Page 15 - Maharashtra Assembly Elections

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MVA to get majority in Maharashtra, won't need crossovers: Chennithala

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 lost jobs as key projects moved to Gujarat: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday criticised the ruling BJP for its policies and claimed Maharashtra has been deprived of jobs due to the shifting of some big projects to Gujarat. Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district ahead of the November 20 state assembly polls, she claimed the ruling alliance leaders were trying to divert the attention from real issues and making attempts to polarise the society. Targeting the Mahayuti government in the state over its flagship Ladki Bahin scheme, Vadra said women should vote for a better life and not because they are getting Rs 1,500 a month. The Congress leader also said if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comes to power, it will give Rs 7,000 per quintal MSP to farmers for soybean crop. Vadra claimed there were more than 2.5 lakh vacant posts in Maharashtra. The state has been deprived of jobs due to the shifting of Foxconn, Airbus projects to Gujarat, she added. "People are making efforts, ..

BJP leaders trying to polarise, people shouldn't fall for it: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday claimed that divisive slogans raised by some BJP leaders was an attempt to polarise the society and asserted it should not be allowed. Addressing a rally at Umred in Nagpur ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, Kharge said the BJP leaders have already been trying to divide the society, and raising slogans like 'batenge to katenge' (divided we fall) to further polarise it. "But, there is no unanimity among the Mahayuti leaders on such slogans. Such polarisation shouldn't be allowed," he said. Kharge also said categorising Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr B R Ambedkar to a particular community is not right. The Congress and its leaders laid down their lives for the country's unity, unlike the BJP and RSS which have made "no contribution" to the country, Kharge claimed. "The Maharashtra assembly elections are important as there is a need to defeat the incumbent government which has come to power by theft and intimidatio

Nobody should take Rahul Gandhi seriously, says Union Minister Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said that nobody should take Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seriously, and asserted that people of Maharashtra will repose trust in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the November 20 state assembly elections. The way Rahul Gandhi speaks, nobody takes him seriously.. I think people should not take his remarks seriously, Gadkari said in an interview to PTI. On Gandhi's allegations about PM Modi "suffering from memory loss like US President Joe Biden", Gadkari said the Congress leader speaks irresponsibly. Asked about the challenges faced by the Mahayuti alliance after a dismal show during the Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari said, voters were confused (by the opposition) on a large scale during the Lok Sabha polls. A narrative was created that if we win 400-plus seats, we will amend the Constitution drafted by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the senior BJP leader said. There is no question of changing the Constitution. We will neither do it, nor allow others ..

Maharashtra Assembly polls: Sharad Pawar's bags checked in Baramati

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's bags were checked by the poll personnel at Baramati helipad in Maharashtra's Pune district on Sunday morning, according to his associate. Pawar was on way to attend a poll rally in Solapur, the associate said. The model of code of conduct is enforced in the state for the assembly elections scheduled on November 20. "While Pawar saheb was on his way to Karmala poll rally in Solapur, his bags were checked at the Baramati helipad. After the due checking, he boarded the chopper and proceeded for the rally," the associate said. On Saturday, poll authorities checked the bag of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Maharashtra's Amravati district where he arrived for a poll rally. Later, former state minister and Congress' Teosa MLA Yashomati Thakur questioned the action of the poll authorities and asked why they were not checking bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah or Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The issue of poll officials check

Amit Shah cancels Maharashtra rallies, returns to Delhi over Manipur crisis

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday cancelled his rallies in poll-bound Maharashtra and is headed back to Delhi as the situation in Manipur continues to be volatile, according to sources. The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, the sources said. Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Shah was supposed to attend a few election rallies as part of the BJP's campaign in Maharashtra but he has cancelled them and is returning to the national capital, the sources said. Though there was no official word on the reason behind the cancellation of the minister's rallies, the sources indicated that it could be due to the volatile situation in Manipur. The home minister is likely

Does Fadnavis's call for 'dharma-yudh' conform to code of conduct: Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked if the call for "dharma-yudh of votes" given by Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis does not violate the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission of India. Addressing a campaign rally in Dombivli in the district ahead of the assembly polls, Thackeray said he was asked to remove the words "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji" from his party's election anthem before the Lok Sabha elections, but he refused to do so. "Devendra Fadnavis has given a call for "dharma-yudh of votes. I am asking the Election Commission, does dharma-yudh fit in with your Model Code of Conduct?" the former chief minister said. Referring to a purported appeal by an Islamic scholar for a "vote-Jihad" against the Mahayuti government, Fadnavis, at a rally in Pune on Friday, had called for a "dharma-yudh of votes" to counter it. Thackeray, meanwhile, also said that the BJP today is a "hybrid" full of opportunist leaders imported from outside. "

BJP using Article 370 to weaken Cong, win Assembly polls: Farooq Abdullah

The BJP's onslaught on the Congress over Article 370 of the Constitution is aimed at weakening the opposition party and winning the elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday. However, the veteran leader said they will not allow the Congress to be weakened and expressed hope that the INDIA bloc will emerge victorious in the Assembly polls in both the states. Talking to reporters after attending a private function here, Abdullah said he has no doubt about the return of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Asked about the statements of Congress leaders that there is no mention of restoration of Article 370 in a recently-passed resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Abdullah said they have their own purpose because their party is under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "shouting repeatedly at them just to win the elections". "They (BJP) are think

Fadnavis using vote jihad to give religious colour to polls: Sharad Pawar

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his BJP colleagues of trying to give a religious colour to the upcoming assembly polls by raking up vote jihad. Speaking to reporters in Pune, the 83-year-old politician left it to the people to respond to Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar over his remarks that he would be in the next line of leadership after the senior Pawar. Referring to a purported appeal by an Islamic scholar for vote-Jihad against the BJP-led Mahayuti government, Fadnavis had on Friday called for a dharma-yudh of votes to counter it. Asked about Fadnavis's appeal to voters, Pawar said it was the BJP leader who had brought up vote jihad, referring to minorities favouring the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in a few constituencies during the Lok Sabha elections. If in one area of Pune where Hindus are in the majority and they vote for the BJP, it is common knowledge that this outcome was expected. Tha

In Baramati's intense battle between Saheb and Dada, people are the king

Ajit Pawar's development pitch encounters Sharad Pawar's emotional hold over voters as this constituency of glitzy shops and spotless roads turns into a do-or-die battlefield for the younger Pawar amid an intense canvassing never seen before by most voters. And people are not complaining. Dada, as the deputy chief minister is often addressed, carries a certain air and would not even bother spending much time in campaigns as his win was a forgone outcome, Sandeep Jagtap (32), a farmer, said. "He is now smiling, bowing and folding his hands seeking our votes," he adds with a laugh. His friend Amol Kulange notes that the election has also seen an unlikely turnout of the members of the Pawar clan who are mostly backing Yugendra Pawar, the grand nephew of Sharad Pawar and fielded by him as his NCP(SP) candidate to take on the deputy chief minister. Sharad Pawar's wife Pratibha Pawar, not much seen in previous polls, has hit the campaign trail and so have some other members of the family

In Rane stronghold Sindhudurg, Uddhav raises pitch against dynasty politics

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has made a strong pitch against dynasty politics in Sindhudurg, the home turf of BJP MP Narayan Rane, to target his sons Nilesh and Nitesh, who are fighting the assembly polls from two constituencies in the coastal district. Once a stronghold of undivided Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party is seeking to regain its control over the south Konkan region after two of its MLAs and ministers Deepak Kesarkar and Uday Samant aligned with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during his rebellion in 2022. The Sena (UBT) also lost the Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri seat in the Lok Sabha polls to Narayan Rane. Sindhudurg district adjoining Goa and Karnataka has three assembly seats - Sawantwadi, Kudal and Kankavli. Nitesh is contesting as a Shiv Sena candidate from Kudal, while Nitesh is a BJP nominee from neighbouring Kankavli. Addressing a rally in Malvan on Wednesday, Thackeray said that although Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about dynasty politics, his party has indulged in ..

BJP govt has no answers on Maharashtra's rising unemployment: Chidambaram

He urged the people to think carefully before voting for their government

Concentrate on winning polling booths: PM Modi's mantra to BJP workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked BJP workers to concentrate their strength on winning each polling booth in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections. During a virtual interaction with BJP workers as part of "Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot" programme, Modi also asked them to hold booth-level meetings of women, youth and farmers, and suggested that they circulate videos of BJP-led government's schemes. Modi asked BJP booth workers to involve involve professionals like doctors in propagating the party's message among voters. Accusing the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra of spreading lies, Modi said the BJP workers should make this fact known to the voters. Wherever I went, I saw the hard work of our workers, Modi said, and called them his representatives. BJP booth workers have to reach every home with message to make the Mahayuti alliance victorious in Maharashtra assembly elections, Modi said. People of Maharashtra want the BJP-led Mahayuti government to .

Eknath Shinde targets hat-trick victory for Mahayuti in Maharashtra polls

The Chief Minister highlighted that effective governance requires direct interaction with the public and urged leaders to listen to people's concerns in person

Dharavi redevelopment project caught in Maharashtra's poll crossfire

Oppn parties threaten to scrap India's largest real estate redevelopment project

Fisherfolk at Maharashtra's Dandi Hawar market list concerns as poll nears

The fishing community of Dandi Hawar hopes for lasting solutions to their problems and a commitment from leaders to support their livelihoods

Smaller parties look to make big dent in Jharkhand and Maharashtra

In Jharkhand, smaller players, such as Jairam Kumar Mahato's JKLM and in Maharashtra, Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA, Raj Thackeray's MNS, and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, are key players in several seats

Maharashtra will reject BJP's hate rhetoric, says AAP leader Sanjay Singh

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Friday said that the people of Maharashtra will defeat the language of hate used by the BJP in the run-up to the state assembly elections. Singh is in Nagpur to campaign for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates. Talking to reporters at Nagpur airport, the AAP leader claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi meted out a step-motherly treatment to Maharashtra by shifting investments worth Rs 2 lakh crore from the state to neighbouring Gujarat, and said this was a big issue on people's minds. "The people of Maharashtra will defeat the language of hate being used (by the BJP) in the elections here," he said and expressed confidence that the MVA will win the polls with a huge majority. The Aam Aadmi Party is a member of the opposition INDIA bloc. Giving a fresh spin on the saffron party's slogan, "batenge toh katenge", Singh said, "Na batiye, na katiye, milke BJP ko rapatiye (don't get divided, don't perish, together

Nitin Gadkari backs 'batenge to katenge' call, urges unity against enemies

"This election is being held under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis. All three- and the party high command and the representatives elected after the election