Mumbai : Expressing grave concerns over the steep rise in cases of ‘missing children’ in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has accused the state government of treating the matter casually and failing to respond to it urgently.   In an open missive on 'X' to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) pointing at almost an alarming 30 pc increase in the number of children ‘missing’

Nagpur’s curtailed winter session has shown the ruling Mahayuti to be firmly in command as an atrophied Opposition struggled to articulate a counter-narrative. Maharashtra’s winter session which began in Nagpur this week was billed as the statutory opportunity for scrutiny, argument and legislative give-and-take. Instead, it has unfolded like a show staged with meticulous care by the ruling Mahayuti alliance. While the motions were duly observed, the spirit of contest evapora

The tug-of-war over the leadership change in Karnataka’s Congress government may have quietened for now, but the uneasy calm hardly inspires confidence. The state, after all, has a had long tradition of mid-term political tremors which lends every rumour an unsettling plausibility. The latest spark comes from senior MLA B. K. Hariprasad, whose remark that the so-called ‘November Revolution’ will now be discussed after Makar Sankranti has reignited political speculation. The C

India’s colonial hangover cannot be vanquished until its democratic institutions relearn how to govern themselves. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent invocation of the need to defeat the “Macaulay mindset” has stirred a familiar fault line in India’s public life. Almost at once, the debate collapsed into its usual trenches: the dominance of English, the legacy of colonial education and the supposed invasion of foreign culture. These are easy targets, and comforting ones. T

To lift anti-farmer curbs on MSP cotton procurement rules Mumbai : The Council for Protection of Farmers Rights-Kisan Bharti has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to direct the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to rollback its restrictive cotton procurement rules hitting farmers in the state.   In an appeal to the PM, CPFR-Kisan Bharti President Barr. Vinod Tiwari said that the CCI’s recent move – to cap cotton procurement at only 7 quintals/acre, almost ha

Fadnavis is strong on political front, facing difficulties in administrative push Mumbai: For Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, this year has not just been about reclaiming his administrative legacy; it has been about proving that the BJP remains the indispensable anchor of stability, especially as the party navigates the choppier waters of coalition politics in New Delhi. The opposition parties in the state, though broken by the 2024 defeat, have had a field day. Throughout

The proposed felling of trees in Nashik’s Tapovan has turned into a major political liability for the BJP ahead of the civic polls. The religious city of Nashik, preparing to host the massive Simhastha Kumbh Mela, has instead found itself at the heart of a bitter political and environmental storm. The flashpoint is the proposed cutting of nearly 1,825 trees in the sacred Tapovan area to make space for the ‘Sadhugram’ - the temporary settlement for holy men. This seemingly loc

The Congress’s leadership drama in Karnataka is the latest reminder of how decisively India’s politics is shaped by party high commands rather than by voters. India prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy. Yet within its political parties, power increasingly flows upwards. It is this ‘high command’ culture that is increasingly vexing Indian democracy. Nowhere was this more evident in Karnataka, where the ongoing power tussle between the Chief Minister Siddaramaia

Mahayuti leaders dangle ‘tijori’ carrot to woo voters Mumbai : As the curtain falls on Maharashtra’s December 2 civic poll campaign, the spotlight fell onto a series of controversial remarks by ruling alliance leaders who openly linked public development funds to voter support. Opposition parties slammed the statements as “a display of arrogance of power” and a direct threat to democratic norms.   The latest controversy erupted after Mahayuti ally and Deputy Chief Minister Aj

State president Ravindra Chavan insists on ‘ne family, one ticket’ Mumbai: While the campaigning for Nagarpalika and Nagar Panchayat elections is in the last phase, the real tussle appears to be between the Shiv Sena under Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the state BJP president Ravindra Chavan. Chavan has imposed a great challenge before the Shiv Sena by recking up the issue of nepotism and dynastic politics forcing them to stick to one family one ticket policy. After

The Ram temple is a bold statement about India’s past, present and the future its rulers wish to shape. The recent consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was staged not merely as a religious milestone but as a civilisational declaration. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his 31-minute address beneath the saffron canopy of ceremony, it was clear that the event was intended to transcend ritual. The message was political, cultural and aspirational all at once - a ca

The dust has barely settled on Bihar’s assembly election, but within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the contest that truly matters has quietly begun. Nitish Kumar is back in the Chief Minister’s chair, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has been revived with fresh confidence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already shifted his gaze eastward, declaring West Bengal the next great battleground. Beneath the roar of victory, is a more consequential question: who will lea

The Supreme Court’s verdict jolts Maharashtra into election mode, turning the delayed civic polls into a decisive test of power, pride and survival. The Supreme Court has finally cleared the way for the long-delayed local body, municipal corporation and nagar panchayat elections in Maharashtra. With the court firmly stating that the remaining elections must be held without breaching the 50 percent reservation limit, the long-standing deadlock has ended. This verdict now pushe

Mumbai: The dust is rising in the semi-urban towns of Akola, Amravati, and Parbhani, but it is not from the cavalcade of the “Tigers” of Maharashtra. As the campaign for elections to over 242 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats reaches a fever pitch ahead of the December 2 vote, a curious silence hangs over the opposition camp. While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, are engaged in a “carpet bombing” campaign—crisscrossing

Corporation, which tables a Rs 1,000-crore budget, has wandered for 50 years without owning its building Kolhapur: When those in power treat public land casually—when governments and administrators shrug off responsibility—the loss inflicted on society is permanent. Public facilities shrink, generations suffer, and land sharks waiting in the shadows walk away laughing. Kolhapur is witnessing exactly such a tragedy today. For years, a nexus of civic officials, political handle

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent comments, acknowledging that Shiv Sena workers in Dharashiv have expressed feelings of "betrayal" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within the Mahayuti alliance, mark a pivotal and ironic inflection point in the state’s volatile politics. While Shinde was quick to categorize these sentiments as merely "local" and insisted that contesting independently does not make the allies "foes," the very language he used

Congress solo threat rattles MVA Mumbai : The unilateral decision of the state Congress to contest the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has apparently rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) main allies and smaller parties, with hectic backstage politicking underway.   Barely a week after AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala’s terse announcement, supported vociferously by Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad, there are indications of the other par

The Congress’ tie-up with the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi tests whether old social coalitions can be rebuilt from the panchayat upwards. The forthcoming Maharashtra local bodies’ polls for Nagar Parishads and Nagar Panchayats, normally governed by hyper-local quarrels and ward-level patronage, have become unusually momentous. The reason is a political experiment where the Congress party has chosen to ally with the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA), Prakash Ambedkar’s Ambedkarite outf

In the political churn that followed the Emergency (1975–77), one of Maharashtra’s most defining moments came in 1978 when the joint government of the Reddy Congress and the Indira Congress collapsed. A young Sharad Pawar, then just 38, walked out with 40 MLAs and brought down the government. He soon returned to power via the ‘Pulod’ alliance, only to move back into the Congress fold in 1986 — and then break away again in 1999 to float the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ove

Nitish Kumar’s tenth ascent to power marks not just personal endurance but the remaking of Bihar’s political economy. Patna:  Chief Minister Nitish Kumar embodies the peculiar mix of durability and opportunism that defines much of Indian state politics. Admirers cast him as a ‘modern Chanakya’ while critics deride him as a relentless shape-shifter. Both readings miss the more telling point which is that Kumar has become the architect of Bihar’s long, hesitant transition from