MLAs of deputy CMs Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar will go over to BJP: Rohit
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar on Thursday claimed that several MLAs of the ruling allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will join the Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2029 elections.
Speaking at a press conference here, he also alleged that the BJP was poaching the MLAs of the NCP led by deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar "one by one".
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Gaikwad had alleged that there were more than one lakh bogus voters in his constituency of Buldhana, and despite his complaints the district collector's office was not updating the electoral rolls, he said.
Elsewhere, Sangram Jagtap of the NCP was toeing the BJP line in his speeches, asking people to buy things for Diwali only from Hindu traders, and was unrepentant even after Ajit Pawar reprimanded him, said Rohit.
"BJP is breaking Ajit Pawar's MLAs one by one," he claimed.
Shinde and Ajit Pawar, both deputy chief ministers in the BJP-led government, will soon feel the need to find ways to stop the "vote theft", Rohit Pawar further said.
After the unfavourable results for the BJP-led Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha elections, there were malpractices such as registration of bogus voters, bulk deletion of genuine voters and double registration of voters, he alleged.
`Unfavourable' voters were shown as dead, and bogus voting took place in the name of dead persons, Pawar claimed.
Between 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, 32 lakh voters were added, which amounted to addition of 6.5 lakh voters per year or 54,000 per month. But between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra assembly polls, 48 lakh voters were added in just six months, the NCP (SP) leader said.
In his own Karjat Jamkhed assembly constituency, 14,292 voters were added, 5,360 names were deleted and 14,162 duplicate names were inserted in voter rolls after the Lok Sabha elections, he alleged.
There were instances where the Aadhaar card of a voter in one constituency was used for the registration of another voter in a different constituency with the photo and name changed, the NCP (SP) MLA said.
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India achieves major milestone in wind energy; capacity now 56 gigawatts: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): India has achieved a major milestone in wind energy, with the country's wind energy generation capacity exceeding 56 gigawatts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
In his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi also said the country must save electricity and adopt clean energy.
“India recently achieved a major milestone in wind energy. India's wind energy generation capacity has now exceeded 56 gigawatts. In just the past year, nearly 6 gigawatts of new capacity have been added,” he said.
Underlining that solar and wind energy are essential for India's development, Modi said, “It is not just about the environment; it is about securing our future, and we all have a role to play in it.”
On April 22, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, said that India has recorded its best-ever year in wind energy capacity addition, with a historic 6.1 GW added during 2025-26.
India currently ranks fourth globally in wind energy, with more than 56.1 GW installed capacity and an additional 28 GW under implementation.
Emphasising the vast untapped potential of the sector, Joshi highlighted that India's wind energy potential at 150 metres hub height is estimated at nearly 1,164 GW.
He expressed confidence that with sustained efforts, the country will achieve 100 GW wind capacity by 2030 and 156 GW by 2036, contributing significantly to the net-zero target by 2070.
Joshi also underlined that wind energy plays a critical role in stabilising India's energy system, particularly due to its peak generation during evening and night hours, which aligns with high demand periods.
He noted that nearly 45 per cent of wind power generation occurs during peak demand hours, making it a vital complement to solar energy.
