Sharad Pawar turns 84, Ajit Pawar joins celebrations
New Delhi (PTI): NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday turned 84 and celebrated his birthday with members of his family and well-wishers, including estranged nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Pawar, a former Union Minister, cut the birthday cake with a sword at his 6, Janpath residence here, surrounded by party workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and other prominent leaders greeted the octogenarian leader on his birthday.
Ajit Pawar, who parted ways with the senior Pawar last year and handed out a resounding defeat to the veteran leader in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls, was present at the birthday celebrations along with his family members.
Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar and their son Paarth, visited the senior leader along with NCP leaders Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Sunil Tatkare.
"We came today to wish him (Sharad Pawar) on his birthday,” Bhujbal, once a close confidant of the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
Born on December 12, 1940, Pawar took the political plunge while in college and became a protege of veteran Congress leader Yashwantrao Chavan.
A four-term Maharashtra chief minister, the senior Pawar has also served as Defence Minister and Union Agriculture Minister.
Pawar parted ways with the Congress in 1999 over the issue of the foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi to form the Nationalist Congress Party.
In July last year, the NCP witnessed a split with more than two-thirds of the party MLAs supporting Ajit Pawar, who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government as deputy chief minister.
Later, the Election Commission recognised the Ajit Pawar-led group as the real NCP and asked the Sharad Pawar-led faction to select a new name for the party and an election symbol.
In the Maharashtra assembly elections last month, the BJP-led MahaYuti coalition comprising Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar-led NCP trounced the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP.
The MahaYuti won 235 seats, while the opposition alliance was restricted to 46 seats in the 288-member assembly.
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Karnataka: GBA city corporation polls likely between June 14 and 24
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka State Election Commissioner G S Sangreshi on Friday said elections to the five city corporations under the GBA will be held anytime between June 14 and June 24.
He said the exact date for the polls will be announced after a week, asserting that the power to postpone the elections, as requested by GBA authorities, lies with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had directed the Karnataka government and the State Election Commission to conduct Bengaluru local body elections by June 30.
On Friday, the SEC held a consultation meeting with the GBA Chief Commissioner and commissioners of the five city corporations regarding the election schedule, as per the provisions of the GBA Act.
“During the meeting, I informed GBA officials that only the election date has to be fixed, as all other measures and formalities for conducting the polls have already been completed,” Sangreshi said.
“They requested the Commission to consider factors such as rains, exams, census work, SIR, and manpower shortages while fixing the date and sought additional time,” he added.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said, “I told them this meeting was not for seeking time. Elections to the five corporations under the GBA must be held before June 30, as directed by the Supreme Court, and a compliance report must be submitted to the court. I do not have the power to postpone the elections as requested.”
The Supreme Court has already given a “final opportunity,” and both the SEC and the government must comply with its directions, the State Election Commissioner said.
He asked GBA officials to suggest suitable dates between June 14 and June 24.
“While stating that they are ready for elections, the officials highlighted operational challenges, including manpower shortages. However, I have informed them that the elections will have to be held between June 14 and June 24. After a week, I will announce the final date,” he said.
Reiterating that he does not have the power to postpone the elections, Sangreshi said the authority rests with the Supreme Court, and elections must be conducted as scheduled.
“We have consulted the GBA as per the rules. It is up to them to suggest a date within the given window. If they need more time, they must approach the court. Our responsibility is to fix the date and complete the polls before June 30,” he said.
The matter regarding manpower and other concerns raised by GBA officials is already before the Supreme Court, and the State Election Commission has also filed a petition in this regard. The case is yet to be heard.
“Since the matter has not come up for hearing, the earlier order remains binding. Therefore, preparations are underway,” he added.
The tenure of the previous elected body under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ended on September 10, 2020, and since then, a government-appointed administrator has been managing its day-to-day affairs.
Bengaluru was divided into five municipal corporations—Central, East, West, North, and South—under the Greater Bengaluru Authority in September 2025, replacing the BBMP.
Sangreshi had earlier said that elections to the five corporations would be conducted using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines.
This follows the Congress government’s decision last September to recommend the use of ballot papers in all future panchayat and urban local body elections, citing concerns over declining public confidence in EVMs.
The state government subsequently enacted the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act, 2026, paving the way for the use of ballot papers in local body elections.
