Mumbai BJP unit likely to get new president ahead of BMC polls
At present, the Mumbai BJP president post is held by Ashish Shelar, who is the Maharashtra minister for Information and Technology, and also Cultural Affairs.
Highly placed sources in the BJP said, 'At the internal meeting with top leadership, Shelar conveyed to the party that he would like to step down as the Mumbai BJP president.'
Shelar had earlier served as Mumbai BJP president from 2013 to 2019, before holding the office again from 2022.
He was inducted as a cabinet minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government in December 2024.
A senior party functionary requesting anonymity said, 'The central and the state BJP units have made up their mind to appoint a new candidate for the Mumbai BJP president role. Several names are in the reckoning, including Amit Satam, Pravin Darekar, and Atul Bhatkhalkar.'
In July, the BJP formally appointed former minister Ravindra Chavan as its state president. The party, it has been learnt, is in the process of finalising candidates for the new team under Chavan.
A source said that with growing proximity between estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray, chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Raj Thackeray, head of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, over the Marathi plank, the BJP wants to make sure it has a Marathi candidate heading the Mumbai BJP unit before the BMC polls. The source added that the party will do a balancing act by giving adequate representation to local North Indian and Gujarati leaders in the Mumbai team.
In the last BMC elections held in 2017, the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena fought against each other despite being partners in the ruling coalition in the state. The Shiv Sena won 84 seats, two more than the BJP, which finished at 82. After the elections, the BJP gave outside support to the Shiv Sena to form the board at the BMC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
2 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Transport unions are in contempt: Karnataka HC on bus strike despite restraining orders
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court said the transport unions are in contempt by going ahead with the strike on Tuesday despite the restraining orders. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and CM Joshi orally observed this and extended till Thursday the interim order restraining the Transport Corporation Employees to put on hold their proposed strike.'You (office bearers of unions) are in contempt. We will have to issue contempt. Has the strike been suspended? There's an order passed under the Essential Services Management Act (ESMA). The strike is illegal and you can be arrested as a consequence. You cannot hold the public to ransom. This is exactly what the union is doing,' the bench orally strike: Opposition BJP asks Congress govt, CM to come out of 'deep slumber', resolve bench was hearing the PIL filed by J Sunil and others. At the hearing, Advocate General (AG) K Shashikiran Shetty informed the court that despite the interim order by the court, the employees of the three out of the four corporations, went ahead with the strike. He further said while the conciliation efforts are still on, a large number of people were affected by the the query posed by the bench, the AG said that on July 17, the state government had issued a notification under the ESMA declaring the strike as illegal. Meanwhile, the counsel representing the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Trade Unions of KSRTC employees submitted that the strike has been suspended and that BMTC services are plying 90 per cent to the capacity. The advocate said that he does not represent the unions of employees and other transport this stage, the bench said that it is not concerned with the negotiations and that the unions are free to hold discussions with the state government in whatever manner."You cannot put the public to inconvenience. As per law, the strike is illegal,' the bench said while asking the advocate of the union to report about calling off the strike. The court also ordered notice to other unions representing transport PIL stated that the proposed indefinite strike violates the right to mobility guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. The petitioner placed the August 1, 2025 circular issued by the KSRTC that prohibited the employees from participating in any strike by citing ESMA and Industrial Disputes Act. The circular also invoked the 'No work No pay' principle and warned the employees of disciplinary action.
New Indian Express
2 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Derogatory remarks against Amit Shah: Rahul Gandhi to appear before Jharkhand court on August 6
RANCHI: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, will appear before the MP-MLA Special Court in Chaibasa on Wednesday, in a defamation case registered against him for an alleged objectionable remark against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2018. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Ranchi on Monday to attend the last rites of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren. After paying his respects in Soren's native village, Nemra, Gandhi returned to Ranchi and will proceed to Chaibasa on Tuesday to appear before the MP-MLA Court as directed by the Jharkhand High Court on June 10. The High Court had earlier dismissed Gandhi's plea challenging a non-bailable warrant issued by the Chaibasa court, which had ordered his personal appearance by June 26. Gandhi's counsel had sought an exemption under Section 205 of the CrPC, but the court rejected the request, insisting on his physical presence. Following this, Gandhi approached the High Court, where his lawyer argued that scheduling conflicts prevented an earlier appearance. After consultations, August 6 was agreed upon as a suitable date for the hearing. The legal trouble stems from a 2018 speech during an AICC plenary session in New Delhi, where Gandhi allegedly referred to BJP leaders as "murderers" and "liars." He had stated, 'The people of this country will never accept a lying BJP leadership drunk with power… They will accept a man accused of murder as BJP President, but the same won't be tolerated in Congress.' A BJP worker, Pratap Kumar, filed a complaint in Chaibasa's Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in July 2018, prompting the court to take cognizance in February 2022. Summons were issued to Gandhi, followed by a bailable warrant after he failed to appear. With his continued absence, a non-bailable warrant was eventually issued in May 2025. The case highlights the ongoing political tensions as Gandhi faces judicial proceedings over his remarks.
Hindustan Times
2 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Not scared of police, 'PDA Pathshala' will continue: Akhilesh
Amid a controversy surrounding 'PDA Pathshala', Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said it will continue across the state as his party workers are not scared of police and that the CM himself should attend it to observe the conditions. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (HT file) 'The CM should see how dilapidated the condition of the schools is. Children were injured when the roof of a school collapsed in his home district,' he said. 'The BJP government is against education. Those who are against education are the biggest mafia. The government is filing FIRs regarding education. If it thinks that it will close the PDA Pathshala and PDA tuitions with the help of police, it is its misconception,' he claimed. 'The SP workers have resolved that till the government does not send teachers and principals to the closed schools, the PDA Pathshala will continue,' Yadav said while speaking to media after garlanding the statue SP ideologue Janeshwar Mishra on his birth anniversary at the park named after him here. The SP chief claimed that the decision to close and merge primary schools is wrong and it should be stopped. 'New schools were built by the Samajwadi government. Abhinav schools were opened. Sanskriti school was opened in Lucknow but the BJP government did not let it run,' he claimed. On flood-like situation in many parts of the state, he alleged, 'Even after spending ₹20,000 crore in Prayagraj, houses are submerged in flood waters there. The government is not giving relief to the victims. There is no drinking water. There are no toilets. There is no arrangement for the treatment of patients.' 'In the capital Lucknow, the mayor is from BJP and the government is of BJP, but even then drains are clogged. There is a pile of garbage. There are potholes on the roads. There is waterlogging and mud everywhere,' Yadav alleged. On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of assembly polls, the SP chief claimed when the public started defeating the BJP, a plan to cut votes in the name of SIR was brought. Seminar marks SP leader's birth anniv A seminar on socialism marked the birth anniversary of the Samajwadi Party leader the late Janeshwar Mishra in Lucknow on Tuesday. Releasing the Janeshwar Vichar Pradeepika on the occasion, SP national general secretary Shivpal Singh shared the teachings and memories of Janeshwar Mishra aka Chhote Lohia. 'The BJP government is imposing its communal agenda in the name of nationalism. This government is hell-bent on snatching the smile from the faces of most of the poor to serve the interests of a few capitalists,' Shivpal alleged while speaking at the seminar. 'The SP is the party of every person who wants harmony, goodwill and brotherhood in the society. Even though Lohiaji (Ram Manohar Lohia), Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Janeshwarji are not there to guide the socialists today, their immortal thoughts will always show the way,' he added.
