Maharashtra
Maharashtra Politics: First, Two Senas; Now, Two NCPs

Finally, Ajit Pawar, who was sulking over his neglect, especially after the elevation of his cousin Supriya Sule as the NCP working president, rocked the party’s boat by staging a coup four years after his 80-hour failed coup of becoming the deputy chief minister. He chose to challenge his uncle and party supreme Sharad Pawar’s leadership and staked claim to the NCP, which has entered its 25th year of existence, even as he had emerged as a major leader involved in the exercise to unite opposition against the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.
Ajit Pawar was facing ED probe
Ajit Pawar, who as the leader of the opposition, often criticised for going soft on the Shinde-Fadnavis government, was scared of the ongoing probe by the Enforcement Directorate against him and his wife in connection with the Jarandeshwar sugar factory and therefore, preferred to join the ruling Shinde-Fadnavis alliance. Unlike the last time, Ajit Pawar took no risk but brought along with him veterans and young legislators, including close confidants of his uncle.
Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif also facing cases
Incidentally, Bhujbal, who, along with Pawar, was one of the signatories in the establishment of the NCP on June 10, 1999, and is currently out on bail in the Maharashtra Sadan scam case, preferred safe passage by accepting Ajit Pawar’s leadership and dumping of the older Pawar. Similarly, former minister Hasan Mushrif, whose fate also hangs in the balance as he faces arrest from the ED in connection with the Kolhapur sugar factory, chose to join Ajit Pawar and thereby become a ruling partner of the BJP, which he until recently criticised as being communal and fundamentalist Walse-Patil’s decision to associate with Ajit Pawar has stunned the older Pawar, merely to avoid ED action linked to a private milk dairy unit in his Ambegaon assembly segment.
Dilip Walse-Patil’s rise under Sharad Pawar; leaves senior Pawar for Ajit
Walse-Patil, who had worked as the personal assistant to the older Pawar when the latter was the leader of the opposition, later rose to become an MLA for the first time in 1990 and since then, has been elected from the same constituency. Thanks to his old boss, he held several departments as minister between 1999 and 2009, later becoming assembly speaker and the home minister in the MVA government. More importantly, Praful Patel, also scared about ED action, ditched Sharad Pawar and joined Ajit.
Praful Patel, Sharad Pawar’s blue-eyed boy
Praful Patel, Sharad Pawar’s blue-eyed boy and associate for more than four decades, has joined the Ajit bandwagon because he believes the Modi-led government will be back after the general elections and there was no point taking on the BJP as the MVA experiment has failed miserably.
Ajit Pawar’s recent utterances
Ajit Pawar, speaking at the recent function to celebrate the NCP’s anniversary, had targeted his uncle for the party’s failure to become the single largest party and form the government, unlike other regional parties including Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and K Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi. He has claimed that almost all of the 53 legislators and MPs have been on board. Further, he has also declared that the decision to join the Shinde-Fadnavis government was taken with the blessings and support of the older Pawar, in the larger interest of expediting Maharashtra’s progress and the development of farmers, workers, tribals, OBCs. Interestingly, it was a well-thoughtout decision by Ajit Pawar, who was unsure about the NCP’s future at a time when his uncle is getting older and the party was unable to consolidate its position in Maharashtra, forget about other states. He openly ridiculed the opposition unity exercise as a farce and heaped praise on Modi for his ‘strong and able leadership which has helped India achieve spectacular growth in the last nine years’.
NCP would fight all elections with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP, says Ajit Pawar
He also went a step further and announced that the NCP would fight all elections with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP to stay relevant in Maharashtra. Even though Ajit Pawar has severed links with his uncle to pursue his ambition, the road ahead for him as well as the other legislators will be quite bumpy, as they will have to take on Pawar senior and convince voters about their decision. In addition, Ajit Pawar will have to be a tough negotiator to get seats for his faction during seat-sharing arrangements with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP, especially when the latter wants the lion’s share to achieve its ‘Mission 45-plus’ in the Lok Sabha and 200-plus seats in the assembly elections slated for 2024.
BJP kept the cards close to its chest
The BJP played its cards well by tapping into the rising discontent and fear of punitive action in NCP legislators, including Ajit Pawar, as it had done with Eknath Shinde last year. The saffron party could execute ‘Operation Lotus’ because of the operative skills of Fadnavis and with the tacit support of Modi. Incidentally, both Modi and Fadnavis had termed the NCP as the most corrupt party and last week; in fact, the PM had singled out the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam and Maharashtra State Cooperative bank irregularities, of which the uncle and nephew were alleged beneficiaries. As far as Shinde is concerned, he will have to convince his 39 MLAs and 10 Independents about their fate and relevance in the new arrangement. There are a large number of them who are expecting ministerial berths and Shinde will continue to pacify them to avoid any trouble. The fate of Shinde and 15 legislators hangs in the balance due to disqualification proceedings. BJP insiders point out that Ajit Pawar’s decision has come as a buffer, to minimise the dependence on the Shinde faction for government’s survival.
Neither down nor out, says Sharad Pawar
However, Sharad Pawar, who faced the media after his nephew’s coup in broad daylight, hinted that he is neither down nor out but ready to revive the NCP with the promotion of new young leadership. He also disapproved of the ministerial berths to Ajit Pawar and eight others, saying that it was their personal decision and not that of the party. He also made it clear that it was against the party’s secular and progressive line, reiterating that he would step up the fight against the communal and divisive politics of the BJP and Modi.
Senior Pawar narrates ’80’s tale
Narrating his experience when 50 legislators had deserted him in the 1980s but he went on to fight the elections and won 69 seats in 1980, Sharad Pawar announced that he would start anew. The 83-year-old has announced he will travel extensively across Maharashtra and parts of India, starting with the launch of his outreach from Karad on Monday. Incidentally, Karad is the birthplace of former chief minister and Sharad Pawar’s mentor, Y B Chavan. With uncle and nephew essaying different roles now, it will be the BJP which will use every opportunity to exploit the rift and achieve electoral gains.
Maharashtra
Gadchiroli : After the surrender of commander Bhupati alias Sanu and 60 Maoists with weapons, the Naxalites got a shock, confidence in government was restored : Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: The end of Maoists in Maharashtra is near. In Gudchiroli, a prominent Maoist, Venugopal Malujo alias Bhupati alias Sonu, who was active in many places, has surrendered along with his associates. 60 Maoists have surrendered before the Gudchiroli police, which is a big success for the Maharashtra Police. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the Naxalites have been eliminated from the state’s Gadchiroli area and many Maoists have surrendered and they have returned to the right path and normal life. Their faith in the Constitution of India and the administration has been restored. It is a great blessing that the Naxalites have been eliminated from the state. Soon, the 10 to 15 Maoists who are hiding in the forests will also surrender. He said that Bhupati had expressed his desire to surrender. The police were in touch with him and then he expressed his desire that he wanted to surrender to me. So I said that I am ready to go to the forest too. But Bhupati was brought here and today Bhupati has surrendered. This is a big success. With the efforts of the central and state governments, the Naxalites have now become unstable and weak, which is why many Naxalites have surrendered before.
Fadnavis has said that the red terror has ended, the surrender of Naxalites from the borders around Gudchiroli is certain, due to the crackdown on Maoists from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and other borders, Maoists have either surrendered or repented from Naxalism to a large extent. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah’s dream of a Pakistan-India relationship with the Naxalites is being realized in shame. Bhupati was a Maoist who was the backbone and ideological ideology of the Maoists. His surrender will further strengthen the police operation. He said that it is the result of the hard work of all the senior officers including Maharashtra Police DGP Rashmi Shukla and the officers involved in the Naxal operation that the Maoists’ back has been broken today. Fadnavis said that there was a reward of Rs 6 crore on the Naxalites and now this Maoist has been brought back to the right path.
Maharashtra
Firing in Ghatkopar : Armed man enters Darshan Jewellers, creating sensation in the area, police are actively searching for the accused.

Mumbai: A shooting incident in Ghatkopar, Mumbai has created a sensation. A shooting incident was carried out here for robbery, after which the police reached the spot and conducted a panchanama. An armed man entered a shop in Ghatkopar Darshan Jewellers to commit a robbery. There, he put a knife to the throat of the complainant and fled. The police have started an investigation into the matter and have started searching for the unknown robbers. DCP Rakesh Ola said that an armed man had entered the shop and threatened the complainant by putting a knife to his throat. After the entry of armed unknown persons into Darshan Jewellers, a sensation spread in the area and questions have been raised about law and order. The shooting at 10:30 am has caused panic in the area. The police have formed teams in this matter and have started searching for the unknown robbers. So far, no one has been arrested in this case. At present, the police have refused to say anything more about this. DCP Rakesh Ola denied the shooting incident and said that the gunman at Darshan Jewellers had targeted the complainant and put a knife to his throat. The police are investigating the matter further.
Maharashtra
Hafiz Tauseef Ansari arrested for links to Pakistani terrorist organization, other terrorist organizations mislead and trap youth: Investigative agencies claim

After a raid by the Andhra Police ATS and the local police station in Malegaon, Mumbai, the police have claimed to have arrested a suspected youth from the Nomani Nagar area. The above-mentioned youth was active on social media and along with his activities on social media, he was in contact with the enemy country Pakistani terrorist organization. The accused has been arrested on this allegation. Along with this, a case has also been registered against the accused in the Dharmapur Town Police Station in Andhra. Maharashtra ATS and intelligence agencies have also interrogated him. The accused has been identified as Hafiz Tauseef Aslam Ansari. He is a tailor by profession and was also active on social media. Whether he came in contact with the Pakistani terrorist organization knowingly or intentionally, or he knew about it, the police are investigating him. The arrest of Hafiz Tauseef has created a sensation in Malegaon. After the arrest of Tauseef in Malegaon, the police have also seized his mobile phone and other documents and have also expanded the scope of the investigation. An investigation is underway to determine whether he has any criminal case registered against him, along with his suspicious activities and the number of times he has provided information related to India to terrorist organizations. His social media accounts are also being examined and monitored. Earlier, the Maharashtra ATS had arrested several youths, including a young PIO on charges of having links with Pakistani intelligence operatives. Many youths have also been trapped in the PIO’s honey trap. The PIO’s method is such that first the PIO regularly talks to an Indian citizen and the girl then makes her pictures and pornographic videos public. After threatening to make the pornographic chat public, they lure him with money and transfer money to the account. In such a situation, the intelligence agencies are obliged to take action against such youths. There are many youths who unknowingly fall for this misleading propaganda and get badly trapped. Therefore, one should remain alert and avoid the misuse of social media.
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