Page 4 - Ajit Pawar

Raj Thackeray has lost relevance, Mahayuti does not need him: Athawale

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has lost relevance and is not needed by the ruling Mahayuti, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said on Sunday. The MNS failed to win a single seat in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti, the losers including the party chief's son Amit Thackeray from Mumbai's Mahim constituency. "Raj Thackeray thought power could not come without him. His dreams have been shattered. With me in the alliance, there is no place for Raj Thackeray. He changes his strategies and the colour of his party flag. It reflects his diminishing relevance," said Athawale, whose Republican Party of India (A) has been with the BJP-led NDA for over a decade. Speaking to reporters in Nashik, the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment also expressed confidence that his party will get representation in the Devendra Fadnavis government. Slamming the Maha Vikas Aghadi for blaming EVM "misuse" for the crushing defeat in

Stop misleading people about EVMs, accept poll mandate: Shinde to Oppn

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday hit out at the opposition, accusing it of misleading people about electronic voting machines and not accepting their mandate. Talking to reporters, Shinde said the ruling Mahayuti alliance won the November 20 assembly polls because of its work, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi must accept the people's mandate and support the government in development works. The Mahayuti combine of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP swept the recently held polls, winning 230 out of 288 seats, while the opposition bloc of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) managed just 46 seats. The opposition parties have alleged irregularities with EVMs for its poll losses and demanded the use of ballot papers. Slamming the opposition, the Shiv Sena chief said, "When you win, there is no EVM scam, but the machine becomes bad when you lose. This is not the right approach." He said the opposition must accept the people's mandate that they have been decisively

Oppn mislead people on EVMs instead of accepting defeat: Mahayuti leaders

The ruling Mahayuti alliance on Sunday accused leaders of the opposition parties of misleading people about electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of accepting the losses it faced in the Maharashtra assembly elections. The November 20 elections saw the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP achieve a landslide victory by clinching 230 out of 288 assembly seats. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), managed just 46 seats. The opposition bloc has since claimed irregularities in the EVMs and demanded the use of ballot papers. Speaking to reporters, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant slammed the opposition for indulging in double standards. "It is because of the MVA's double standards that the Samajwadi Party has parted from the alliance. Yesterday, they boycotted the oath-taking ceremony, and today, they will hopefully take oath as members, which will again highlight their double standards," he said. He claimed the opposition

Fadnavis, Shinde, Ajit Pawar take oath as members of Maharashtra Assembly

A special three-day session of the newly-constituted 288-member Maharashtra legislative assembly began here on Saturday, where MLAs will be administered the oath of office. Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar on Friday took oath as a legislator and was then appointed pro-tem speaker of legislative assembly by Governor C P Radhakrishnan. A nine-time MLA, Kolambkar is the senior most legislator in the House and represents the Wadala assembly constituency in Mumbai. As pro-tem speaker, he will administer the oath of office to the rest of the 287 newly-elected MLAs. The assembly speaker's election will be held on December 9, which will be followed by a trust vote of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government and the governor's address to the joint sitting of both the houses of the state legislature. Results of the November 20 assembly polls were declared on November 23, wherein the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) registered

How Devendra Fadnavis convinced Eknath Shinde to join Maharashtra govt

Devendra Fadnavis, who became the Maharashtra CM for the third time, revealed how he convinced a reluctant Eknath Shinde to join the government

Role reversal: Fadnavis sworn in as Maharashtra CM, Shinde his deputy

Ajit Pawar also takes oath as deputy CM at event attended by Modi, Shah, among others

Devendra Fadnavis returns as Maha CM with Shinde, Ajit Pawar as deputies

Maharashtra CM oath ceremony: Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar took oath at Mumbai's Azad Maidan, in the presence of PM Modi, JP Nadda and others

Watch: Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar take oath as Dy CMs of Maharashtra

Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde and NCP president Ajit Pawar, who are part of Mahayuti, took oath as deputy CMs.

Maharashtra swearing-in: Fadnavis to return as CM, all you need to know

Maharashtra's political impasse ends as Devendra Fadnavis will take oath as CM at 5 pm today. The grand ceremony at Azad Maidan will see top leaders like PM Modi, Amit Shah, and JP Nadda in attendance

Devendra Fadnavis to take oath as Maharashtra CM today, PM Modi to attend

Two deputy chief ministers, NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, will also be sworn in

Devendra Fadnavis' name on oath ceremony invitation card surprises public

In an unusual twist, the formal invitation issued by Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik lists Fadnavis's name as 'Devendra Sarita Gangadharrao Fadnavis.'

Maha Assembly's special session from Dec 7 for MLAs oath, speaker election

A three-day special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will be held in Mumbai from December 7 to enable newly-elected MLAs to take oath and elect a speaker, legislature sources said on Wednesday. The winter session of the state legislature will be held in Nagpur from December 16 to 21. The sources told PTI that newly-elected MLAs will be sworn-in on December 7 and 8. On December 9, election for the speaker of the newly-constituted 15th assembly will be held and this will be followed by trust vote of the new Mahayuti government. At 4 pm, Governor CP Radhakrishnan will address a joint sitting of both houses of the legislature. Later, both houses will be convened and a condolence motion to pay homage to departed members and tabling of the Governor's address for discussion will be on the agenda, they said. The discussion on the Governors speech will be held in the winter session from December 16 to 21 in Nagpur, said the sources. The sources said the agenda for holding ..

Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar to take oath as Maharashtra Dy CMs tomorrow

Devendra Fadnavis is scheduled to assume the role of Chief Minister after being unanimously elected as the Leader of the Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party earlier today

Watch: Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's fun banter leaves everyone in splits

Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Wednesday had some light-hearted back and forth at a press conference addressed by the Mahayuti leaders in Mumbai.

BJP to elect legislature party leader who would become next Maharashtra CM

The crucial legislature party meeting of the BJP will be held at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday to elect its leader, who is expected take over as the next chief minister of the state. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP Mahayuti government. The BJP legislature party leader elected in the meeting is then expected to meet the governor to stake a claim to form new government in the state. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani have been appointed as central observers for the BJP legislature party meeting. Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai Tuesday evening for the meeting, said late night that the legislature party leader's name will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs. If there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected, he said. The BJP achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securin

BJP legislature party leader will be finalised by new MLAs: Vijay Rupani

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, one of the two BJP observers for its Maharashtra legislature party meeting, on Tuesday said the name of the legislature party leader will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs. Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai late this evening for the meeting BJP's crucial legislature party to be held on Wednesday, said if there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected. The BJP has achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of 288 seats, marking its best performance in the state so far. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government. Speaking to reporters, Rupani said, "The government will be formed. Discussions with the elected MLAs will take place tomorrow. One name will be finalised and it will be announced later." He said the process of finalising the leader of the BJP's legislative party follows

Maharashtra CM to be announced on Dec 4; Fadnavis likely to take charge

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party are expected to be sworn in as deputy chief ministers alongside Devendra Fadnavis

Shinde's contribution should be duly recognised: Shiv Sena leader Kesarkar

Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has said the Maharashtra assembly polls were recently fought under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and it is up to the BJP's central leadership to decide how to maintain his stature. The contribution of Shinde, the caretaker chief minister of the state, should be duly recognised, Kesarkar said at a press conference here on Monday. The Mahayuti, comprising the Shiv Sena led by Shinde, BJP and Ajit Pawar's NCP, won 230 out of 288 assembly seats in the November 20 polls, results of which were declared on November 23. The BJP led with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena got 57 and NCP 41 seats. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, two-time former CM, is widely seen as the frontrunner for the top post. The BJP has already announced that the new chief minister will take oath on December 5 at south Mumbai's Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP's allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are each tipped to be given deputy CM posit

Maharashtra CM race: BJP-NCP mulls Eknath Shinde as Leader of Opposition

The idea is that having Eknath Shinde as the Leader of Opposition would marginalise the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Maharashtra assembly, ensuring that the Mahayuti government faces less criticism

Devendra Fadnavis' name finalised for Maharashtra CM's post: BJP leader

The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, a senior BJP leader said on Sunday night. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told PTI that the BJP legislature party meeting will be held on either December 2 or 3. The oath-taking ceremony of the new Mahayuti government will take place on December 5 evening at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend it. Fadnavis had served as chief minister twice- the second stint lasting for a few days. He was deputy CM in the outgoing Eknath Shinde-led government.