New Delhi: Noted election strategist Prashant Kishor found himself in the hot seat during an interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire. The conversation took a tense turn as Kishor was reminded about his past predictions in Himachal Pradesh and Telangana.

Kishor, renowned for his role in designing election campaigns for Prime Minister Modi and the BJP in 2014, has since worked with various political parties across the country. Now embarking on a Jana Swaraj Yatra in Bihar, he aims to establish “Jana Swaraj” as a political entity for the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.

During the interview, Kishor confidently forecasted that the BJP would secure over 300 seats in the next election. Despite potential losses in the North, he believed gains in the South and East would offset any shortfall. However, contrary reports and surveys suggest a different result, hinting at potential setbacks for the BJP.

Tensions rose when Thapar questioned Kishor about his earlier prediction regarding the Congress’s performance in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha elections. Kishor, visibly irked, was seen asking Thapar to either show a video of him saying so or apologise.

Karan Thapar asked Prashant who looked very upset, “Do you want to continue the interview or do you want to stop?”, which made him even more annoyed. “I can face not one but four like you, I know how to deal with you well. I will not get up.” he is seen saying.

As the interview progressed, Kishor’s frustration mounted, leading to heated exchanges and even comparisons to Narendra Modi’s infamous 2007 interview with Thapar.

Kishor had previously predicted a rout for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh and Telangana in May 2022 and September 2023 respectively. But the Congress won the Assembly polls in both states., contrary to Kishor’s predictions.

Kumta: In a shocking incident of violent rivalry 27-year-old Rajesh Ramesh Ambiga from Hegade Chittikambi village has been arrested by Kumta Police for assaulting Santhosh Panduranga Ambiga, also 27, at Manki Maidan.

The attack occurred following a dispute over a romantic relationship. According to the police, a young woman, who was initially in a relationship with Rajesh, ended the relationship due to dissatisfaction with his behavior. She later began a relationship with her cousin Santhosh and decided to marry him. Enraged by this development, Rajesh lured Santhosh to meet him near the library at Manki Maidan.

Upon meeting, Rajesh threw chilli powder in Santhosh’s face and, as Santhosh attempted to flee, Rajesh stabbed him in the neck with a knife. The injured Santhosh was rushed to the government hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.

Following a complaint, the Kumta Police registered a case and conducted an investigation, leading to Rajesh’s arrest.

Puttur: A case has been registered at the Puttur Town Police Station against a man who is charged with sharing on social media a derogatory post on former legislator Sanjeeva Matandoor and issuing a death threat to the senior political leader.

The accused Prajwal Rai had allegedly posted a message on WhatsApp on May 17 demeaning Matandoor. The complainants also told the Puttur Town Police that Rai had issued a warning on social media that the former MLA would be stoned on the streets. They also urged the police to take suitable legal action against the accused.

Puttur Town Police have filed a case based on the complaint and investigation is underway.

Udupi: BJP State General Secretary V Sunil Kumar has directed senior party member and former MLA Raghupati Bhat to withdraw his nomination as Independent candidate for the Karnataka Legislative Council election within 24 hours, failing which, disciplinary action would be taken against him by party leaders.

Bhat, who was denied the BJP ticket from the South West Graduates constituency of the Council, decided to contest the polls independently and filed his nomination papers as a rebel candidate of the BJP.

Sunil Kumar, who is also the Karkala legislator, told reporters at a press meet in Udupi on Thursday that he was appealing to Bhat as a friend to immediately withdraw his candidature as the BJP High Command would take strict action against any member who indulged in anti-party activities or was guilty of causing embarrassment to the entire party.

When asked about the party leaders delaying the process of taking action on Raghupati Bhat whereas the alleged violation by former Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa during the ongoing Lok Sabha election had drawn an immediate response, Sunil Kumar refuted the notion that the party leaders were being selective in such matters. He insisted that disciplinary action would be taken not only on Bhat but any party member who contested against the official candidate of the party, adding that the party members had expressed confidence in Bhat deciding to withdraw his nomination.

Sunil Kumar said that the party was focusing on ensuring the victory of the candidates rather than worrying about rebel members. The ground-level workers of the party were being roped in to campaign for the BJP candidates, he added.

Thane: An 82-year-old NRI staying with his son in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai after return from Dubai has been allegedly cheated of Rs 32 lakh by three persons who threatened to get him arrested for various offences, police said.

The accused contacted the victim several times between May 12 and 18, claiming offences had been registered against him on charges of involvement in anti-national activities, drug peddling and in the Pulwama attack, an official from Navi Mumbai’s cyber police station said on Monday.

The accused told the victim that he would be arrested for these crimes. They sent fake documents claiming to be from the Narcotics Control Bureau and a confidentiality agreement to him on WhatsApp and forced him to deposit Rs 32,13,305 in different bank accounts, he said.

Based on complaint by the victim on Sunday, the police registered an FIR against the three persons under relevant Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, personation and criminal intimidation as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out multi-state raids in connection with its probe in Bengaluru’s Ramshwaram Cafe blast case, officials said.

Several customers and hotel staff members were injured, some of them grievously, in the blast that caused extensive damage to the cafe in the IT city on March 1.

“Multi-states raids were underway in different locations,” a senior NIA official said, without sharing further details.

The probe agency, that took over the case on March 3, had on April 12 arrested two key accused, including the mastermind Adbul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, in the matter.

Taahaa and the other accused, Mussavir Hussain Shazib, who had allegedly placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe, were arrested from a lodge near Kolkata, where they were staying under the assumed identities.

Addressing an election rally in the East Champaran Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar, the PM also launched indirect attacks on leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, who he said were “born with silver spoons”.

“The nation cannot move forward with the sins of the INDIA bloc, which stands for corruption, appeasement politics, represents the ‘tukde-tukde’ gang and a perverted mindset that heaps scorn on Sanatan Dharma,” he said.

“This is the reason why the INDIA bloc was exhausted in the very first phase of the elections. In the subsequent phases, it was battered. In the remaining two phases, the trend will continue and on June 4 when votes are counted, the results will come as a big blow to the intentions of the opposition alliance,” he claimed.

Modi alleged that Congress wants to change the Constitution to “snatch” reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, and hand it over to those who indulge in “vote jihad”.

“If Ambedkar was not there, Nehru would not have allowed reservation for SCs and STs,” he claimed.

Modi also bristled at the opposition parties’ criticism of welfare schemes run by his government, claiming his opponents had “bundles of notes stashed away in Swiss banks” and could not understand the plight of the common people “the way I do, having been born in a poor family”.

“They were opening accounts in Swiss banks, while the people of India were starving,” he alleged.

Referring to Tejashwi Yadav, whom he did not mention by name, Modi said, “I am told that the ‘waaris of jungle raaj’ has been saying I will be advised bed rest after the Lok Sabha elections. The ‘shehzada’ of Congress says he wants to see me in tears. His party openly chants slogans like ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ (your grave will be dug).”

“These people have a counterpart in Uttar Pradesh (an allusion to Akhilesh Yadav) who says I have reached the end of my life and hence contesting from Varanasi,” said Modi, adding that the remarks betrayed a lack of sensitivity on the part of those “born with silver spoons, who have never known what is a life filled with struggles”.

In his speech, Modi also made a reference to the much-talked-about feast Gandhi had enjoyed at Lalu Prasad’s residence last year.

“Those who refused the invitation to the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya had no problems in sharing a meal with the corrupt,” he said.

Modi also referred to East Champaran as Mahatma Gandhi’s “karma bhoomi” and his own roots in Gujarat “the janmabhoomi (place of birth)”.

“The Congress betrayed his ideals upon coming to power and devoted itself to promoting the interests of one family,” he alleged.

“I have spent my first 10 years in power filling the potholes left by the Congress. I intend to speed up progress in the next term,” said Modi as he spoke about his thrust on welfare measures like toilets for women “who had to suffer physical ailments because of the absence of this very basic of all amenities”.

Her husband Nandish was not reachable raising suspicions about his involvement in the crime, they said.

The couple has two daughters.

Vidya, a resident of Srirampur, Mysuru, was Congress’ Mysuru city secretary. She had also acted in a few Kannada films, sources said.

There was discord between the couple and both would often quarrel. It is said that they had a bitter spat on Monday night following which Vidya was allegedly murdered at Turganur here.

Police have launched a manhunt for the husband.

Malappuram (Kerala): A five-year-old girl afflicted by amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters, in Malappuram district of Kerala died, official sources said on Tuesday.

According to medical experts, the infection is caused when free-living, non-parasitic amoebae bacteria enter the body through the nose from contaminated water.

The girl had taken bath in a nearby pond on May 1 and by May 10, and showed symptoms of fever, headache and vomiting, the sources said.

The child was on a ventilator and unresponsive to medication. Other children who also took bath along with the girl in the same pond were under observation. However, they were discharged after being found to be free of infection, sources added.

The disease was earlier reported in coastal Alappuzha district in the state in 2023 and 2017.

The main symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, vomiting, and seizures.

Jaisalmer: In a disturbing incident in Jaisalmer, a Dalit journalist, Heera Lal Meghwal, was reportedly assaulted for his coverage of the sexual assault of a minor boy. The assailants, allegedly acting on behalf of the accused who hails from an OBC community, targeted Meghwal due to his consistent reporting on the issue.

Four months ago, a minor boy fell victim to sexual assault, leading Meghwal to extensively cover the case. His efforts led to the arrest of the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, on the night of May 12, Meghwal was ambushed by five individuals who subjected him to a brutal beating.

Jaisalmer’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Bhawani Singh, confirmed the arrest of one suspect, identified as Hari Singh Charan, while four others remain at large. Police are actively pursuing leads to arrest the remaining culprits.

Notably, Hari Singh Charan has a history of criminal activity, with prior cases registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, as well as for physical assault.