Maharashtra polls: NCP (SP) announces third list; fields actor Swara Bhaskar's husband
Mumbai, Oct 27: The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) on Sunday announced its third list of candidates for nine seats for the Maharashtra assembly polls, the names including actor Swara Bhaskar's husband Fahad Ahmad.
Ahmad, who was the state president of the Samajwadi Party youth wing, switched over to the NCP (SP), which promptly fielded him from Anushakti Nagar seat here.
He will take on Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Sana Malik, daughter of former minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested in February 2022 by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly usurping a property in Kurla here with the help of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's sister.
Nawab Malik, the sitting MLA from Anushakti Nagar, was released on bail last year. He then sided with the Ajit Pawar faction, though he was not renominated, possibly due to objection from ally BJP.
The nine names were declared by NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil. With this, the party has announced candidates for 76 seats. Eleven of its candidates are women.
The Sharad Pawar-led party has fielded Dnyayak Patni, son of late BJP MLA Rajendra Patni, from Karanja seat in Washim district. Rajendra Patni, who won the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections on a BJP ticket, died in February this year. However, his son chose to join the NCP (SP).
Other candidates announced by the party include Atul Wandile from Hinganghat (in Wardha), Ramesh Bang from Hingna (Nagpur), Rahul Kalate from Chinchwad and Ajit Gavhane from Bhosari (both in Pune), Mohan Jagtap from Majalgaon and Rajesaheb Deshmukh from Parli (both in Beed) and Siddhi Ramesh Kadam from Mohol seat in Solapur.
Polls to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will take place on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.
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Police raid BRS leader Rama Rao’s kin's farmhouse, party says CM's trap
Hyderabad, Oct 27: Police here raided a farmhouse allegedly owned by BRS working president K T Rama Rao’s brother-in-law and booked one person, who tested positive for cocaine at the party organised there.
A police official said Rao's brother-in-law, Raj Pakala, was absconding following the raid at his farmhouse.
The incident triggered a political row in Telangana with leaders of the ruling Congress demanding a thorough investigation over the matter.
BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday alleged that the Congress government in Telangana is just "pretending" to enforce the law but is actually "protecting the BRS bigwigs".
However, the BRS alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was trying to trap Rama Rao, also known as KTR, in a false case. The party claimed showcasing the residence as a farmhouse reeks of malicious intent.
KTR's brother-in-law Raj Pakala organised the party in his new house for his family members, the BRS said and accused the police and Excise officials of carrying out searches at the house without any warrant and harassing his family members showing them as "participants" of the party.
"Because KTR is exposing Congress government's failures and corruption, the BJP and Congress parties are conspiring against him…Revanth Reddy, Congress and BJP leaders are suffering from KTR syndrome, KTR phobia," the BRS said.
As Revanth Reddy "failed" to deliver on the poll promises he indulged in diversion politics, the BRS further said and alleged that the Telangana chief minister is making personal allegations against KTR out of "jealousy”.
Alleging that there was a match-fixing between Revanth Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the BRS accused the former of making the latter and other BJP leaders speak against KTR.
The BRS party said it will face the issue legally.
The BRS also denied the allegations that drugs and excessive foreign liquor was found at the house.
In response to the police raid, BRS leader Sravan Dasoju in a release termed it propaganda, labeling a private family gathering as a "rave party" and condemned the "unfounded accusations and politically motivated actions".
"On top of this, attempting to associate KTR with the gathering is nothing but a desperate move to tarnish his image through cheap political theatrics," Sravan said.
Meanwhile, some BRS leaders were taken into preventive custody in Raidurgam here after they protested alleging the police was entering the houses of its leaders "without search warrants".
According to police, following input that a party was going on at the farmhouse in Janwada, with "drugs and liquor unauthorisedly", a team of Cyberabad Police and Excise officials raided the place on the intervening night of October 26 and 27 and found 21 men and 14 women participants.
All the male participants were subjected to drug tests and one person in the gathering tested positive for cocaine and a case under relevant sections of the NDPS Act was registered, a senior police official told PTI.
During the raid, police found foreign liquor beyond the permitted quantity and that no permission was taken for the event.
Pakala hosted the event and since he did not obtain an Excise license, a case was registered against him under relevant sections of the Excise Act by the Excise Task Force besides another case was booked against him under the Telangana Gaming Act, police said.
An Excise official told the media that the party was organised without event permission and foreign liquor was also found.
Seven foreign and 10 Indian liquor bottles were found besides other gaming related items, police said, adding further investigation was on.
BJP leader Sanjay Kumar in a post on 'X' said "The raid at Janwada farmhouse is merely tip of the iceberg. Congress govt should not dilute the case - by giving a predictable statements. It’s becoming obvious that Congress and BRS are playing a “give and take” game, protecting each other’s interests."
