Page 20 - Maharashtra Assembly Elections

CM Shinde lauds Ladki Bahin scheme, terms MVA 'Maha Vasooli Aghadi'

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has asserted his government is focusing on welfare schemes like 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' to enrich the lives of women and said he intends to increase the monthly aid under the scheme. Ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, Shinde on Sunday also targeted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi while dubbing it as "Maha Vasooli Aghadi" (alliance for extortion). The November instalment under the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme has already been deposited in the accounts of beneficiaries and the amount for December would also be given soon after the assembly polls, the CM said. Under the scheme, women with an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh are given Rs 1,500 per month as aid. Shinde was speaking at rallies in Kurla and Andheri East in Mumbai, which kickstarted the Shiv Sena's poll campaign. The CM said his government was committed to making Mumbai slum-free and ensuring affordable houses for the poor. There has been a transformative chang

Congress slams Mahayuti, claims Maharashtra farmers are most neglected

The Congress on Sunday hit out at the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra, saying it has been formed on "betrayal" and that the people of the state will not forgive them for their "failed" promises. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that farmers were the most neglected in the state as the grand promises made to them have yielded nothing. He also highlighted how the promise of building a water grid from Marathwada to provide piped drinking water to every village was never fulfilled. "The Mahayuti is a Government formed on betrayal - of loyalty, of ideology, and of Maharashtra people themselves. Farmers have been among the most neglected, strung along by the Government with grand promises that have yielded nothing," Ramesh alleged in a post on X. "Those who promised Jalyukt Shivar have only delivered on Jalmukt Shivar. Maharashtra will not forgive them," the Congress leader said. In 2019, he claimed, then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised a Rs

Athawale dismisses rift in Mahayuti, backs Sena's Sarvankar for Mahim seat

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday denied reports of a rift in the ruling Mahayuti over the Mahim assembly constituency in Mumbai, which will see MNS leader Amit Thackarey taken on Shiv Sena's Sada Sarvankar. The RPI (A) chief said three-time sitting MLA Sarvankar is a stronger candidate than Amit Thackeray, whose only qualification is that he is the son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. The Republican Party of India (Athawale) is an ally of the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena. Amit Thackeray is making his electoral debut, while Sarvankar is seeking re-election from Mahim. The Shiv Sena leader has asserted that he will not withdraw from the fray, even as the BJP has expressed keenness to back the MNS candidate. Talking to PTI, Athwale said, "The Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial and Indu Mill come under the Mahim constituency, and I don't think it is good to pressurise Sarvankar. He is the sitting MLA and a stronger candidate than Amit Thacker

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Fadnavis' security enhanced on intelligence inputs, says minister Mahajan

Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan on Saturday said the security cover of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was upgraded after intelligence inputs. In view of the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, the state police has buttressed the security cover of Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister, with ex-Force One personnel as a precautionary measure. Fadnavis enjoys 'Z plus' security cover at present, which is taken care of by the Maharashtra police's Special Protection Unit, he added. "Fadnavis' security had been upgraded after inputs from Intelligence," Mahajan, a senior state BJP leader, told reporters in Pune. However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut took a dig at Fadnavis on the issue. "Who poses a danger to Fadnavis? He is the home minister of the state. Is he facing danger from the CM? How can the home minister enhance his security and deploy a commando force which is trained to fight terrorists? Is Israel, Ukraine going to attack Fadnavis," Raut asked. Mahajan ...

Being targeted : Arvind Sawant apologises for 'imported maal' remark

Sawant said that he would never insult a women adding that his statements were intrepreted differently.

Police vehicles used to provide financial aid to ruling parties: Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday alleged that police vehicles are being used to provide financial assistance to the candidates of the ruling parties in Maharashtra ahead of the assembly polls. Addressing reporters at his residence Govindbag here, the former Union minister said he wanted to speak more on the issue publicly but is refraining from doing so as this would hurt the officials who have shared the information with him. Pawar's grandnephews and his party's candidates Yugendra Pawar (Baramati) and Rohit Pawar (Karjat-Jamkhed) were also present at the press conference. The extended Pawar family meets at Govindbag every year, but this year Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his family were missing. "We have come to know from many districts, from officials that candidates from the ruling parties are getting financial assistance for polls, that police vehicles are being used. Officials of the police department have also said that," Pawar ...

Maharashtra polls: Cong releases ad to target Mahayuti over farmers' issues

Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the state Congress on Saturday launched its campaign to target the Mahayuti government over its "lack of support" to farmers. Congress's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala released an advertisement titled "Injustice to Farmers - Ata Chalnar Nahi (not acceptable any more)" here. Speaking on the occasion, Chennithala said the advertisement targets the Mahayuti government over its failure to support farmers. "More than 20,000 farmers committed suicides in the last two years. It was due to the lack of crop loss compensation and failure to provide the minimum support price (MSP)," he claimed. The ad also targets the Mahayuti over "false promises and corruption". Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's pet project "Jalyukt Shivar" has been dubbed as the "Jalmukt Shivar" in the advertisement. "With farmers' anger simmering across the state, this ad will help the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) focus public outrage against Mahayuti's anti-farm

Uddhav's personal interest led to alliance with Congress, says CM Shinde

Shinde said that Uddhav formed an alliance with Congress against the will of Balasaheb Thackeray

Maharashtra polls: 50 rebels in fray; Mahayuti, MVA rush to contain fallout

Maharashtra Assembly polls: With 50 rebels running as Independents, both Mahayuti and MVA alliances face vote splits that can impact outcomes; leaders are in a last-minute push to mend internal rifts

Maharashtra: Dy CM Fadnavis confident in uniting BJP rebels ahead elections

Earlier on Thursday, Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar said that the NCP Chief Ajit Pawar should not have given a ticket to Nawab Malik."Ajit Pawar should not have given him a ticket; many in Maharashtra

Fair election in Maharashtra not possible under DGP Rashmi Shukla: Raut

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, requesting the removal of Rashmi Shukla

Ajit Pawar backs Dhangar community, to continue 'Ladki Bahini' scheme

Additionally, Pawar mentioned various schemes implemented for the benefit of Muslim communities and the Dhangar community, including the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Swayam Yojana

BJP seeks Rahul's apology for remarks on reservation, Veer Savarkar

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to lead the opposition's election campaign in Maharashtra starting November 6

No one can take back welfare schemes: CM Shinde ahead of Maharashtra polls

Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) are contesting the assembly polls under the banner of Mahayuti alliance

Rahul's 'guarantee card' failed in Rajasthan; won't work in Maha: Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday pooh-poohed the Congress' plan to come out with a 'guarantee card' ahead of the state assembly elections, and said the ploy failed in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi would be releasing a 'guarantee card' containing the party's election promises, state Congress leaders have said. "Rahul Gandhi's guarantee card did not help Congress retain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh," Fadnavis told reporters here. "He should also explain why the guarantee card is not being implemented in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, as promised. It will fail here too," the BJP leader added. On the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' alliance's strategy for dealing with rebels who have filed nominations against official candidates, Fadnavis said alliance leaders including NCP chief Ajit Pawar had a meeting at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's residence on the issue. "We have resolved all the issues,

Sanjay Raut calls out Raj Thackeray's praise for PM Modi and HM Shah

Raut highlighted the stark contrast between Thackeray's past opposition to BJP leaders and his current alignment with them, raising questions about his motives as elections approach

Maharashtra polls: MVA to launch campaign on Nov 6, says Sharad Pawar

The opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi will start its campaign for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections on November 6, said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday. Pawar said the campaign will be spearheaded by him and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. Speaking to a few reporters on his home turf Baramati in the Pune district, Pawar extended them Diwali greetings and said he prayed for the prosperity and well-being of the people of the state. Asked about the friendly fights among MVA partners NCP (SP), Congress and Sena (UBT) in some constituencies, Pawar said there are only 10-12 seats where two candidates from MVA have filed their nomination papers. I am confident we will find a solution in the next couple of days and resolve the issue, he said. The veteran leader said MVA will offer a programme (common minimum programme) to the people of the state to garner their support. Pawar said their poll campaign will be launched in the presen

Shiv Sena's 2022 split was endorsed by senior leadership of BJP: Chavan

Veteran Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday claimed the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena, which triggered the fall of Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi government, had endorsement from the BJP's "senior leadership". Speaking to reporters in Satara, the former chief minister noted the November 20 assembly polls are taking place in the backdrop of what happened in June 2022, when a section of Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against the leadership of party president and then-CM Uddhav Thackeray. After the split in the Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion, took over as chief minister. "These state elections are taking place in a particular political backdrop. The BJP's senior leadership had toppled the MVA government by engineering a split in the Shiv Sena. This entire move had a 'rajmanyata' (endorsement from top leadership ). "It was not done at Mumbai level by two or three people. There was meticulous planning as the BJP's entire machinery was after it. It was like a ...

Ahead of Assembly polls, Maharashtra govt reshuffles 260 police officials

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday reshuffled more than 260 policemen, including 150 from Mumbai, ahead of the November 20 assembly elections in the state, an official said. He attributed the transfers to a directive of the Election Commission about the relocation of officials who had served in their home districts or current posting for over three years. About 150 Mumbai police officials, including senior inspectors, have been moved to various districts, including Gadchiroli, Gondia, Bhandara, Nagpur and Washim. A few police officials from Navi Mumbai and Mira Bhayandar, Vasai Virar Police commissionerate have also been transferred, he said. Accordingly, police officials from various districts have been posted in Mumbai, which has 36 of the state's 288 assembly seats. Sending out a stern message, the Election Commission last month sought an explanation from the Maharashtra chief secretary and the state's police chief for failing to fully implement its orders on the transfer