Connect with us
Saturday,06-December-2025
Breaking News

Politics

Is OBC leader Alpesh Thakor feeling uncomfortable in BJP?

Published

on

OBC leader and former MLA Alpesh Thakor’s recent statements can’t be ignored. If read between the lines, it seems that Thakor is unhappy in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Recently while attending a mass-marriage function organised by the Gujarat Thakor Sena, Alpesh Thakor said, “I am going to contest the Radhanpur Assembly seat (Patan district). If any one tries to oust me, I will ensure that those leaders too don’t get chance to contest the elections.”

His remarks were directed at former MLA and BJP leader Lavingji Thakor, who is a contender for the seat in the run-up to the Assembly elections scheduled at the end of this year.

Alpesh Thakor also said, “The state government has failed to strictly implement prohibition.”

Playing down the controversy, Alpesh Thakor told IANS that some party leaders are playing dirty politics and instead of uniting the Koli Thakor community, they are dividing it.

His statements were message to such leaders, and he has no intention of quitting the party, Alpesh Thakor said.

Alpesh Thakor had won from Radhanpur in 2017 on Congress ticket. In 2019, he quit the Congress and joined the BJP. He had contested bypolls from Radhanpur in October 2019, but lost to Congress’ Raghubhai Desai.

Refuting Alpesh Thakor, Lavingji Thakor claimed that if there was any substance in what the former said, people would not have elected him as an Independent MLA from Radhanpur in 1995. He also claimed that he is a local leader, whereas Alpesh Takor is a native of Ahmedabad district.

After 1995, Lavingji Thakor contested from Radhanpur thrice, once each on the ticket of All India Rashtriya Janata Party, Congress and BJP, but lost on all three occasions.

In fact, Radhanpur is a curious constituency. Barring Congress’ Khodidan Zula (1975, 1980 and 1985) and Shankar Chaudhary of the BJP (1998, 2002, 2007), no other leader has ever got re-elected from this seat.

Even veteran leader and former Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, who won the bypolls here in 1997, never contested from Radhanpur again.

For the last few months, there were rumours that the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena is searching for a safe seat for Alpesh Thakor, who though claims that the outfit launched by him has presence in 176 talukas.

“Gujarat Thakor Sena has around 9,200 committees, and at least 50 families in each village with whom I have direct contact. So the question does not arise of looking for a safe seat,” he said.

The OBC leader has also claimed that he is not just leader of Thakors or the OBC community, but members of other communities as well.

“Under my leadership, Patidars have formed the Patidar Sena in 76 villages of Karamsad Taluka, while Patels from Saurashtra also attend my public meetings in large numbers,” he claimed.

There is no doubt that Alpesh Thakor can influence voters from his community and change the results where Thakors are in dominance, feels Suresh Vanol, senior journalist from Mehsana district.

Vanol said the party did not call Alpesh Thakor to campaign for one seat in Satlasana Taluka panchayat elections which it lost. Even in Gandhinagar municipal elections, the BJP had asked Alpesh Thakor to campaign at last moment.

According to Vanol’s assessment, Alpesh Thakor may change constituency and contest either from Becharaji or Kheralu in Mehsana district.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Tribunal regarding extension of date, don’t worry, 100% registration is assured: Chairman Sameer Qazi

Published

on

Aurangabad: (F.A.) The last date for registration on the UMID portal for all registered waqf organisations in Maharashtra, including mosques, dargahs and graveyards, was today, December 5, 2025, which has now expired. Although most of the waqf organisations in Maharashtra have been registered on the portal, some organisations are still missing out due to unavailability of records or other paper errors. In view of this situation, Maharashtra State Waqf Board President Sameer Qazi has appealed to the concerned trustees, trustees and the Muslim community not to panic or believe in any rumours. He has confidently said that: The Waqf Board will complete the registration of every institution. Although the Supreme Court has refused to extend the date, it has allowed the Waqf Tribunal (Waqf Court). The State Waqf Board has approached the tribunal and we are confident that justice will be done there and the deadline for registration on the UMID portal will definitely be extended. Chairman Qazi expressed his firm resolve and further said that the board will not sit in a hurry without the registration of every Waqf institution in the state being completed.

Maharashtra ranks second in the country: 80 percent registration completed.

The registration of all organizations related to the Waqf Board has been completed at a fast pace on the UMID portal. The state of Maharashtra ranks second in the country in terms of registration of Waqf institutions. There are a total of 36 thousand registered Waqf properties in Maharashtra, out of which about 30 thousand (80 percent) properties of organizations have been successfully registered on the UMID portal. All the officers and staff of the Waqf Board have made additional arrangements and completed the registration process. Not only this, but 300 young technicians were hired at the Hajj House in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar to expedite registration on the Omid portal, which is a commendable effort by the board.

Waqf Tribunal issues urgent notice to the central government, seeks response by December 10
Immediately after the Supreme Court’s direction, the Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Waqf Tribunal. The tribunal has issued a notice to the central government while hearing the matter urgently. The notice asks the centre: “Why should the deadline not be extended?” and has directed it to file its reply by December 10. Due to this urgent action and notice by the tribunal, there is a strong possibility of an extension in the deadline, which has brought a big relief to the waqf institutions.

Don’t pay attention to rumors, time has not been extended.

A statement by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was circulating on TV and social media throughout the day today, in which he said that although the trustees have not received any relief, there is hope of getting an extension in time from the tribunal. He also said that no penalty will be imposed on the institutions that approach the tribunal. President Sameer Qazi, while explaining this statement, said: The Minister has not extended the time for uploading on the portal, but has only set a time of three months for checker and approval for those institutions that have already been registered. He explained that false news about the extension in time is being spread on social media, so do not be fooled by any kind of hesitation and until the official extension is done, the institutions must complete the uploading process.

Continue Reading

Business

IndiGo Crisis: 75-Yr-Old Woman Waits Hours For Luggage Without Medicines At Mumbai T2 Airport

Published

on

Mumbai, Dec 05: When IndiGo’s nationwide operational meltdown began disrupting flights earlier this week, thousands of passengers were caught in chaos across the country. Among them was a 75-year-old woman whose ordeal at Mumbai’s Terminal 2 gained attention after her daughter shared a distressed post on X. Thankfully, the woman has now reached home safely, but her experience reflects the scale of frustration travellers are facing.

In her post on X, Punita Toraskar wrote that her elderly mother had been waiting at T2 since noon, and even by 4:42 pm, she still hadn’t received her luggage. The situation was more alarming because the 75-year-old needed to take her medicines but was stuck waiting on an empty stomach, stranded amid the airport chaos.

Toraskar’s post quickly resonated with passengers across India who have been struggling with severe delays, cancellations, and a complete breakdown of communication from India’s largest airline.

IndiGo is currently grappling with one of the biggest operational crises in its history. Nearly 900 flights have been cancelled since Tuesday, triggered by a mix of staff shortages and the airline’s struggle to adapt to stringent new crew duty regulations.

Passengers at major airports — Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata — are facing hours-long queues, mounting delays, and skyrocketing airfares as alternative flight options shrink. Hotels are filling up, tempers are rising, and social media is flooded with frustration.

IndiGo has issued public apologies and claims it is rebooting its systems and schedules to stabilise operations. But for many travellers like Toraskar’s mother, the damage is already done.

Despite the turmoil, Punita confirmed later that her mother had finally reached home safely, a small relief in a week of aviation chaos.

Continue Reading

Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Nigerian arrested with cocaine in Mumbai

Published

on

Mumbai: Police has claimed to have arrested a Nigerian with cocaine in the limits of Maloney police station and 180 grams of cocaine have been seized from his possession. Police searched Manuchi Agwa alias Oliver Agwa, 27, during a patrol and recovered cocaine from his possession. Along with the cocaine, a total of Rs 72 lakhs has been seized from the possession of the Nigerian. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and started investigation.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending