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Ramesh Chennithala
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said his party will not contest the bypoll to the Baramati assembly seat, from where Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar is seeking an election following the death of her husband Ajit Pawar. Talking to PTI, the AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra said he has asked the Congress' state unit to withdraw its candidate from the poll fray. Today is the last day of withdrawal of nomination. "The Baramati bypoll was necessitated due to the tragic death of Ajit Pawar. As a mark of respect for him, Congress will not contest the by-election," he said. Congress's Akash More had filed his nomination for the April 23 bypoll. Top leaders from the ruling Mahayuti as well as opposition NCP (SP) had been appealing the Congress to withdraw its candidate for an unopposed election in Baramati. Earlier in the day, NCP (SP) leaders, including party chief Sharad Pawar, MP Supriya Sule and MLA Rohit Pawar, again urged the grand old party n
Congress' Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday asserted the MVA will get a "clear majority" on its own and there would not be any need for anyone to crossover from the other side. He also claimed that the ruling Mahayuti was plagued by "internal dissensions" with the BJP looking to "finish off" allies. In an interview with PTI, Chennithala also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'ek rahoge toh safe rahoge' and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge toh katenge' slogans have "failed" as they were against the ethos and culture of Maharashtra. He also asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SCP), was absolutely united and there would not be any problem in deciding on the chief minister's post after the elections. Chennithala, however, questioned why the Mahayuti had not declared Eknath Shinde as the CM face despite him being the incumbent. On Modi's 'ek rahoge toh safe rahoge' and Adityanath's 'baten
Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday alleged the BJP's CAA pitch is a "jumla" (empty promise) with an eye on Lok Sabha elections. The Congress' reaction came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the rules for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be issued before the coming Lok Sabha poll, and the process to grant Indian nationality to the beneficiaries will start soon after. "The BJP is stoking the discussion on CAA only because the general elections are approaching. The party wants to influence voters. It is just another 'chunavi jumla'. The CAA was passed a long time ago, but its implementation has been brought up now for political reasons only," Chennithala told reporters in Mumbai. He alleged the BJP wants to drive the political discourse on religious lines. "A discussion on CAA is being pushed for this very reason. It is a fact that some BJP-ruled states are against the implementation of the CAA," the Congress leader ...