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Grand Alliance heads to victory in late surge

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Mahagathbandhan

Patna: The Grand Alliance on Sunday celebrated all across Bihar as its candidates forged ahead in more than half of the 243 seats, stunning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Two-and-a-half hours into the vote count, trends from counting centres showed the JD-U camp was ahead in 135 seats – 13 more than the 122 needed to secure a majority in the assembly – while the BJP alliance was on the front in 92 seats.

Smaller parties, including the BSP and MIM, were on the winning track in nine constituencies.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leaders claimed victory and said the JD-U and its two allies – the RJD and Congress – were confident of forming the government.

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav said the Grand Alliance would win about 150 seats. “It was a very tough fight, it was a straight fight.”

JD-U’s Pavan Verma added: “The Grand Alliance has moved towards victory. It is a defeat for (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (BJP president) Amit Shah. We will form a government with a clear majority.”

It was one of the most bitterly contested assembly election in recent times, with Modi personally taking charge of the BJP combine’s campaign, pitting himself against Chief Minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Lalu Prasad.

When the final results are declared, it would be the BJP’s second straight defeat in assembly elections since it was routed by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in February.

Early celebrations in the BJP office in New Delhi and Patna gave way to gloom as it became clear that the initial leads its candidates took proved to be a mirage, with the Grand Alliance members clawing back in the vote count.

“I congratulate the people of Bihar for voting for development. The credit goes to Modi’s and (BJP president) Amit Shah’s leadership,” BJP spokesman Kailash Vijayvargiya told the media earlier.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad too said earlier: “We will win with very conclusive majority. People of Bihar need change.”

BJP leaders ordered a huge quantity of sweets, saying they were sure of a victory. In no time, the atmosphere became sombre in the BJP office here.

BJP candidates were leading in 74 seats, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) in four, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Ramvilas Paswan in nine and the Rashtriya Lok Sama Party (RLSP) in five seats each.

In the Grand Alliance, the JD-U was ahead in 64 seats, the RJD in 55 and the Congress in 12 seats. The RJD and the JD-U fielded 101 candidates each and the Congress 41.

The BJP contested 160 seats and its allies the LJP 40, the RLSP 23 and the HAM 20 seats.

The bitterly contested five-phase electoral battle began on October 12 and ended on November 5.

(IANS)

Spinners script emphatic 108-run win for India

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Ravichandran Ashwin

Mohali: Ravindra Jadeja made a memorable comeback to Test cricket with a five-wicket haul as India relied on the spinners to fashion a resounding 108-run victory against South Africa in the low-scoring first match to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series, here today.

Chasing a difficult 218-run target on a turning track, the Proteas were bundled for 109 runs in 39.5 overs in the final session as the match ended inside three days at the IS Bindra stadium.

Jadeja, who bagged his third fifer in 13 Tests with figures of 5/21, trapped Imran Tahir (4) LBW to pick the final South African wicket as the team celebrated the win against the No.1 Test side with congratulatory hugs amongst themselves.

Virat Kohli’s joy of winning his first game at home as Test captain was also evident, especially after the hosts lost the ODI and the T20 series against the visitors.

If Ravichandran Ashwin turned on the heat against the formidable batting line-up in the first innings with a five- wicket haul, then left-arm spinner Jadeja, marked his Test return with a fifer in the second.

The spin troika of Ashwin, Jadeja and Amit Mishra snapped 19 wickets in the game. Kohli wasted no time in getting down to business in the final innings by giving the new ball to spinners Ashwin (3-39) and Jadeja.

The visitors’ move of sending pinch-hitter Vernon Philander (1) was neutralised when Jadeja trapped the batsman LBW on the very first delivery of the second over.

Ashwin, who had a special game after becoming the fastest Indian bowler to race to 150 wickets in his 29th Test, spun into action from the other end to send Faf du Plessis (1) caught at slip on a lovely tossed up delivery that the jittery-looking batsman failed to cope.

The nerves were palpable in the visiting camp when skipper Hashim Amla was cleaned up for nought by Jadeja after looking to leave a length ball that carried straight in and rattled the middle stump. South Africa were reduced to 10 for three.

Mishra (1/19), introduced in the 10th over of the innings, then produced the big moment after cleaning up first -innings top-scorer AB de Villiers (16) on a flighted, pitched up delivery that stayed low and rushed on to the off stump. This was the second time in the match that Mishra had plotted the star batsman’s downfall.

The two teams will now travel to Bengaluru for the second Test, beginning November 14.

The game after tea seemed more like a foregone conclusion but the seventh-wicket 42-run stand between Stiaan van Zyl (36) and Simon Harmer (11) did give the home fans a bit of a jitter.

Jadeja, who retunred to the team after more than a year, finally broke the stand by sending back Harmer, caught at slip. But the wicket only came after the on-field umpires made sure whether Jadeja had bowled a legitimate delivery or not.

Jadeja’s wicket of de Villiers in the first innings, when he was on 7 and went on to score 63, was denied on the second day after television replays showed the left-arm spinner had overstepped the popping crease.

Today though Dane Vilas’s (7) way of dismissal spoke a lot about the visiting batsmen’s state of mind. The wicketkeeper-batsman was bowled by Jadeja after pushing forward to a straight delivery, while he had his bat tucked behind his pad.

The rest of the batting fell like a pack of cards as a good weekend crowd – a welcome relief to the organisers, who saw two days of empty seats – savoured the home team’s victory.
Major contributions from Murli Vijay (75 and 47) and Cheteshwar Pujara’s patient 77 in the second essay also contributed to the win in the low-scoring encounter.

The hosts always looked ahead of the opposition after making 201 in the first innings and then bundling out the Proteas for 184 runs.

In a see-saw game belonging to the slow bowlers, it was the Proteas spinners who made it count this morning as the Indian batting witnessed a dramatic collapse in the first session of play. India though still managed to touch the 200- run mark, which ultimately proved vital.

India, who had taken a slender 17-run first innings lead, added 60 runs in the morning session while losing six wickets after they resumed the day at 125 for two.

In fact, India lost six wickets for the addition of just 24 runs as they were 161 for two when Kohli (29) fell just after the drinks break.

Tahir and Simon Harmer shared the spoils with four wickets each to spin a web around the Indian batting. The drama unfolded post the first drinks interval when part- time bowler Zyl got overnight batsman Kohli back in the pavilion to break the 66-run third-wicket partnership.
Pujara soon joined his partner in the pavilion after Tahir got the settled batsman to edge one to slip. After that it was a procession as wickets tumbled in a jiffy.

Harmer, who was operating from the other end since the ninth over of the day, sent Ajinkya Rahane (2) back in the pavilion. The ball kicked off the turf as Rahane got an inside edge and substitute Temba Bavuma took another sharp catch at forward short-leg.

Bavuma, who had been substituting for injured Dale Steyn, also picked up a marvellous catch at the close-in position to send back Vijay on Day 2 off Tahir.

Just when Jadeja (8) and Saha seemed to be getting into some kind of groove, Harmer struck again to send the left-arm all-rounder packing.

Unable to read Harmer’s off-spin from around the wicket, Jadeja missed his backfoot flick to be trapped LBW. Not done yet, Harmer struck again to get Mishra out for 2. Trying a half-hearted sweep, Mishra top-edged the ball to backward square leg and du Plessis made no mistake.

Tahir finally got Ashwin (3) caught at slip and the umpires took the bails off for the session. The bowlers wrapped up the Indian tail soon after the resumption of play post lunch but not before Wriddhiman Saha (20) helped add 15 more runs to the lead. The runs on the board though were enough for a comprehensive victory.

(Agencies)

Modi gives Rs. 80,000 crore economic package to J&K

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Narendra_Modi

Srinagar: Restrictions were imposed on Saturday in parts of Srinagar ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kashmir.

A senior police officer said restrictions have been imposed in old city and uptown areas of Srinagar falling under the jurisdictions of Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safakadal, Kralkhud and Maisuma police stations.

Razor fitted concertina wire coils were placed across traffic crossings on the main roads in the areas where restrictions were imposed.

Senior separatist leaders including hardliner Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan, and Asiya Andrabi were placed under preventive detention.

Separatists had called for a parallel rally on Saturday in Srinagar barely half a km away from the venue of Modi’s public rally.

Authorities had conveyed to Geelani that permission for the rally was declined because of the prime minister’s visit the same day.

Unprecedented security arrangements were seen in Srinagar city on Saturday as police personnel and paramilitary central reserve police force (CRPF) troopers wearing bullet proof vests and holding automatic weapons took up positions along roads and at important installations.

All roads leading to Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium were sealed for vehicular movement.

Passage on these roads is regulated through special passes issued to security forces and other participants.

Modi is scheduled to arrive here at 11.30 a.m., and will address the public rally at noon.

He will fly to Chanderkote in Ramban district at 1 p.m. where he will inaugurate the 450 megawatt phase second of Baglihar power project.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the four laning of the Udhampur-Bannihal stretch of Jammu-Srinagar national highway.

All shops, public transport, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city.

Train services from Bannihal town in Ramban district to Baramulla town in Kashmir Valley have also been suspended for the day.

Only one-way traffic will be allowed from Srinagar to Jammu on the national highway on Saturday.

(Agencies)

Kerala Poll Results: Left on winning track, UDF trails

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Photo: Haris Kuttippuram

Photo: Haris Kuttippuram

Thiruvananthapuram: The Left was on course on Saturday for a much-needed electoral victory in the Kerala civic polls, dethroning the Congress-led UDF, available results showed. The BJP did better than last time.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) was leading in 507 gram panchayats at 1 p.m. The United Democratic Front was ahead in 379 while the BJP was leading in 16 and others in 15. The state has 941 gram panchayats.

At the block level, the LDF was leading in 92 and the UDF in 59 while at the district panchayat level, the rival fronts lead in seven each.

In the trends available for the municipalities, the LDF was leading in 44 and the UDF in 31 and the BJP in just one.

In the six corporations, the LDF won two, the UDF in one, while in three corporations it was a hung house.

Overall in the 2010 polls, the UDF won 65 percent of the total seats.
It is a strong come back for the Left which has not been able to secure a total win in any polls since they won the 2006 assembly polls.

In the 2010 civic polls while the Left won in the corporation (by winning three out of the five corporations), in the other segments – municipalities, district panchayats, block panchayats and gram panchayats, it was the Congress-led UDF that was far ahead of the Left.

The 2015 polls were held for 21,871 seats in 941 village, 152 blocks and 14 district panchayats besides 86 municipalities and six corporations.

As the results began to come in thick and fast, the Left opposition has been able to clearly edge out the ruling Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) in all the segments of the three-tier local body structure in the state.

The BJP had reason to cheer as it came second in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, pushing the Congress to third position after they won 34 seats, while the Congress could manage only 21 and the Left secured 42.

The BJP, which secured around 500 seats in the 2010 polls, has so far been able to muster about 1,100 seats.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru railway station to be named after Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna

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(Photo: IANS)

(Photo: IANS)

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru railway station will soon be named after Karnataka’s prominent 19th century freedom fighter and warrior Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna, an official said on Thursday.

“On the state government’s recommendation, the Indian Railways and the union home ministry has approved naming the city’s main railway station after Sangolli Rayanna,” South Western Railway (SWR) general manager P.K. Saxena told reporters here.

“The naming ceremony will be held soon after completing formalities and in consultation with the state government,” he said.

Born on August 15, 1798, Rayanna, the ruler of Kittur, now in what is the state’s northern district of Belagavi, fought against the British East India company till his death in 1832. According to history, Rayanna participated in the 1824 rebellion and was captured and executed.

There will be a plaque at the station’s main entrance with a picture and a brief biographical account of Rayanna, who was hanged to death by the British at the age of 33 from a banyan tree at Nandagad in Belagavi district on January 26, 1832.

Bengaluru’s international airport at Devanahalli is named after the city’s founder Kempe Gowda, who made the city capital of his kingdom in 1537.

(IANS)

Imperial Hubris: Obama threatens South Africa with trade sanctions

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S Africa risks suspension of right to ship farm products to US duty-free unless it drops barriers to American products.

The United States says South Africa has been blocking US chicken imports for 15 years [AP]

The United States says South Africa has been blocking US chicken imports for 15 years [AP]

by Al Jazeera

US President Barack Obama has threatened to impose trade sanctions on South Africa for blocking imports of meat from the US.

Obama said on Thursday that he will suspend South Africa’s right to ship farm products to the US duty-free unless it begins to dismantle barriers to American pork, poultry, and beef within 60 days.

“I am taking this step because South Africa continues to impose several long-standing barriers to US trade, including barriers affecting certain US agricultural exports,” he said in a letter to Congress.

At stake are trade benefits South Africa receives under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which is meant to encourage African countries to open their economies to trade.

The US says South Africa has been blocking US chicken imports for 15 years and has used “unwarranted sanitary restrictions” to keep out US pork and beef.

Mike Brown, president of the US National Chicken Council, backed the move and said it made no sense for the US to give special preferences to countries that treated it unfairly.

“This should send a clear message to South Africa and their poultry industry that they will not be given a ‘Get out of jail free’ card every time AGOA rounds the turn,” he said.

South Africa exported $176m in agricultural products to the US under AGOA in 2014 and potential lost benefits are estimated to total $4m to $7m.

South Africa missed an October 15 deadline to agree to new rules for imports of US poultry and meat products.

The country has banned US poultry imports since last December after an outbreak of bird flu.

Bihar battle ends, exit polls split on outcome

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bihar-votes

New Delhi: Bihar’s bitterly-contested staggered elections ended on Thursday evening, with exit polls sharply split on who would get to rule the state: the BJP-led alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Grand Alliance.

While three of the nine surveys at the end of five rounds of polling predicted a clear win for the Bharatiya Janata Party and another gave an upper hand to it, five exit polls forecast a narrow or clear majority in the 243-member house to the Grand Alliance.

Despite the exit poll suspense, leaders of both the BJP and the Grand Alliance — the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) of Nitish Kumar and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu Prasad — claimed they were sure of victory.

“We are hopeful of getting a clear majority,” said BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli. “Although the (exit polls) ranges are close, I won’t arrive at any hasty assessment,” he said, indicating cautious optimism in the BJP.

Former chief minister Lalu Prasad, however, insisted that the Grand Alliance, which also includes the Congress, was poised to win 190 seats.

“The entire backward community of Bihar has voted for us,” he told the media in Patna. “We salute them for this.”

None of the exit polls, however, gave either alliance such a huge victory as claimed by Lalu Prasad.

While Today’s Chanakya gave 155 of the 243 seats to the BJP and its three allies, NewsX-CNX said the JD-U and its allies would get 135 seats. It forecast a mere 83 seats to the JD-U, the RJD and the Congress.

In contrast, NewsX said the BJP and its allies — the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) — would win only 95 seats.

Other exit polls predicted a close outcome.

Any party or combine would need 122 seats to secure a wafer thin majority in the 243-member assembly. The millions of votes polled in the five rounds of polling from October 12 — about 60 percent of the 66.8 million electorate voted — will be counted on Sunday.

An India Today-Cicero exit poll predicted a hung assembly, with the BJP-led alliance winning 120 seats to 117 by the Grand Alliance. It gave the BJP alliance 113-127 seats and the Grand Alliance 111-123 seats. Four to eight seats could go to other parties.

A Dainik Jagran exit poll said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would get a majority with 130 seats as compared to 97 for the Grand Alliance.

The Times Now-CVoter survey gave 122 seats to the Grand Alliance and 111 to the NDA.

The ABP News gave the BJP and its allies 130 seats compared to 108 to the JD-U-RJD-Congress alliance.

News Nation also gave the JD-U and its allies an edge, with 120-124 seats, while the BJP and its allies could get 115-119 seats.

India TV-C Voter also predicted 111 seats to the BJP combine and 122 to the Grand Alliance.

Even before the exit polls were telecast, JD-U spokesman K.C. Tyagi told IANS in Patna that the Grand Alliance was confident of winning a “stupendous mandate”.

Neither Modi or BJP president Amit Shah — who micro-managed the Bihar election — nor Nitish Kumar spoke to the media.

Earlier on Thursday, nearly 60 percent of the 1.55 crore electorate turned out to vote in the last of the 57 constituencies spread across seven districts: Kishangaj, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, Saharasa, Madhepura and Supaul.

Despite widespread apprehensions, the staggered election passed off peacefully, even in areas considered to be strongholds of Maoists who had called for an election boycott.

The voter enthusiasm was evident on Thursday too, with tens of thousands queuing up at polling booths even before they opened at 7 a.m. A total of 827 candidates were in the fray.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) contested from six constituencies, making its foray into Bihar.

Earlier on Thursday, the stock market dipped over a possible lack of clear mandate in Bihar.

The Bihar election is a big test for the BJP, whose winning streak since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was halted by the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in February this year.

(IANS)

India reach 125/2, swell lead to 142 runs against South Africa

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ind-sa

Mohali: India reached 125/2 in their second innings at stumps to take a vital 142-run overall lead after bowling out South Africa for 184 runs in the first innings on the second day of the first Test here on Friday.

For the hosts, Cheteshwar Pujara (63 not out) and Virat Kohli (11 batting) were at the crease at the end of Day 2. Openers Murali Vijay (47) and Shikhar Dhawan (0) were the dismissed batsmen.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin earlier picked up five wickets to hand India the initiative. He (5-51) was assisted by fellow tweakers Ravindra Jadeja (3-55) and Amit Mishra (2-55).

AB de Villiers (63) was the top scorer for the visitors in the first innings, in reply to India’s 201.

(IANS)

Chhota Rajan brought to India

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Chhota Rajan

New Delhi: After being on the run for the past 27 years, underworld don Chhota Rajan was brought here early this morning from Indonesia by a joint team headed by CBI officials for facing trial in various criminal cases registered against him in Delhi and Mumbai.

The 55-year-old gangster, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, will be kept in the national capital where he will be questioned by sleuths of various investigating agencies as he has been making claims of having further evidence to nail India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and his links with Pakistan’s snooping agency ISI.

Immediately after his arrival here in an Indian Air Force Gulfstream-III aircraft from Indonesia’s Bali, Rajan, who is considered as a ‘friendly don’ as he reportedly tipped Indian security agencies about the movement of Dawood and his aides, was whisked away to an undisclosed location under tight security.

Official cars with flashing lights accompanied by heavy- armed escort vans were seen leaving the Palam Technical Area at around 5:30 AM, as anxious camerapersons and photographers made unsuccessful attempts to get a glimpse of the underworld don, who was in one of those vehicles with tinted glasses.

Rajan had told media in Bali that he was happy to return to his motherland and had rubbished reports that his arrest was orchestrated as he was facing threat from Dawood’s men.

Ahead of his arrival in India, Maharashtra government made a surprise announcement of handing over all the cases related to the underworld don to the CBI as the agency had expertise in handling such cases. This move comes barely a few days after the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had been making claims that Rajan will be brought only to Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government’s sudden U-turn raised many eyebrows within the police establishment in the megalopolis as the Chief Minister himself had ordered for creation of a special cell inside Aurthur Road prison with medial arrangement of dialysis being made. Rajan is on dialysis as his both kidneys are not working.

Rajan, after his arrest, had expressed reservation over plans to lodge him in a Mumbai jail, fearing that his arch- rival and India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim may target him there.

Till the formalities of CBI to take over the Maharashtra cases are completed, Rajan will be in the custody of Special Cell of Delhi Police which has six cases registered against him.

Interestingly, CBI had told the Bombay High Court, while hearing petitions filed by the family members of murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, that it was severely understaffed and required officers from the Maharashtra Police to assist it in the probe.

Rajan was arrested on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner notice at Bali airport on October 25 after he had arrived in the island city of Indonesia from Australia.

India was keen that the deportation takes place at the earliest and had put in a request to Indonesian authorities immediately after his arrest, sources said.

However, his deportation was deferred by a day as the international airport in Bali was shut down due to spewing of volcanic ash from a nearby mountain.

Immediately after his flight took off, Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh tweeted: “#ChotaRajan deported successfully to India. Delay due to Bali airport closure ends. Thanks Indonesia for support.”

Rajan is wanted in over 75 crimes ranging from murder, extortion to smuggling and drug trafficking.

Mumbai Police has nearly 70 cases registered against Rajan, including 20 of murder, four cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, one under Prevention of Terrorism Act and over 20 cases under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

Delhi Police has six cases registered against Rajan, who was a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood at one point but split before the 1993 Mumbai blasts were conspired.

In 2000, there was an attempt on Rajan’s life when Dawood’s men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed a dramatic escape by jumping from the first floor of the hotel.

Rajan had fled India in 1988 for Dubai.

(PTI)

‘More minors being recruited into RSS, trend to go up in future’

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rss-children

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has claimed that its popularity among the minors was on the rise, as 65 per cent of its shakhas in Maharashtra were composed of members between the age group of 12 and 18 years.

Shakha is a place where RSS volunteers gather every day and currently, there were 50,432 shakhas across the country.

As per the RSS data, out of the 3,429 shakhas spread over four regions of Maharashtra– Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Devgiri and Vidarbha– 2,229 are ‘Bal and Tarun Samyukta Shakha’ (Children and Youth Joint Shakhas) for the members between the age group of 12 and 18.

120 of the total shakhas in the state have members between the age of 18 and 40, which together with Children and Youth Joint Shakhas comprise 68 per cent (2,349 out of 3,429 Shakhas) of the total shakhas.

The shakhas with members over 40 years of age comprise around 32 per cent (1,080 out of total 3,429 shakhas) of the total number in Maharashtra, the data said. These figures have helped the RSS to dispel the “allegation” that the organisation was not present among the youth.

Satish Modh, Sanghchalak of Konkan region of RSS told PTI, “Only nine per cent of our shakhas (4,551 out of the total 50,432 at the national level) comprise members over 60 years of age. These figures themselves prove that we are fast becoming popular among the youth and this trend is more likely to go up in the near future.”

He said that as per the figures till September this year, there were 50,432 RSS shakhas at 31,840 locations across the country. “The number would considerably go up by March next year,” he added.

(Agencies)

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