Page 7 - Maharashtra Assembly Elections

Did not endorse anybody so how can my factor fail, asks Jarange Patil

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Sunday refuted talk of his stir not being a factor in the Maharashtra assembly polls, which were swept by the Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. The Mahayuti won 40 out of 46 seats in Marathwada region, including all five in Jalna, the epicentre of Jarange's stir for quota for the Maratha community in jobs and education. The ruling alliance's poor show in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year was largely credited to Jarange's opposition, especially his strident remarks against Deputy Chief Minister and BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis. "How can one say the Jarange factor failed in the assembly polls when I did not contest nor did I endorse anybody? I liberated the Maratha community from the clutches of these political parties. The community was free to vote as per its choice. My focus is on empowering the Marathas," he said putting up a brave front. Expressing satisfaction at the results, he pointed out that 204 Marathas were ...

Ladki Bahin, polarisation may have played role: Sharad Pawar on poll defeat

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls. He said the election results, declared on Saturday, are not on the expected lines but he would revitalise the party. Responding to a query on his retirement from active politics, Pawar tersely said he and his party colleagues will decide. Speaking to reporters in Karad city in Satara district, Pawar acknowledged that the NCP led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar secured more seats than the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), adding "Everyone knows who founded the NCP". "The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarisation played a role. Women's participation in large numbers could be the reason for the Mahayuti sweep in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for the debacle and take necessary steps," he said. Pawar asserted that the NCP (SP) would go to people by ...

BJP's best ever show in Maharashtra means Fadnavis could be at helm again

Sources within the BJP indicated that the party, which was within touching distance of the majority mark, was unlikely to concede the chief ministerial post to one of its alliance partners

Maharashtra's next CM to be decided by Mahayuti, BJP leaders: Bawankule

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday said the Mahayuti leaders and BJP leadership will decide who will be the next chief minister of the state. Bawankule also said the people of Maharashtra have rejected the Congress, noting that its state unit chief Nana Patole won by a margin of just around 200 votes. The BJP-led Mahayuti, which also comprises the Shiv Sena of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, on Saturday retained power in the state by bagging 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi's dream of wresting power fizzled, with the opposition combine managing to garner just 46 seats. Bawankule here said all sections of the society supported the BJP in the Maharashtra assembly polls. On the issue of the next CM of the state, he said the Mahayuti leaders and the BJP leadership will decide on it. He also said the Congress' lies were to blame for no party getting enough seats to stake claim for the post of leader o

Sule must apologise for fielding Yugendra against Ajit Pawar: NCP

The Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday said NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule should apologise for her party fielding Yugendra Pawar against his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Baramati assembly seat. NCP president Ajit Pawar won from his traditional Baramati constituency, defeating his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra by more than one lakh votes. The high-stakes contest was seen as a battle between the 65-year-old politician and his uncle, Sharad Pawar (83). Talking to reporters, NCP spokesperson Amol Mitkari said NCP (SP) leader Sule must apologise for fielding Yugendra against his uncle, just as Ajit Pawar had expressed his regret for fielding his wife Sunetra against her in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. Ajit Pawar, who parted ways with his uncle last year and was seeking an eighth term from this seat in Pune district, polled 1,81,132 votes while Yugendra polled 80,233. Mitkari further pointed out the slim margin by which NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar ..

Cong face with clean image, Prithviraj Chavan gets shock defeat in polls

The defeat of Congress veteran and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the Maharashtra assembly polls in his home district Karad has come as a shock and big setback for him in his decades long political career. One of the most educated lawmakers in the state, Chavan's career saw him becoming the chief minister of the state and also a Union minister. Known for his clean and non-controversial image, Chavan, 78, took over as the state's chief minister when the Congress was battling allegations of corruption 2010. When Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently campaigned in Karad South assembly seat, he quipped that Chavan was a politician of international standard and a misfit in the state Vidhan Sabha. To the shock and surprise of even Chavan's critics, the senior leader lost the seat to BJP's Atul Bhosale by nearly 40,000 votes in the state poll results announced on Saturday. The defeat is a new low for Chavan personally as well as the Congress, which suff

Ex-CJI Chandrachud removed fear of law from political defectors: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, alleging that he had removed the fear of the law from politicians who defected from parties in Maharashtra. Raut claimed that by not deciding on the disqualification petitions, Chandrachud kept doors and windows open for defections. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader's statement comes after his party faced a severe drubbing in the state assembly elections, as it managed to clinch only 20 out of 95 seats it contested as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The performance of the party's alliance partners was no better, with the Congress winning only 16 out of 101 seats and NCP (SP) getting only 10 out of 86 seats it contested. Talking to reporters, Raut alleged, "He (Chandrachud) has removed the fear of the law from defectors. His name will be written in black letters in history." Following the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in 2022, the party's faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray filed ...

Ajit Pawar steps out of uncle's shadow, retains power in Baramati

Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has consolidated his position in the Mahayuti by guiding his party NCP to a spectacular win and retaining his own seat with a huge margin in the Maharashtra assembly polls. More than a year after he rebelled against NCP founder Sharad Pawar, he has now firmly come out of the shadow of his formidable uncle and cemented his place in the state politics. A multiple-time deputy CM under different governments, 65-year-old Ajit Pawar has not concealed his chief ministerial ambitions, but that dream has still remained unfulfilled. Doubts were raised over his political acumen when he fielded his wife Sunetra Pawar against his cousin Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, from Baramati in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Sunetra Pawar lost the election and Ajit Pawar later regretted fielding her against his cousin. However, he has now retained grip of the Baramati assembly constituency,

Cong's Maharashtra poll performance shocking, worst-ever: Prithviraj Chavan

Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said his party's defeat was "shocking" and dubbed it as the "worst-ever" loss in the state assembly polls. Talking to PTI, Chavan said the Mahayuti government's Ladki Bahin Yojana, for providing financial assistance to women, clicked with voters in rural areas while polarisation hit the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) prospects in urban parts of the state. "It is difficult to say whether there was a wave or tampering," said Chavan, who lost from his Karad South seat. The results of the November 20 polls to the 288-member state assembly were announced on Saturday. Several bigwigs from the MVA, including Chavan, were defeated. The Congress, which contested 101 seats as part of the MVA, posted its worst-ever defeat by managing to win only 16 seats. Chavan said he was expecting to win his Karad South seat in Satara district by 5,000 to 6,000 votes. But, all MVA nominees in the district lost

Too close: Victory margin lowest at 162 for AIMIM candidate, 208 for Patole

Several candidates emerged victorious in the Maharashtra assembly polls by wafer thin margins, including an AIMIM nominee in Malegaon Central by 162 votes and state Congress chief Nana Patole by 208 votes from Sakoli. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) sitting MLA Mufti Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique defeated Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra by 162 votes in Malegaon Central seat in Nashik district. Patole defeated BJP's Avinash Brahmankar by 208 votes in Sakoli in Bhandara district, as per the results announced by the Election Commission on Saturday. BJP's Manda Mhatre won from Belapur in Navi Mumbai by a margin of 377 votes, while Shiv Sena's Sanjay Gaikwad won from Buldhana by 841 votes. In Karjat-Jamkhed, sitting NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar retained his seat by 1,243 votes, while state minister and NCP candidate Dilip Walse Patil won from Ambegaon constituency with a margin of 1,523 votes. Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena ...

Elon Musk slams delay in California vote count, praises India's poll system

Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes

Maharashtra rejected appeasement politics: Piyush Goyal after Mahayuti win

He further highlighted that the victory reflected the people have supported the good work done by leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar

Sena vs Sena: Shinde faction defeats Uddhav's outfit in 36 constituencies

The Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde knocked out rival Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray in 36 constituencies in Maharashtra polls, putting to rest the debate over which is the real party founded by the late Bal Thackeray. Shinde's Sena, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, won 57 of the 81 seats it contested. Sena (UBT), a partner in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, managed to bag only 20 despite fielding 95 candidates. In 14 seats, it defeated Shiv Sena candidates. In one of his biggest political gambles, Shinde rebelled against Uddhav in June 2022 and aligned with the BJP along with his backers to become the chief minister. The move split the Sena and sparked almost daily bickerings between the two factions. Subsequently, Shinde got the party name and its bow-and-arrow' symbol from the Election Commission. Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who had chosen to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. And they delivered for him on ..

NCP vs NCP: Ajit's faction defeats rival Sharad Pawar's party in 29 seats

In the contest between the two rival NCP factions in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Ajit Pawar-led party defeated the outfit headed by his uncle Sharad Pawar on 29 seats. The NCP(Sharadchandra Pawar) came out winner in six constituencies. The Nationalist Congress Party of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission. The NCP (SP) led by his uncle had to be content with only ten victories, though it had fielded 86 candidates. The NCP, founded by the senior Pawar, split last year after Ajit walked away with 41 MLAs and aligned with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP to become part of the Mahayuti government, triggering an acrimonious intra-family rivalry. Ajit faced a big setback in the Lok Sabha polls when his cousin and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule defeated his wife Sunetra Pawar on their home turf Baramati. On Saturday, Aji

CM Shinde, Fadnavis lead winners' pack; Cong's Chavan, Thorat bite dust

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shine of Shiv Sena and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar from BJP and NCP, respectively, are among the prominent candidates to win the assembly elections, results of which were declared on Saturday. All ministers of the Mahayuti, who were in the fray, won. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, and state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule also emerged victorious. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Varun Sardesai won from Mumbai. Sardesai defeated NCP candidate Zeeshan Siddique from the Vandre East constituency. Former Maharashtra CM and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, AICC incharge of Goa, Manikrao Thakre, Shiv Sena contestant Shaina NC and MNS debutant candidate Amit Thackeray bit the dust. Former Union minister minister Milind Deora was defeated by Aaditya Thackeray from Worli seat. NCP (SP) nominee Yugendra Pawar, grandnephew of Sharad Pawar, was trounced by Ajit

Congress has no leadership in state: Ashok Chavan after landslide victory

The constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a rude jolt with Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray winning 20 seats, Congress 16, and NCP (SCP) led by Sharad Pawar only 10 seats

Maharashtra polls: 21 women among 288 winning candidates, only 1 in Oppn

The BJP accounted for the highest number of winning women candidates at 14, including ten candidates who were re-elected

People again endorsed PM Modi's leadership, development vision: Nadda

BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday hailed his party's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls and byelections in various states as "historic" and said people have put their seal on the Prime Minister's vision for the country's development, rejecting the opposition's politics of division and appeasement. Addressing an event organised at the BJP headquarters after the results of the elections, Nadda accepted people's mandate in Jharkhand and asserted that his party will play the role of "constructive opposition" in the state and fight against infiltration from Bangladesh "till the last breath". "It's a historic day," he said. In the latest round of elections, the people of Maharashtra and other states have put their stamp on Modi's agenda of development and his resolve to serve the nation, he said. "People have once again endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and 'vikasvaad', and those who were dividing the country on the lines of caste misleading people have fallen flat o

Maharashtra elections results updates: Nation only trusts BJP, NDA for good governance, says PM Modi

Maharashtra election results updates: According to ECI, Aditya Thackeray, representing Shiv Sena (UBT), has won the Worli seat by 8,000 votes. Catch the latest updates on Maharashtra results here

Message of development endorsed, politics of lies defeated: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the latest round of elections has endorsed the message of development and defeated the politics of lies and betrayal propounded by the Congress and its allies. Addressing a gathering at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters here, Modi said divisive forces, negative politics and dynasticism have been defeated in the Maharashtra election and bypolls in various states. He said the people of Maharashtra have voted for stability and taught a lesson to those who tried to create instability. The prime minister asserted that the message from the Maharashtra election is that of unity and it is also an endorsement of the "ek hai toh safe hai" slogan. Modi also said he bows down before the people of Jharkhand and that the BJP will work more zealously for the development of the state. "'Ek hai toh safe hai' has become the 'maha-mantra' for the entire nation and it has punished those who wanted to divide the country on caste and religious .