Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday hit out at Maharashtra's caretaker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and accused him of playing politics of fear, while making a reference to German dictator Adolf Hitler in the backdop of logjam over government formation in the state.

Without naming Fadnavis, Raut, in a fresh attack on the BJP leader amid the ongoing war of words between the saffron allies, said, "When ways of threatening and seeking political support don't work, it is time to accept that Hitler is dead and the looming clouds of slavery have disappeared."

In his column 'Rokhthok' in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', he said Fadnavis, despite being blessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become chief minister for the second time, has not been able to assume the top post in Maharashtra.

"He could not take oath because BJP chief Amit Shah has remained aloof from developments in the state," Raut said. In the October 21 polls, the BJP won 105 seats while ally Sena won 56 seats. The majority mark in the 288-member state Assembly is 145.

However, since the poll results were announced on October 24, both the parties have been bickering over the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate over government formation.

Raut said even 15 days after the results were announced, Fadnavis could not take oath as the chief minister.

"The BJP's biggest ally Shiv Sena not ready to speak to the outgoing chief minister is the biggest defeat (of the BJP). This time, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will decide the next chief minister of Maharashtra," he said.

NCP president Sharad Pawar and many Congress leaders have communicated to their party chief Sonia Gandhi that their priority is to have a "non-BJP" chief minister in the state, the Rajya Sabha member said in the Marathi publication.

"Everyone wants to end the politics of revenge, subservience and playing dirty tricks," Raut said. "Those who used to threaten others with their power are now scared," he said in remarks laced with sarcasm.

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Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.

According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.

He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.

Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.

He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.

His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.

The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.

The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.

Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.