Uddhav, Patole meet, discuss INDIA event, interaction between Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar in Pune
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Sunday met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in connection with the meeting on August 31 and September 1 of the opposition bloc INDIA in Mumbai.
He also said the issue of confusion in the ranks of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in connection with the meeting between Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune on Saturday was discussed.
"People of Maharashtra see us as one and there should be no confusion among the workers. The Maha Vikas Aghadi is united and everyone's stand should be made clear at the earliest," Patole told reporters.
The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP are part of the MVA.
Earlier in the day, queried about his “secret” meeting in Pune on Saturday with Ajit Pawar, the NCP founder said, "I want to tell you a fact that he is my nephew. What is wrong with meeting my nephew? If a senior person in a family desires to meet another family member, there should not be any issue with that." The NCP president and the deputy CM are believed to have met at the residence of a businessman.
Visuals aired by regional news channels showed Sharad Pawar arriving at the residence of the businessman in Koregaon Park area at around 1 pm. He left by around 5 pm. After nearly two hours, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was seen leaving the premises in a car at 6:45 pm while apparently trying to avoid cameras.
Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs had joined the Eknath Shinde government, which also has the Bharatiya Janata Party, on July 2, in the process causing a vertical split in the NCP.
Meanwhile, speaking on 18 deaths in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, Patole said if this was the situation in a civic-run facility in Thane then one could imagine what would be the state of affairs in other parts.
The Eknath Shinde government must take responsibility for the deaths, Patole said.
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TN polls: TVK pushes DMK behind with leads in 83 seats, AIADMK ahead in 54
Chennai (PTI): New entrant TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay, was leading in as many as 83 constituencies on Monday when counting of votes polled in the April 23 Assembly polls was on across Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK was leading in 58 seats while the ruling DMK was ahead in 34, EC data showed.
About two hours after the postal ballots were counted and EVMs opened for multi-round counting, Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam surged ahead of its Dravidian rivals-- the DMK and the AIADMK, with the ruling party struggling to catch up.
If the trends maintain, Vijay could as well ensure the biggest electoral upset, something in lines with the "1967,1977" wins he had referred to in his campaign speeches.
While the Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai brought the first non-Congress government in Tamil Nadu post-independence in 1967, the charismatic MG Ramachandran (MGR) installed the maiden AIADMK government 10 years later, unseating then DMK government under M Karunanidhi. TVK was leading in most Chennai segments, all considered DMK strongholds and currently represented by the party in the 234-member House.
A poor show by DMK could belie most exit polls giving an edge to it, riding on the number of populist measures Chief Minister M K Stalin had implemented in his five year "Dravidian model," inclusive governance.
According to EC and TV reports, 15 cabinet ministers, including Stalin were trailing. His son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi was also behind in his incumbent Chepauk-Tirvuvallikeni seat, according to a number of reports.
Stalin was trailing behind TVK's VS Babu by 1234 votes in Kolathur segment. Vijay was ahead in Tiruchirappalli East by over 3,000 votes at the end of two rounds of counting, according to EC data.
BJP is trailing in 26 constituencies and it is ahead in Thali segment alone. TVK is ahead in constituencies including Ponneri, Tiruvallur, Poonamalle, and Avadi.
AIADMK is leading in segments including Katpadi, and Guidyattam and party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is ahead in Edappadi segment by 7003 votes.
DMK was leading in segments including Vellore, Anaikattu and Rishivandiyam.
