congress and NCP.

With the BJP and Sena parting ways, Uddhav Thackeray’s estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, who heads the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), became closer to the BJP.

On meeting Uddhav Thackeray during the Winter Session of the Assembly, the Chief Minister said he had asserted he won’t indulge in the politics of revenge and that all leaders had responded positively.

‘Sharad Pawar Is Intelligent’

Mr Fadnavis also spoke about veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s praises for the BJP and the RSS after the election results. He said Mr Pawar has realised how the RSS overcame the fake narrative spread by the opposition.

“Before the assembly polls, many people inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb, who is very intelligent, would have studied this and realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. That is why he may have praised the RSS” he said, adding it is good to praise others in a competition.

The Chief Minister also spoke on the chances of Mr Pawar’s faction reuniting with the original party.

“If you see the developments between 2019 and 2024, I realised that anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to another party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. Anything can happen in politics but I am not saying this should happen,” he said at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme in Nagpur.

Mr Fadnavis said that before becoming Eknath Shinde’s deputy in 2022, he had asked from organisational work, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.

Who Is Stricter – Modi or Shah?

Mr Fadnavis did not give a straight answer when asked who is stricter – Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. He said that the Prime Minister is a very disciplined political while one can manage convince Mr Shah once in a while.

He said that after BJP got a huge mandate in Maharashtra elections, when it was proposed that the Chief Minister will be from BJP, ally Eknath Shinde agreed within minutes.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee to review the One Nation One Election bill will have eight more members. Now it will have 27 members from Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha, instead of 21 members from the lower house and 10 from the upper house, as was initially declared. The number has been increased after former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray and a few other parties pointed out that none of their members have been included in the committee. 

Even so, the Committee – which the government wants to include all political parties — still does not include members from the Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United and Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party. The Rajya Sabha members, however, are yet to be named. One member from Shiv Sena UBT has been included now. 

The committee can have a maximum of 31 MPs based on each party’s Lok Sabha numbers. This favours the ruling BJP – the largest party in the Lower House with 240 MPs. The Congress has 99 MPs.

The new members include Anil Desai ( Shivsena UBT ) Chhotelal (BJP), Vaijayant Panda (BJP), Shambhavi Chaudhary (LJP Ram Vilas), Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP) and K Radhakrishnan (CPM).

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha earlier this week. The bill will pave the way for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assembles and local bodies with minimum gap. 

But its implementation will require a series of amendments to the Constitution that can only be done with two-thirds majority in parliament. Some provisions may have to be ratified by the governments of states and Union Territories.

Given the huge changes this will involve, the government plans to start a dialogue that will involve all stakeholders and get everyone on board.

The Opposition has already been voicing its objections, with most parties contending that the bill will subvert the Constitution – an allegation the government has repeatedly refuted.

Introduced on Tuesday by Law Minister Arjun Meghwal in the Lok Sabha, the One Nation One Election Bill has sparked hours of bitter arguments which is still having ripple effects. The absence of a few BJP members from the house despite a party whip enthused the Opposition into claiming that bill had critics even within the ruling party.

Legal experts have warned that failure to pass the amendments will leave the government open to allegations that it is distorting India’s federal structure. Many Opposition parties have already claimed the Centre is robbing the states of the right to self-determination, besides violating the Constitution.

While introducing the bill, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said, “Laws can be brought in for electoral reforms… this bill is aligned with the process of easing the electoral process, which will be synchronised. There will be no damage to the Constitution via this Bill. There will be no tampering with the basic structure of the Constitution”.
 

Mumbai:

Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s clear and strong message that he is not happy at being left out of the Maharashtra government, has raised considerable interest in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi camp. Not only has the Congress sent feelers to Mr Bhujbal, a comment by Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena UBT, has sparked speculation.

“I felt sad for Bhujbal. He is in touch with me, every now and then,” Mr Thackeray told reporters today.

Congress veteran Dr Nitin Raut, a five-time MLA from Nagpur North Assembly constituency and a prominent Dalit leader, said today that “a gross injustice” has been done with Mr Bhujbal and the OBC (Other Backward Classes)  community”.

“You (Bhujbal) have belatedly realised the method of these people to work against the OBCs and backwards classes. You must ponder about who you want to stay with and how… If a capable person like you is ready to work with us, then we are prepared to welcome you,” Mr Raut said.

Even the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar has been loud in their expressions of sympathy. 

Senior party leader Jitendra Awhad said not including Mr Bhujbal in the cabinet is a move to “end” his political career.

“Looking at his age, temperament, his fight, he should have got justice. The Maratha-OBC divide was engineered by the (Eknath Shinde-led) government… Now, the same Bhujbal has been relegated to the rear seat,” he said. 

Mr Bhujbal has made it clear that he would take some action, though he has left everyone guessing on what it would be.

His “Jaha nahi chaina, waha nahi rehna (no staying where there is no peace)” comment has led to speculation that he might join the BJP or float his own party.

What he has made clear is that he is upset with the top leaders of his party — Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel.

“It was never about inclusion in the cabinet,” he said, while explaining how he was left out of the council of ministers despite Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clearing his name. 

“The way I have been treated is objectionable. We just have to listen to the orders of three persons. There is no participation at all. We have no clue what is going on,” the NCP leader said.

Mr Bhujbal’s supporters within the NCP, meanwhile, have hit the streets. Protests were held in Pune and outside the bungalow of Ajit Pawar in Baramati.

Former ministers Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil of the NCP and Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit of the BJP are among the prominent leaders who didn’t make it to the state cabinet.

Mumbai:

Even as his party continues to raise questions about the credibility of EVMs following its rout in last month’s Assembly elections, Uddhav Thackeray met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur on Tuesday for the first time after the polls and congratulated him.

Uddhav Thackeray’s son and senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who accompanied his father to the meeting, said the move was a step forward in working together for the interests of Maharashtra. 

“Our party chief Uddhav Thackeray met Chief Minister Fadnavis and Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar today. What we have done is a step forward… that both sides should show political maturity and work together in the interest of Maharashtra the country. We may be in the opposition and they may be in the ruling coalition, but we are all elected representatives of the people and they (the ruling parties) can also listen to us, which may lead to some good things happening,” the Worli MLA said in Hindi. 

Sources said the meeting – which took place in Mr Fadnavis’ chambers at the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur, where the winter session of the Assembly is on – was a courtesy one and Mr Thackeray congratulated Mr Fadnavis on the ruling coalition’s victory. 

Mr Thackeray, who led the united Shiv Sena at the time, was an ally of the BJP until 2019, when he walked out of the alliance following a disagreement over whether he or Mr Fadnavis should become the chief minister. In a shock move, he joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to assume the top post in Maharashtra.    

Mr Thackeray’s government, however, fell in 2022 after a senior leader from his party, Eknath Shinde, rebelled and sided with the BJP, taking most of the Shiv Sena MLAs with him. Mr Shinde then became the chief minister with Mr Fadnavis as his deputy. The alliance got another partner the folllowing year, when Ajit Pawar rebelled and formed a breakaway faction of the NCP. 

Mr Fadnavis and Mr Thackeray have been at loggerheads since the BJP and Shiv Sena parted ways and both have attacked each other several times, including over the version of ‘Hindutva’ practised by both of them. 

Rise And Fall

The coalition of Mr Thackeray’s Shiv Sena with the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP pulled off a stupendous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, winning 30 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats, but was routed in last month’s Assembly polls, winning just 46 of 288 constituencies while the BJP alone bagged 132. 

After the defeat, Mr Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Mr Pawar’s NCP and the Congress have all claimed that the ruling coalition’s landslide victory was a result of EVMs being manipulated and also boycotted the swearing-in ceremony over this. The issue has also led to allegations and protests by the opposition in the Assembly. 

Mumbai:
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis will take oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time today. The event in Mumbai will also see Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers in the newly formed cabinet.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

Mumbai:

The Congress’s “overconfidence” in Maharashtra and its “attitude” during seat-sharing talks hurt Maha Vikas Aghadi’s prospects, a senior leader of Shiv Sena (UBT) has said a week after the Opposition bloc was routed in the state polls. The BJP-led Mahayuti scored a thumping victory in the election, winning 230 seats in the 288-member Assembly.

Ambadas Danve, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi should have projected Uddhav Thackeray as its Chief Minister face.

“After the Lok Sabha election results, the Congress was overconfident in Maharashtra like in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. This was reflected in the results. Its attitude during seat-sharing negotiations hurt us. Uddhav ji should have been projected as the Chief Minister face. Not doing so harmed our prospects. The results would have been different if this was done,” Mr Danve told the media.

In a subtle dig at the Congress, he said, “They were getting ready with suit and tie even before the results.”

The Congress won 13 seats in the Lok Sabha election months ago, the highest among Maha Vikas Aghadi allies. Buoyed by the stellar show, the Nana Patole-led state Congress unit bargained hard during the seat-sharing talks ahead of the state polls, leading to friction in the alliance. Eventually, it contested 103 seats but won only 16. The Sena (UBT), which contested 89 seats, managed to win 20 seats. The third ally, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, contested 87 seats and won 10.

Mr Danve said some of the candidates of Sena (UBT) had pointed to the organisational aspect, but did not name any party. He said Sena (UBT) will prepare to build its strength to the point where it can contest all 288 seats in the state.

On his former party colleague and former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion split the Shiv Sena, Mr Danve said the BJP has “many Shindes”. “The BJP has many Shindes in several states. The BJP uses and throws them away,” he said.

The remarks come amid talks within the Mahayuti alliance on who will be the next Chief Minister. The BJP has scored the highest among NDA allies and is learned to have pushed for the Chief Minister post. After days of posturing by some Sena leaders, Mr Shinde yesterday stepped back and said he would accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on the Chief Minister post.

New Delhi:

Uddhav Thackeray, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who just lost the biggest prestige battle of his life, appeared shell-shocked after the stunning reverse. Speaking to reporters this evening after the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi posted a result widely different from the outcome in the Lok Sabha election, he questioned how four months could bring about such a drastic difference. 

“Cannot believe Maharashtra, which listened to me as head of family during COVID, will behave with me this way… How could they (the ruling alliance) win so many seats in just a matter of four months? Where did they light candles for such a result?” said the 64-year-old. 

Claiming that the MVA rallies were better attended than that of the ruling alliance, he said, “People listened to us, not to Modi and Amit Shah. The people said they don’t need to listen to them. Did they decide to vote without listening to them?” he said, then added in a sarcastic vein, “How can an empty chair turn into votes”.

Mr Thackeray, though, brushed aside the key talking point — one that had been repeatedly underscored by the winning combine — has it now been proved “Who is the real Shiv Sena”?  “For the last many years, we have not received a decision on the party name and election symbol,” he said, firmly shunting the ball towards the courts, where the matter is pending.

The rebel faction of Mr Shinde, which pitched the electoral battle as a test of “Who is the real Shiv Sena” lost no time in announcing it as an ideological victory. 

The BJP and its allies’ victory came on the heels of the party’s spectacular performance in Haryana amid what many mis-read as massive anti-incumbency against the Nayab Singh Saini government and expected a Congress victory. 

Mr Thackeray, though, put a different  spin on the matter. 

“A few years ago, (BJP chief) JP Nadda had said there will only be one party. It seems that they are moving in the same direction — one party one nation,” he said. “I would tell people not to lose hope,” he added. 

The Sena UBT chief, though did not blame the Electronic Voting Machines. “Some people are saying that EVM is behind this victory. I say if people have accepted it then I have no problem,’ he added.

Mr Thackeray’s Sena (UBT) has won 20 of the 89 seats it contested, way below Eknath Shinde faction’s 57 of 80.  Mahayuthi — the ruling alliance of Mr Shinde’s Sena, Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party and the BJP — are ahead on 236 of Maharashtra’s 288 seats.

The massive reverses for the Maha Vikas Aghadi come barely six months after the alliance’s sparkling performance in the Lok Sabha election, which many said, had made clear the voters’ disapproval of the political tumult of the last two years — split in Shiv Sena followed by the collapse of theUddhav Thackeray government, and the subsequent split in the Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar.

Mumbai:

Routed in the Maharashtra Assembly election, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was asked if this result has settled the debate over who represents the ‘real’ Shiv Sena — he or his estranged lieutenant and the incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The former Chief Minister, whose government was toppled in 2022 when Mr Shinde led a rebellion that split the Sena, had a message for his former brother-in-arms. “You have to work under (Devendra) Fadnavis. First figure out which bungalow you will get,” Mr Thackeray replied.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also referred to the ongoing legal battle over which faction has claim to the Sena’s symbol and name and lamented that the case had not reached a conclusion yet.

The Sena (UBT) has won 20 out of the 89 seats it contested, while the Shinde Sena scored 57 out of the 80 seats it fought. The results were shocking when seen in comparison to the Lok Sabha polls just months ago. In the general election, the Sena (UBT) had won nine seats and Shinde Sena scored seven. And five months later, its tally is nowhere close to the breakaway faction’s score. This would be disheartening for Team Thackeray, which was hoping its poll show would prove it was the ‘real’ Sena.  

The result, however, has raised a big question for Eknath Shinde: will he remain Chief Minister. When he joined hands with the BJP after the 2022 mutiny, Mr Shinde had become Chief Minister despite the BJP being the bigger party in the coalition. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had agreed, albeit grudgingly, to accept the Deputy Chief Minister post.

But this time, the BJP has scored a massive mandate by winning 133 out of the 148 seats it contested and is likely to claim the top post. What’s more, Mr Shinde has little to bargain because the BJP can still reach the majority mark, thanks to its other ally, Ajit Pawar’s NCP. This means Mr Shinde has little choice but to vacate the Chief Minister post if the BJP asks for it.

It is this situation that Mr Thackeray referred to when he said Mr Shinde will have to “work under Fadnavis”. The bungalow reference was also loaded because Mr Shinde will need to vacate Varsha, the official residence of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, if he is not in the top post. The bungalow mention has another connotation: it was the mutiny led by Mr Shinde that forced Uddhav Thackeray to leave Varsha after the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government fell.