Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan resigned from the party on Monday, in another setback to the INDI alliance, months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This development comes days after senior Mumbai Congress Leaders Baba Siddiqui and Milind Deora quit the party.

Chavan handed his one-line resignation to Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole. He said he submitted his resignation from primary membership of the Indian National Congress Party with effect from noon on 12/02/2024. Chavan also sent his resignation as MLA to the Speaker.

Speaking to the media, Chavan said he tendered his resignation as MLA as well as from all posts in the Congress. He said he will decide what is to be done ahead in a couple of days. He said he had worked for the Congress all his life but now he is looking for options.

Reports suggest the BJP is likely to offer a Rajya Sabha seat to Chavan. Around 10-12 MLAs are also in touch with Chavan and are expected to switch sides shortly. BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in his reaction to the reaction to the resignation that one has to wait and watch what will happen next.

Fadnavis said he had heard about Ashok Chavan from the media. He said the only thing that he can say now is that many good leaders from Congress are in touch with the BJP. Fadnavis said those leaders who are connected with the masses are feeling an urge to leave the party.

Ashok Chavan served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from December 2008 to November 2010. He was considered an influential leader of the Congress in Maharashtra. He stepped down in 2010 over the Adarsh Society housing scam in Mumbai. Chavan was replaced by Prithviraj Chavan.

RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday launched a scathing attack at the Bihar Chief Minister for taking U-turns. Nitish Kumar had quit the Mahagathbandhan government, which also consisted of RJD and Congress, and returned to BJP-led NDA fold. In 2022, Nitish Kumar had left the NDA to join hands with RJD.

Deputy Bihar Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav quoted Nitish Kumar and said Mann nahi lag raha tha which he had made after quitting the Mahagathbandhan. He said Hum log naachne gaane ke liye thode hai ki apka mann lage. Tejashwi Yadav asked BJP if Prime Minister Narendra Modi can guarantee Nitish Kumar will not take another U turn.

Yadav even compared Nitish Kumar to Dhritrashtra and warned him to be aware of the Kakeyi in NDA. The RJD Leader told Nitish Kumar to remember the bitter remarks made against him by the BJP leaders, who are now serving him as his juniors in the NDA government.

Tejashwi Yadav also quoted the remarks made by the Bihar Chief minister while quitting the NDA in 2022. He wondered what had changed from then to now. The RJD Leader said he felt bad for the JDU leaders as they will have to go among the public and answer. He said earlier the JDU leaders used to criticize the BJP and now they are praising them.

Yadav reminded Nitish Kumar of the ugly spat he had with ex-chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. He said Nitish Kumar had got angry on Jitan Ram Manjhi. To which Jitan Ram Manjhi had replied by saying that someone has given wrong medicine to Nitish Kumar and his mental condition was not good. Yadav said he had full confidence that Jitan Ram Manjhi will give Nitish Kumar good medicine. He went on to say the people of Bihar have now tolerated the political drama of a self indulgent opportunist!

A car collided with a bus on the Yamuna Expressway near the Mathura region of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, killing five people in the accident.

In the limits of Mathura’s Mahavan neighborhood, the double-decker bus reportedly lost control and struck the divider on the Yamuna Expressway.

A Swift car and the bus collided in between. The force of the crash caused the bus’s diesel tank to catch fire. After the car caught fire, the five occupants were unable to escape.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and District Magistrate (DM) have arrived at the location. Efforts are being made to identify the dead.

About 50 people boarded the double-decker bus. A few of the crash-injured passengers were taken away for medical treatment in a near by hospital.

According to the official, both vehicles caught fire after the collision.

The police officer said that although the passengers in the car were burned, those on the bus were able to escape.

An eye witness claimed that even after 30 minutes the fire department did not arrived at the location of the accident. Later, fire personnel arrived at the scene, and efforts are on to douse the blaze.

More information is awaited while police continue their investigation.

However, this is not the first time when the accident has happened on Yamuna Expressway. Last month two buses crashed into each other on the same location in which atleast 40 people were injured.

The Mile Stone 110 Raya Cut near Mathura is where the incident happened, last month.

The sixth-longest expressway in the nation, spanning 165.5 kilometers with six lanes each, links Greater Noida and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.