THE HEADLINES :
- Campaigning for third phase of Lok Sabha elections to end this evening.
- Centre says, India has one of most stringent standards in the world for Maximum Residue Limits for food items.
- Security forces detain six suspects for questioning in connection with attack on Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
- NEET exam for admission to Undergraduate medical programmes being held today across the country.
- In IPL Cricket, Punjab Kings to take on Chennai Super Kings, while Lucknow Super Giants to face Kolkata Knight Riders today.
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Campaigning for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections will end today. 93 Constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will go to polls in this phase on Tuesday. Political parties have intensified their campaign ahead of the voting for the third phase.
In Uttar Pradesh, high-pitched political battle will be seen today where many candidates for the third phase of elections will hold road shows and door-to-door campaigns. Electioneering has intensified for the other phase of elections also. Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in the state today for political campaigning. Mr. Modi will not only address the political rallies in Etawah and Dhaurahra constituencies but will also hold a road show in the Ayodhya district this evening. The two-kilometre-long roadshow will start in the evening from the Sugreev Qila area and will culminate at Lata Chowk. Senior BJP leader and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami will also hold a road show in Badayun district today.
Congress in charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pandey will hold a rally in favour of the Party candidate in Kaushambi.
Ten constituencies of the state will go to polls on Tuesday. These are Sambhal, Hathras, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Badaun, Aonla and Bareilly.
Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to arrive at Bhubaneswar this evening for an election campaign in Odisha for the BJP. Odisha is going for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in four phases from the 13th of this month.
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Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah participated in the election campaign at Dharmavaram in Hindupur Loksabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh this afternoon. Mr Shah said that it was under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership that 80 crore people got free ration under PM-Garibh Kalyan Yojana and 50 crore people got 5 Lakh rupees health insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. He reminded the people that the COVID-19 vaccine was provided to 130 crore people in the country free of cost. He criticised the incumbent Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for neglecting development and failing to attract investments to the state. Mr Shah said that experienced leaders like Chandrababu Naidu who laid the foundation for Andhra Pradesh post-bifurcation must be elected to ensure holistic development of the State. He assured that the NDA government at the Centre will extend all possible support for completing the Polavaram and Handri Neeva Projects thereby bringing prosperity to farmers.
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In Assam, all the political parties are making final efforts to woo the voters for the third phase of polls. A total of 47 candidates are in the fray in this phase in four Lok Sabha seats. Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, State Congress President Bhupen Kumar Borah, Asom Gana Parishad President Atul Bora, and AIUDF President Badruddin Ajmal among others are doing rallies today. Meanwhile, poll parties in some remote areas have been despatched today with polling materials. They will reach their destination by evening. Boats, bullock carts, and tractors are being placed in service at far flung areas in Nalbari district. Over 81 lakh voters can vote in the third phase of polls.
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Congress has released a list of six candidates for the upcoming Odisha Assembly Elections. The party has fielded Sudarshan Das in place of Debi Prasanna Chand from the Jaleshwar Assembly seat whereas Akshaya Acharya will contest from the Nilgiri seat. Uma Ballav Rath will contest from Puri Vidhan Sabha constituency in place of Sujit Mahapatra. The party has fielded Sudarshan Sahoo from Athagarh and Himanshu Chaulia from the Athmallik seat.
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In our series, covering key constituencies of Lok Sabha polls, today we bring a report on Rajkot Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat.
Rajkot Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the high-profile seats in Gujarat, especially in the Saurashtra region. The constituency comprises seven assembly seats in Rajkot and Morbi districts. The Rajkot Lok Sabha seat held its first election in 1962, with the Congress party securing victory. Since 1989, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been consistently winning the Rajkot seat, except in 2009 when BJP’s Kiran Patel lost to Congress’ Kunvarji Bavaliya. Mohan Kundariya has been winning from last two years in 2014 and 2019. This year, BJP has fielded senior leader and Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on the seat he will face senior congress leader Paresh Dhanani. There are total 21 lakh 13 thousand 273 voters in this constituency who will decide the political fate of nine candidates in the fray. All eyes are on this high profile seat. Aparna Khunt, Akashvani News, Ahmedabad.
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Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar today gave an overview to seventy-five international delegates of various facets of the gigantic election exercise in the world’s largest democracy. Mr Kumar addressed the international visitors from Election Management Bodies of twenty-three countries in New Delhi this afternoon. The delegates arrived in India yesterday to witness the Lok Sabha elections. They are attending the International Election Visitors Programme of which the inaugural session was held today. The Election Commission invited these delegates to witness democratic excellence firsthand. The delegates will embark on visits to six states – Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to observe polls and related preparedness in various constituencies. The programme will end on the 9th of this month.
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The Centre has clarified that India has one of the most stringent standards in the world for Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and MRLs of pesticides are fixed differently for different food commodities based on their risk assessments. The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement that media reports claiming that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) allows 10 times more pesticide residue in herbs and spices are false and malicious. Pesticides are regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee constituted under the Insecticide Act, 1968. The Agriculture Ministry said that the Scientific Panel on Pesticides Residues of FSSAI examines the data received through the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee. It recommends the MRLs after performing risk assessment considering the dietary consumption of the Indian population and health concerns with respect to all age groups.
The total number of pesticides registered by the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee in India is more than 295 out of which 139 pesticides are registered for use in spices. The statement said that the MRLs are dynamic in nature and regularly revised based on scientific data. This practice is aligned with global standards and ensures that MRL revisions are made on a scientifically valid basis, reflecting the latest findings and international norms.
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In Jammu and Kashmir, the security forces have detained six locals for questioning in connection with the attack on the Indian Air Force convoy in the frontier district of Poonch last evening in which five IAF soldiers were injured and one was martyred. These locals are suspected of having helped the terrorists in the attack. One soldier lost his life while five others were injured in the terror attack that took place near the Shashidhar forest area when the IAF convoy was moving towards Sanai Top in the Surankote area of the Poonch district. Around 30 rounds were fired by the terrorists on the Vehicle of the IAF. Cordon and search operations are currently underway in the area by local Rashtriya Rifles army units and the operation to track down the terrorists behind the attack on the IAF convoy entered its second day today.
Meanwhile, IAF today paid condolences to the family of martyred Corporal Vikky Pahade who lost his life during a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch Sector yesterday. In a social media post, the IAF said, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and all personnel of Indian Air Force salute the braveheart Pahade who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation.
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The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to Undergraduate medical programmes is being conducted across the country today. More than 24 lakh candidates will appear for the examination this year at different centres across five hundred 57 Cities throughout the country and 14 cities outside India. The exam will take place from 2 pm to 5.20 pm Indian Standard Time.
The NTA directed the candidates to carry their downloaded admit cards that prominently display photograph, signature, and roll number barcode. It said these details are crucial for identification and verification purposes during the examination. If any candidate finds these essential elements missing on their admit card, they are advised to download the admit card again from the official website. Candidates are also advised to arrive at their designated examination centres in time to complete all pre-examination formalities efficiently.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall over Northeast India today and tomorrow. The IMD also said that fairly widespread to widespread, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura during the next five days. The weather department also forecasts a two to four degrees Celsius rise in maximum temperatures over many parts of Northwest and Central India during the next five days.
In Delhi, the IMD has forecast a clear sky today. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover between 41 and 22 degrees Celsius.
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In Kerala, the orange alert continues as per the warning by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on high-energy swell waves along Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts. The warning is till 11:30 p.m. tonight. This phenomenon is locally known as ‘Kallakadal. Many regions in the coastal belts of Kerala like Thiruvananthapuram, and Thrissur are reporting severe sea erosion. People are being shifted from the regions. There is a high alert in coastal areas and people are warned from travelling to coastal regions. Fishermen are urged not to venture into the sea on the Kerala coast till the situation betters.
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In IPL Cricket, Punjab Kings will take on Chennai Super Kings in Dharamshala today. The match will start at 3:30 PM. In another match, Lucknow Super Giants will face Kolkata Knight Riders at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow this evening
Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Gujarat Titans by four wickets at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday. For RCB, Virat Kohli scored 42 while Faf Du Plessis made 64 runs.
Earlier, put into bat first, Gujarat Titans were bundled out for 147 in 19.3 overs. For Gujarat, David Miller scored 30 and Shahrukh Khan made 37.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
- Campaigning for third phase of Lok Sabha elections to end this evening.
- Centre says, India has one of most stringent standards in the world for Maximum Residue Limits for food items.
- Security forces detain six suspects for questioning in connection with attack on Indian Air Force convoy in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
- NEET exam for admission to Undergraduate medical programmes being held today across the country.
- In IPL Cricket, Punjab Kings to take on Chennai Super Kings, while Lucknow Super Giants to face Kolkata Knight Riders today.
