oppn parties After All Games Play Out, It Will Be BJP-Shiv Sena Once More In Maharashtra

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October 17, 2026

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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After All Games Play Out, It Will Be BJP-Shiv Sena Once More In Maharashtra

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

There are conflicting reports coming out of Delhi in respect of government formation in Maharashtra. First, a report said that the NCP was keen to form the government in alliance with the Shiv Sena with the Congress providing outside support. A few hours later, another report emerged which cited 'sources' to claim that Sonia Gandhi was totally against providing any kind of support to the Sena. In all this confusion, one thing is clear: the tiff between the BJP and the Sena has worsened with both parties hardening their stand and at least the Sena looking for other options.

The numbers that have been acquired by the respective parties permit just three situations. Only the BJP-Shiv Sena can form a stable government. The Sena-NCP government will depend on Congress support, or at least the party playing the neutral card. The third possibility is of the NCP joining hands with the BJP and shunting Shiv Sena out of the picture. That government will also be stable. But as of now, it does not seem Sharad Pawar would like to overlook local considerations by angering the Sena.

Both the NCP and the Shiv Sena are wary of the BJP as it has been making steady inroads in both their strongholds. Being regional parties, they would not like the BJP to hijack their core constituency. The Congress, on the other hand, would not want to have any truck with the Sena in these inflamed times. It knows that any hopes it has of a turnaround depends on secular votes and aligning with, or providing support to a party whose core agenda is regionalism laced with religion is fraught with danger.

But one feels that this is just a game being played for public consumption. Sharad Pawar is too wily a politician to form the government with the Sena. He knows it is an unpredictable ally. Instead, he will broker a deal between the BJP and the Sena and extract benefits for his party and for himself as he is being investigated for many offences by Central agencies. In the end, Maharashtra will once more see a BJP-Sena government, maybe with a Sena chief minister two and a half years from now. That the Sena wants this too is evident from its appeal to the RSS to intervene and settle the dispute.

 

 

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