Amid political heat monsoon reached Maharashtra

With the arrival of monsoon, the political atmosphere is warming up in Maharashtra. Political strategist Prashant Kishor had a meeting on Friday with NCP Chief Sharad Pawar at his Mumbai residence. The meeting lasted about 3 hours. There are now speculations about the purpose of the meeting. When asked by the media,  Kishor only said it was a “private lunch”. Prashant Kishor, who helped the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal elections, has already declared his disinclination to work as a political strategist in the future. Pawar also dismissed any speculation about the meeting. But sources said the both reportedly had discussion about the possible alignment in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Pawar also said that there is no threat to the MVA government in the state. But the meeting between the two has given enough gossip 'masala' to media as well as to leaders. 

Monsoon and Mumbai

The South-West Monsoon became active during the week around Mumbai and surrounding areas and the very first showers on Wednesday, the 9th of June caused flooding of lower areas and disruption of traffic. Within 9 hours a record 221mm rains soaked the city. As many as 12 people including 8 children were killed and 7 others injured in Malad when a portion of a three-storey building collapsed on an adjacent two-storey structure at night. The police have registered a case against the owner of the building. The State Government has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs. 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

CM Meets PM

Earlier in the week on Tuesday, a delegation led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The delegation requested the Prime Minister to take steps to lift the 50% cap on reservation to sort out the problems in the way of Maratha reservation. After the meeting which lasted 70 minutes,  Thackeray told journalists that all the facts were presented to the Prime Minister and the delegation was hopeful that positive steps would be taken. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and PWD Minister Ashok Chavan, who heads the State Cabinet Sub-Committee on Maratha reservation.