Winds of change blowing across country: Sharad Pawar on BJP's defeat in Kasba bypoll
Mumbai (PTI): With the Bharatiya Janata Party losing its bastion of Kasba Peth in Pune city to the Congress in the recently-held Assembly bypoll, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said the development indicated that winds of change were blowing across the country.
The former Union minister was speaking to reporters at Baramati, his hometown in Pune district.
"BJP's defeat in the Kasba Peth Assembly bypoll proves that people are considering an alternative. Winds of change are blowing across the country," he said.
The BJP on Thursday failed to retain the Kasba Peth Assembly seat, its stronghold for nearly three decades, as Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar defeated the saffron party nominee Hemant Rasane in a keenly contested bypoll, which had become a prestige battle between the ruling coalition and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The BJP has represented Kasba Peth in the state Assembly for the last 28 years. Girish Bapat, the current BJP Lok Sabha MP from Pune, won the prestigious seat five times till 2019. The bypoll was held on February 26 and votes were counted on Thursday.
Pawar said, "BJP has negligible presence in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal and Karnataka, which goes to polls this year. At the time of casting their votes, people will remember how BJP toppled the Congress governments."
He termed the Supreme Court's verdict on the appointment of election commissioners (ECs) a good decision for democracy.
In a far-reaching verdict, the apex court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India (CJI), to maintain the "purity" of the electoral process.
Pawar said the NCP has done well in Nagaland as it won seven of the12 seats it contested in the recently held polls to the 60-member Assembly.
"We are the number two party there. Party general secretary Narendra Verma has been deputed to Nagaland as an observer," he said.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
