Mumbai: The absence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and senior leaders from his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Mumbai has stirred tensions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

NCP Senior Leaders, Candidates Skip Modi’s Rally

The rally held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Park in Dadar, aimed to project the strength and unity of the coalition, bringing together leaders from Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde faction and the Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Ramdas Athawale. However, the lack of attendance from prominent NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidates Sana Malik, Nawab Malik and Zeeshan Siddique was conspicuous, especially as other alliance representatives appeared alongside Modi on stage.

This absence has raised eyebrows, with reports suggesting that Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction feels increasingly uneasy with the BJP’s campaign slogan, ‘batenge toh katenge’ (divided we fall), which some view as a pressure tactic to enforce cohesion.

PM Modi Thanks Mumbaikars

On the other hand, PM Modi expressed gratitude toward Mumbai’s people on social media, stressing his commitment to development and good governance under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Modi’s comments aimed to emphasize the coalition’s vision of improving ‘Ease of Living’ for citizens.

Milind Deora Dismisses Speculations Of Rift

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora had earlier addressed the speculations, affirming that the Mahayuti coalition, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, is united and contesting elections with full strength. He accused Congress of spreading a fake narrative on threat to the Constitution and also stated that it has failed, as reported by PTI.

Deora dismissed notions of any internal discord, contrasting the Mahayuti’s cohesion with what he described as fragmentation within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) and Congress.

The stakes are high as Maharashtra heads into its November 20 assembly elections, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition MVA locked in a fierce battle for control of the state. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on November 23.

In the Baba Siddique murder case, the key arrested shooter, Shiv Kumar Gautam, has told the police that, after the murder, cops asked him whether he saw the shooters fleeing the scene of crime.

A day ago, he had told the police that after shooting the NCP leader, he changed his shirt which he had hidden in his pants, returned to the scene of crime, mingled with the crowd to observe the aftermath and then went to Lilavati Hospital to check if Siddique was still alive or just injured.

He has told the police that he returned to the spot after changing his shirt and saw the police searching for the shooters. They asked him whether he had seen the culprits flee. Appearing calm, he told them that he hadn’t.

He told the police that he remained at the scene for 20 minutes and saw his two associates, Dharmaraj Kashyap and Gurmel Singh, being taken into police custody. He reached Lilavati Hospital at around 10pm, then went to Kurla, caught a local train at 10.47 PM to Thane, and reached Pune around 3am on October 13. At 4am, he took an express train from Pune to Jhansi, discarding his mobile en route, which was part of the murder plot.

Meanwhile, the crime branch has revealed that key conspirator Shubham Lonkar practiced firing an AK-47 in the Naxal area of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. After arriving in Jharkhand on July 29, Shubham, along with other accused Rupesh Mohol and Gaurav Apune, went to Ranchi, and then Bilaspur. The three stayed there for five days, during which Shubham practiced firing for four days.

Further to the crime branch’s discovery that the accused also planned to kill a political leader in Pune, officials said that he is a prominent corporator. Mohol and Apune had been tasked by Shubham to kill him.

Mumbai: The Election Commission of India has begun the vote-from-home facility across Maharashtra for the ensuing state assembly elections. The facility can be availed by citizens who have submitted the 12D form. In Mumbai’s high-profile Malabar Hill assembly, so far, 268 senior citizens who are more than 85-years old and 10 disabled voters have cast their vote, the EC’s Mumbai office informed.

The vote-from-home facility will be available till November 16. The voting for the 288 assemblies in Maharashtra will be held on Wednesday, November 20 and results will be declared on November 23.

The Election Commission of India launched the initiative to not only increase the voting percentage but also allow senior citizens and disabled persons to participate in the festival of democracy, who are not able to present at the polling stations. In ten constituencies of Mumbai city district, there are a total of 2,137 senior citizen voters above 85 years of age and 219 disabled voters.

Malabar Hill is one of the constituencies in Maharashtra which has a lover voter turnout. Before announcing the schedule for the assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has expressed concern over urban apathy of voters, including areas like Colaba in south Mumbai. The commission recently also held a special initiative for citizens of Colaba to encourage them to excersie their right to vote.

The election commission this time has decided to instal polling boths in residential high-rises for the convenience of the citizens. This will help to increase the voter turnout. This assembly elections, 1,185 polling stations will be installed in residential high-rises and complexes.