Page 10 - Shiv Sena

Maharashtra Assembly polls: 32.18% voter turnout recorded till 1 pm

A voter turnout of 32.18 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Wednesday in Maharashtra, where polling is underway in all 288 assembly constituencies, election officials said. Polling began at 7 am in the state assembly elections, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback. Voting will continue till 6 pm. There are a total of 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections, the officials said. Gadchiroli district recorded 50.89 per cent voter turnout. The Aheri assembly seat in the district saw 52.84 per cent voting, while Armori registered 51.05 per cent polling. Mumbai city district recorded 27.73 per cent voting and Mumbai suburban district saw 30.43 per cent turnout. The Colaba assembly segment in the megapolis registered 24.16 per cent polling, Mahim 33.01 per cent and Worli 26.96 per cent. Shivadi recorded 30.5 per cent ...

Mahayuti will get big majority, people will vote for development: CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Mahayuti government will get a thumping majority as people will vote for development and work done by his dispensation. Shinde, who heads the ruling Shiv Sena and seeking his re-election from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly constituency in Thane, was talking to reporters after casting his vote along with his family members, including his MP son Shrikant Shinde. He said election is a festival of democracy that will take Maharashtra towards a brighter future and make India an economic superpower. Shinde urged voters across the state to actively participate in the electoral process. "This festival is our opportunity to take part in building a stronger Maharashtra. Every citizen should fulfil the duty to vote. I humbly request everyone to cast vote and make our democracy prosperous. We must ensure a high voter turnout today," he said. "People have seen their (Maha Vikas Aghadi's) two-and-a-half years of

Polling begins for all 288 seats in Maharashtra Assembly elections

Polling began Wednesday morning in the Maharashtra assembly elections, where the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback. Voting began in all the 288 assembly seats at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, an election official said. The votes will be counted on November 23. Over 9.7 crore voters will be choosing from among the 4,136 candidates in the fray, the official said. In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. In the opposition's MVA combine, the Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates. Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with BSP fielding 237 candidates and AIMIM 17 in the 288-member Lower House. The election campaign saw ...

Ladki Bahin beneficiaries to get Dec instalment after Nov 20: CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said beneficiaries of Ladki Bahin Yojana will get the December instalment of the monthly aid of Rs 1250 on November 20 at the end of voting for the state assembly polls. The scheme is targeted at women with an annual family income of less that Rs 2.5 lakh. The Mahayuti has announced during the campaign for the assembly polls that it will raise the aid amount to Rs 2100 if it retains power. Results of the polls will be declared on November 23. "When I introduced the Ladki Bahin scheme, my goal was to empower women. Anticipating that the opposition would employ various tactics to undermine it, I arranged for advance payments till November. Beneficiaries will receive the December instalment as soon as the voting on November 20 wraps up and the model code of conduct is relaxed," Shinde told reporters. The model code of conduct in the state has been in force since October 15, when the Election Commission of India announced the poll ...

Election campaign for Maharashtra Assembly polls ends; voting on Nov 20

The election campaign for the Maharashtra assembly polls ended on Monday, with the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine hoping for a strong comeback. Polling will be held in all the 288 assembly seats on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates. The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power. The BJP's use of slogans like "Batenge toh katenge" and "Ek hai toh safe hai" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress,

Maharashtra polls: Two alliances, six regions, and many fierce rivalries

Indivjal Dhasmana analyses regional dynamics, voter divides, and economic disparities in the regions crucial in the Assembly polls

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. "

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 ..

Nadda accuses Cong of 'promoting urban Naxals', slams Uddhav's alliance

Nadda said that Modi government has prioritized social and financial inclusivity in its growth model to empower the poor

MVA fighting over driver's seat: Modi attacks opposition in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said there is constant infighting within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, with everyone fighting for the driver's seat. You all are seeing how there is a stampede in the Aghadi. There is a tug-of-war going on in the Aghadi for the post of chief minister, Modi said, addressing a rally in Solapur for the November 20 state assembly elections. One party remains busy the whole day in declaring its leader as the chief minister, while other parties and Congress remain busy in rejecting its claim, Modi said. Those whose condition is like this before the elections, they can never give a stable government to Maharashtra, he said. For decades, the Congress governed the country but left many issues unresolved. They kept people preoccupied with various problems. This has become their typical work culture, he said. As a result of this approach, the farmers in Maharashtra have suffered for many years, Modi said. In this region, ...

Supriya Sule accuses BJP of corruption, propagating 'distorted history'

NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule on Monday claimed the ruling BJP and its allies were steeped in corruption and accused them of insulting Maharashtra's icons and propagating "distorted" history. Speaking to reporters here ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, Sule said the BJP and its partners have nothing today to talk about the opposition. "In the last elections, issues like corruption were raised by them. Today they are not doing anything because they themselves are completely engulfed in corruption and the BJP and its allies do not have anything to talk against us," the Lok Sabha member from Baramati said. On the Mahayuti's claims that the opposition MVA has copied the ruling alliance's schemes like Ladki Bahin and put them in its manifesto, Sule said it was the Congress and NCP which provided the biggest loan waiver to farmers during their tenure in power. It was the Congress and NCP which had given a price guarantee for the agriculture produce, she ...

PM Modi, Shah betrayed Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena: Sanjay Raut

Raut's reaction comes after Union HM Shah challenged Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to ask Rahul Gandhi

Gamble or gambit? BJP-led Mahayuti cobbling up non-Maratha caste coalition

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls saw sharp polarisation of Maratha and OBC votes across Maharashtra, particularly in Marathwada, where the BJP-led alliance could win only one of the eight seats

Uddhav siding with those who insulted Balasaheb, Savarkar, says Amit Shah

Union minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was siding with the Congress, whose leaders have insulted Balasaheb Thackeray and Veer Savarkar. I want to ask Uddhav Thackeray if he can request Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to say two good words for Veer Savarkar, Shah said, after releasing BJP's manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls. Can any Congress leader say a few words in honour of Balasaheb Thackeray, Shah said. It would be good if the people of Maharashtra get to know those who have come out with the dream of forming an alliance government amidst such contradictions, he said. Shah said the BJP's Sankalp Patra' manifesto for the November 20 assembly polls is a reflection of the aspirations of the people of Maharashtra. An organization of Ulemas has demanded reservations for minorities, and the state Congress president Nana Patole acknowledged this, Shah said. Are the people of Maharashtra in favour of giving their right of ..

Husband vs wife, uncle vs nephew: Families battle their own in Maharashtra

Amid parties accusing rivals of promoting dynastic politics, the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will see brothers, cousins and father-children in the fray, with members of the same family taking on each other in some seats. In one constituency, the battle is between husband and wife, while another seat has an uncle and nephew pitted against each other. In the high stakes battle of Pawars, debutant Yugendra Pawar, the candidate of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), will take on his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, representing the NCP, in Baramati seat. Ajit Pawar has won the Baramati assembly poll seven times and also once bagged the Baramati parliamentary seat. This is the second time that Baramati, the bastion of Pawars, will see a contest within the family. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the deputy CM's wife Sunetra Pawar was defeated by his cousin and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule in the Baramati parliamentary seat. In the neighbouring Karjat-Jamkhed, Rohit Pawar,

Maharashtra Assembly polls crucial for Mumbai and state: Aaditya Thackeray

With the Mahayuti and MVA alliances locked in a fierce electoral contest and various narratives being set up by parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said the forthcoming elections are crucial for Mumbai and Maharashtra. Addressing a poll rally at Sewri in Mumbai, Thackeray accused the BJP of taking big-ticket investments to Gujarat and "crushing the dreams" of Maharashtra's youths. "This poll will be the most important poll of our life. This poll is not (about) getting back our symbol and the party or for Uddhav Thackeray or me. This poll is important for Maharashtra and Mumbai," he said. Thackeray said the Dharavi Redevelopment Project will have an impact all over Mumbai. He said when Shiv Sena took charge of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in 1997, it had a Rs 600 crore deficit. But the civic body is in Rs 92,000 crore surplus now, he added. Thackeray alleged the state government wanted to hand over prime coastal land of Koliwadas (fishing villag

Maharashtra polls: Sanjay Raut slams PM Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' remark

PM Modi said the people of Maharashtra have already seen MVA's misgovernance for two and a half years

MVA will be wiped out in Maharashtra as Cong was defeated in Haryana: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will be wiped out in Maharashtra in the assembly elections the same way the Congress faced a defeat in Haryana. He also said that while Uddhav Thackeray wants his son (Aaditya Thackeray) to become the chief minister of Maharashtra and Sharad Pawar wishes the same for his daughter (Supriya Sule), there are a number of leaders in the Congress who are vying for the post. Shah was addressing an election rally at Shirala in Sangli district to garner support for BJP candidates from Shirala and Islampur constituencies ahead of the November 20 assembly polls. "If MVA comes to power in Maharashtra by mistake, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister, (Sharad) Pawar saheb wants the post for his daughter and there are a dozen leaders in the Congress who have already stitched clothes to become the CM," Shah said. The former BJP president said those who wish to make their .

Shiv Sena (UBT) manifesto promises free education, to scrap Dharavi project

Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday unveiled his party's manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, assuring free education for male students, stabilising prices of essential items and scrapping of the Dharavi redevelopment project. Thackeray said most of the poll promises are part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) overall assurances, but there are some points which need special attention. The MVA, which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP), will also launch its manifesto for the November 20 state assembly polls, he said. Thackeray assured that the way female students in the state were getting free education under a government policy, it will be implemented for male students as well if the MVA comes to power. The MVA will also keep stable the prices of essential commodities, he said. On the Dharavi redevelopment project, the former chief minister said it will be scrapped as the project will have ramifications on Mumbai. Maharas

Maharashtra polls: Jarange reverses stance, says no support to any party

Taking a U-turn, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday said he will not support any contestant or party in the Maharashtra assembly polls and asked his supporters who had filed nominations to withdraw their candidature. Monday is the last day for withdrawing nominations. The state assembly elections will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. Jarange's decision not to participate in the electoral process marks a notable shift from his earlier strategy, as he had identified certain constituencies where he intended to support or oppose some candidates. Speaking to reporters at Antarwali Sarathi village here on Monday morning, Jarange said, "After much deliberation, I have decided not to field any candidate in the state. The Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect. I have no affiliation to or support for any candidate or political party." The activist asserted he was not under any pressure from the ruling Mahayuti or