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Maharashtra

In UP Shiv Sena rejig, Muslim woman named GS in 46-strong top body

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Nearly seven weeks after losing power in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena President and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has revamped the party in Uttar Pradesh — its second biggest unit outside the home state, officials said here on Friday.

A sparkling new 46-member Uttar Pradesh Shiv Sena (UPSS) team has been formed, incorporating a first — a Muslim woman Nazia Khan appointed as General Secretary (GS) — along with two other women leaders, Sonu Singh Thakur and Savita Shrivastav.

According to UPSS Chief Spokesperson and office head Vishvjeet Singh, the 46-member apex body comprises the state President Anil Singh Thakur, 10 Vice Presidents, 6 GS, 11 Secretaries, 6 State Organisers, a 3-member panel of spokespersons, and 8 state executive committee members.

“These appointments have been made with the approval of the Party President Thackeray with immediate effect, and now we shall plunge full-fledged into preparations for ensuing Uttar Pradesh civic polls, the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2027 UP Assembly elections,” said Singh.

The Sena plans to contest all the upcoming civic elections in Uttar Pradesh putting up a maximum number of candidates with possibility of local alliances, as decided by the central leadership, said a party leader in Mumbai.

The Uttar Pradesh leaders are also likely to be deployed for the ensuing Maharashtra civic elections to woo the north Indian voters, particularly in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and certain other regions where they are in significant numbers, he added.

Singh said the new body will launch a state-wide membership drive with a target of over 100,000 people who will be enrolled by December.

“Thereafter, in all the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, we shall launch an intensive membership drive with at least 100,000 enrolments per district before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” said the Chief Spokesperson.

Shiv Sena, which has been on the fringes in Uttar Pradesh since 30 years, almost equivalent to its rule over the country’s biggest and richest civic body, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), now plans to spread wings in a big way in that state.

It broke the ice with the electorate when a party nominee, Pawan Pandey was elected from Akbarpur to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1991, and later he was among those accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

“The situation today in Uttar Pradesh is very differenta People are now weary of the Ram Temple issue and are demanding the basics of life like jobs, education, health facilities, curbing inflation, end to communal and caste politics,” claimed Singh.

Referring to the collapse of the Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress’s MVA regime headed by Thackeray on June 29, he said that the Uttar Pradesh masses are “disturbed” by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) blatant misuse of central agencies to topple state governments.

The MVA experiment of November 2019 dealt a blow to the party even in Uttar Pradesh, and Singh claimed that the BJP adopted vindictive tactics against Shiv Sena candidates in the March 2022 Assembly polls in which Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi swept to power for a second consecutive term.

“In the 75th year of Independence, our strategy will be to create Hindu-Muslim amity, all-inclusive growth and development of Uttar Pradesh, with job creations at all levels, improved infrastructure, health and education for the entire population,” said Singh.

After contesting around two dozen seats in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 100 in 2022 Assembly polls, the Sena plans to at least double its candidates for both these elections after approval from the central leadership in Mumbai.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Cleanliness of Narelwadi graveyard since Shab-e-Barat, restoration of closed pillars in the graveyard, cleaning of the graveyard by Corporator Waqar Khan’s team

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Mumbai: Ahead of Shab-e-Barat, the process of cleaning the graveyard is underway. South Mumbai Ward No. 211 Corporator Waqar Khan met the trustees of Narelwadi graveyard recently. During this meeting, it was revealed by the trustees that the six high-mast lights installed in the graveyard had been switched off for the last eight months, due to which severe difficulties were being faced at night.

Taking the issue seriously, Waqar Khan spoke to the concerned officers of the BMC and demanded an immediate solution to the problem. Initially, the officers told that a fund of about Rs 24 lakh was required for this work, which is not available at the moment and it has to be approved.

Later, Waqar Khan maintained constant contact with senior officers and ward officers, as a result of which all the high-mast lights were reactivated within just two days.

During the visit to the graveyard, it was also observed that there is a need for serious cleaning. So within two to three days, under the leadership of Waqar Khan, about 40 to 50 locals of Madanpur Hanagpada personally took up the task of cleaning the graveyard without any political motive. In two to three hours, the area around about 50 graves was cleaned.

Taking forward this spirit, it was decided that a major cleaning drive would be launched on Sunday, February 1, in which 100 to 150 local, non-political people would participate.

This cleaning drive would continue from 11 am to 3 pm, with the aim of making this final resting place of Muslims clean, tidy and dignified. This drive is being carried out purely as a public service and religious and social responsibility, which does not involve any political motive.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Court Bars Filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap & Others From Making Statements Against Salman Khan, Family

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Mumbai: The city civil court on Friday barred filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap and others from making any comments against Salman Khan and his family on any platform, in any form, while granting interim relief to the actor in a defamation suit filed against the filmmaker and others.

Khan had filed a defamation suit against Kashyap, Komal Mehru, Khushnoo Hazare, Ashok Kumar / John Doe, and various social media platforms for allegedly making defamatory statements against him and his family. While issuing restraining orders, the court observed that freedom of speech does not mean one can use abusive or threatening language against any individual.

Khan had approached the court following allegedly “scandalous, false, and grossly defamatory” statements made by Kashyap against him and his family members in various video interviews aired on the “Bollywood Thikana” channel, owned by Hazare. In those interviews and videos, Kashyap is alleged to have used offensive language and accused the family of running a cartel to destroy careers.

There are allegedly 26 such video interviews and podcasts released between September and December 2025, which are at the centre of the controversy. In the suit filed through advocate Pradeep Gandhy, Khan sought a permanent injunction and Rs9 crore in damages for the comments made by Kashyap and others against him and his family.

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Maharashtra

Crackdown on illegal street vendors in Andheri, Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘K-Waste’ department takes action, citizens are relieved

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Mumbai: Around 200 unauthorised hawkers and additional structures on footpaths in Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg (Arla Marg) area of ​​Andheri (West) in Mumbai were evicted by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘K-West’ department yesterday (January 29, 2026). The operation, as per the instructions of Municipal Corporation Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani, was conducted under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone-4) Bhagya Shri Kapse, and Assistant Commissioner (K-West Division) Chakrapani Ale. Unauthorised additional structures were found on footpaths connecting Swami Vivekananda Marg and Gulmohar Marg in Andheri (West) and on Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg (Arla Marg) adjacent to the entrance of Dr. No. Cooper Hospital. It was also observed that unauthorised hawkers have set up shops in this area. It was creating obstacles for ambulances bringing patients to Cooper Hospital in case of emergency and for pedestrians to walk on the footpaths.

In this context, an eviction drive was launched by the ‘K-West’ administrative department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Under this, around 200 unauthorized hawkers and unauthorized additional structures established on the footpaths in this area were evicted.

The eviction was carried out with the help of 04 encroachment removal vehicles, 03 JCBs and other equipment. During this operation, an adequate police force including 100 officers and employees of the Municipal Corporation were deployed. Local representatives and citizens are expressing satisfaction over this action. The Municipal Corporation administration has made it clear that regular evictions against unauthorized structures will continue in the future.

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