Mumbai, November 25: Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray was on Monday elected the Shiv Sena (UBT) legislature party leader at a meeting of the party legislators in Mumbai.

Aaditya, son of party president Uddhav Thackeray, defeated Milind Deora of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the recent assembly elections from Worli constituency by 8,801 votes.

His winning margin dipped compared to the last elections in 2019, where it was 67,427 votes.

Senior party leader Ambadas Danve told reporters after the meeting of party legislators that former minister Bhaskar Jadhav was elected the party group leader in the state assembly, while Sunil Prabhu was named the party’s chief whip.

Mumbai, November 25: IPS officer Rashmi Shukla violated the Model Code of Conduct by meeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis while the code of conduct was still in force. The Election Commission must take this matter seriously and initiate immediate action against Rashmi Shukla, demanded Atul Londhe, Chief Spokesperson of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Commenting on the issue, Atul Londhe said that in Telangana, the Election Commission had promptly acted against a Director General of Police and another senior official for meeting a senior minister during elections. “Why does the Election Commission act swiftly in non-BJP-ruled states but fail to notice such violations in BJP-ruled states?” he questioned.

Rashmi Shukla faces serious allegations, including phone tapping of opposition leaders. The Congress had earlier demanded her removal from the post of Director General of Police during the election period, and she was subsequently removed. However, despite the declaration of assembly results, Rashmi Shukla met the Home Minister before the Model Code of Conduct officially ended, violating its norms. Londhe insisted that immediate action should be taken against her.

Maharashtra Congress president and newly elected MLA from the Sakoli Assembly seat, Nana Patole, denied media reports about his resignation from the post of party chief in the state.

Speaking to the media, Patole said, “I am going to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. I have not submitted my resignation.”

Earlier it was reported that after the crushing defeat of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, Nana Patole offered to resign as Congress state president, taking moral responsibility for the loss. However, conflicting reports claim that Patole has not yet made a final decision, and there has been no confirmation from him or the party regarding his resignation.

The ruling Mahayuti coalition secured a resounding victory, winning 235 seats with 49.6% of the vote share, while the MVA lagged far behind with just 49 seats and 35.3% of the votes. The Congress, in particular, suffered a major setback, winning only 16 of the 103 seats it contested.

Patole, who contested from the Sakoli seat, narrowly retained his position with a margin of just 208 votes—the smallest margin of his political career. This is a sharp contrast to his 2019 Assembly election performance, where he won the same seat by nearly 8,000 votes. His narrow victory this year ranks among the closest contests in the state.

Patole reportedly sought to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Monday to discuss his resignation but was unable to do so. The party high command has not yet acted on his reported resignation.