Pawar vs Pawar battle: Eknath Shinde holds late-night meeting | Top updates on Maharashtra politics

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Maharashtra coalition government.  A recent political development in the state involves the induction of nine NCP leaders, including Sharad Pawar's nephew, into the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde camp)'s Alliance. Ajit Pawar has been sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. 1) The fierce power tussle between rival NCP factions, led by Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar, continued to play out on Thursday.

Fadnavis was seen leaving the CM's residence after the meeting on Thursday late night. 2) CM Shinde on Thursday made it clear that his government has emerged stronger, adding that he had no plans of stepping down, terming all such reports as 'rumors'. Shinde also chaired a meeting of Shiv Sena MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai.

3) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said CM Shinde may be replaced in the coming days, in light of the switchover of Ajit Pawar and 8 other NCP MLAs to the National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) government in the state. 4) Shinde said the power of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is behind him and the alliance government in Maharashtra is only getting stronger with Ajit Pawar’s joining. 5) Some MLAs [from the Eknath Shinde bloc] have been sending messages that they want to "seek forgiveness from 'Matoshree'," the Lok Sabha member further claimed.

6) Addressing a gathering of his supporters in a show of strength, Ajit Pawar said, “I became Deputy CM five times. It is a record but I am stuck at Deputy chief minister only. I also want to lead the state and be the chief minister." 7) NCP chief Sharad Pawar asserted that his effectiveness remains unchanged regardless of whether he is 82 or 92 years old.