Nationalist Congress Party

Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar was unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra on Saturday, three days after the death of her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. She is set to take oath as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the state later in the day. Sunetra Pawar's name as the NCP's legislature party leader was proposed by senior leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. She was elected during a meeting of the party's legislature wing, held at the office of late Ajit Pawar on the ground floor of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in south Mumbai. Ajit Pawar, who was deputy chief minister and finance minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, was killed in a plane crash in Baramati along with four others on January 28. Sunetra Pawar paid floral tributes to a portrait of her late husband in the meeting hall. Their younger son Jay was also present. Many ministers and legisla

Amid reports that Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, will be sworn in as the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday distanced himself from the development, claiming he had no idea about it. Addressing a press conference in Baramati, Pawar said that he had found out about the swearing-in through media reports. "We don't know about the swearing-in. We got to know about it through the news. I have no idea about the swearing-in," he said, when asked if anyone from the Pawar family would be attending the ceremony. He said the NCP must have made the decision. "Some people like Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare took the initiative. These people might have decided something," he said. The veteran leader further claimed that it was his late nephew Ajit Pawar's wish to unite both factions, and that they were optimistic about it. "Now we feel his wish should be fulfilled. Ajit Pawar, Shashikant Shinde and Jayant Patil had initiated the talks about the merger

This comes amid speculations around Sunetra Pawar as the Deputy CM face and a merger of the two NCP factions

In the absence of his nephew, the responsibility of running the NCP estate may once again devolve on the patriarch, Sharad Pawar

Ajit Pawar announced that the NCP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) will contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls together, calling it a moment of family unity; seat-sharing details will be announced late

Anil Deshmukh's statement comes a day after Sharad Pawar met his estranged nephew Ajit Pawar in Pune

In response, Air India explained that several flights had been affected by adverse weather conditions in the national capital, resulting in a cascading effect on flight schedules across its network

Zeeshan's statement forms part of the chargesheet filed by the police earlier this month in the Siddique murder case

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday expressed his disappointment at not being included in the new Mahayuti government and said he would decide his future course after talking to people from his constituency. Thirty-nine legislators from Mahayuti allies, the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, were sworn in on Sunday in the first cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Ten former ministers were dropped from the cabinet, and 16 new faces have been introduced. Former ministers Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil of NCP and Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit of BJP were some of the prominent leaders excluded from the new cabinet. Talking to reporters, Bhujbal said he was upset at not being included in the new cabinet. Asked about his future course, the legislator from the Yeola constituency in Nashik district said, "Let me see. Let me think it over. I will talk to my constituency and discuss with the Samata Parishad.' After the cabinet expansion on

In the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, winners represented just 34% of registered voters, with a significant influence of crorepati and candidates with criminal records

Ajit Pawar stated that talks regarding the cabinet expansion have been scheduled for December 14

NCP-SP leaders remarks came after the the BJP-led ruling Mahayuti alliance sweeped the assembly polls in Maharashtra

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the people of Maharashtra want a change and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will work towards giving them that alternative after the upcoming state assembly polls. Pawar also backed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's demand for a caste census in the country. The former Union minister was speaking to reporters at the Nagpur airport ahead of his public meetings here in connection with the November 20 state assembly polls. The MVA comprises the NCP (SP), Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT). Talking about his campaigning, Pawar said, "We feel that the people of Maharashtra want a change and we need to work towards giving them confidence. And working towards that, me and all my associates are reaching out to the people across Maharashtra from today." Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Nagpur on Wednesday, said a caste-based census will happen and that his party will also "break the wall of 50 per cent" reservation limit. Asked

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday called Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's remarks against former state home minister RR Patil insensitive and said she apologised to the late leader's wife and mother for the comments. Speaking separately, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who was chief minister at the time, said he had never ordered an inquiry into an alleged irrigation scam. Baramati Lok Sabha MP Sule said her politically estranged cousin's statement saddened her and made her restless. She also slammed Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis over it. NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Tuesday alleged that he was backstabbed by his close colleague RR Patil who ordered an open inquiry against him in an alleged multi-crore irrigation scam. He claimed a file mentioning Patil's remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to him by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis after he became chief minister in 2014. Pawar made these remarks while addressing a rally for t

Maharashtra polls: In August, Baba Siddique's son Zeeshan was expelled from the Congress party, following allegations of voting against party lines in the Maharashtra legislative council elections

Police have launched a probe into the killing of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday. The body of NCP leader Siddique (66), who was shot dead by three assailants in Mumbai on Saturday night, was shifted from Lilavati Hospital to Cooper Hospital around 6 am on Sunday for postmortem, an official said. The shocking incident has prompted the opposition to question the law and order situation in the state where the assembly elections are expected to be held next month. Baba Siddique was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at. He was shifted to the Lilavati Hospital's emergency medical services at 9.30 pm in an unresponsive condition with no pulse, no cardiac activity, no blood pressure, and with a history of gunshot wounds on the chest, officials from

Calling the incident 'extremely unfortunate,' CM Shinde told the media that two suspects have been arrested, with one still at large

The outcome of the state polls, especially in Haryana and Maharashtra, analysts believe, are also important from 'farm politics' viewpoint, and how the government deal with the farmer's demands

Congress, whose political clout has risen after doing much better than expected in the April-June general election, named LGBTQ+ activist Mario da Penha this week to head its new unit

Sharad Pawar's NCP faction was granted provisional use of the party name and clock symbol following Ajit Pawar's split from the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections