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Maharashtra
Nine of the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra going to polls on January 15 are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), where urban challenges, centred on pollution, housing, water, sanitation and public transport, are expected to influence voter behaviour. Amid identity politics over caste, language, religion and the Marathi Manoos' narrative, candidates and political parties are recalibrating their platforms to address core civic issues. In the recent session of the state legislature, the state government announced an amnesty scheme to regularise over 20,000 buildings in MMR that lack occupancy certificates. A new regulatory framework has been announced to redevelop Mumbai's pagdi' buildings (tenancy rental model where the tenant is a part-owner of a house). In the nine civic corporations of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar and Panvel, local socio-economic and infrastructure issues are taking centre stage in ..
The ruling BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions, accounting for 30 to 50 per cent of the seats in most regions. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 2,431 seats, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 1,025, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 966, according to the data released by the State Election Commission (SEC). The three parties are part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Among the opposition parties, the Congress won 824 seats, while its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies - NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), won 256 and 244 seats, respectively. The only exception was the Konkan division, where the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, outperformed the BJP. Of the 647 seats decided in Konkan, the Shinde-led Sena won 229 seats, or about 35.4 per cent, while the BJP followed with 192 ...
There has been no official proposal of an alliance between her party and the faction led by Ajit Pawar for the civic elections in Pune, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said on Tuesday, even as veteran leader Ankush Kakade stated that they have in principle decided to join hands. A meeting of the NCP and NCP (SP) took place here earlier in the day, said Kakade, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar-led party. "Three leaders from each side including me took part in the meeting. (City NCP(SP) chief) Prashant Jagtap was not there as he has gone to Mumbai for some work. A detailed discussion took place and it was in principle decided that we will jointly contest the civic polls in Pune, but we will be talking to our other colleagues in the evening," he told reporters. They will speak to Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress about taking along the Ajit Pawar-led NCP (which is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Maharashtra), Kakade said, adding that they were keen on
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan said the saffron party's grassroots outreach across the state and development-oriented vision helped it emerge victorious in the local bodies elections. The Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP on Sunday swept the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, winning 207 posts of presidents in the local bodies. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was restricted to a collective tally of 44. The BJP won 117 posts of municipal presidents, Shiv Sena won 53, and the NCP won 37 posts. The Congress bagged 28, the NCP (SP) seven, and Shiv Sena (UBT) nine. Addressing a party meeting in Kalyan town of Thane district on Sunday night, Chavan said, "Once the elections were announced, BJP workers went door to door, informing citizens about the welfare schemes of the Central and state governments. They earned people's trust, and this dedication has resulted in a decisive victory." People endorsed the development-oriented vision of Pri
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the BJP has set a record in local body polls with 48 per cent of councillors winning on the party symbol, and its candidates elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. He attributed the Mahayuti alliance's success in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections to the BJP organisation and development agenda of the government. Counting of votes for elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats held in two phases began in the morning. Fadnavis said the BJP has once again emerged as the single largest party. "48 per cent councillors have been elected on the BJP symbol, which is a record. The BJP has created another record with 3,300 councillors being elected from the party. "BJP candidates have been elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. In 75 per cent of the local bodies, Mahayuti nominees have been elected as municipal presidents," he said. Fadnavis .
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cancelled the licences of 13 medical stores and suspended those of 32 in Nanded district over alleged sale of intoxicant tablets, officials have said. As part of a drive, the FDA had issued show-cause notices to 48 medical stores for selling intoxicant tablets without a doctor's prescription and for violating the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Assistant Commissioner (Drugs) AT Rathod said in a release on Wednesday. After the explanations submitted were found unsatisfactory, the licences of 32 medical stores were suspended, while the licences of 13 stores were permanently cancelled. Action has been proposed against the remaining three medical stores, it said. In some cases, the FDA said, the medical stores have secured stay orders at the government level, and proceedings against them are currently pending before higher authorities.
The Maharashtra government routed routine procurement of medicines and medical equipment through the state-run Haffkine institute using Advance Contingent bills, leaving 559 bills worth Rs 2,226.32 crore pending for adjustment at the end of 2024-25, CAG has said. Advance Contingent (AC) bills are a type of government bill used to draw money in advance for urgent or unforeseen expenses, when it is not practical to wait for detailed bills or vouchers. According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), tabled on the last day of the winter session of the state legislature on Sunday, pending AC bills accounted for 63.03 per cent of the total AC bills, in violation of Rule 282(2) of the Maharashtra Treasury Rules, which bars withdrawal of funds unless required for immediate disbursement. The report identified the Medical Education and Drugs Department as the biggest defaulter with Rs 2,212 crore of Detailed Contingent (DC) bills pending, followed by the Public Health ...
Farmers across Maharashtra who missed e-crop survey registration will be allowed to register through an offline process till January 15 to help them sell their produce at government procurement centres, said Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday. He made the announcement in the legislative assembly while replying to a calling attention motion, a procedure that allows a member to bring an urgent public matter to a minister's notice. The online e-crop survey portal has been closed and cannot be reopened due to technical constraints, but the government has decided to open an offline window so that genuine farmers do not suffer losses, said Bawankule. Maharashtra's e-crop survey, known as E-Pik Pahani', allows farmers to self-report their crop details via a mobile application. Bawankule said farmers who failed to complete the e-crop survey registration due to technical issues or other reasons can submit offline applications to the concerned authorities till January 15.
The last rites of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil were performed with full state honours in his home district Latur in Maharashtra on Saturday, with many top leaders in attendance. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre were among those present. A prominent member of the Lingayat community, Patil was buried in his farm at Varvanti village, six km from Latur, in a seated, meditative posture. This Lingayat ritual stems from their belief that the soul of the deceased immediately unites with Shiva and is not subject to the cycle of rebirth, thus making the cremation rites to release the soul from the body unnecessary. Birla laid a wreath on Patil's mortal remains. Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal and Lok Sabha member from Latur, Shivaji Kolge were present. Before the last ...
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said road works valued at Rs 1.50 lakh crore have been approved for Maharashtra for 2026. The works will begin in the next three months, he told reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan, where the state legislature session is underway. The Nagpur MP visited the legislature complex to attend an event marking the centenary celebration of the Vidhan Parishad. Gadkari told reporters that MSIDC (Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation) will construct a new Pune-Sambhajinagar expressway for Rs 16,318 crore, and an MoU has been processed. The new expressway will reduce the travelling time from Pune to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to two hours and from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Nagpur in two-and-a-half hours. He said the 'bhoomipujan' (ground-breaking) of Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur Elevated Road, which is being constructed for Rs 4,207 crore, will be done after the local body elections are over. Gadkari said that the DPR proc
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said officials responsible for registering documents should have refused to process agreements that were not permissible under the law and clearly informed the parties concerned about such limitations. His comments come against the backdrop of a notice issued by the deputy registrar to the firm of his son, Parth Pawar, seeking Rs 21 crore in stamp duty and penalties in connection with a controversial land deal in Pune. Recently, the Bombay High Court raised sharp questions regarding the police probe into the land deal, suggesting authorities might be shielding Parth Pawar by failing to name him in the FIR. Ajit Pawar sought to dispel perceptions stemming from a bill cleared by the legislative assembly on Friday, which empowers the revenue minister to hold hearings in contentious cases related to the IGR. Pawar said those who registered such documents were at fault, and officials should have exercised due diligence at the time
More than 1.28 lakh people in Mumbai were bitten by stray dogs in 2024, raising concerns about the safety of citizens and prompting authorities to undertake measures like sterilisation and vaccination of free-roaming canines to control their population. This information was shared by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the state legislative council on Friday in a written reply to queries by MLCs Sunil Shinde, Vasant Khandelwal, Sandip Joshi and others. These legislators raised concerns about the increasing number of stray dogs in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits and a similar menace in Nagpur. Shinde stated that more than 9,400 people were bitten in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, in 2024. He said that a survey conducted by the BMC via Human Society International, as per the Animal Welfare Board rules, revealed that the number of stray dogs had come down from 95,172 in 2014 to 90,757 in 2024. In Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) limits, 9,427 peop
Congress veteran and former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivraj Patil donned many hats during his decades-long political career and was a prominent figure in Maharashtra and national politics, but had to resign as Union Home Minister after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Patil (90), who passed away on Friday at his residence in Latur district of Maharashtra after a brief illness, remained a Congress and Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist till his last days and held several key constitutional and ministerial posts during a public life spanning more than five decades. The veteran politician faced severe public and media backlash as Union Home Minister in 2008 when he was seen in three different sets of clothes on the night of November 26 when Mumbai was facing unprecedented attacks from ten heavily-armed Pakistan-trained terrorists. Defending himself over the criticism, he had said people should criticise policy, not clothes. The sheer scale of the Mumbai attacks weighed heavily on Patil's ...