THE HEADLINES:
- Campaigning for sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections ends today; Voting to take place on Saturday.
- Calcutta High Court scraps OBC certificates awarded to 77 communities in West Bengal since 2010.
- Buddha Purnima being celebrated across the country today to mark birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha.
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls early General Election on July 4th.
- India’s Men’s team beat Argentina in shootout in FIH Pro Hockey League in Belgium.
- In IPL cricket, Rajasthan Royals enters Qualifier 2 after defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in Ahmedabad.
<><><>
Campaigning for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections will end today. 58 constituencies spread over eight states and union territories will go to polls in this phase on Saturday. These include 8 seats in Bihar, all 10 seats in Haryana, one seat in Jammu and Kashmir, 4 in Jharkhand, all 7 seats in Delhi, 6 in Odisha, 14 in Uttar Pradesh and 8 in West Bengal. As many as 889 candidates are in the fray from these 58 Lok Sabha constituencies. The voting will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.
<><><>
Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Narendra Modi will address a party rally in Patiala town of Punjab today. Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the Polo ground for this rally.
“The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is scheduled to reach the rally venue at around 4 pm. His visit will give impetus to BJP’s election campaign in the state. The Prime Minister will also address rallies in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar tomorrow. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is trying to woo voters through road shows in different Lok Sabha constituencies, while local leaders of congress party, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party are also busy campaigning. Shishu Sharma Shantal, Akashvani News, Jalandhar.”
<><><>
In the national capital, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to attract voters through Roadshows, Public Meetings and Door to Door campaigns. The polling in Delhi will be held in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections on Saturday. Today, several prominent leaders and star campaigner of BJP, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are scheduled to hit the ground on the last day of Campaign to woo the voters. Senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani and Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand and Rajasthan will hold public meetings and roadshows. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address public meeting in Mangolpuri and Seemapuri. AAP top leaders will also hold roadshows in favour of party candidates.
“The national capital is expected to witness two way contest between BJP and AAP-Congress combine. BJP is contesting on all seven seats, while Aam Aadmi Party is contesting on four seats and Congress on three. In the last two Lok Sabha elections , BJP had made a clean sweep by winning all the seven seats in Delhi and this time too the party is leaving no stone unturned to maintain the tally. On the other hand, Congress and AAP are trying hard to stop the BJP to register their victory in the city. Anand Kumar, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
<><><>
In Odisha, the high voltage campaigning in all the six Lok Sabha and 42 assembly constituencies going for polls in the sixth phase of general elections will come to an end this evening. Polling will be held in Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Lok Sabha constituencies and all the Assembly seats coming under their purview in this phase.
“The stage is set in the high profile Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency for a showdown among Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the BJP, BJD organisation general secretary Pranab Prakash Das and former Sambalpur MP Nagendra Pradhan of the Congress. Puri Lok Sabha presents a formidable clash mainly between Sambit Patra of the BJP, and former IPS officer Arup Patnaik representing the BJD. BJP president JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are scheduled to visit Odisha today to seek votes for BJP nominees. Mr Nadda will campaign in Karanjia, Barchana, Dhamnagar and Balikuda Assembly constituencies, while Yogi Aditya Nath will campaign in Banapur and Mahanga. On the other hand, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is campaigning along with BJD candidates for both Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, while state Congress leaders are giving their best to win the heart of the voters on the last day of campaigning. Prakash Dash, Akashvani News Bhubaneswar.”
<><><>
In Bihar, leaders of NDA and Grand Alliance and other parties are making their last ditch efforts to woo the voters of poll bound areas in Lok Sabha constituencies of the sixth phase. Several leaders and star campaigners are also hitting the campaigning trail for the seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Senior BJP leader and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold public meetings today in Areraj and Sugauli in Purvi Champaran and Paschimi Champaran Lok Sabha constituencies.
BSP president Mayawati will hold her first public meeting in Bihar today. She will address the public meeting in Buxar in support of the party candidate.
RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will address election rallies back to back in parliamentary constituencies of Vaishali, Gopalganj, Purvi Champaran and Paschimi Champaran.
<><><>
Lok Sabha Elections for the seven seats in Delhi will be held in the sixth phase on the 25th of this month. In our constituency profile series, today we bring you a report on the North East Delhi Parliamentary constituency:
“The constituency of North East Delhi came into existence in 2008 after delimitation. It covers ten Assembly segments of Delhi. The dynamic political landscape of this constituency has witnessed significant shifts over the years. In 2009, Congress had its grip in the constituency. However, in the next two Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019, the tide has been in favour of BJP. In 2019, Manoj Tiwari defeated senior Congress leader and former Delhi CM, Sheila Dixit from this seat. However, this time the contest is likely to be more intense as unlike in 2019, this time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are contesting together. The seat is presently quite popular as the Congress has fielded former JNU Student’s Union President Kanhaiya Kumar against Manoj Tiwari. This constituency has a large number of migrants from eastern UP and Bihar. Interestingly, in spite of BJP dominating the LS polls, it was AAP who won the majority of the Assembly segments falling under this Parliamentary constituency during the 2020 Assembly polls. With Dipendra Kumar, Arpita Chowdhury, Akashvani News Delhi.”
<><><>
In Jammu and Kashmir, approximately 27 thousand displaced Kashmiri Pandits are set to cast their votes for the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat, the polls on which are scheduled to be held on May 25. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that this seat boasts the highest number of voters among the 18 assembly constituencies in the region.
To accommodate the significant number of displaced voters, 21 polling stations and eight auxiliary centers are established in Jammu to facilitate quicker and more efficient voting for displaced individuals.
<><><>
The Calcutta High Court has scrapped all Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued in West Bengal since 2010. A division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha pronounced the verdict while delivering a judgement on a PIL challenging the process of granting OBC certificates. The high court bench termed the OBC list prepared after 2010 as illegal. The court directed that a fresh list of OBCs be prepared based on the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993 by the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes.
The court, however, clarified that the order will not affect the services of citizens of the ejected classes, who are already in service or have been benefitted by reservation or have succeeded in any selection process of the state. The court further added that there was no interference with regard to the state government’s executive orders classifying 66 classes of OBCs before 2010, as the petitions did not challenge them.
<><><>
Buddha Purnima, marking the birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, is being celebrated in different parts of the country today. The day is commemorated by Buddhists and Hindus all over the world, and is a major festival in many countries.
President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar have greeted the nation on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. In her message, President Murmu said, Lord Gautama Buddha has given the message of truth, non-violence, harmony and love for humanity and all living beings.
In his message, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said, Lord Gautama Buddha’s teachings offer a transformative roadmap for pursuit of a life rooted in ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom.
<><><>
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called an early national election for July 4. He made the announcement outside his Downing Street office, saying now is the moment for Britain to choose its future. Voters across the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be the prime minister. The announcement came the same day when official figures showed inflation in the UK had fallen sharply to 2.3 percent, its lowest level in nearly three years.
<><><>
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed ‘deep concern’ over the reports of the health of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz yesterday. PM Modi has wished him a speedy recovery through a post on social media platform X.
<><><>
Severe heat wave conditions are very likely to continue in North and Central India for the next few days. India Meteorological Department has issued consistent red alert issued in the Northern states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi for the next three to four days.
“While most parts of North India continues to reel under extreme heat wave, Delhiites yesterday got some respite as no heat wave conditions were observed over the national capital. Easterly winds yesterday stopped the temperature from rising further however, IMD has forecast heatwave in the National Capital today. Similar conditions are likely to continue till the next three to four days. The minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to hover around 32 and 44 degree Celsius respectively. ARPITA CHOWDHURY, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”
<><><>
Indian men’s hockey team defeated Argentina 5-4 in shootout after both teams were locked at 2-2 at the end of regulation time in a FIH Pro League match in Antwerp, Belgium. In the shootout, skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh scored twice each with Abhishek being the other scorer.
The Indian men’s team will take on hosts Belgium tomorrow in the European leg of the Pro League.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s hockey team started their European leg of the FIH Pro League 2023-24 with a 0-5 loss to Argentina last night.
<><><>
And in IPL Cricket, Eliminator match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), resulted in the defeat of RCB. Rajasthan Royals won by 4 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last night.
Rajasthan Royals, the winner of this match will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in second Qualifier tomorrow.
<><><>
TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:
- Most newspapers today lead with the news on Calcutta High Court’s, order on scrapping new OBC categorizations. HC scraps Bengal OBC listings post-2010 for ‘breach of norms’, headlines the Times of India. The Hindustan Times ” writes Blow to Mamata: OBC tags for 77 groups in Bengal scrapped.
- “With temperature soaring high, Delhi’s power demand breaking all records”, The Delhi Tribune informs, At 30.9 degree Celsius, minimum temperature highest for May in 6 years, writes The Hindustan Times.
- The Hindu on its front page reports “Ireland, Norway and Spain set to formally recognise Palestine”.
- And Finally, Under the caption”Going Global,” Smartphones now India’s, fourth-largest export item” writes the Business Standard.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Campaigning for sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections ends today; Voting to take place on Saturday.
- Calcutta High Court scraps OBC certificates awarded to 77 communities in West Bengal since 2010.
- Buddha Purnima being celebrated across the country today to mark birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha.
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calls early General Election on July 4th.
- India’s Men’s team beat Argentina in shootout in FIH Pro Hockey League in Belgium.
- In IPL cricket, Rajasthan Royals enters Qualifier 2 after defeating Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets in Ahmedabad.
<><><>
