The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) on Wednesday cited a report in an RSS-linked Marathi weekly to suggest the BJP is sending a subtle message to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP to leave the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ alliance in Maharashtra.

The report in the weekly ‘Vivek’ noted that public sentiments turned sharply against the BJP following its 2023 alliance with the NCP which subsequently led to the party’s bad performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.

Speaking to reporters, NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said after the setback in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is looking to win the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra but it realised that the tie-up with Ajit Pawar’s party is going to hurt its prospects.

“The fact of the matter is that the people of Maharashtra have voted largely in favour of the NCP (SP). The BJP is also trading cautiously in the whole issue because it wants to win the elections.

“But its alliance with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP is going to make them lose the elections, like in the Lok Sabha polls… the article in the weekly (Vivek) is one of the ways they are trying to distance themselves from Ajit Pawar and probably asking him to leave (Mahayuti) in one way or the other,” claimed Mr Crasto.

The NCP (SP) spokesperson maintained the RSS-linked publication had written another article with similar contents a couple of weeks ago as well.

Crasto argued the Maharashtra voters have not accepted the BJP’s alliance with the NCP and also the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“The decision to bring Ajit Pawar on board has caused trouble for the BJP, resulting in the party losing several Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. This is the current reality in the electoral politics of Maharashtra. It seems the people have not accepted the BJP partnering with the NCP and, similarly, with Shinde-led Shiv Sena,” he said.

Mr Crasto maintained the BJP has begun to realise that taking Ajit Pawar, who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July 2023, onboard is causing trouble and the tie-up will not allow it to win elections.

So, they (BJP) are finding reasons to send across this message, said the spokesperson.

The weekly publication’s report highlighted the disapproval among BJP members and sympathisers regarding the alliance with the NCP and pointed out the perceived departure from the party’s core values.

“Almost every person who is either in the BJP or affiliated to organisations (Sangh Parivar) cited that he does not approve of the BJP allying with the NCP (led by Ajit Pawar). Before writing this piece, we interacted with more than 200 industrialists, traders, doctors, professors, and teachers. The unrest among the party cadre because the BJP allied with the NCP is the tip of the iceberg,” it observed.

The BJP’s seat count in Maharashtra dropped drastically from 23 in 2019 to just nine in the recent Lok Sabha polls, with its ally Shiv Sena securing seven seats and the NCP, led by deputy CM Ajit Pawar, managing to win in just one constituency.

In contrast, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and the Congress, put up an impressive show and collectively won 30 out of the 48 seats.

The 1999-founded NCP suffered a split when Ajit Pawar joined the Shinde-led government along with a section of party MLAs loyal to him.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Unless a miracle happens for Democrats, Donald Trump is set to be the 47th President of the United States of America, a beaming Shalabh Kumar, a close aide of Trump, told NDTV. The Chicago businessman underlined that the failed assassination attempt means it is a game, set, match for Trump in the November election.

“This particular event, the assassination attempt, has practically sealed the election campaign. It is almost over. It is very challenging at this point for Democrats to figure out what to do. Such a contrast has been laid out in the minds of the electorate. Two weeks prior to this, you had this debate between Trump and Biden where everybody recognises, including president Biden, that it was really a bad night for him. He just seemed to be lost. He didn’t seem to be anywhere; could not answer any question. Sleepy Joe as he has been known,” said Mr Kumar, Chairman of the Republican Hindu Coalition.

“In contrast to that we have a man of steel, a fighter. Doesn’t look like a 78-year-old. After getting shot in his right ear, if he had been looking straight it would have gone straight to his head. He gets up and has this fighting spirit, says fight, fight, fight. That’s what Americans like to see in their presidents. As it stands right now, unless the Democrats come up with a different candidate, they still have a month to go, this election is over,” said the prominent Indian-American businessman.

Pressed to answer if there is a rethink on the presidential candidate on the Democratic side, he said he is hoping for a last-minute change to make for an exciting contest. They still have a month to decide, he said.

“I am still betting on President Barack Obama convincing his wife Michelle Obama to step in at the last minute. Then there would be a real contest. I would probably say then between Trump and Michelle Obama there will be a contest. Between Trump and Joe Biden there is no contest. Between Trump and Kamala Harris there is no contest. Behind the scenes, everybody wishes on the Democrat part that Michelle Obama is persuaded to become the Democrat nominee. A good contest is always a good thing,” said the man, who was involved in the Ronald Reagan re-election campaign in 1984.

“They have to come up with something different. I am hoping Obama convinces Michelle to step up. Then there will be a real contest. They have to find somebody else,” said the businessman.

Asked how the fundraising is coming along post the assassination attempt, Mr Kumar said it has seen a dramatic increase.

“Money is going like crazy. Donor class is seeing that the DJT (Donald John Trump) is coming back as the 47th president. Am sure you are aware of what Elon Musk has done. $45 million a month till the election. Peter Thiel. Big time people are coming forward and funding the campaign. Money raising has increased dramatically after the assassination attempt,” said the businessman who is not just a financial backer but is on the ground getting people out to vote as Trump limbers for a second showdown with Joe Biden.

Donald Trump won the formal nomination Monday as the Republican presidential candidate and picked a right-wing loyalist, JD Vance, for his running mate, kicking off a triumphalist party convention in the wake of the weekend’s failed assassination attempt.

“We have 6 million Hindu Americans in the country, out of that 3.3 million are registered voters. Hindu Americans, Indian Americans, they like to declare themselves independent. They go back and forth. 2008, 2012 they were majorly for the Democrat. And 2016 we changed that significantly, especially in the battleground states. Then in 2020, they shifted back to Democrats. Maybe they are fence-sitters. Hindu Americans, they decide practically at the last minute who they are going to vote for. Maybe on the day of the election itself. They are not committed to any particular party,” he said.

The 78-year-old former president was injured but survived the assassination attempt, a brazen attack that shocked a nation already deeply polarized ahead of the November election.

“The country is divided. However, even before the debate, particularly after the debate, the country was pulling towards Trump,” he said.

Trump was speaking when multiple bangs rang out. He clutched his ear, with blood visible on his ear and cheek, then ducked to the floor as Secret Service agents swarmed onto the podium, surrounding him and rushing him to a nearby vehicle.

Iconic images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist after the shooting are already galvanizing Republican hopes that voters will further rally behind him for a landslide victory in November.

“The campaign after the assassination attempt has become a different campaign. It’s altogether different. The enthusiasm in the delegates and people on the ground, the MAGA crowd, the enthusiasm is through the roof. As everybody can sense that at this point in time, unless a miracle happens for Democrats, he is the 47th president of the US and we are all very happy about it,” he stressed.

The ‘India Child Protection’ study reveals 3 girls married per minute in 2022, with only 3 cases registered daily. Assam saw an 81% decline in child marriages from 2021-24 with over 3000 arrests. Poor prosecution, 19-year case backlog, and low conviction rates under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act were noted. CMFI prevented 14,137 marriages in 2023-24, with 98% approval.