Today’s Big Stories
BJP to romp home in Maharashtra and Haryana with bigger margins, rout listless opposition
The BJP is set to retain power in Maharashtra, where it is in an alliance with the Shiv Sena, and in Haryana, in the first elections to be held since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mammoth victory in May. Exit polls have been near unanimous in their projection of a landslide win for the BJP in the two states and a rout for its rivals, led by the Congress.
The Maharashtra heartbreak: The Congress' slump at the polls is likely to continue in Maharashtra with the News18-IPSOS exit poll predicting a drubbing for the grand old party at 17 seats, down from 42 in the 288-seat Assembly. Adding insult to injury, the party is also likely to see bigwigs, including former chief ministers, suffer defeats.
As per the survey, the BJP is likely to get close to the majority mark on its own with 141 seats, while the Shiv Sena may hit triple digits at 102 seats. The NCP, too, is likely to take a massive hit, dropping from 41 to 22 seats.
Dangal fail in Haryana: Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to zoom past the halfway mark, bagging 75 seats in the 90-seat Assembly, according to the exit poll. The Congress may come down from 15 to 10 seats, but the biggest setback may come for the INLD which may be wiped out altogether.
Wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogat are unlikely to turn the BJP’s fortunes in the tough seats of Baroda and Dadri in Haryana, with the two sporting icons projected to lose in the Haryana assembly elections according to the News18-IPSOS exit poll.
In Other News
The murder stats: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Monday published the country’s crime statistics for the year 2017, showing a 5.9% drop in murder cases over the previous year. Uttar Pradesh recorded the most murders at 4,324, followed by Bihar, at 2,803 murders in 2017.
Appeal: The Central government has told the Supreme Court that the “internet has emerged as a potent tool to cause unimaginable disruption to the democratic polity," requiring effective regulation of the intermediaries and the need to rehaul mechanism on accountability of social media entities such as Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube.
Tragic: Another Mumbai family has been bereaved by the PMC Bank scam as a 73-year-old woman whose daughter and son-in-law held vast deposits in the scam-hit bank died of a heart attack. This was fifth death after the lid was blown off the PMC bank scam.
Unspooling: Local leader Jaimin Bapu informed the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, which is looking into the murder of Kamlesh Tiwari, that a key suspect named Ashfaq had befriended the leader through a fake account using the name “Rohit Solanki" on social media in June.
Raising alarm: A few anonymous employees of global software vendor Infosys have accused its CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices in a letter to the company’s board of directors. According to the whistleblowers Parekh had referred to board members as ‘Madrasis’ and ‘Diva’.
On Our Specials
A betrayed man: As a class 12 student, he was one among thousands of right-wing activists who had gathered in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 when the Babri Masjid was torn down even as top leaders from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stood there making provocative speeches and egging on the vandals. Pranshu Mishra writes that the very leaders who were symbols of inspiration for a young Kamlesh Tiwari later became betrayers for him when it came to the causes of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra.
Holiday on battlefield: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world, will now be open to tourists. But before you start packing your bags, there are some things you need to know. The base camp of the glacier is located at 11,000 feet. Kumar Post, which the minister says will be open to tourists, is at 15,000 feet. Shreya Dhoundial writes that it's not a destination for the faint-hearted.
On Reel
India slammed Pakistan for unilaterally stopping postal mail service between the two nations, saying the move was in contravention of international norms. Watch to know more.
Curated and compiled by Chitwan Kaur
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