Maharashtra NCP legislator quits, to join BJP
Mumbai, May 23: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) received a jolt on Wednesday when its Maharashtra legislator Niranjan Davkhare quit the party and his legislative council seat.
Davkhare, 39, the son of the late NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, will join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other senior leaders, a party (BJP) spokesperson said.
A stunned NCP hit back this afternoon by suspending him from the party membership for a period of six years. The action came for his anti-party utterances and other grounds, said General Secretary Shivajirao Garje.
In a brief statement after submitting his resignation to NCP state President Jayant Patil, Davkhare said: "I am feeling very sad to leave the NCP. I had witnessed the birth and growth of NCP along with my father. But I am totally fed up with the local intra-party politics."
Davkhare also called on Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and resigned from his MLC seat, to which he was elected in 2012, and barely a month ahead of the upcoming bye-polls to the upper house next month.
Among the closest aides of NCP President Sharad Pawar, Davkhare’s father ruled the roost in Thane for over 24 years as legislative councillor despite the fact that Shiv Sena ruled the Thane Municipal Corporation, and also functioned as Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Upper House.
The Election Commission has announced another round of elections to two Graduates and two Teachers Division constituencies in the upper house to be held on June 8.
The four retiring members are: Apoorva P. Hiray (BJP) from Nashik Division Teachers constituency, Kapil Patil (JD-U) of Mumbai Division Teachers constituency, Deepak Sawant (Shiv Sena) from Mumbai Division Graduates constituency and Davkhare from Konkan Division Graduates constituency.
However, presently it is not clear if Davkhare will be given a BJP ticket to contest the bypolls to the state legislature's upper House next month.
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Bengaluru: Man held for illegal sale of IPL match tickets
Bengaluru (PTI): A 49-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly illegally selling IPL match tickets at inflated prices outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here, police said on Friday.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) made the arrest following a tip-off during the April 15 match between RCB and LSG that tickets were being sold illegally at higher rates, they said.
Police identified the accused as Chandrashekar P, a Bengaluru resident who was working with a catering service at the stadium.
During questioning, it was found that he was reselling match tickets in black.
According to police, investigations showed that for the April 15 match, 100 tickets were bought using the names of two companies and then sold at higher prices.
In a similar case during the March 28 RCB vs CSK match, 81 tickets worth Rs 6.6 lakh were purchased under one company's name and resold at inflated rates.
Police said that during the 2026 IPL season, the accused bought 181 tickets worth Rs 17.52 lakh through a portal and sold them illegally.
The accused has been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway to identify others involved in the racket, they added.
