Latest news with #OperationTiger
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Get Fighter Plane From Modi Baba": A Special Ask By Eknath Shinde's Grandson
New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his family on Wednesday, coming to Delhi especially for this meeting. The headliner, though, was his absent, five-year-old grandson. The Shinde family that met PM Modi included Mr Shinde's wife Lata Shinde, his MP son Shrikant Shinde and his wife Vrushali Shinde. But PM Modi's first question was about Rudransh. Mr Shinde said the boy was at home, playing. "But Rudransh has a demand. He said his grandfather should bring fighter planes and toys from Modi Baba," Mr Shinde said, as the Prime Minister guffawed. Eknath Shinde later told reporters that his grandson has made a "good demand". "Fighter planes can be used for our fighting too," he said, indicating Maharashtra politics and the coming civic election in the state. Today as Mr Shinde came to Delhi, Uddhav Thackeray is also in the city with his family, come to attend the dinner meet of the India Alliance. "He came to Delhi to go to 10 Janpath and we are going to Lok Kalyan Marg, as told by Bala Saheb Thackeray," Mr Shinde quipped. Mr Shinde said he had presented an image of Lord Shankar to PM Modi to celebrate the success of Operation Mahadev - the anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir in which a terrorist involved in the Pahalgam massacre was killed. Asked what is the status of Operation Tiger -- said to be carried out to break the Shiv Sena UBT - Mr Shinde said, "we are talking about Operation Sindoor and Operation Mahadev. Not Operation Tiger".
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
'Mumbai Civic Poll, Assembly Election': BJP Sets Itself Maharashtra Target
Mumbai: The political heat in Mumbai is rising ahead of the civic body election later this year. The major parties - the ruling BJP and its allies, Ajit Pawar's NCP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena - are in the final stages of prep, as are their rivals, the Congress, and Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray's NCP and Sena. The BJP has focused on cadre-building and continues to induct leaders, week after week, while most of the others are focused on re-building lost ground and voter connections. The party swept to a clear win in the November 2024 Assembly election, claiming 132 of the state's 288 seats. That was a big result given its (and its allies) poor showing in the Lok Sabha election just six months earlier; the BJP won just nine of 28 parliamentary seats it contested. The BJP has now set its sight on another dominant result in 2029, but with a caveat. This time it wants to be a more independent force; i.e., win and form the government on its own. That target, the party hopes, will be achieved partly through pushing a hardline Hindutva agenda, as evinced by its recent recruitment policy. On Tuesday, the BJP inducted over 50 office bearers from regions like Vasai, Amravati, Raigad, and Dharashiv. Many of the 50 were from the Congress or Uddhav Thackeray's Sena. The event was overseen by the BJP's state unit boss, Ravindra Chavan, who used the occasion to advocate for ideological uniformity across all levels of government. "It is important for us to have a government of one thought. With our party in power at both the state and centre... our next focus is the civic polls," he said, "The policies of the state and centre mean little if they are not executed by the local government." Uddhav Thackeray Eyes Strategic Reset In contrast, Mr Thackeray's Shiv Sena must navigate a tricky phase. A poor Assembly election - the party that won (in its undivided avatar) 56 seats in the 2019 poll managed just 20 last year - was followed by a steady exodus of senior figures, many of whom jumped to join the faction led by Eknath Shinde, now the Deputy Chief Minister. The pressure on Mr Thackeray and his party intensified earlier this year amid talk of the ruling alliance's 'Operation Tiger', a strategy to dismantle his Sena group from the ground up. Party leaders publicly downplayed defections but signs of concern surfaced, including an emotional letter from MLA Bhaskar Jadhav urging his followers to support the party. Some view this moment as an opportunity to reset. Sources told NDTV Mr Thackeray may be amenable to such an idea, particularly before a civic body election. That would give the party and him a chance to try out new strategies - including an alliance with estranged cousin Raj Thackeray - before the 2029 state election. Mr Thackeray has instructed his party leadership to prep for the civic body election in Mumbai with, or without, allied support, underlining possible rifts in the opposition bloc. On a possible alliance with Raj Thackeray - whose party has been severely criticised over a wave of thug-like attacks on non-Marathi speaking individuals in the state - Uddhav Thackeray said. "The alliance with MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Raj Thackeray's party) will be decided (but) you start preparing (to contest) all the seats,,," he said. Opposition Struggles Amid Exits The Congress, part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, is also grappling with internal issues. It performed better than its allies - Uddhav Thackeray's Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP - in the Lok Sabha election, but the exit of major leaders, including ex-Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, contributed to a markedly worse showing in the state poll later that year. To redeem lost support, the party has courted veteran leaders, including those from allies like former MLA Babajani Durrani from Sharad Pawar's NCP. Signing him may not have an immediate electoral impact, but Congress leaders view it as a symbolic boost. Internally, the Congress hopes that such high-profile entries will help it reassert itself as the senior partner within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, especially amid murmurs of growing factionalism within Sharad Pawar's party following the Lok Sabha election result.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Sena may revive Operation Tiger to counter possible reunion of Thackerays
Pune: Shiv Sena politicians are planning a fresh round of Operation Tiger to poach members of Sena (UBT) to counter the possible reunion between Thackeray cousins for the upcoming civic poll. UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray came together after almost 18 years to address a joint rally in Mumbai over the Marathi-Hindi language row on Saturday. During the rally, Uddhav hinted that the cousins would likely stay united politically. Although there has been no formal announcement from either party about an alliance for the civic poll, Mahayuti members have started to take action to counter a possible reunion. Sena members as also political observers feel the Thackeray reunion may affect deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde's party in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Therefore, they are approaching UBT members in these cities. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune "In the coming days, members of the opposition from the said cities will join our party. There are several aspirants for polls in civic bodies and they will switch before the announcement of the election dates," a senior Sena member told TOI. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like LG, KT, SK 모든 통신사 개통당일 현금 100만원 당일 지급! 똑똑하게 돌려받자! 인싸통 더 알아보기 Undo He said the party is involved in dialogues with some UBT workers to convince them to switch sides. The party had initiated a similar strategy after the assembly poll and named it Operation Tiger. "Over the last few months, several UBT politicians have joined Sena, since they see a bright future with us. Many former members of UBT want to be with the govt, despite talks regarding the Thackeray cousins coming together. We will induct some of them into our party soon," said the senior Sena member.
India Gazette
17-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde expresses confidence in Shiv Sena's success in local body polls
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 18 (ANI): Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde on Tuesday expressed confidence in his Shiv Sena faction's prospects in the upcoming local body elections, emphasising the party's commitment to development and its growing support base across the state. Speaking on the ongoing preparations for the polls, Shinde said, 'The elections are not just announced because we formed the government; this process has been ongoing since 2022. People now know that Shiv Sena is a party that promotes development and keeps its promises. Many people from Nashik and Maharashtra have joined the party. Municipal servants, sarpanches, and even individuals from Rajasthan have joined. All these joinings will benefit the upcoming local Swaraj elections.' On June 11, stressing that the state leadership will decide on the alliance in the local body elections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that they will contest the polls under the Mahayuti alliance. 'Our state president, working president, and election committee have the right to decide on the alliance in the local body elections. No one else. Our role is to contest the elections under the Mahayuti. In some places, where it is not possible, there is a friendly fight,' CM Fadnavis said. On June 10, the Maharashtra government issued orders to initiate the drafting of ward boundaries for 29 municipal corporations, including key urban centres such as Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Kalyan-Dombivli. This move follows the Supreme Court's directive on May 6, 2025, which mandated the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) to notify local body elections within four weeks. This paved the way for polls that have been delayed for over five years due to issues surrounding OBC reservations. The upcoming elections for local bodies, including municipal corporations, councils, and panchayats, are seen as a critical battleground for political parties in Maharashtra. Eknath Shinde also announced that under his leadership, the Shiv Sena is gearing up to celebrate its anniversary on June 19 with grandeur. Speaking at the conference, Shinde said, 'Our workers are preparing to celebrate on June 19th with great pomp and show. Operation Tiger is going on every day. Funds will continue to be received, and work will continue to be done.' On Operation Sindoor, Shinde stated that the Operation was launched as a strong response to Pakistan for the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which he described as an assault on Indian women, symbolised by the wiping off of their 'Sindoor.' He criticised the Congress party for merely engaging in vote-bank politics during similar past attacks when they were in power. He said, 'Operation Sindoor was launched as a befitting reply to Pakistan for wiping off the 'Sindoor' of our sisters in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Several attacks took place in the country, but Congress gave a reaction to this action when they were in power. They only did the politics of vote, but this time, PM Modi has done what the people of the country wanted him to do... Seven all-party delegations went to 34 different countries to keep India's stand to the world... Several countries of the world are supporting Operation Sindoor.' (ANI)
