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Is Sanjay Raut causing more harm than good to Uddhav Thackeray?

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Mumbai: If there is near a consensus within Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, it is that party MP Sanjay Raut, 61, has caused huge damage to the organisation by his highly controversial statements.

Recently, Raut claimed, without providing any evidence, that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde had hired a goon of Thane to eliminate him. In the past, he had made even more outlandish statements that caused incalculable damage to the party.

Raut’s controversial statements

After the COVID pandemic, Raut alleged that most of the doctors and nurses had abandoned their responsibility and fled from the hospitals. This evoked howls of protests from the medical fraternity, after which Uddhav was forced to undertake damage control.

In January 2020, Raut, who is the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, claimed that Indira Gandhi used to regularly call on the late drug lord Karim Lala at Pydhonie in central Mumbai. It is a different matter that Karim Lala operated out of Dongri and not Pydhonie. The Congress was understandably furious over this bizarre claim and slammed Raut. The MP, most recently, alleged that Rs2,000 crore had changed hands to get Shinde’s faction recognised as the Shiv Sena along with the bow and arrow symbol. Raut promised to produce evidence and as usual failed to proffer any.

Many supporters of Uddhav Thackeray say that their leader is paying a heavy political price by not taking action against Raut despite the huge damage he continues to inflict. The only thing Uddhav has done is not promote Raut as the editor of Saamana. Instead, he has appointed his wife Rashmi Thackeray as the editor, while Raut continues to be the executive editor.

Sources: Raut is useful to Uddhav as a conduit between him & NCP chief

According to sources close to Uddhav, Raut is useful to him as a conduit between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Though there is a perception that Raut is being used by Pawar to influence Uddhav, Raut’s proximity to Pawar can be gauged from the fact that when the MP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the infamous Patrawala chawl multi-crore scam, the Maratha honcho personally called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention in taking Raut out of the hook. Incidentally, Pawar did no such thing for his own partyman Nawab Malik who, too, was arrested by the ED.

It is not that Uddhav has always obliged Raut. For example, when Raut insisted that his brother and MLA from Bhandup, Sunil Raut, should be made a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which was helmed by Uddhav, the latter put his foot down and refused a ministerial berth for Sunil.

Raut’s career

Sanjay Raut started his career in Saamana as a journalist. When Bal Thackeray decided to publish a Hindi tabloid ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, Raut recommended Sanjay Nirupam as the editor. Thackeray Senior was so impressed with Nirupam’s aggressive propagation of the Hindutva line that he made him a member of the Rajya Sabha much to the chagrin of Raut.

Raut won over the confidence of Balasaheb by carrying a series called ‘Marathon Mulaquats’ or Marathon Interviews of the Sena founder. These interviews revealed Balasaheb’s thoughts on a host of issues and they were picked up by other newspapers and TV channels.

Balasaheb then decided to reward Raut by sending him to the Rajya Sabha. It is learnt that Raut does not share the same chemistry with Aaditya Thackeray as with Uddhav. “Given the widespread nature of resentment against Sanjay Raut within our party, I won’t be in the least surprised if he is politically downsized in the near future,” a top Sena source observed.

Maharashtra

Special NIA Court Allows Activist Gautam Navlakha To Visit Ailing Sister

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The special NIA court on Thursday permitted activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to travel to Delhi for two months to be with his ailing elder sister.

Navlakha had approached the court for modification of the bail order granted last year, which restricted his movement to city limits.

The prosecution opposed the plea, apprehending that he may influence witnesses or skip the trial.

The court ruled out these possibilities and allowed the plea but with several conditions. Navlakha has been asked to furnish details of his mobile phone number on which video call facility is available, furnish his travel details, and deposit his passport in the court before leaving the city.

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Maharashtra

Party Rebels Contesting Against MVA Candidates To Face Six-Year Suspension: Congress Leader Ramesh Chennithala

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Party Rebels Contesting Against MVA Candidates To Face Six-Year Suspension: Congress Leader Ramesh Chennithala

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said all the party rebels contesting against the official candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have been suspended for six years.

In a press conference, Chennithala stated that district units have been directed to compile a list of rebels still in the race for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls and issue notices to them.

“There will be no friendly contests. All rebels running against the MVA’s official candidates have been suspended,” said Chennithala, the All India Congress Committee in-charge of Maharashtra.

In some constituencies, despite official candidates from both Mahayuti and MVA, candidates from allied parties have been fielded. In other areas, friendly contests are happening. Several leaders have filed nomination papers after rebelling.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Elections 2024: Devendra Fadnavis Refers To Sharad Pawar As ‘Owner Of Fake Narrative Factory’; Slams Opposition Over Claims About Industries Leaving State

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Maharashtra Elections 2024: Devendra Fadnavis Refers To Sharad Pawar As 'Owner Of Fake Narrative Factory'; Slams Opposition Over Claims About Industries Leaving State

Mumbai: In a scathing attack on Sharad Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis referred to the NCP leader as the “owner of a fake narrative factory” during an election rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Fadnavis accused Pawar and opposition leaders of spreading false information about industries leaving Maharashtra for Gujarat, attempting to tarnish the state’s image. He made it clear that Maharashtra remains the top choice for investment, with 52% of the country’s foreign investment flowing into the state.

Addressing a rally in support of Mahayuti candidate Shankar Jagtap, Fadnavis emphasized that Maharashtra is strong industrially and that the information being spread by the opposition is misleading. He stated, “Our government has made Maharashtra an ideal destination for investment.” According to Fadnavis, reports suggesting a shift in the state’s industrial landscape were false and intended solely to mislead the public.

Fadnavis Targets Supriya Sule

Fadnavis also targeted NCP MP Supriya Sule, calling her the “manager of the fake narrative factory.” He accused Sule of spreading incorrect information about IT companies leaving Hinjewadi, a major IT hub in Pune. Fadnavis stressed that both Maharashtra’s industrial and IT sectors are strong, and any challenges faced were the result of the difficulties encountered during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. He labeled Sule’s statements as incorrect and harmful to the state’s progress.

Fadnavis also responded to criticism of Uddhav Thackeray’s “Ladki Behin Yojana” . He said that Thackeray’s approach, focused on opposition for the sake of it, was disconnected from the needs of ordinary people. Fadnavis clarified that the scheme would provide financial aid and educational opportunities to thousands of girls across Maharashtra.

Concluding his speech, Fadnavis reassured the audience about job creation under the BJP government. He announced an ambitious goal of generating employment opportunities for 10 lakh youths and promised to rejuvenate Maharashtra’s economic stability. He urged voters to be cautious of the “fake narratives” being spread by the opposition and to trust in the state’s economic progress.

Throughout the rally, Fadnavis highlighted BJP’s transparency and development-oriented policies, portraying the opposition’s tactics as a strategy to promote “fake narratives” and undermine the state’s growth.

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