Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar made a light-hearted remark on Monday, suggesting that had he campaigned in his nephew Rohit Pawar's assembly constituency, it would have been difficult for the latter to retain his seat in the just-concluded Maharashtra assembly elections. Rohit Pawar, who is the grandnephew of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (Sharad Pawar faction) chief Sharad Pawar, successfully retained his Karjat Jamkhed seat in Ahilyanagar district, defeating BJP's Ram Shinde by a narrow margin of 1,243 votes. The Pawar family members, who have seen significant political developments in recent years, paid tribute to Maharashtra's first Chief Minister Y. B. Chavan on his death anniversary at a memorial in Karad. Sharad Pawar was accompanied by his grandnephew, Rohit Pawar, during the visit. Following this, Ajit Pawar also paid homage at the same memorial. During the visit, Ajit Pawar, with whom Rohit shares a complex political relationship due to their differing affiliations, jokingly congratulated his nephew on retaining the seat. He quipped, "Come, take my blessings. You barely survived (in retaining the seat). Had I held a rally (in Karjat Jamkhed), imagine what would have happened." In response to the remark, Rohit Pawar, ever respectful, touched his uncle’s feet. He later addressed the media, acknowledging the role his uncle played in his political journey, despite their differences. "Despite our (political) differences, Ajit Pawar is like a father figure to me," Rohit said. "In the 2019 elections, he helped me immensely. It was my responsibility to touch his feet, and I follow the traditions and values that Chavan Saheb upheld." Rohit also acknowledged that Ajit Pawar’s absence from his campaign had impacted the election results, saying, “Had he held a rally in Karjat Jamkhed, things would have been different. But he was busy in Baramati and couldn’t come to the constituency.” The recent assembly elections saw contrasting results for the two factions of the NCP. While Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction secured 41 seats, the NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar won only 10 seats. Ajit Pawar retained his Baramati seat by a landslide margin of over one lakh votes, defeating his own nephew, Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP). The split within the NCP, following Ajit Pawar's defection to the Eknath Shinde-led BJP government in 2023, has significantly shaped the party's political trajectory. Despite the differences, the Pawar family continues to maintain strong political ties, with both Ajit and Sharad Pawar commanding influence in Maharashtra’s political landscape. As per PTI, these remarks underline the familial bonds that remain intact, even as the political paths of Ajit and Sharad Pawar have diverged in recent years.
25 November,2024 10:38 AM IST | MumbaiWith the BJP and Mahayuti getting a majority and a political push, the plan to convert Mumbai’s local trains into a completely AC fleet may gather momentum. The plan had been stuck and delayed since August 2022 due to political opposition from the NCP (SP). Party president Sharad Pawar had called for the complete withdrawal of AC local trains from the city and the restoration of regular services for working-class commuters. Subsequently, the Central Railway discontinued 10 of its new services, citing law and order issues. The plan to convert all local trains to AC locals was then put on the backburner. Sources said that most of the pending infrastructure and transport projects will now get a major push and will be taken up in fast-track mode. “The political mandate has given more power and validity to the planned projects, and they would now be taken ahead at full steam,” a BJP leader said. Tenders put on hold On May 19, 2023, the Ministry of Railways issued a one-sheet, five-point note to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC)—the rail upgrade body—directing it to improve Mumbai local trains into the classy Vande Metro (suburban) trains. The note stated that MRVC should place orders for the “procurement of 238 trains of Vande Metro (suburban) under Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) 3 and 3A.” The projects are jointly funded by the state and the central governments to upgrade the city’s rail network with new corridors and trains. A Vande Metro train which connects Bhuj and Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. File pic The note stated that the trains will not be manufactured as regularly done by railway factories but by the technology partners, ensuring ‘Make in India’ guidelines. The ministry had further directed the MRVC to go ahead and invite tenders for the project with stringent maintenance requirements for the next 35 years. The MRVC has been asked to consult Western and Central Railway for the requirement of 12/15 car trains as per their needs and then decide. In addition to this, the two car depots already approved under MUTP 3 and 3A at Vangaon on Western Railway and Bhivpuri on Central Railway will be set up by the technology partner. In June 2023, the MRVC began the process for the procurement of 238 trains of Vande Metro (suburban) under MUTP 3 and 3A, but abruptly scrapped the tender in July 2023. A small note stated, “The mega-multi-crore international tender had been deferred,” without giving any explanation. Railway Board officials said it had been stuck at the political level and that issues would soon be sorted out. Mumbaikars need to unite In September 2024, when questioned about AC local trains, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw had told mid-day that the plan had been stranded as NCP leader Sharad Pawar had opposed it and Mumbaikars needed to come together, form an opinion, and get the AC locals that they want. The same month, NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the opposition of party chief Sharad Pawar was to the higher fare structure, not to AC trains per se. The fare of AC local trains is comparatively higher than that of the regular local trains. “The issue of AC locals needs to be resolved fast as it is about safety as well. It is not just about having a cool ride but also about people falling from tracks. With closed doors, the number of people dying on Mumbai’s tracks will drastically come down in one go,” Rajeshwar Mehendale, a commuter from Dombivli, said. “Mumbaikars need to pay if they want a better quality train. There has been no fare hike in the past decade and the commute remains the cheapest at 11 paise per km. When it comes to speed and cost-effectiveness, no other mode of transport comes close to local trains. It is an example of affordability and speed,” said a senior rail official. 238No. of Vande Metro trains to be procured under MUTP) 3 and 3A
25 November,2024 10:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarNationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar visited the memorial of Maharashtra's first Chief Minister, Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan, on Monday to pay their respects on his death anniversary. The two leaders, however, paid tributes separately at 'Pritisangam,' the memorial located in Karad. Sharad Pawar, the chief of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), arrived at the site accompanied by his grandnephew, Rohit Pawar. The veteran leader laid floral tributes at the memorial of Chavan, who was his mentor and remains one of Maharashtra's most celebrated political figures. Sharad Pawar acknowledged Chavan's immense contributions to the state, describing him as a visionary who laid the foundation for Maharashtra’s development. Later in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also visited the memorial to pay homage to the late leader. Ajit Pawar, who now leads the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, refrained from making any public remarks at the memorial, but his presence underscored the significance of Y B Chavan in Maharashtra's political landscape. This separate tribute by the uncle-nephew duo reflects the ongoing political split within the NCP, which became evident last year when Ajit Pawar and several other legislators joined the BJP-Shinde coalition government. This move led to a significant division in the party that Sharad Pawar founded. In the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, Ajit Pawar's NCP faction outperformed its rival faction led by Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar’s group secured an impressive 41 seats in the 288-member assembly, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed to win only 10 seats. According to PTI reports, the electoral outcome highlights a major shift in the party’s political dynamics, with Ajit Pawar emerging as a stronger force in Maharashtra's politics. Yashwantrao Chavan, who served as Maharashtra's first Chief Minister from 1960 to 1962, is remembered for his progressive policies and leadership during the state's formative years. Leaders across party lines continue to honour his legacy, acknowledging his role in shaping modern Maharashtra. Both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar emphasised the importance of remembering Chavan’s contributions, albeit through separate visits. The separate tributes are a stark reminder of the divisions within the NCP, even as both factions seek to invoke Chavan's legacy in their political discourse. As per PTI, the memorial at 'Pritisangam' remains a prominent place for leaders and citizens alike to pay respects to one of Maharashtra’s towering figures in history. (With inputs from PTI)
25 November,2024 10:04 AM IST | KaradA 38 year old labourer sustained injuries after a fire broke out in a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said on Monday, PTI reported. The fire erupted at around 10 pm at the factory located in Anand Nagar MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) at around 10 pm in Ambernath area, said Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi. The worker, identified as Anil Yadav, received burnt injuries and was admitted to a local hospital for treatment, as per an official at the Thane police control room, PTI cited. Four fire personnel teams from Ambernath , Ulhasnagar, Badlapur and Kalyan brought the fire under control at around 2:45 am after trying for four hours, he said. Cooling operations were underway, Tadvi said that cooling operations were underway, and further added that the cause of fire is still under investigation, PTI reported. Fire in complex housing scrap godowns in Bhiwandi town; no one injured A fire broke out at a complex housing scrap godowns in Bhiwandi town of Thane district in Maharashtra on Friday evening, civic officials said, reported the PTI. No one was injured in the fire that broke out at around 4.45 pm, the officials said. The blaze broke out in the Fatima Nagar locality in Bhiwandi area, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). On getting information about the fire, the officials from the fire brigade and the disaster management cell along with other civic staff rushed to the spot and launched a fire-fighting operation, PTI reported. Three fire engines from the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNMC) and one from the Kalyan-Dombivli civic body were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, he said. Yasin Tadvi informed that the fire, whose cause was not immediately known, quickly spread and engulfed at least a dozen scrap godowns in the complex, as per the PTI. The investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, the officials said. (With inputs from PTI)
25 November,2024 09:33 AM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentBetween the Lok Sabha election in May and the recent Assembly poll, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) saw its vote share in Mumbai decline by nearly seven percentage points. Mahayuti candidates have won seven Assembly segments in the city where MVA aspirants came out on top during the Lok Sabha election. According to Election Commission of India data, in the general election, in Mumbai, Mahayuti and MVA candidates managed to get 49 per cent and 45 per cent of the votes, respectively. In the Assembly election, the Mahayuti retained its vote share while the MVA’s figure shrunk to 38 per cent. Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Mahesh Sawant, who won from Mahim constituency, with his family. Pic/Kirti Surve Parade Of Mumbai’s 36 Assembly seats, the BJP won 15, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) won six and the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar bagged one. During the Lok Sabha election, Mahayuti candidates came out on top in 16 Assembly segments. The alliance has now bagged Assembly 22 seats, including six constituencies where MVA candidates were in the lead during the Lok Sabha election. Assembly segments which saw MVA candidates perform well such as Anushakti Nagar, Sion Koliwada, Chandivli, Kurla, Ghatkopar West, Bhandup and Chembur have been won by NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate Sana Malik, sitting BJP MLA Captain Tamil Selvan, sitting Shinde MLA Sena Dilip Lande, sitting Shiv Sena MLA Mangesh Korgaonkar, incumbent BJP MLA Ram Kadam, Shinde Sena’s Ashok Patil and Tukaram Kate respectively. (From left) Dilip Lande, Chandivli MLA; Ram Kadam, Ghatkopar West MLA and Captain Tamil Selvan, Sion Koliwada MLA Of these, Lande won with the highest margin of 20,625 while his opponent, Congress’s Naseem Khan secured 1,04,016 votes. In the 2019 election, Lande won against Khan by a 409-vote margin, securing 85,879 votes. During the Lok Sabha election, the MVA came out on top in 20 city constituencies while in the Assembly poll, Sena (UBT), Congress and SP won 10, three and one seats respectively. The Mahim Assembly seat, where the Mahayuti candidate was leading in the Lok Sabha election, saw Mahesh Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) defeating sitting Shinde Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar.
25 November,2024 08:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Sameer SurveMaratha 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 the Marathwada region, including all five in Jalna, the epicentre of Jarange’s stir for quota for the Maratha community in jobs and education. Poll observers attributed the success to schemes like 'Ladki Bahin’ and a robust campaign. 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. Expressing satisfaction at the results, he pointed out that 204 Marathas were elected to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly. Jarange, ahead of the November 20 assembly polls, had routinely spoken about fielding candidates or ensuring those who opposed the community’s quota demands were defeated. Senior journalist Raju Ghule said, “Voter polarisation and the support of the OBC community, who rallied behind the Mahayuti after its poor show in the Lok Sabha elections, ensured the victory of BJP’s Babanrao Lonikar from Partur, Narayan Kuche from Badnapur, and Santosh Danve from Bhokardan in Jalna district. In the Bhokardan constituency, BJP MLA Santosh Danve, son of Raosaheb Danve, secured his third consecutive victory. He attributed it to his father’s relentless campaigning. Shiv Sena’s Arjun Khotkar was the winner in Jalna, while his party colleague Udhan Hikmat Baliram defeated five-time MLA Rajesh Tope of the NCP in Ghansawangi. An OBC activist said Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna was the focal point of the Maratha agitation but Mahayuti managed to perform exceedingly well in the district despite facing the community’s anger. “The BJP and its allies capitalised on flagship schemes like the 'Ladki Bahin’ for women and the emotive slogans 'ek hai toh safe hai’ and 'batenge toh katenge which resonated strongly with voters,” he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
25 November,2024 08:43 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesA biker and two people in a car lost their lives in a case of drunken driving in two separate incidents in Vile Parle and Powai on Saturday. In the first incident, the Vile Parle police arrested an 18-year-old for allegedly crashing his car, leading to the deaths of two college students near the airport road on the night of November 23. Jaden Jimi, along with her college friends Jalaj Dheer, Sarthak Kaushik, and Sahil Mehta, all 18-year-olds met at Dheer’s residence in Goregaon. Jimi, who is the complainant in the case, told the police that before going on a drive she and her friends had allegedly drank two pegs of vodka. The cops have arrested the driver, Mehta, and have sent blood samples for forensic analysis to determine whether he was drunk on the day of the incident. At around 3.30 am the group had decided to go for a drive and Jaden was allegedly driving Mehta’s Honda City. When the group had reached Bandra, Mehta took control of the car and they all drove to a hotel in Bandra to collect a food parcel. “The group had decided to go back to Dheer’s residence, but when the car reached Sahara Star Hotel on the Western Express Highway, Vile Parle, Mehta lost control of the car and collided with a pole,” the police said. Police said Kaushik and Dheer, who were sitting in the back of the car, were badly injured and rushed to a hospital but died while receiving treatment. While Mehta and Jimi were seated in front and sustained minor injuries. Based on Jimi’s statement, the police arrested Mehta. The police now await the blood sample analysis report to determine whether he was drunk. The FIR states that he was driving the car at a speed of 120-150 kmph. Mehta has been booked under Sections 106 (death by negligence), 125 (an act endangering the lives of others), 281 (whomsoever drives a vehicle or rides a vehicle, or rides in a manner so rash or negligent to endanger human lives) and other relevant sections of the BNS. 24-year-old dies In another incident, a 24-year-old youth died in a drunken driving incident at Powai on Saturday. The deceased and two of his frinds were riding three up. The friends were also seriously injured in this incident and admitted to hospital. The deceased was identified as Krishna Patil who had gone for a ride near Powai lake with his two friends, Mohammed Khan, 24, and Nilesh Nishad, 22, and they decided to drink alcohol by the lakeside. Patil received a call from his brother who informed him that their grandmother was unwell and he needed to take her to Rajawadi Hospital. While rushing home he met with an accident. The complainant Mohammed Khan was also injured in the accident. Biker’s brother had called A police officer said, “On receiving a call from his brother about her grandmother’s health, Patil instructed his brother to admit her to the hospital and mentioned that he would join them soon.” “Khan advised Patil not to ride the bike as he was drunk, but the latter ignored him and started his bike. Both Nilesh and Khan were seated on the bike, and they left for the hospital riding triple-seat. While speeding along the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road flyover, Patil lost control of the bike, which crashed into the bridge wall. The impact threw all three riders off the motorcycle,” a police officer said. Khan sustained injuries to his hands and legs, while Nilesh suffered serious injuries. However, Patil died on the spot. The police have registered a FIR against Patil for reckless driving and riding under the influence of alcohol. Jimi did not pick up calls from mid-day and was not present at her residence in Kalina when mid-day tried to reach her.
25 November,2024 08:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Apoorva Agashe | Shirish VaktaniaThe architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Sharad Pawar, has accepted the Vidhan Sabha verdict but says there seems to be a strategy behind the Mahayuti’s win. He said the results were unexpected because the people were seen supporting the Opposition. In defeat, he has vowed to rise again and build a new leadership. “I will not stay home. I will work with new vigour to build the party's programme,” he said while talking to the media in Karad. “The details are not available yet. We will study them and come back to you.” Pawar said he was told about something strange. He said the elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were held four months ago in which the Opposition parties won, but the ruling party won Haryana. “Similarly, Congress did well in Jharkhand but failed in Maharashtra. It seems the small states are for the Opposition and big states for the ruling parties,” he said, asking reporters whether they had understood him. The leader said the Ladki Bahin scheme-related campaign had misled the people because it was said that the scheme would stop if they were not voted to power. He said there was a 2 per cent rise in women voters. He refused to comment on the allegations regarding EVMs but endorsed information given to him that money was used like never before in the elections. He also attributed the BJP's success to the leaders who were earlier associated with him or the Congress. “Those who left us have succeeded,” he said, adding that the ‘batenge to katenge’ narrative had polarised the voters. According to Pawar, the comparison between Baramati contestant Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar was not possible, because the latter was a novice to politics whereas the former was known for his work and experience. When asked about who the new CM would be, Pawar said no alliance partner would dare take on the BJP which had a huge number. “The BJP can do whatever it wants,” he stated.
25 November,2024 08:32 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentSo what happened to last time’s political defectors who joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)? Were they shelved by the electorate or accepted? The winning trends of the results show that most of them have been re-elected and managed to retain their seats. A few seats on which candidates were replaced were also retained by both the factions. Though a few others lost, most of the Sena and NCP defectors managed to keep their hold. Shinde and Ajit Pawar themselves fared well. The latter won with a margin of 1,00,899 votes against nephew Yugendra Pawar while the former retained his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat with a margin of 1,20,717 votes against Sena (UBT) candidate Kedar Dighe. Shinde Sena in MMR While a number of candidates in the Shinde Sena won by a good margin, the party lost its bastion at Mahim with Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Mahesh Sawant defeating Sada Sarvankar by a margin of 1,316 votes. The other key constituency that the Shinde Sena lost to Sena (UBT) was Byculla, where Yamini Jadhav lost to Manoj Jamsutkar by 31,361 votes. Others with Shinde Sena in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region include Balaji Kinikar, Ambernath (Thane), Mangesh Kudalkar (Kurla), Vishwanath Bhoir (Kalyan West), Shantaram More (Bhiwandi Rural), Dilip Lande (Chandivli), Shrinivas Vanga (Palghar), Pratap Sarnaik (Owala Majiwada) and Prakash Surve (Magathane). Of these, Shrinivas Vanga was not given a ticket this time. Instead, the party fielded Rajendra Gavit who won with a margin of more than 40,000 votes. Replacements who won In two constituencies, close kin of former candidates got elected. In Erandol (Jalgaon), the son of 2019 candidate Chimanrao Patil, Amol won by a margin of 56,332 votes. Also, Chandrakant Sonawane, taking over from his wife and 2019 MLA Latabai Sonawane from Chopda, won by over 33,599 votes. Shinde Sena leaders who lost The three candidates who lost include Dnyanraj Chowgule (Umarga, Osmanabad) who lost by 3,965 votes; Shahaji Patil (Sangola, Solapur), who lost by 25,386 votes; and Sanjay Raymulkar (Mehkar, Buldhana) who was defeated by 4,819 votes. The key leaders who defected with Ajit Pawar’s NCP include Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode. While Bhujbal won from Yeola constituency by a margin of 26,400 votes, Dilip Walse Patil won from Ambegaon by a margin of 1,523 votes, Hasan Mushrif won from Kagal by a margin of 11,581 votes and Dhananjay Munde secured a win in Parli with a 1,40,224-vote margin. Aditi Tatkare from Shrivardhan won with a margin of 82,798 votes, Dharmarao Atram from Aheri was victorious with a 16,814-vote lead, Anil Patil from Amalner won by 33,435 votes and Sanjay Bansode of Udgir constituency won by 1,52,038 votes.
25 November,2024 08:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarAfter securing a big win, the Mahayuti’s next target is forming the government. Having no worries at all about numbers because collectively they have much more than needed, the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP were still engaged in hectic activities on Sunday amidst speculations about the new chief minister. The state leaders of all three parties were on the same page, saying that the senior leaders (read the BJP high command) would take a final call on the most-sought job. They were correct because it is the BJP’s say that would matter most in resolving the issue that appeared complicated to most given the Shinde’s camp’s demand that he continue to be in the CMO and the state BJP leaders’ strong wish that their representative, Devendra Fadnavis, be put in charge of the new government. People in the know said that they were waiting for the BJP to hold its legislative party meeting of 136 MLAs in the presence of a Delhi headquarters-appointed observer, who might carry a message of the high command about the next CM. Fadnavis is a popular choice for the leader of BJP’s legislative party. Most of the BJP legislators had arrived in the city and the rest were expected by Sunday night. For alliance partners, choosing the leader was an easy job as there were no contenders other than Shiv Sena’s incumbent CM Eknath Shinde and NCP’s Ajit Pawar. The CM and DyCM were chosen as their respective party leaders at meetings held on Sunday. It is said that Pawar’s party is likely to support Fadnavis as the CM in the meeting with BJP’s representatives from Delhi. The day did not go without speculations over the venue for the swearing-in. The toss was between the Wankhede Stadium or Shivaji Park for a bigger show, but the authorities said nothing was decided about these venues yet. Raj Bhavan’s name, too, cropped up for a brief ceremony for only three—the CM and his two deputies. Another talk of the town was that the swearing-in has to be held before November 26, the day the term of the 14th Vidhan Sabha ends. But it wasn’t supported by the people in the know. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Deepak Kesarkar told reporters on Sunday that the new government has to be sworn in by November 25 as the term of the outgoing assembly ends on November 26. “It looks like the swearing-in may be held at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai,” he said. Meanwhile, the Deputy Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India, Hirdesh Kumar and Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra, S Chockalingam called on Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan and presented copies of the gazette containing names of members elected to the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra and ECI’s notification at Raj Bhavan Mumbai on Sunday. Following the results Saturday, the names of elected candidates of the election were published in the Maharashtra Government State Gazette as per the provisions of Section 73 of the Representation of People Act, 1951.
25 November,2024 08:09 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray ran a vigorous campaign in the state Assembly elections, specifically targeting the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and, more significantly, his cousin Uddhav Thackeray. Despite this, the MNS has not won a single seat in Maharashtra. Political analysts feel that the future of the party is now at stake. MNS had fielded candidates in a total of 125 seats for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra. In Mumbai, the party had not put up any candidates in 10 of the 36 constituencies and because of this, there were speculations that the MNS chief was trying to help Mahayuti candidates contesting from these seats. At the start of the election campaign, the MNS chief had also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-Mahayuti would return to power. A few hours after it became apparent that the alliance was heading for victory, Thackeray posted his reaction on X, stating, “Unbelievable...That’s it for now.” Many responses to the tweet by Raj Thackeray suggested a Raj-Uddhav Thackeray alliance for the future of Maharashtra. In 2009, MNS had contested the Assembly elections and won 13 seats with a vote share of 5.71 per cent but after that, the political graph of the party has only seen a decline. In the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections, the MNS vote share in Maharashtra was 3.15 per cent and 2.25 per cent, respectively. In 2014, Sharad Sonavane from Junnar constituency won on an MNS ticket, becoming the lone legislator from the party. Similarly, in 2019, Raju Patil from Kalyan Rural constituency was the sole MLA to win the Assembly poll on an MNS ticket. The vote share of MNS in the 2024 Assembly elections is 1.55 per cent, its lowest so far. ‘Future looks uncertain’ Political analyst and Senior Assistant Editor at Lokmat, Sandip Pradhan, said, “The future of MNS looks uncertain as Raj Thackeray, despite vigorous campaigning, has failed to secure any seats. In the past, political parties within the Maha Vikas Aghadi have used him for their own advantage, and now the Mahayuti alliance seems to be following the same strategy. With the BMC [Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ]elections approaching, MNS’s situation could worsen. Both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray have yet to realise that ‘batenge toh katenge’ is not just a political slogan. Rather than coming together for shared objectives, they have continued to attack one another, while their respective party workers are eager for collaboration and a unified approach.” A political expert who has been following the Shiv Sena and MNS closely and who did not wish to be named, said, “Not winning a single seat in the Assembly elections is a major setback for the party and this also raises questions over its survival. The other big defeat for Raj Thackeray in this election was also the fact that he couldn’t even get his son elected from the Mahim Assembly constituency, which is also the area he had been staying in for decades. The BJP-Mahayuti has done exceptionally well and will use the results to win in the BMC polls, making it extremely difficult for MNS to win seats there too.” 137No. of seats in state MNS fielded candidates for MNS’s performance in key constituencies Mahim: Amit, son of Raj Thackeray, secured 33,062 votes, coming in third position and losing by 17,151 votes.Worli: Sandeep Deshpande secured 19,367 votes to come in third, losing by 43,957 votes.Bandra East: Trupti Bala Sawant secured 16,074 votes and was in third position, losing by 41,634 votes.Dindoshi: Advocate Bhaskar Parab secured 20,309 votes. He came in third, losing by 56,128 votes.Bhandup: Shirish Sawant came in third with 2,555 votes and lost by 54,419 votes.Thane: Avinash Jadhav secured 42,592 votes and was in third position. He lost by a whopping 77,781 votes.
25 November,2024 08:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet JadhavADVERTISEMENT
