The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday declared the candidature of Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, from Baramati Lok Sabha seat, pitting her against sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from the home turf of Pawars. In her first reaction, Sunetra Pawar said this was a lucky day for her. The announcement of her candidature was made by Maharashtra NCP unit president Sunil Tatkare, hours after the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) declared its first list of five candidates for Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra. The NCP(SP) retained Supriya Sule from Baramati and fielded Nilesh Lanke, who switched sides from the Ajit Pawar camp, from the Ahmednagar constituency. Tatkare said the battle in Baramati is of ideology and principles, and not a family one. "This is a lucky day for me. I thank Narendra Modiji, Amit Shah, and all leaders of Mahayuti (Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP) for considering me capable of fighting the election," Sunetra Pawa
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to recognise Sharad Pawar's NCP faction and allowed them to use a new symbol for the upcoming state and general elections
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that although following a split his party initially used the name and photos of his uncle Sharad Pawar, after the latter's objection, it started using state's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan's name and pictures. His made the statement after the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday sought a response of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar on a plea filed by the Sharad Pawar faction, alleging misuse of his name and pictures for political gains. The apex court directed the Ajit Pawar-led party to give a categorical and unconditional undertaking that the name, pictures of Sharad Pawar will not be used. Talking to reporters in his hometown Baramati in Pune district, Ajit Pawar said after he aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, his party started using the name and images of Sharad Pawar. "But after he (Sharad Pawar) objected to the use of his .
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response of the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on a plea of the Sharad Pawar group alleging misuse of his name and pictures for political gains. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan asked the Ajit Pawar faction to file its response by Saturday to Sharad Pawar's plea and fixed it for further hearing on March 19. We need a categorical and unconditional undertaking that the name, pictures of Sharad Pawar will not be used, the bench said. Earlier, the top court had directed that the Election Commission's order of February 7 allotting 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders. It had also sought response of the Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 6 order of the Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the real Nationalist ..
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday inaugurated the first phase of the coastal road between Worli and Marine Drive in south Mumbai and said it is an "engineering marvel". A 10.5-kilometer-long stretch will be opened for traffic in the first phase, an official earlier said, adding that motorists can enter the coastal road from Worli Seaface, Haji Ali interchange and Amarson's interchange points, and exit at Marine Lines. Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and other dignitaries were present at the inauguration of the south-bound corridor of the coastal road. After the inauguration, CM Shinde and other dignitaries showed green flags to the electric buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) ferrying women and a vintage car rally on the coastal road. The work on the ambitious project started on October 13, 2018 and its projected cost is Rs 12,721 crore. A world-class Central Park spread over several acres will come up along the road, named .
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has said if one member of a large family takes a different stand, it does not mean there is a split within the family. She also noted that BJP leaders these days do not talk about alleged corruption of her party. Sule, however, did not name Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who parted ways with his uncle and Sule's father Sharad Pawar last year to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government. "Our family has around 120 to 125 members, including small kids, and in such a big family, if one person puts forth a different opinion, it does not signify a split," Sule told reporters in Pune on Wednesday. "Our family is united and it will remain united forever," the Lok Sabha member from Baramati said. Asked about Union minister Amit Shah's statement that Sharad Pawar wanted to make her chief minister, Sule said she was thankful to Shah for "freeing the NCP of corruption". "Whenever he used to come to Maharashtra, he used to refer to the NCP as 'naturally co
The court will decide whether to accept the report or direct the agency to continue the investigation and file a charge sheet
Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday presented a Rs 6,00,522 crore interim budget for 2024-25 with a revenue deficit of Rs 9,734 crore in the state legislative assembly here. The budget proposed no new taxes. A supplementary budget (full budget) will be presented after the Lok Sabha elections, Pawar said. With projected revenue receipts of Rs 4,98,758 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 5,08,492 crore, there will be a revenue deficit of Rs 9,734 crore, said Pawar, who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as deputy chief minister in July 2023. He was finance minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government too. School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar read out the budget in the Legislative Council. "The budget focuses on the implementation of welfare schemes for the youth, women, the poor and farmers," Pawar said in the assembly. The government aims to expand the state's economy to USD 1 trillion through sustainable, environment-friendly and inclusive development
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said being in power is important to expedite the developmental works as an elected representative and he has taken a different political stand without compromising on his ideology. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Pawar, who switched over to the ruling NDA last year, in a letter to his supporters on Monday said his objective was never to betray anyone or hurt anyone's sentiments. He said he found his working style similar to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, under whose leadership the country is making progress. "I have taken a different political stand without compromising on my ideology. I want to assure that henceforth the NCP under my leadership will work for implementing its development blueprint and not indulge in personal criticism of senior leaders," the deputy CM said without naming NCP founder and his uncle Sharad Pawar. "I have been on the ruling as well as the opposition side a
The Maharashtra government on Monday tabled supplementary demands of Rs 8,609 crore on the first day of the Budget session of the state assembly. State finance minister Ajit Pawar tabled the supplementary demands, which are additional funds sought by the government over the budgetary allocation, in the legislative assembly, followed by the council. "I table the supplementary demands of Rs 8,609.17 crore before the House," Pawar said. As per the supplementary demand note, demands of Rs 2,210 crore were for financial assistance to farmers whose crops were destroyed due to the unseasonal showers, hailstorms and water scarcity. During the winter session in December last year, supplementary demands of Rs 55,520.77 crore were tabled in the state legislature and eventually cleared.
Drawing parallels, the NCP leader said that he identified with the working style of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Sule said there are serious concerns about drinking water in her constituency, Baramati which she wants to bring to the attention of the government
The Election Commission of India on Thursday allotted "man blowing turha (a traditional trumpet)" as the symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, the outfit's spokesperson Clyde Crasto said. "Our candidates will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on this symbol," he told PTI. The Sharad Pawar-founded NCP split in July last year after Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government. The ECI later gave the party name and 'clock' symbol to the faction led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and 10 MLAs belonging to Sharad Pawar's NCP faction on petitions challenging the speaker's decision to not disqualify them. Anil Patil, chief whip of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, had filed two petitions challenging the speaker's decision to not disqualify 10 MLAs from the Sharad Pawar camp. A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla on Wednesday also issued notice to the Maharashtra legislature secretariat and directed all the respondents to file their affidavits to the petitions. The HC posted the matter for further hearing on March 14. Patil in his petitions requested the high court to quash the speaker's recent order by declaring it bad in law, and also disqualify all the 10 legislators. The petitions challenged the "legality, propriety and correctness" of the order passed by Narwekar dismissing the disqualifica
The Supreme Court on Monday directed that Election Commission's order of February 7 granting name of 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' for the group led by Sharad Pawar will continue till further orders. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan sought response of Ajit Pawar-led faction on a plea of Sharad Pawar against the February 7 order of Election Commission recognising the Maharashtra deputy chief minister-led group as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The bench gave liberty to Sharad Pawar to move the poll panel for allocation of the party symbol and directed the poll panel to allot it in one week of the application. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sharad Pawar, said that order passed by the Election Commission on February 7 is an interim arrangement made by the poll panel for Rajya Sabha elections till February 27. The Maharashtra assembly session is scheduled to start from February 26 and our group will be without any name o
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar reaffirmed Ajit Pawar's faction as the legitimate NCP and dismissed calls for the disqualification of either faction's lawmakers
Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday held that the NCP faction led by deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party, and the anti-defection provisions in the Constitution can not be used to stifle internal dissent. While dismissing disqualification petitions filed by the factions led by Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar against each other's legislators, the Speaker noted that the Ajit group had "overwhelming legislative majority" of 41 out of 53 party MLAs when it decided to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in July 2023. The Ajit Pawar group was, thus, the "real political party" when the factions emerged, Narwekar said. The ruling, which followed the Election Commission's decision last week holding the Ajit-led faction as the real NCP, was criticised by the Sharad Pawar group as "copy-paste" of Narwekar's earlier decision on disqualification petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena factions. "An invisible power" was trying
NCP leader Praful Patel, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Milind Deora and Congress candidate Chandrakant Handore on Thursday filed their nominations for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra. Patel was accompanied by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sunil Tatkare and ministers Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde when he filed the nomination paper at the state legislature complex here. Talking to reporters after filing the nomination, Patel said, "This (his nomination) is part of a political strategy and things will get clear in the coming days." Handore, a Dalit leader from the Congress, also filed his nomination. He was accompanied by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders. Deora, whom the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Shinde on Wednesday nominated, also filed his nomination. Deora, a former Union minister, joined the Shiv Sena only last month. While he has been a two-time Lok Sabha member from Mumbai, this will be Deora's .
Election Commission concluded that the Ajit Pawar faction had the majority support of 57 out 81 MLAs, granting it the NCP name and 'clock' symbol
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said the state government has the backing of 225 MLAs in the 288-member assembly, amid the opposition's demand to dismiss the Eknath Shinde-led government over the law and order situation. Speaking at an event on Saturday in Mumbai where Congress leader Baba Siddique joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by him, Pawar said no such demand was made after the 26/11 terrorist attacks here, when a Congress-led coalition was in power in Maharashtra. "The opposition today demanded dismissal of the government. Our Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance) has the support of 225 MLAs," he said. "Attempts are being made by some people to create an atmosphere of fear that there is a breakdown of law and order in the state....when the 26/11 terrorist attacks took place, no such demand was made," Pawar said. He, however, also said that he was not defending or justifying the recent incidents of violence over which the opposition has trained its gu