Mumbai News Highlights : MNS likely to be fourth Mahayuti alliance partner, claim BJP sources (2024)

A glitch in the signalling system between Vasai and Virar stations affected local train services on the Western line of the Mumbai suburban network, causing overcrowding at several stations during peak hour.

Services of a few outstation trains were also affected due to the signal problem at around 4.35 pm, a Railway official said. "Train services between Vasai and Virar stations were affected because of signal failure on the DOWN slow line," a spokesperson of the Western Railways said.

It took more than two to three hours for Western Railway to fix the technical glitch and restore the suburban services between Vasai and Virar stations.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over electoral bonds scheme, and dared it to disclose the details of funds it received through this exercise.

"BJP should declare the funds it collected under the electoral bonds scheme. My party Shiv Sena (UBT) will also declare the funds. Shiv Sena (UBT) also got electoral bonds, but it did not receive these donations by scaring the donors of the Enforcement Directorate or through grant of favours to them," Thackeray said.

Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal said if Raj Thackeray's MNS joins the BJP-led 'Mahayuti', it will increase the strength of the ruling alliance and bolster its chances in the state assembly and local body polls.

The 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) comprises the ruling BJP, Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Bhujbal said the way new parties are joining the opposition "INDI alliance", similarly the process of new parties joining the 'Mahayuti' will continue.

Sources in BJP indicated that Raj Thackeray-led MNS will be the fourth partner of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. This comes shortly after MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

An announcement is expected after another round of meeting with state leaders CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said, "Whichever seat I am assigned, I will contest. If my party president asks me to contest Gadchiroli seat, I will happily do. In the past though, I had contested from Mumbai South twice."

The Bombay High Court handed life imprisonment to former Mumbai police officer Pradeep Sharma, an “encounter specialist”, for the 2006 fake encounter killing of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhan Bhaiya, an alleged member of Chhota Rajan’s gang, by setting aside a sessions court judgment that acquitted him.

While allowing the state government’s appeal against Sharma’s acquittal, a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri V Godse held that the trial court’s finding was “perverse and unsustainable”. It directed him to surrender within three weeks.

The bench also upheld the convictions of 12 other police officers and a civilian, Hitesh Solanki, in the case. However, it acquitted Manoj Mohan Raj alias Mannu, Shailendra Pandey and Suresh Shetty, among other civilians.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) look to seal alliance in the state ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, MNS chief Raj Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

The MNS president reached Delhi with his son Amit late Monday night. If things fall in place an announcement about the tie-up in the state may be made sometime during the day. The move is seen as an attempt to dent the Marathi vote bank of Shiv Sena (UBT).

#WATCH | MNS chief Raj Thackeray and BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde reach the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/C72T9Plr39

— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2024

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray along with his son Amit arrived in Delhi late night. A meeting between Raj Thackeray and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will likely be held Wednesday morning. The BJP has made up its mind to have alliance with MNS, and they are going to make a formal announcement likely today (Tuesday).

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule arrived in Delhi on Monday afternoon. The core committee of BJP leaders led by J P Nadda are in meeting with Fadnavis, Bawankule to discuss seat sharing for Maharashtra. The party has already released the first list of 20 candidates. The discussion is for a few disputed seats between BJP and allies Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).

Four Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Gadchiroli, the Maharashtra Police informed on Tuesday.

Weapons and Naxalite literature were also recovered from the area.

The deceased were identified as divisional committee members Vargeesh and Magtu, and platoon members Kursang Raju and Kudimetta Venkatesh. The Maharashtra government had earlier announced a collective cash reward of Rs 36 lakh for their capture. Read the full story here.

Mumbaiis likely to witness mainly clear skies on Tuesday, according to the forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The minimum and the maximum temperatures are likely to be around 12 and 32 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Amid buzz over ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and his son Amit reached Delhi late Monday night.

Thackeray is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and if things fall in place an announcement about the tie-up in the state may be made sometime during the day.

The move is seen as an attempt to dent the Marathi vote bank of Shiv Sena(UBT).

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) instructed all ward-level officials to pull down hoardings that have been erected in public spaces across Mumbai within 24 hours in view of the model code of conduct in place for the Lok Sabha elections.

The BMC administration also stated that a single-window system will be started in all 24 municipal ward offices through which permission will be issued to political parties for erecting posters and banners.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's younger brother Shrinivas Pawar's criticism over the former leaving the side of NCP(SP) chief and uncle Sharad Pawar has now led to party leaders going on to claim that the entire family had turned against Ajit over his decision to join hands with the BJP.

“When we spoke after the split, I told him you continue to contest the Baramati assembly seat and the Lok Sabha elections from here will be contested under (Sharad) Pawar saheb’s leadership,” Shrinivas Pawar was heard saying in an undated video from Baramati at a gathering of villagers. Shrinivas said Sharad had backed Ajit Pawar’s decisions, made him Deputy CM four times and minister for 25 years, and that it was unworthy of someone to speak ill about such a benefactor’s old age.

While adding he was not ready to leave Sharad's side just because the latter was 83 years old, Shrinivas said that some of friends had advised him to side with Ajit as the future lay with him. “This thought that we are not at all sensitive about an elderly person is very painful for me. Anyone who has such a thought is an unworthy person,” Shrinivas said in reference to Ajit Pawar's frequent criticism of his uncle's age and advice to retire.

Two boys drowned in an open water tank at Maharshi Karve Garden in Central Mumbai’s Wadala and their bodies were recovered, said the police.

Brothers Ankush, 5, and Arjun Wagre, 4, had gone missing from their home in the Subhash Nagar area on Sunday. Their father Manoj told the media, “Early on Sunday, I had gone to Vile Parle for some work. My wife was here when she called me at around 10 am and told me that two of our children were missing. I came back immediately and started looking for them.”

The police said the parents reported the matter at the Matunga police station at around 1.30 pm on Sunday.

The Election Commission announced the removal of BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal, days after declaring the Lok Sabha election schedule.Further, the order also included the removal of BMC’s additional commissioners and deputy commissioners, sources told PTI.

Conveyed its displeasure to Maharashtra state chief secretary on non-adherence of its previous orders of transferring officials, the poll body directed him report by 6 pm on Monday.

Read more here

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray hit out at BJP for criticising him over his opening remarks while addressing the INDIA bloc rally in Mumbai in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the Opposition.

"BJP leaders criticised me over the opening sentence of my speech in the rally. But I want to ask them aren't they patriots?" Uddhav Thackeray said while addressing a rally in Vasmat in Hingoli district. Thackeray said he used the "deshpremi" word because the INDIA bloc wanted to save the country and democracy.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Chavan, who last month quit the Congress, on Monday said he did not meet Sonia Gandhi before leaving the grand old party and dismissed Rahul Gandhi's comments in this regard as "baseless," news agency PTI reported.

Addressing a rally in Mumbai on Sunday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail," the report said.

Reacting to it, Chavan in a video message on Monday said Rahul Gandhi made the statement in a rally on Sunday and did not take anybody's name. "But if he is saying that about me, then it is illogical and baseless. The truth is that till I resigned from the Congress, I was working at the party headquarters. I resigned from the post of MLA and a few moments later resigned from the party also. Till then, no one knew that I had resigned," the former state chief minister said. "I never met Sonia Gandhi. It is baseless (to say) that I met Sonia Gandhi and expressed my emotions. It is a political statement from the election point of view," Chavan said.

Chavan quit the Congress last month and joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which nominated him for the Rajya Sabha poll from Maharashtra. Chavan was later declared elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed. (PTI)

Mumbai is likely to witness partly cloudy skies towards the afternoon or evening, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the forecast, unseasonal rain and hailstorm are likely in Amravati, Akola, Bhandara-Gondia in the Vidarbha region. The minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to be around 23 and 33 degrees Celsius, respectively

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on SundayadvisedShiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar to not welcome those who have left the parties after returning to power.

“Many have left your side in recent times. Those who are gone are gone. Don’t worry about them. But yes, they will come back when you come back to power. Do not welcome them then,” Kharge said.

At the stage of the INDIA rally in Mumbai were CMs MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Champai Soren (Jharkhand), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and former CMs Farooq Abdullah, Udhhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, among other senior leaders.

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— Congress (@INCIndia) March 17, 2024

Rahul Gandhi accused PM Narendra Modi of having a monopoly over corruption, adding that hatred is spread to ensure people do not realise they are being robbed of their money.

"Electoral Bond is nothing but national hafta vasooli. They give contract and take percentage. Second, they threaten. Third, they use shell companies. Mumbai airport is an example of it," he said.

Rahul Gandhi claimed in his address at Mumbai's Shivaji Park that the late Arun Jaitley had asked him to not speak about Land Acquisition Act, threatening to jail him. He also claimed that the ED probed him and kept him for questioning for 50 hours.

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ED ?? 50 ???? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ??… pic.twitter.com/2oviWtensR

— Congress (@INCIndia) March 17, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government at the Centre for not being able to ensure due compensation for farmers by companies. He accused PM Modi of diverting people's attention from real issues.

"There will be China or Pakistan. He will tell you light the Diya, switch on mobile or will cry saying he is being insulted," Gandhi added.

Calling PM Narendra Modi a mask who is merely following orders, Rahul Gandhi said EVMs are the only reason the BJP-led NDA is winning. "We asked the Election Commission to show us the machines. We asked them to count papers, but they did not. Why?" he asked.

He further questioned the absence of members of backward classes in organisations, from media companies to business houses.

Addressing the INDIA rally in Mumbai, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said their fight is not against a political party. "People think that we are fighting against an individual called Narendra Modi. No, he is just a face. We are fighting against a power. This power is in EVMs, it is in institutions," he added.

Rahul went on to say that a leader from Maharashtra, who quit the party, told his mother Sonia Gandhi that he had no power to fight against that power. "Those from Shiv Sena and NCP have gone because they feared this power," he further said.

Coining the slogan of 'Ab ki baar, BJP tadipaar', Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray urged all to unite. "Those who tried to divide us will be defeated. Those who are joining you are not the real electorate," he said.

VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar continued to remain non-commital on joining INDIA front. At the Shivaji Park rally, he said, "Whether we remain together or fight independently, we are going to fight the BJP. We are trying to fight together in Maharashtra."

Former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said the INDIA bloc aims to defeat not just PM Modi, but also divisive ideology. "We have no personal enmity against Modi or Shah. Our main opposition is unemployment and poverty. Modi is a factory of lies and we are not going to get scared," he said.

Yadav added thatall those sitting in Maharashtra government are dealers and not leaders. "Modi talks about guarantees. I want him to first give me the guarantee of my Chacha (Nitish Kumar)," he said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said the people's votes are for those who spilled their blood for the country. He also alleged that the EVM is a "thief", urging people to check the VVPAT after casting their votes.

"I am sure that the INDIA government will cancel the EVM for good and the ECI will be freed from government control," he added.

Colours of democracy!
?Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park, Mumbai#BharatJodoNyayManzil #NyayKaHaqMilneTak #INDIAAlliance pic.twitter.com/TT0HLd5KfF

— Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) March 17, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray paid floral tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray ahead of the INDIA rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, which marks the beginning of the alliance's Lok Sabha poll campaign and the end of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

Also present at Shivaji Park are Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge,TN CM MK Stalin, Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti.

Nearly three decades after the 1992 communal riots and the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has initiated steps to compensate the legal heirs of persons who were killed or went missing during the tragic events.

The government issued an appeal letter on March 14, urging the legal representatives or heirs of those who lost their lives or went missing in the aftermath of the riots and blasts to approach offices of the city and suburban collectors within the next month.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have had their final meeting on seat sharing and the formula will be announced soon.

Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also participated in the meeting along with K C Venugopal and Sharad Pawar.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said: "I not only came back, but returned after breaking two parties. It took two-and-half years to come back to power. I had read out a poem during the 2019 assembly poll campaign but only one line from it became popular." "The BJP won a sizable number of seats and could have formed a government with the Shiv Sena (after 2019 assembly polls). However, Uddhav Thackeray betrayed us and we had to sit in the opposition,"

Speaking at a book launch in Mumbai, he said he was mocked for his 2019 Assembly poll campaign punchline "I will be back" but asserted he returned to power after breaking two parties, a reference to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.

The Shiv Sena split in June 2022 after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde rebelled, while the Nationalist Congress Party broke into two factions in July last year after Ajit Pawar joined the ruling alliance in the state.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the battle ahead is between two different ideologies. Truth and Hindustan stand by his side, and that BJP has no courage to change the Constitution.

“Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s strength was not only me but the crores (of Indians) who walked with me. This fight is not limited toRahul GandhiandNarendra Modior the Congress and theBJP. The fight is between two thoughts. One says the country will be run from the top and all will follow the orders. The second says, run the country in a decentralised manner. In religious terms, we can call it Shiv ki Baarat,” said Gandhi at an event organised by civil society workers and organisations at the Tejpal Hall in SouthMumbai.

Read the full story here.

Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra on Sunday, speaking to reporters, said, "A mega rally of the INDIA bloc will be organised today at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. The rally will be attended by the CMs of Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. The INDIA bloc will sound its poll bugle from the Shivaji Park."

VIDEO | Lok Sabha elections 2024: "A mega rally of the INDIA bloc will be organised today at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. The rally will be attended by the CMs of Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. The INDIA bloc will sound its poll bugle from the… pic.twitter.com/ubNyOZeNDT

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 17, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking at the Nyay Sankalp Sabha on Sunday morning, highlighted his learnings from the Bharat Jodo yatra. "At every step, there were people coming to me and saying we are facing this. I have realised... that a movement begins when I leave our own pain to realise the pain of the one standing beside us," Gandhi said in his address.

"I have seen I was not walking alone, lakhs of people walked with me. Rahul Gandhi was not the strength of Bharat Jodo Yatra, people who were walking with him were the strength of the yatra," he added.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, speaking at the Nyay Sankalp Sabha in Mumbai, acknowledged the yatra for providing him the chance to see India very closely.

"I got the chance to see India very closely for the first time. The impression I had of India kept on changing through the yatra, and by the time I reached Kashmir, I realised the idea of India I had was uninformed. Even through the yatra, I have a 'very superficial' idea of India. But one thing is clear that India is not a country of mohabbat (love), not of nafrat (hate)," Gandhi said.

"Who is then spreading hate, and how? I got to understand what was the reson for the hate? I understood that it was injustice that was fueling hate among people. There are only about 5 per cent of people in this country who know what justice looks like...," Gandhi added.

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday, speaking to the reporters outside the August Kranti Maidan, said that the party's ideology is to unite everyone.

"Our ideology is to unite everyone, and we are demanding 'nyay' for the people," Gaikwad told PTI.

VIDEO | "We are at the Mani Bhavan, and we will go to the August Kranti Maidan. Our ideology is to unite everyone, and we are demanding 'nyay' for the people," says Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) on party leader Rahul Gandhi's padyatra in the city.… pic.twitter.com/9s5oLyGX7N

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 17, 2024

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday held Nyay Sankalp Sabha at the Sheth Gokuldas Tejpal auditorium in Mumbai.

One of the pioneers of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra Yogendra Yadav too joined the Sabha.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday paid floral tribute at the Gandhi Smarak Stambh in August Kranti Maidan.

#WATCH | Maharastra: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi pays floral tribute at the Gandhi Smarak Stambh in August Kranti Maidan, in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/ejHJQFKijX

— ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pn Sunday began his 'Nyay Sankalp Padyatra' from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai. He was also joined by party leader Priyanka Gandhi, and actor Swara Bhasker.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and actor Swara Bhaskar begin the 'Jan Nyay Padyatra' from Mani Bhavan Sangrahalaya in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/ocx1phJw7c

— ANI (@ANI) March 17, 2024

VIDEO | Congress MP (Rahul Gandhi) and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) begin their 'Nyay Sankalp Padyatra' in Mumbai.

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/Qd7Z8cdaKU

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 17, 2024

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will soon begin the Jan Nyay Padyatra from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan.

Watch here:

With Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatraendingthe same day as the Election Commission announced theLok Sabha polls for 2024,the Opposition INDIA bloc will be kickstarting its election campaign from Mumbai’s iconic Shivaji Park today.

Today morning, before the rally, Rahul is leading a Nyay Sankalp Padyatra from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan.