ENGLISH MORNING NEWS -

THE HEADLINES :

Polling for third phase of Lok Sabha elections begins in 93 constituencies.
Election Commission issues notification for seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP Chief N Chandra Babu Naidu censured for violation of Model Code of Conduct.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommends NIA probe against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly receiving funding from banned terrorist organisations.
IMD says heat wave conditions to abate over East and South Peninsular India from today onwards.
Indian pugilists confirm a total of 43 medals at ASBC Asian U-22 and Youth Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan.

<><><>

Polling has begun for third phase Lok Sabha elections . Voting is taking place for 93 Lok Sabha Constituencies spread across ten States and one Union Territory. The voting which begun at 7 AM, will end at 6 PM.

Twenty five seats in Gujarat, 14 in Karnataka, 11 in Maharashtra and 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh are going to polls in this phase. Besides, voting is taking place on nine seats in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Chhattisgarh, five in Bihar, four seats each in Assam and West Bengal, two seats each in Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman.

Around 18 lakh 50 thousand Polling officials have been deployed across one lakh 85 thousand polling stations. In this phase, there are over 17 crore voters including 8.85 crore male and 8.39 crore female. A total of one thousand 331 candidates are in the fray in this phase.

Some of the prominent candidates whose political fate will be sealed in the EVMs today are senior BJP leaders Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Pralhad Joshi, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Basavaraj Bommai, Congress leader Digvijay Singh, Samajwadi party leader Dimple Yadav, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule.

<><><>

Now, we speak to our correspondents for latest updates on the voting from various parts of the country.

First, we go over to our correspondent in Gurjarat Aparna Khunt where polling is being held in a single-phase on 25 Lok Sabha seats.

Our Correspondent, Aparna joins us from Gandhi Nagar constituency.Question: Aparna, how is the polling progressing there and who are the prominent candidates in this phase?

Thank you for the update Aparna

Moving on to Karnataka, where our correspondent, Veerabhader Gowada joins us from Bengaluru.

Question: Veerabhader, What arrangments have been taken by the ECI to conduct smooth voting?

Thank you Veerabhader.

From South we go towards Uttar Pradesh. Our correspondent, Durgesh joins us from Agra:

Question: Durgesh, what latest update you have form Agra for our listeners?

Thank you Durgesh. For that update.

<><><>

Voting is being held on nine Lok Sabha seats in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh today. There are 5 thousand 744 critical polling stations in this phase while more than 16 thousand polling stations are being continuously monitored through webcasting and CCTV.

<><><>

The Election Commission has issued notification for the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections. Voting will be held in 57 Lok Sabha seats in seven States and one Union Territory in this phase. Thirteen seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine seats of West Bengal, eight seats of Bihar, six seats of Odisha, four seats of Himachal Pradesh, three seats of Jharkhand and one seat in Union Territory of Chandigarh will go to polls in the seventh and last phase. Nominations can be filed till 14th of this month. Voting for this phase will be held on 1st June.

<><><>

The Election Commission has censured Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP President, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP Chief N Chandra Babu Naidu in connection with violation of Model Code of Conduct during their speeches. In its order, the Commission has directed the to remain careful during their public utterances in future. The Commission said that it expects that all political leaders follow the provisions of the MCC in letter and spirit setting up an example for the political discourse.

<><><>

In Telangana, the enforcement agencies have seized over 269 crore 31 lakh rupees cash and other material items in the state ever since the Lok Sabha elections were announced. These items include liquor, drugs and freebies. The election authorities informed that over 92 crore 60 lakh unaccounted cash, liquor worth over 50 crore rupees, narcotics worth over 28 crore rupees, precious metals worth over 60 crore rupees and freebies worth over 30 crore rupees have been seized so far.Meanwhile, prohibition cases were booked against 284 people and 386 FIRs filed in Hyderabad district.

<><><>

Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi is going to address election rallies at Beed and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra today.

In Beed, Mr. Modi will address a rally at the College of Agriculture, in Ambajogai in the afternoon. He will be canvassing in favour of BJP candidate Pankaja Munde who is contesting against Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP(SP).

In Ahmednagar, Mr. Modi will be canvassing for BJP candidate Dr. Sujay Vikhepatil who is contesting against NCP(SP)’s Nilesh Lanke.

<><><>

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has recommended a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly receiving political funding from banned organisation Sikhs for Justice. The recommendation came based on a complaint that the Aam Aadmi Party allegedly received funding from this organisation for facilitating the release of Devendra Pal Bhullar and espousing the Pro-Khalistani sentiments. Bhullar is the convict in the 1993 Delhi bomb blasts case.

The principal secretary to Delhi LG wrote a letter to the Home Ministry in this regard. The complainant has referred to a video, purportedly featuring Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani terrorist and founder of Sikhs For Justice, wherein he has alleged that AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal has received a staggering amount of 16 million dollars in funding between 2014 and 2022.

<><><>

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heat wave conditions to abate over East India and over south Peninsular India from today onwards. Meanwhile, a fresh heat wave spell will be present over Western India covering Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh during next 3 days.

The IMD has forecast a heavy rainfall spell with thunderstorms and gusty winds to continue over Northeast India today. In South India, these conditions will also continue over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Lakshadweep and Karnataka during next 4 days.

Maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2 degrees Celsius over parts of Northwest India. Maximum temperatures are expected to fall by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius over parts of East India during next 2 days.

<><><>

In Uttarakhand, 930 incidents of forest fires have been reported in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions, affecting a total of 1,196 hectares of forest land. Of the total incidents, 491 occurred in Kumaon and 365 in the Garhwal region, so far.

On Monday, fires broke out in 20 places from Garhwal to Kumaon, burning over 52 hectares of forest area. Garhwal has had the most incidents, with 10, while Kumaon had nine incidents.

<><><>

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel. Hamas in a statement said that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had accepted a ceasefire agreement in a phone call with the Qatari prime minister and Egyptian intelligence minister. The proposal involves three phases, with each lasting 42 days.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Hamas’ latest truce proposal falls short of Israel’s demands.

<><><>

In Boxing, Indian pugilists confirmed a total of 43 medals at the ASBC Asian U-22 and Youth Boxing Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan. With 22 medals in the youth section and 21 in the U-22, the Indian contingent showcased a high-voltage action in the presence of boxers from more than 24 countries. In the Youth section, Indian boxers won five golds, nine silvers, and eight bronze medals.

<><><>

TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:

“Phase-3 today:93 seats up for grabs across states” leads Hindustan Times.
“High stakes for BJP in 25 Gujarat Lok Sabha seats today” reports The Tribune.
“Priyanka launches poll campaign in Rae Bareli, Amethi” states The Statesman.
“Enforcement Directorate nets 30crore rupees plus from help of Jharkhand minister’s secretary” reports The Times of India.
The Indian Express quotes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
In another story The Hindu writes “Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal by Egypt, Qatar.”
“Girls shine in ISC, ICSE; merit list scrapped” says The Asian Age.
And finally, The Pioneer reports that the national “Capital sees 67 per cent surge in wrong side driving prosecutions.”

<><><>

THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

Polling for third phase of Lok Sabha elections begins in 93 constituencies.
Election Commission issues notification for seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP Chief N Chandra Babu Naidu censured for violation of Model Code of Conduct.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommends NIA probe against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly receiving funding from banned terrorist organisations.
IMD says heat wave conditions to abate over East and South Peninsular India from today onwards.
Indian pugilists confirm a total of 43 medals at ASBC Asian U-22 and Youth Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan.

<><><>