Page 5 - Maharashtra

Maha civic polls: 68 Mahayuti candidates elected unopposed, 44 from BJP

The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls, voting for which will be held on January 15. Across the state, as many as 68 candidates from the BJP and the Mahayuti have been elected unopposed, reflecting the party's growing strength in urban local bodies, BJP leader Keshav Upadhye said on Friday. This includes 44 of the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has seen 22 of its candidates getting elected unopposed, while the figure is two for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. BJP leaders attributed the trend to the popularity of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and what they described as the successful electoral strategy of state unit president Ravindra Chavan. These have helped the BJP emerge as a dominant force not only in municipal councils but also in .

BJP, Shiv Sena part ways for Pune civic polls after seat-sharing talks fail

Earlier, CM Devendra Fadnavis said BJP would contest all 29 civic bodies with Shiv Sena, but for Pune the party offered just 16 of 165 seats, a proposal rejected by Sena's local unit

Vaishnaw virtually sees breakthrough of bullet train tunnel in Maharashtra

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday virtually witnessed the final breakthrough of a 1.5-km-long mountain tunnel of the bullet train project in Maharashtra's Palghar district from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. "This 1.5-km-long mountain tunnel is among the longest in Palghar district and is located between the Virar and Boisar bullet train stations. It is the second tunnel breakthrough in Maharashtra, as the first 5-km-long underground tunnel between Thane and BKC was completed in September 2025," a Railway Ministry press note said. The 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, which passes through Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, is India's only high-speed rail project designed to operate bullet trains at a speed of 320 kmph, covering the entire distance in 2 hours and 17 minutes. The project is being executed with technical and financial assistance from the Japanese government.

BMC polls: Opposition alleges bias over rejection of nomination papers

The Opposition has accused election officials of showing a partisan attitude during the scrutiny of nomination papers for the upcoming Thane Municipal Corporation elections after the documents of a few candidates were rejected. Rajan Vichare of Shiv Sena (UBT), Avinash Jadhav of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Jitendra Awhad of NCP (SP) addressed the media on Wednesday night, targeting the returning officer in the Wagle Estate area. The Opposition leaders alleged that the returning officer showed bias in rejecting the nomination papers of Sena (UBT), MNS, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and independent candidates contesting from wards 16, 17 and 18. According to MNS and VBA leaders, the nominations of Shinde Sena candidates Ekta Bhoir and Shilpa Wagh were accepted despite alleged discrepancies. The Wagle Estate area is considered a stronghold of the ruling Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. These officials have become servants of the ruling party and they work

Cabinet clears ₹19,142-cr Nashik-Akkalkot highway corridor in Maharashtra

The Cabinet has approved a Rs 19,142-crore, six-lane greenfield Nashik-Akkalkot highway in Maharashtra under BOT mode, aimed at cutting travel time by 17 hours and distance by 201 km

Cabinet clears 6-lane Nashik-Akkalkot highway; NH-326 upgrade in Odisha

The Cabinet has cleared two major road projects, including a six-lane Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot highway in Maharashtra and the widening of NH-326 in Odisha, with an estimated cost of ₹1,526.21 crore

Maharashtra allows eateries, bars to stay open till 5 am on New Year's Eve

In view of New Year's Eve celebrations across Maharashtra, the state government has permitted establishments like eateries, restaurants, hotels, orchestra bars and pubs to operate till 5 am on January 1, officials said on Wednesday. The home department issued a "permanent" order on Tuesday night, permitting extended hours to the entertainment and hospitality venues, an official said. This order will now remain in force for Christmas Eve (December 24 night), Christmas (December 25 night) and New Year's Eve (December 31 night) in the future, as hotel and restaurant associations make these requests every year. Many a time, approval gets delayed due to administrative paperwork, he said. While the establishments will be allowed to stay open till 5 am on the specified nights, they will also have to follow specific terms and conditions, the official said. According to the conditions, establishment owners will arrange private security guards inside and outside their premises to avoid law a

Latur civic polls: BJP goes solo after alliance talks with NCP break down

The much-anticipated alliance between the BJP and NCP for the January 15 elections to the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) in Maharashtra appears to have broken down with the former announcing it will contest all 70 seats independently. Talking to reporters on Tuesday, the last day of filing nominations, former minister and BJP's Latur civic poll in-charge, MLA Sambhajirao Patil Nilangekar, declared his party will contest all 70 seats in the LMC. He said the BJP had made sincere efforts to forge an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Despite the willingness shown by senior NCP leaders in the district, he claimed the alliance was derailed due to interference by second and third-rung functionaries who threw a spanner in the works. He noted that NCP leaders, including Minister Babasaheb Patil, former minister Sanjay Bansode and MLC Vikram Kale, were keen on contesting the polls as part of the alliance. However, office bearers accompanying the NCP leadership allegedly

BMC polls: Uddhav Thackeray releases booklet on Covid-19 track record

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has released a booklet highlighting the work he did during the COVID-19 pandemic when he was helming the Maharashtra government, a strategic move ahead of the civic polls. The booklet, released on Sunday, lists measures Thackeray took as chief minister to contain the pandemic in areas such as Dharavi and other parts of Mumbai during the Maha Vikas Aghadi's rule between 2019 and 2022. The Sena (UBT) last week announced an alliance with Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the Mumbai civic polls, but the parties haven't yet declared their lists of candidates. Elections to 29 civic bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, will be held on January 15. The counting of votes will take place the next day. The election to the BMC can be viewed as a high-stakes battle for Uddhav Thackeray, as he attempts to reclaim control of the country's richest civic body, which has been under the undivided Shiv Sena from 1997 to 20

Ajit Pawar announces NCP reunion with Sharad Pawar faction for civic polls

Ajit Pawar announced that the NCP and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) will contest the Pimpri-Chinchwad civic polls together, calling it a moment of family unity; seat-sharing details will be announced late

Chequered year: Mass surrender of Naxalites offers hope, crime tests police

From mass surrender of Naxalites to developments linked to the brutal murder of a sarpanch in Beed, from attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan by a Bangladeshi man to high-profile fraud cases, including the Pune land deal, Maharashtra witnessed a chequered year in terms of crime and security in 2025. The previous year had ended on a tragic note with the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed. The barbarity of the killing shook the conscience of not only the state but the entire nation. Its repercussions continued to reverberate this year. In January this year, the prime accused in the case, Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, was booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and sent to judicial custody. In March, Munde, who was a minister at that time, had to step down due to mounting political pressure. In October this year, major success was scored in the anti-Naxal operation after key

Maharashtra 2025: Thackeray cousins unite, Mahayuti gains in local polls

The ruling alliance bagged 207 posts of municipal presidents and 4,422 seats in the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls held in December

Civic polls: Urban growth, strained services key voter issues in Mumbai

Nine of the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra going to polls on January 15 are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), where urban challenges, centred on pollution, housing, water, sanitation and public transport, are expected to influence voter behaviour. Amid identity politics over caste, language, religion and the Marathi Manoos' narrative, candidates and political parties are recalibrating their platforms to address core civic issues. In the recent session of the state legislature, the state government announced an amnesty scheme to regularise over 20,000 buildings in MMR that lack occupancy certificates. A new regulatory framework has been announced to redevelop Mumbai's pagdi' buildings (tenancy rental model where the tenant is a part-owner of a house). In the nine civic corporations of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhasnagar and Panvel, local socio-economic and infrastructure issues are taking centre stage in ..

Let bars be open till 5 am during year-end: Hotels body to Maha govt

HRAWI has sought a limited extension for excise-licensed hotels and restaurants to serve till 5 am on December 24, 25 and 31, seeking clarity for planning and crowd management

What split the Thackerays? Inside the feud that broke the Shiv Sena

Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have reunited ahead of the January 15 BMC polls, ending a long feud over leadership and succession that split the Shiv Sena nearly two decades ago

Maharashtra civic polls: BJP dominates 5 divisions, wins over 2,400 seats

The ruling BJP has emerged as the most dominant force in the recently-held municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra, securing the highest number of seats in five out of the state's six administrative divisions, accounting for 30 to 50 per cent of the seats in most regions. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 2,431 seats, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena 1,025, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) 966, according to the data released by the State Election Commission (SEC). The three parties are part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. Among the opposition parties, the Congress won 824 seats, while its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies - NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), won 256 and 244 seats, respectively. The only exception was the Konkan division, where the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, outperformed the BJP. Of the 647 seats decided in Konkan, the Shinde-led Sena won 229 seats, or about 35.4 per cent, while the BJP followed with 192 ...

No official proposal for alliance with Ajit Pawar camp yet: Supriya Sule

There has been no official proposal of an alliance between her party and the faction led by Ajit Pawar for the civic elections in Pune, NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said on Tuesday, even as veteran leader Ankush Kakade stated that they have in principle decided to join hands. A meeting of the NCP and NCP (SP) took place here earlier in the day, said Kakade, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar-led party. "Three leaders from each side including me took part in the meeting. (City NCP(SP) chief) Prashant Jagtap was not there as he has gone to Mumbai for some work. A detailed discussion took place and it was in principle decided that we will jointly contest the civic polls in Pune, but we will be talking to our other colleagues in the evening," he told reporters. They will speak to Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress about taking along the Ajit Pawar-led NCP (which is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Maharashtra), Kakade said, adding that they were keen on

Shapoorji Pallonji enters plotted development with ₹600 cr project in Pune

Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate has launched Treetopia, a 105-acre plotted development in Pune with 483 residential plots and an estimated revenue potential of Rs 600 crore

Grassroots outreach, development vision helped BJP win local polls: Chavan

Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan said the saffron party's grassroots outreach across the state and development-oriented vision helped it emerge victorious in the local bodies elections. The Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP on Sunday swept the elections to 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, winning 207 posts of presidents in the local bodies. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was restricted to a collective tally of 44. The BJP won 117 posts of municipal presidents, Shiv Sena won 53, and the NCP won 37 posts. The Congress bagged 28, the NCP (SP) seven, and Shiv Sena (UBT) nine. Addressing a party meeting in Kalyan town of Thane district on Sunday night, Chavan said, "Once the elections were announced, BJP workers went door to door, informing citizens about the welfare schemes of the Central and state governments. They earned people's trust, and this dedication has resulted in a decisive victory." People endorsed the development-oriented vision of Pri

BJP scores record local body poll win, says Fadnavis; Oppn cries foul

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the BJP has set a record in local body polls with 48 per cent of councillors winning on the party symbol, and its candidates elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. He attributed the Mahayuti alliance's success in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections to the BJP organisation and development agenda of the government. Counting of votes for elections to the posts of president and members in 286 municipal councils and nagar panchayats held in two phases began in the morning. Fadnavis said the BJP has once again emerged as the single largest party. "48 per cent councillors have been elected on the BJP symbol, which is a record. The BJP has created another record with 3,300 councillors being elected from the party. "BJP candidates have been elected as presidents in 129 municipal councils. In 75 per cent of the local bodies, Mahayuti nominees have been elected as municipal presidents," he said. Fadnavis .