Saturday, January 17, 2026 | Vol. 69 No. 89 | 40 Pages THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation Fadnavis scripts impeccable win & ends 25-year-long Shiv Sena dominance, sending the Thackerays on way to political wilderness MAHAYUTI: MUMBAI CHA MAHARAJA routed it certainly received a severe setback. Its hope that MUMBAI the Marathi manoos would wholeheartedly support it Brand Devabhau was in full was dashed to smithereens. throttle on Friday when the Uddhav joining hands with BJP-led Mahayuti won as cousin Raj Thackeray did not many as 118 of the 227 seats in help consolidate the votes of a closely contested elections bhumiputras. to the BrihanMumThe internal dybai Municipal Cornamics resulted in poration (BMC). the distribution of Chief Minister Devthe votes of the Ma(Trends) endra Fadnavis (55) rathi manoos bewas the master- TOTAL 227 tween the Shiv Sena mind who led the (UBT), MNS and Shiv coalition to an im- BJP Sena (Shinde) and pressive victory and the solid consolidaSS ensured that the tion of non-Marathi BJP will install its NCP votes in favour of the first mayor of MumBJP. The outcome bai on January 28. SS-UBT was exactly as Since central scripted by Fadnavis leaders do not take MNS and his core team part in local elec- CONG strategists. Shinde tions, the entire played his role in burden of helming NCP(SP) weakening the Shiv the campaign was Sena for the third left to Fadnavis and AIMIM time in succession he executed the task after the elections to SP with aplomb. the Lok Sabha and In one fell stroke, * AS PER SEC the state assembly. AT 10.30 PM the poll results also The Congress was ended the 25-year- SEE CITY upset with its ally, long dominance of the Shiv Sena (UBT) the Shiv Sena led by the for joining hands with Raj Thackerays over the richest Thackeray and hence decided civic body in the country. to go it alone. Even though the Shiv Sena led 4See also | city by Uddhav Thackeray was not BJP celebrates saffron surge S Balakrishnan, Shefali Parab & Devashri Bhujbal Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI BMC TALLY 89 29 03 65 06 24 01 08 02 WHAT IT MEANS BJP: BJP takes pole position in Maharashtra, CM Fadnavis emerges as tallest party leader in the state. SHIV SENA: Eknath Shinde is part of the winning squad, but no spectacular success for his party. NCP: Ajit Pawar's gambit to go solo in BMC doesn't pay off, setbacks in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad strongholds. SS-UBT: Uddhav Thackeray's reunion with cousin Raj fails to work wonders, BMC loss a big blow. MNC: Raj Thackeray's hardline campaign on Marathi and non-Marathi divide fails to pay dividends. NCP(SP): Virtually absent from campaigning, patriarch Sharad Pawar's grip weakening. CONG: Continues to slip further despite forging a separate alliance outside the broader MVA. BMC mayor not any time soon Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, armed with a record budget outlay of ₹74,427 crore—the highest for any local body in the country and larger than the combined annual budgets of five other top municipal corporations—should, in theory, have moved swiftly to its next big decision after the Mahayuti’s emphatic victory. Naming the mayor by the weekend would have seemed the obvious next step. Instead, Mumbai will have to wait. Despite the BJP-led Mahayuti emerging as the clear winner in Friday’s civic polls, the city is unlikely to get its new mayor any time soon. Logically, naming the mayor ought to have been the easiest ARTICLE 32 Treaties mustn’t erode IS NOT FOR tax sovereignty: SC MISUSE: SC FPJ News Service FPJ News Service NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday strongly deprecated the growing tendency of litigants to directly invoke Article 32 of the Constitution even when proceedings on the same issue are already pending before High Courts, terming it a “gross misuse” of the Court’s jurisdiction. A Bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed a writ petition filed under Article 32, noting that a plea on the same subject was already pending before the Bombay High Court, Live Law reports. During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna expressed concern over what she described as the rampant misuse of Article 32, observing that the number of such petitions had “exponentially increased”. She remarked that even for routine grievances, including adjournments, litigants were approaching the Supreme Court directly. “Article 32 is being misused. For everything, one adjournment, file Article 32 here,” Justice Nagarathna said. “And those surrounding Delhi are filing Article 32 petitions. What is this? It is misuse,” she added. 4Contd on | nation The Supreme Court has cautioned that the tax treaties should not become tools to dilute India’s tax sovereignty or weaken national security, underlining the power to tax income arising from Indian soil is an essential attribute of national sovereignty. Justice JB Pardiwala said sovereignty in the modern world is no longer limited to territorial control or military strength, but increasingly extends to economic and fiscal autonomy. He delivered these remarks in a concurring judgment in a case where the SC held that Tiger Global is not exempt from taxation on the sale of shares it had acquired in Flipkart, Bar & Bench reports. The bench, also comprising Justice R Mahadevan, ruled that Tiger Global could not claim exemption from tax and that once a transaction is found to be prima facie designed for tax avoidance, the statutory bar under the proviso to Section 245R(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 applies. 4Contd on | nation FEAT BY ISLAM The Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra (ISLAM) party, formed by Aasif Shaikh Rashid, emerged as the single-largest outfit in Malegaon, winning 35 out of 84 seats. Rashid is a former NCP (SP) MLA, who quit the party in 2024 to form ISLAM. part of the process. Politically, however, it has proved anything but. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has emerged as the single largest party, has publicly stated that the next mayor will be from its ranks. Yet signals from within the ruling alliance suggest that its partner, the Shiv Sena led by STATE AFFAIRS Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, may stake its own claim to the coveted post. Sources say Shinde’s interest in the mayoralty is driven as much by sentiment as by political calculation. The birth centenary of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray begins on January 23, and Shinde’s camp believes that allowing a Sena leader to occupy the mayor’s chair would serve as a symbolic tribute to the party supremo. Born on January 23, 1926, Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena in 1966. Beyond paying homage, the Shinde-led Sena is keen to reassure its cadre that it remains committed to its longstanding demand for a Marathi mayor from within its own ranks. BJP: Navi Mumbai, Ulhasnagar, Panvel, Dhule, Jalgaon, SangliMiraj-Kupwad, Jalna, Nashik, Pune, PimpriChinchwad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nanded-Waghala, Ichalkaranji, Mira-Bhayandar Firecrackers crackled, drums rolled and party offices burst into song as Mumbai and large parts of Maharashtra witnessed a night of unrestrained jubilation following the sweeping victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti in the civic polls. From the financial capital to key urban centres across the state, saffron flags fluttered high, mirroring the confidence of an alliance that has stamped its authority on local governance. Beyond Mumbai, the story was equally emphatic. The Mahayuti outpaced rivals in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, outmanoeuvring the Sharad Pawar–Ajit Pawar combine, and raced past the majority mark in Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik and Jalna. Addressing cheering workers at the BJP office in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis struck a reverential note before a political one. He bowed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr B R Ambedkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, before thanking voters for Thank you, Maharashtra. The dynamic people of the state have blessed the NDA’s agenda of pro-people, good governance. PM Narendra Modi what he described as a grand endorsement of developmentled politics. The verdict, he said, reflected the people’s continued faith in PM Narendra Modi and the Mahayuti’s governance vision. Modi, in a message posted in Marathi on X, described the civic poll verdict as a strengthening of the bond between Maharashtra and the NDA. Thanking the people of the state, he said the results were a clear endorsement of public welfare, good governance and a developmentdriven vision that has “touched the hearts of the people”. 4Contd on | nation SS: Thane, KalyanDombivli NCP: Ahilyanagar UBT: Parbhani CONG: BhiwandiNizampur, Kolhapur, Chandrapur, Latur BVA: Vasai-Virar ISLAM: Malegaon 4Contd on | nation Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis celebrates with senior BJP leaders Ameet Satam (left) and Ravindra Chavan (right) at party office in Mumbai on Friday. SC rejects Justice Varma’s plea India exits Chabahar port project in Iran? FPJ News Service NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a writ petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma challenging the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to constitute an inquiry committee against him under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma pronounced the judgment, rejecting Justice Varma’s challenge to the impeachment proceedings initiated in connection with the alleged discovery of unaccounted cash at his official resi- dence. The verdict had been reserved on January 8, Live Law and Bar & Bench report. Justice Varma had approached the Supreme Court of India seeking to quash the decision of Om Birla to set up a three-member committee to probe the allegations. The committee was constituted after Members of Parliament moved an impeachment motion against him in the Lok Sabha. The controversy arose after firefighters reportedly discovered unaccounted cash, triggering allegations of corruption against the judge. Justice Varma denied the allegations. He was transferred from the Delhi High Court to his parent Allahabad High Court and stripped of judicial work while the matter was examined. An in-house inquiry was initiated by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, who later asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. Justice Varma declined to resign. 4Contd on | nation Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal raised eyebrows when he did not deny a recent report that India had exited the Chabahar project in Iran. According to a report in the Economic Times, which quoted a government source, India had transferred about $120 million to Iran to fully liquidate its financial commitment for developing the Chabahar port. This payout was completed last September before the US reinstated sanctions on the port. Asked about the issue, Jaiswal stated in a press briefing that “on October 28, 2025 the US Treasury Department had issued a letter outlining the guidance regarding the conditional sanctions waiver, which is valid till April 26. We remain engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement.” While there is no official confirmation yet of India’s exit from the port project, the MEA’s spokesperson’s silence on the matter has raised questions. 4Contd on | nation A gift outright At last, Trump gets his hands on Nobel Peace Prize PTI NEW YORK/WASHINGTON Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado with the Nobel Peace Prize, in the Oval Office Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump, who described it as a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect." Machado, who has on previous occasions said that she would give her Nobel prize to Trump, met the American President in the White House Thursday, a closely-watched meeting that came days after the US carried out a military strike in Venezuela and captured its leader Nicolás Maduro. "It was my Great Honour to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. A photograph released on social media shows Machado standing in the Oval Office with Trump, who is holding a frame that contains the Nobel Peace Prize, with a caption "the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Medal awarded to María Corina Machado." "To President Donald J Trump - In gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength, advancing diplomacy and defending liberty and prosperity," a message accompanying the medal said. "Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump's principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela. The courage of America and its president Donald J. Trump will never be forgotten by the Venezuelan people," the message, signed by Machado and dated Washington, January 15, 2026 said. 4Contd on | nation When Nobel medals were sold for a price Nobel Prize medals, though rarely sold, have appeared at auctions over the years, fetching widely varying prices. The most notable sale occurred in 2022, when Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned his Nobel Peace Prize medal for a record $103.5 million to raise funds for Ukrainian child refugees. In 2014, James Watson sold his Nobel medal for over $4 million, awarded decades earlier for co-discovering the structure of DNA. His colaureate, Francis Crick, received more than $2 million for his medal. Other medals have sold for lower amounts. Contd. on Nation