Breaking News June 18: PM Modi Offers Prayers At Kashi Temple; Joint Search Operation In J&K's Poonch

Here are the top developments that hit the headlines on Tuesday, June 18:

• In 1st Visit Since LS Poll Win, Modi Releases PM-KISAN Instalment In Varanasi; Says 'Feels Like Maa Ganga Has Adopted Me'

• Odisha: Section 144 In Balasore, CM Majhi Takes Stock As Communal Clash Erupt Amid Claims Of 'Cow Slaughter'

• From Delhi To Coimbatore, 41 Airports Across India Receive Bomb Threat Emails | Details

• Maharashtra: Congress Worker Washes State Chief Nana Patole's Feet, Video Goes Viral|On Cam

• Delhi Double Whammy: National Capital Grapples With Acute Water Crisis Amid Extreme Heatwave| Top Points

• 'Modi Ji Will Not Be Intimidated': Taiwan's Response To China's Outrage Over Its Relations With India

• Gautam Gambhir Interviewed By BCCI Panel; Could Be Announced As IND Head Coach In Next 48 Hrs

• Alka Yagnik Diagnosed With Rare Sensory Hearing Loss; Sonu Nigam, Ila Arun And Others Wish Speedy Recovery

Welcome to Outlook India's Breaking News Live Blog, through which we bring you real-time updates on major events and developments across the globe. Here’s a look at top events and developments in focus today:

Follow-ups of the deadly Sunday terrorist attack on a bus in J&K's Reasi,

Kanchanjunga Express accident,

Weather updates from across the country,

T20 World Cup,

Latest in Israel-Hamas war and more.

• Bengal: 9 Dead As Goods Train Rams Into Kanchanjungha Express; Signal Jump Likely Cause | Key Points

• Rahul Gandhi Picks Raebareli, Priyanka Gandhi To Contest From Wayanad: Congress Chief Kharge

• Amit Shah's Manipur Meeting: Legal Action Against Causing Violence, Talk To Both Kuki And Meiteis | Details Inside

• Delhi Weather Update: Heatwave Red Alert In Place For Tuesday; Relief Likely From June 19 | Details

Nine people, including three railway staffers, died after a goods train rammed into the stationary Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express in West Bengal's Darjeeling district on Monday. Varma Sinha, Chairman & CEO Railway Board, informed that driver and assistant driver of the goods train and guard of the Kanchanjungha Express train have died in the incident.

While Railways said nine people were dead in the accident, senior West Bengal Police officials put the casualty count at 15.

The collision occurred near Rangapani station, 30 km from New Jalpaiguri station, causing four rear compartments of Kanchanjunga Express to derail due to the impact by the goods train's locomotive at 8.55 am, the official said.

Pointing towards a possible "human error" on the part of loco pilot of the goods train that rammed into the Kanchanjunga Express on Monday in West Bengal's Darjeeling, chairperson of the Railway Board Jaya Varma Sinha told the media in Delhi that the collision may have happened because a goods train disregarded the signal.

Meanwhile, internal documents showed the goods train was allowed to cross all red signals as the automatic signalling had "failed".

The document, a written authority called TA 912, was issued to the driver of the goods train by the station master of Ranipatra, authorising him to cross all red signals, a railway source said.

The Railway Board said initial findings indicated that the goods train driver violated signal regulations and failed to adhere to operational norms of the faulty automatic signal system.

Responding to claims that the goods train driver was permitted to pass red signals, a senior Railway Board official clarified, "The TA 912 authorisation was issued to the driver. As per protocol, when encountering a red signal on the automatic system, the loco pilot should proceed cautiously at speeds not exceeding 15 kmph under good visibility conditions and 10 kmph under poor visibility." According to the Board, the driver exceeded the permissible speed limit, leading to a collision with the Kanchanjunga Express between Ranipatra station and Chattar Hat junction.

(via PTI)

As Delhi continues to reel under sweltering heatwave conditions maximum temperature soaring to 45.2 degrees Celsius on Monday, the India Meteorological Department has kept the 'red alert' in place for Tuesday as well. However, some respite from the scorching heat is expected from June 19.

Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions were recorded at most places in Delhi with the Safdarjung observatory, the primary weather station of the national capital, registering a high of 45.2 degrees Celsius, 6.4 notches above the season's average.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who emerged victorious from two Lok Sabha seats in 2024, will keep his family bastion of Raebareli and vacate the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala .

With this development comes the news of Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's poll debut as now she would be contesting from Kerala's Wayanad. READ FULL STORY

Nirjala Ekadashi, which will be celebrated today, June 18, 2024, is said to be the most significant of the 24 Ekadashis observed throughout the year.

On Nirjala Ekadashi, devotees observe a stringent fast, abstaining from even water, which is considered the most demanding among all Ekadashi fasts.

Nirjala Ekadashi typically follows Ganga Dussehra; however, there are instances when both observances coincide on the same date.

Ganga Dussehra was observed on Sunday, June 16.

Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh extremist on American soil, on Monday pleaded not guilty in the case at a federal court here.

Nikhil Gupta, 52, was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic on Friday.

He was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Pannun holds dual American and Canadian citizenship.

A Swedish think-tank report said that India has more nuclear warheads than Pakistan, adding that both the countries continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems in 2023.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said, in a report, said nine nuclear-armed nations including the United States, Russia, France, China, India and Pakistan, continued to modernise their nuclear arsenals and several of them deployed new nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2023.

The remains of 31-year-old American paraglider Bockstahler Trevor, missing near Kaza in Lahoul-Spiti, were brought down from 14,800 feet by ITBP mountaineers after a challenging rescue mission that lasted more than 48 hours. SDRF and police assisted.

ITBP said the climb involved traversing 1,900 feet of scree and rocky face, followed by a 400-foot cliff requiring high technical skill. The total ascent was 2,300 feet from the road head at 12,500 feet, ITBP said, adding that the mortal remains have been taken to Police Station Kaza.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Katihar Northeast Frontier Railway, Subhendu Kumar Choudhary said, "Restoration work has been going on since night. The trail of an engine was carried out upline towards NJP (New Jalpaiguri Junction) yesterday...Within half an hour the line beside it will also be restored..."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Varanasi today, his first visit to his constituency after assuming office for the third consecutive term. During his visit, the prime minister will participate in the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan and release Rs 20,000 crore as part of the income support scheme for over 9.26 crore farmers.

At around 7 PM, Modi will witness Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. He will also perform 'pooja' and 'darshan' at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at around 8 PM, an official statement said.

Train services resumed from the Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling district on Tuesday. Kanchenjunga Express train met with an accident in the Phansidewa area of the Darjeeling district, yesterday. Nine people are reported to have died and around 25 got injured in the accident.

South Korea military said its soldiers on Tuesday fired warning shots to push back North Korea soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals' land border for the second time this month.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers, while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border, briefly crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the countries as of 8:30 a.m. It said the North Korean soldiers retreated after the South broadcasts warnings and fired warning shots and the South's military didn't spot any suspicious activities after that.

(with AP inputs)

Following the Kanchanjunga Express accident that claimed nine lives and injured 25 people, several trains were cancelled while some were diverted on Tuesday, officials said.

According to an official release from the Northeast Frontier Railways, five trains, including (15719) Katihar-Siliguri Intercity Express, (15720) Siliguri-Katihar Intercity Express, (12042) New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express, (12041) Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express and (15724) Siliguri-Jogbani Intercity Express have been cancelled for today.

Train number 12523 from New Jalpaiguri to New Delhi Superfast Express was rescheduled to leave at 12.00 hrs, as per the release by Northeast Frontier Railways Chief Public Relations officer Sabyasachi De.

As per the railways, train number 20504 from New Delhi--Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, 13176 from Silchar--Sealedah Kanchanjungha Express, and 12523 from New Jalpaiguri--New Delhi Superfast Express were diverted.

Heavy overnight rains lashed the Tamil Nadu's Chennai and its nearby areas, leading to flight disruption and uprooting of trees on Tuesday. A number of arriving and departing international and domestic flights were delayed due to the rains, officials at the airport said.

Services to and from Dubai, Delhi and Pune were among those delayed, they added.

In the city, trees were uprooted in some parts, including Kodambakkam, and the civic personnel were in the process of removing them.

The National Board of Examinations (NBA) will release the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET PG) admit cards for 2024 today, June 18.

Medical graduates who have applied for the NEET PG will be able to download their admit cards from the official website, natboard.edu.in, today.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has formally informed the Lok Sabha Speaker's office about retaining the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat and vacating the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, news agency ANI cited sources as saying.

He has submitted the letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker for this, the sources said.

Curfew has been clamped in Odisha's Balasore town following a clash between two groups, police said on Tuesday. Protesting the blood of animal sacrifice on the road, a group of people sat on dharna in the Bhujakhia Pir area of the town on Monday. The other group allegedly hurled stones at them, following which the clash broke out, police said.

The district administration has also suspended internet service in certain sensitive areas of the town and urged people to stay in their homes and not to step out, according to PTI.

Curfew was clamped from midnight of June 17 to midnight of June 18, the police said.

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty hit their new all-time high levels in early trade on Tuesday helped by firm trends in global markets, buying in IT stocks and fresh foreign fund inflows.

Rising for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 334.03 points to hit its fresh lifetime peak of 77,326.80. The NSE Nifty went up by 108.25 points to hit its new all-time high of 23,573.85.

(with PTI inputs)

Latest drone visuals from Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district, where the accident occurred, show the current situation at the site.

A Dubai-bound plane which was to take from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport received a bomb threat via email on Tuesday, authorities said.

"On Monday, at 9.35 am an email was received in DIAL office, of the IGI Airport with the threat of bomb inside Delhi to Dubai flight," a senior police officer said.

No bomb was found when the plane was checked, the officer said.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 33.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, six notches above the season's average.

This is Delhi's ‘highest’ minimum temperature this season, and the highest since June 13, 2018 when the city recorded 34 degrees Celsius, as per Met department officials.

Delhi is on red alert for heatwave today, while it is expected to be on yellow alert on Wednesday and Thursday and will be put on green alert on Friday and Saturday.

A fire broke out at a car garage in Lucknow's Chinhat on Tuesday. Explosions were reported in CNG vehicles there. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and fire fighting operations are underway.

More details awaited.

Fifteen more stranded tourists were evacuated from Lachung and adjoining regions of Sikkim's landslides-hit Mangan district on Tuesday, officials said. The district administration along with Border Roads Organisation (BRO), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other volunteers are taking the stranded tourists to safer grounds, officials said.

More tourists are likely to be evacuated and moved to safer places as the day progresses, they said.

Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice and sought response from National Testing Agency (NTA) and Centre on pleas relating to alleged paper leaks and malpractices in NEET-UG, 2024.

“If there is 0.001% negligence on the part of anyone it should be thoroughly dealt with,” observed Supreme Court.

YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said paper ballots should replace Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections. Following a humiliating electoral debacle in the recently held Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh, the former chief minister claimed that almost every advanced democracy uses paper ballots.

"In electoral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs," Reddy said in a post on 'X'.

Supreme Court of India is organising a special Lok Adalat from July 29 to August 3 to facilitate amicable settlements of suitable pending cases, marking the 75th year of its establishment.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders gathered at the Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday to protest against the alleged irregularities in the NEET exam.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj demanded that a Supreme Court monitored probe be initiated into the matter.

In Delhi, the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 45 degrees Celsius, over six degrees higher than the normal temperature for June. According to IMD, the heat index, or the feels-like temperature, in Delhi was at 50 degrees Celsius on Monday.

The hearing in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remarks against Home Minister Amit Shah was on Tuesday fixed for June 26 as the concerned judge was on leave. The case related to Gandhi allegedly making objectionable comments against Shah is going on in the MP/MLA court in UP's Sultanpur.

The defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra.

Santosh Kumar Pandey, the plaintiff's lawyer, said that the matter was listed to be heard on Tuesday but due to the judge of the concerned court being on leave it has been postponed to June 26.

A private college in Rajasthan's Jaipur received a bomb threat over email on Tuesday but nothing suspicious was found during a search, police said. The email was sent to the SSG Pareek PG College in Shastri Nagar.

Police said the email was sent in the name of "KNR" group that also claimed responsibility for bomb threats given to schools in Delhi last month.

"Efforts are being made to identify and trace the sender," news agency PTI quoted police as saying.

In a meeting today, Wayanad Congress Committee passes a resolution to welcome party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Wayanad. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest by-election from Wayanad constituency of Lok Sabha.

More than 200 tourists have been evacuated while around 1,000 are still stranded in Lachung in Sikkim's landslide-hit Mangan district, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

The tourists were evacuated via Chungthang and taken to Mangan town from where the vehicles have been arranged by the Transport department to take them to Gangtok, Superintendent of Police (SP) Sonam Detchu Bhutia said.

(via PTI)

Karnataka: 42nd ACMM special court for representatives pronounced 14-days judicial custody for sexual assault and rape accused suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna on Tuesday.

On fuel price hike in the state, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, "The BJP brought petrol prices from Rs 70 to Rs 100. All of them were filling petrol at the borders and then going back. It's Rs 89 in Karnataka, MP is at Rs 107 and Rajasthan and Maharashtra at Rs 102."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was delighted to announce the return of his radio show Mann Ki Baat which was halted for the Lok Sabha elections.

"This month's programme will take place on Sunday, 30th June. I call upon all of you to share your ideas and inputs for the same. Write on the MyGov Open Forum, NaMo App or record your message on 1800 11 7800," PM Modi said.

A meeting of the top BJP leaders is expected to take place at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence in Delhi today evening to discuss the names of the candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Some of the NDA constituents are also expected to participate in the meeting, sources cited in a news agency PTI report said.

The election for the Lok Sabha speaker's post will be held on June 26, two days after the first session of the Parliament begins.

A meeting of the Maharashtra BJP core group will be held at the party headquarters in Delhi today to discuss the party’s strategy for the assembly polls due to be held in the state later this year, sources cited in a news agency PTI report said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, party state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ashish Shelar, MP Ashok Chauhan, Minister Girish Mahajan and other leaders are expected to attend the meeting to be presided over by BJP chief JP Nadda.

Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP general secretary (organization) BL Santhosh are also expected to be present at this meeting, according to the above-mentioned sources.

The takeoff of a Dubai-bound flight with 286 passengers from Chennai International Airport was delayed on Tuesday following a hoax bomb threat, police said.

After an email warning about a bomb on the aircraft was received here, security agencies conducted a thorough check of the international flight that was scheduled for departure around 10.30 am on Tuesday, they said.

The inspection revealed that the threat was a hoax and the flight has been cleared to proceed to its destination, they added.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu fielded his wife Kamlesh Thakur to contest by-elections from the Dehra seat as Congress candidate.

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others on the petition that the court should directly investigate the CMRL-Exalogic illegal transaction.

Apart from Vijayan, his daughter -- Veena -- CMRL and other seven opposite parties have also been served with the notice. MLA Mathew A Kuzhalnadan had approached the HC against the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court order rejecting the inquiry demand.

IMD Scientist Soma Sena said, "Red alert has been issued in North India. North-West Himalayan region of India including Punjab and Haryana will experience cloudy weather from evening and rain is also expected."

"The heatwave situation is likely to reduce in Punjab and Haryana...From tomorrow, Orange alert will be issued in Delhi...In the next 3-4 days, there is a possibility of light rain in Delhi," she added.

After Chennai, a bomb threat email was received by Patna Airport, following which security was heightened at the airport.

More details are awaited, said the Patna Airport Director.

A portion of bridge on Bakra river in Bihar's Araria has collapsed. Further details on the incident are awaited.

Security has been beefed up at Rajasthan's Jaipur International Airport and and Gujarat's Vadodara Airport after both of them received bomb threat emails.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has said that an encounter has broken out between security forces and terrorists in the Poonch district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and also granted certificates to Krishi Sakhis in Varanasi. READ FULL STORY

During the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Because of the love and blessings of the people of Kashi, I have got the opportunity to become the Prime Minister of the country. The people of Kashi have chosen me as their representative for the third time."

"'Maa Ganga ne mujhe god le liya hai, main yahin ka ho gaya hoon'...In the 18th Lok Sabha Elections, over 64 crore people of the country have cast their votes. This is the biggest election in the world," he added.

In Varanasi, PM Modi said, "I went to Italy recently to participate in the G7 Summit. If we add all the voters of the G7 countries, still the number of voters in India will be 1.5 times more."

A Delhi court on Tuesday directed Tihar Jail authorities to provide an air cooler on medical grounds to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

He had moved a plea mentioning that he has developed skin problems due to the high temperature.

In Varanasi, PM Modi said, "I have considered farmers, youth, women power and the poor as the strong pillars of developed India."

"I have started my third term with their empowerment. As soon as the government was formed, the biggest decision related to farmers and poor families was taken. Be it building 3 crore new houses for poor families in the country or expanding the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi… these decisions will help crores of people," he added.

Addressing the PM Kisan Samman Sammelan, PM Modi said, "More than 31 crore women voters have participated in this election. This is the highest number of women voters in the world. This number is close to the entire population of America. This beauty, this strength of Indian democracy attracts and influences the whole world. I thank every voter of Varanasi for making the festival of democracy a success."

"The mandate given by the people of the country in this election is truly unprecedented. This mandate has created a new history. It is rarely seen in the democratic countries of the world that an elected government returns for the third consecutive time. But this time the people of India have also done this. This happened in India 60 years ago. Since then no government in India has scored a hat-trick like this," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi said, "Our Kashi has been the capital of culture. Our Kashi has been the capital of knowledge. Our Kashi has been the capital of all knowledge."

"But along with all this, Kashi has become such a city which has shown to the entire world that even a heritage city can write a new chapter of urban development. The mantra of development as well as heritage is visible everywhere in Kashi," he added.

Coimbatore Airport also received a bomb threat mail on Tuesday, with the Director of the International Airport, V Senthil Valavan, saying, "All staff are on high alert".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has become the world's largest Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. So far, Rs 3.25 lakh crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of crores of farmer families of the country. Here, Rs 700 crores has also been deposited in the accounts of farmers of Varanasi."

"I am happy that technology has been used better to deliver benefits to the right beneficiaries in PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Just a few months ago, during the Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, more than 1 crore farmers joined this scheme. The government has also simplified many rules to get the benefit of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi," he added.

"Now we are taking the country to new heights in the global market of packaged food and my dream is that there should be some food grain or fruit product from India on every dining table in the world," Modi said.

India's number one golfer, Shubhankar Sharma, has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Mumbai Police have issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) against Mahadev App Promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal in an ongoing Rs 15,000 crore Mahadev Online Betting Case.

The investigation involves allegations of betting, match-fixing, and Hawala operations, the police said, adding that legal proceedings are underway in connection with the case.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to participate in the main event of the International Yoga Day in Srinagar, said Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of Ministry of Ayush.

"The theme for this year is Yoga for Self and Society. The message is that we should do Yoga and we should motivate the community... We shall make Yoga implemented at every aspect of our life," Kotecha told news agency ANI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired Maharashtra BJP core group meeting at the party's headquarters in the national capital on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed pooja at Varanasi's Dashashwamedh Ghat.

The Srinagar Police has said that the region has been declared as a "Temporary Red Zone" for drone operations and quadcopters as per provisions of Rule 24(2) of Drone Rules, 2021 with immediate effect.

All the unauthorised drone operations in the Red Zone will be liable to be penalised as per relevant sections of the Drone Rules, 2021.

Indian Coast Guard Chief Director Rakesh Pal called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday in the national capital.

Ganga Aarti was performed at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and UP Governor Anandiben Patel.

Shruti Choudhry tendered resignation from the Congress party, saying, "Developing the region and the state following the ideology of Chaudhary Bansi Lal and Chaudhary Surendra Singh ji will always be my priority."

Kiran Choudhry on Tuesday resigned from the Congress, saying that she will join the Bharatiya Janata Party tomorrow.

"To spread the values ??and ideology of the father of Haryana, Choudhary Bansi Lal in Haryana and honest development of the region and the state will always be my priority." she said.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his United States counterpart Jake Sullivan held a review meeting of the India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) on June 17 in the national capital.

They took stock of the significant strides made by India and the US toward deepening and expanding strategic cooperation across key technology sectors including space, semiconductors, advanced telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum, STEM, biotechnology, critical minerals and clean energy. They also recognized the immense potential that is yet to be explored and harnessed in terms of deeper technology cooperation between the two countries in these sectors, the statement from the Ministry of External Affairs read.

The Indian Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) conducted a joint search operations in the Maraha Fores area in the Bufliaz Sector of Poonch district on Tuesday, after gunshots were heard in the area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first visit to Varanasi since his Lok Sabha elections victory, offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Tuesday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired Jharkhand BJP core group meeting at the party's headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday.

After the Maharashtra BJP core committee meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "Today the Maharashtra core team had a meeting with the central leadership. We especially discussed the results seen in Maharashtra. The difference between Mahayuti and MVA is just 0.3% so we discussed in detail where we lost votes, where we faced problems, and the corrective actions that need to be taken."

"In addition, we discussed the blueprint for our strategy ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Soon we will prepare our roadmap for the Vidhan Sabha elections with our NDA partners," he added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "There is no change. We have to bring a strong Mahayuti-NDA government in Maharashtra."