The city’s civic poll contest has turned into a free-for-all, exposing how Maharashtra’s once-stable alliances have unravelled owing to selfish ambition Pune:  Pune’s municipal election was once a relatively orderly affair, governed by predictable coalitions and familiar rivalries. This time it resembles a crowded roundabout with no right of way. The collapse of both the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has produced a four-cornered contest in

Municipal elections expose the identity crisis within both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party Pune:  Local elections are often treated as administrative skirmishes. But in Pune, they have become something akin to a philosophical debate about loyalty and legitimacy, ideology and expediency, and whether political parties can survive repeated acts of self-contradiction. The week-long turmoil surrounding the city’s municipal polls has laid bare the Nationalist Congress Pa

Mumbai:  Soon after sworn political adversaries Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray publicly embraced reconciliation, a familiar sense of unease spread among Maharashtra’s Muslims and other minorities. For many, the reunion of the cousins after 20 years of separation was less about Marathi unity and more about political expediency, plus a grim reminder of how minority expectations remain expedient for self-serving p

Mumbai: 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 categorise these sentiments as merely "local" and insisted that contesting independently does not make the allies "foes," the very language he used – the vocab

After an eight-year hiatus, the municipal elections promise to usher in a new cohort of politicians and reset the city’s political rhythms Pune:  The long-delayed civic polls herald a generational shift in Pune, arguably Maharashtra’s most politically vibrant city. When voters return to the booths in December, they will be resetting the circuitry of local power. The last municipal elections were held in 2017. Since then, the city’s politics have drifted into a liminal space.

From Anna Joshi’s grassroots charm to Murlidhar Mohol’s ascendancy, the BJP has long treated Pune as a laboratory for grooming leaders....

Devendra Fadnavis, once denied his due, is the state’s Chief Minister again and a strong contender for Delhi In the eternally fluid...

Ajit Pawar is trying to escape the long political shadow of his uncle, Sharad Pawar. But can he build a legacy of his own before time...

As the state readies for local elections, the political veteran tightens his grip on a shrinking stronghold even as the Congress withers...

Suresh Jain’s missed shot at Maharashtra’s top post had little to do with his faith and everything to do with backroom arithmetic....

The tragic collapse of a rusty footbridge in Pune district exposes Maharashtra’s decaying infrastructure, unregulated tourism and...

Once revered as bastions of public service and scholarship, Pune’s most venerated institutions now find themselves mired in controversy...

Mumbai: It is over two and half months that BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took over as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shiv Sena’s...