Mumbai, Dec 23: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Tuesday attacked Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde over his claim that Maharashtra local body polls have finally settled the debate over the “real” Shiv Sena.

In a scathing editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, the Thackeray camp claimed, “The liars say, ‘Our Shiv Sena is real!’ But what is real and what is fake – the common people of the state recognise this. Those who dedicated their victory to Modi-Shah’s feet, the symbol ‘Shiv Sena’ does not suit those thieves. These same Modi-Shah stole the bow and arrow and handed it over to eight traitors in Maharashtra. The theft of Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and local body elections has taken the form of ‘yours, mine, theirs’. The picture ahead will be different – we have no doubt about this.”

According to the editorial, Eknath Shinde has claimed credit for the work shown by the real Shiv Sena people. This is a hollow credit. His party’s claim of solid work in Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and now local body elections is hollow. “Originally, the name ‘Shiv Sena’ and the symbol bow and arrow were obtained through Amit Shah’s pressure. The merit of the bow and arrow is significant, and Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief, had established the ‘bow and arrow’ in every household. These ‘merits’ have been stolen and the real Shiv Sena is being talked about,” said the editorial.

It further stated that the dispute between Shiv Sena and the bow and arrow is still pending in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has given six months’ time for the Election Commission to make a decision. “Dates are not being set there, but after 40 MLAs crossed over to the other side and the decision was made according to law and constitution, Shiv Sena and bow and arrow are encouraging a decision on whose symbol it is!” the editorial said.

The Thackeray camp said that despite the electoral successes of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, legal disputes regarding the party’s “real” status and official symbols remain unresolved. It said, “The Supreme Court has scheduled a final hearing for January 21, 2026, to address the symbol dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions. A similar hearing for the NCP symbol dispute is set for January 22, 2026. The year ends with political parties shifting focus toward the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which are slated for January 15.” The editorial has even questioned the timing of the hearing in the court.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena alleged, “The results of local body elections are bought and sold through auction. There is no integrity or transparency found anywhere in these results. The ruling party has acquired the art of buying the machinery and voters, and people like Amit Shah kindly make them win elections by stealing the Shiv Sena and bow and arrow. As Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vows to transform the face of the state following these results, the opposition remains defiant. They describe the current political state as one of ‘looting and deception’ and express confidence that the political picture in Maharashtra will shift in the future,” said the editorial.

Mumbai, Dec 22: The Agripada Police have registered a case of cheating and financial fraud against Ramesh Balu Waghchaure, 50, for allegedly duping Bhimsen Amrut Nikam, 58, a Mulund resident, of Rs 30.50 lakh by falsely promising a railway job and an SRA flat for Nikam’s son, Shubham.

In a shocking twist, the accused allegedly arranged his daughter’s marriage with the complainant’s son and assured that the money would be returned after the wedding, which never happened.

According to the FIR, Nikam currently resides with his family on Gokhale Road, Mulund (East), and had earlier lived at Rasool Jeeva Compound, Sane Guruji Marg, Saat Rasta, from 1994 to 2023. Nikam’s wife, Suman, 51, is originally from Sinnar, Nashik, and the accused Waghchaure, a resident of Pathardi Phata, Nashik, was her former classmate. The families became acquainted during a relative’s wedding in Nashik in December 2017.

After building close relations with the Nikam family, Waghchaure allegedly claimed he had strong contacts in government departments. When Shubham completed his engineering in 2017 and the family began searching for a job for him, the accused reportedly promised to secure him a post of Senior Section Engineer in the Railways. He even introduced a person identified as “Khan” and, in April 2018, collected Rs 7 lakh via RTGS for the job.

Despite repeated follow-ups till 2019, no job was provided. The accused allegedly handed over a fake railway appointment letter and later promised to return the money, which he failed to do.

Around the same time, the Nikam family was looking to purchase a house. Waghchaure then claimed he had links with an SRA project and could arrange a flat at a lower cost.

The accused allegedly took Rs 21.50 lakh in cash and Rs 1.85 lakh through NEFT for an SRA flat, claiming that construction work was underway at Kanjurmarg. However, no flat was allotted, nor was the money returned.

To further delay repayment, Waghchaure allegedly proposed that if his daughter married Shubham, the entire amount would be repaid after the wedding.

The marriage took place on December 25, 2023. However, instead of returning the money, the accused allegedly cited financial difficulties and even took an additional Rs 15,000 from Nikam in February 2024. In total, Waghchaure allegedly collected Rs 30.50 lakh under the pretext of securing a job and an SRA flat.

Realising that he had been cheated, Nikam approached the Agripada police station and lodged a complaint. Based on the complaint, police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have initiated further investigation.

Mumbai, Dec 23: Indian benchmark indices opened in the red zone on Tuesday, weighed down by losses in the IT stocks after artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in the US showed revival.

As of 9.30 am, the Sensex declined 159 points, or 0.19 per cent to 85,407 and the Nifty lost 32 points, or 0.13 per cent to 26,139.

Main broad cap indices showed divergent trends, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.18 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 added 0.07 per cent.

ONGC, Tata Steel and NTPC were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included Max Healthcare, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and ICICI Bank.

Sectoral indices on NSE were trading in the mixed zone, with IT leading losses down 1.21 per cent. Oil and gas as well as metal were the major gainers, up around 0.43 and 0.41 per cent, respectively.

Immediate resistance for Nifty is placed at 26,300–26,350, while key supports are located at 26,000–26,050 zone, said analysts.

Market watchers found two factors to affect the market in the near term, including positive macros or fundamentals and AI trade revival. Positive macro indicators may embolden bulls to push Nifty and Sensex to new highs. But the strong AI trade revival is a mild negative externally which may delay the anticipated FII outflow reversal, they said.

Defence stocks are seemingly recovering, with more room for growth in the segment, while the IT sector has also turned resilient, analysts said.

Asia-Pacific markets showed moderate gains on Tuesday, after AI trade lifted major Wall Street indexes overnight.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index advanced 0.34 per cent, and Shenzhen edged up 0.65 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.02 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.33 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.45 per cent.

The US markets ended mostly in the green zone overnight, as Nasdaq advanced 0.52 per cent, the S&P 500 edged up 0.64 per cent, and the Dow moved up 0.47 per cent.

Investors are keen on rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela and delays in the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. The killing of a Russian army general in a bomb attack on Monday raised concerns over the peace process, lending support to crude oil prices.

On Monday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 516 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 3,898 crore.