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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Scramble For Seats In Both Alliances; All Partners Eyeing 100+ Seats

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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Scramble For Seats In Both Alliances; All Partners Eyeing 100+ Seats

Mumbai: Preparations for the state assembly polls are going none too smoothly, neither for the ruling Mahayuti nor for the Maha Vikas Aghadi. In both cases, alliance partners are seeking to contest close to 100 seats or more.

On Thursday, the mood in the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena was that the party should contest 110 seats. In a meeting at Shinde’s official residence Varsha, where ministers, MPs, MLAs and senior leaders were present, it was announced that party observers had been appointed for the purpose. According to sources, Shinde directed his party members to start preparations for 100 assembly seats. Along with observers, the party will also appoint an in-charge for every assembly seat it wants to contest.

This is in tune with a demand raised at the party’s anniversary day function, where former minister Ramdas Kadam demanded 100 seats in the presence of CM Shinde. The party’s resolve is likely to evoke strong reactions in the Mahayuti as the Ajit Pawar-led NCP is also keen on contesting 85 to 100 seats in the upcoming elections.

Ajit Camp To Contest On 100 Seats

Dharmarao Atram, a senior cabinet member, said the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was keen to contest 100 seats and had started working on it. When a similar demand had been raised by NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal some time ago, it had raised hackles. With Shinde and Pawar both vying for such a big share, the situation appears grim as the BJP will have to reserve its right to contest the maximum number of seats, say Mahayuti sources.

Meanwhile, Shinde has directed his party leaders to spread the word about the state government’s schemes in every home. He has also directed the induction of new members in the party and their enrolment before the election.

Party leaders must also ensure that no clashes take place with any Mahayuti leader, warned Shinde, cautioning that there were likely to be a few seat exchanges among the alliance partners. This message caused unhappiness, as it evoked the runup to the recent Lok Sabha polls, where the party had to change faces in some constituencies.

Apart from this, Shinde said sitting MLAs would be given first preference for tickets. A coordination committee of the Mahayuti would be set up to resolve disputes were they to arise during the elections.

On the other hand, reports from the BJP said two central observers – Union Ministers Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw – had a meeting with senior leaders to discuss poll-related issues.

Yadav, who is the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Vaishnaw, who is the Union Railway Minister, are the in-charge and co-incharge of the party in Maharashtra, respectively. Members of the core committee of the state BJP, including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the party’s state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, were present, party sources said.

The meeting assumes significance in view of a report that appeared in the RSSlinked publication ‘Vivek’ that blamed the BJP’s decision to forge an alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the party’s bad performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

100-Plus Race Within MVA Partners Too

MVA partners too firm on big share UBT Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, in a meeting with his party leaders, discussed contesting 100-plus seats, of which 25 would be in Mumbai. The city and suburban district has 36 assembly constituencies, of which 14 were won by the Shiv Sena last time. Only eight MLAs from Mumbai are currently with Thackeray, with the rest of them having crossed over to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

NCP Sharad Chandra Pawar too is keen to contest close to 100 seats. With a major chunk being demanded by state level players, it will be interesting to see how many seats the BJP and Congress – both national parties, are going to contest.

Maharashtra

Impact of Maharashtra Bandh: Student protests intensify in Mumbai, road blockades in Chembur and Kurla, police alert, Chief Minister orders action

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Mumbai: Due to the Maharashtra bandh in Mumbai Shivaji Park, Kurla, Chambor, Chunabhatti, Mankhurd and other suburban areas, the VBA took out a protest demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Meanwhile, the police detained protesters from Chembor, Kurla and other areas and later released the protesters. The normal system in Mumbai remained affected due to the Maharashtra bandh, but schools, colleges and public transport were running as usual. Along with this, in the Kurla area of ​​Mumbai, women protesters took to the streets and blocked the road in protest against the Net Paper Leak issue, due to which the traffic system was affected. Later, the police removed the women from the road and normal life returned to normal. The Maharashtra bandh has affected normal order in various areas of Mumbai. The Thackeray brothers and Amit and Aaditya Thackeray have also supported the protesters in Shivaji Park. Now the Thackeray brothers have made it clear in the press conference that they will march on July 26. If anyone tries to create chaos or stone pelting or violence like Delhi, they will not be tolerated and the MNS will respond to it. Along with this, Raj Thackeray has announced a peaceful protest and has threatened the government that if any attempt is made to create unrest in this protest, it will be responded to. Today, several protesters and leaders were detained during the protest.

Police driver threatens to implicate students in drug case
After the video of Shivaji Park threatening to implicate students in drug case went viral, an inquiry has been started against the constable in this matter and in this matter, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the inquiry of the constable is going on and he has been removed from here. It is unfortunate that the video has gone viral in this matter. Devendra Fadnavis said that under the guise of this protest, Uddhav Thackeray is trying to save his existence. He said that in Maharashtra too, the paper has been leaked in the Uddhav Thackeray government.

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Maharashtra

A public movement in Mumbai warns against UP government’s action on Jauhar University! Meeting of scholars and intellectuals at Islam Gymkhana, appeal to the state governor to intervene

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Mumbai: The Uttar Pradesh government’s order to demolish parts of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur has drawn strong reactions in Mumbai. An important meeting was held today at the famous ‘Islam Gymkhana’ in Mumbai against this action. The participants made serious allegations and said that instead of establishing new centers for higher education, the government is destroying an institution that shapes the future of thousands of students. The speakers in the meeting stressed that this issue is not limited to a single building but is related to the educational future of thousands of students, the education system and the rights of minorities. They were of the view that if there were any technical irregularities in the operations or construction of the university, the government should have tried to correct them within the legal framework and save the institution. Instead of finding any constructive solution, this action is being taken only in the spirit of political revenge. The meeting unanimously condemned this unfair policy in the strongest terms. Important resolutions were passed in the meeting to determine the future course of action. It was decided that a delegation would immediately meet the Governor of Maharashtra and submit a memorandum, urging him to direct the Uttar Pradesh government to intervene in the matter. A warning was also issued that if the government took further action against Jauhar University, a massive public movement would be launched in Mumbai. This important meeting was attended by a large number of prominent scholars, social workers, and intellectuals of Mumbai, including MLAs Abu Asim Azmi, Yousuf Abrahani, Meraj Siddiqui, Maulana Anis Ashrafi, Aamir Idrisi, Saleem Alwar, Saeed Hamid, Sarfaraz Arzoo, and Dr. Zeba Malik.

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Maharashtra

Modak Sagar Lake, which supplies water to Mumbai, also overflowed, with the total water storage in all 7 lakes at 69.74% capacity.

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Mumbai: Modak Sagar Lake, one of the seven lakes supplying water to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) area, started flowing at 2:07 am today (July 23, 2026). The BMC’s Hydraulic Engineering Department said that a gate of the lake has been opened. The water level in the reservoir has increased rapidly due to continuous, heavy rainfall in the areas occupied by the lakes over the past few days. The maximum water storage capacity of Modak Sagar Lake, which started flowing from tonight, is 12,892.5 crore litres (128,925 million litres). In previous years, Modak Sagar Lake started flowing on July 9, 2025, July 25, 2024 and July 27, 2023.

The total maximum water storage capacity of the seven dams supplying water to Mumbai is about 1,44,736.3 crore litres (1,447,363 million litres). As of 6:00 AM today, the total water storage in all seven lakes is 1,00,943.2 crore litres (1,009,432 million litres). This water storage is 69.74% of the maximum water storage capacity of the lakes, which is 1,447,363 million litres.

Additional Information
1) The Modak Sagar Project, built on the Vetarna River in Shahpur taluka of Thane district, is a key water source meeting the drinking water needs of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

2) The construction of the project was completed in 1954, and it is managed by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

3) Located 120 km from Mumbai, the project has a structure length of 548.64 metres and a height of 82.296 metres.

4) The total catchment area is 450.625 sq km, and it contributes 11.22% to the total water supply provided to Mumbai.

5) Out of the seven lakes supplying water to the BMC area, Modak Sagar Lake has started flowing from today. Ahead of this monsoon season, Tansa Lake started flowing at 8:51 am on July 22, 2026. ‘Vihar’ Lake started overflowing at 9:00 pm on July 7, 2026, and ‘Tulsi’ Lake also started flowing at 11:43 pm on the same day (2026). Thus, as of July 23, 2026, four of the seven lakes supplying water to the BMC area have filled and overflowed.

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