1. LS Polls: 63% Voting in 6th Phase; BJP Candidate Attacked in Bengal, Congress Alleges Booth Capturing in Haryana
The sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections saw 63 percent voting on Sunday, with 80 percent voters participation in West Bengal where sporadic incidents of violence were reported.
In the national capital, where political heavyweights like Congress leaders Sheila Dikshit, Ajay Maken and Union minister Harshwardhan were in fray, 60.02 per cent voters exercised their franchise. Haryana, where voting took place on all ten seats, saw 63 per cent voting, while 60 per cent turnout was recorded in Madhya Pradesh, 65 per cent in Jharkhand, 59 in Bihar and 54 in Uttar Pradesh.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Mumbai Indians Edge Chennai Super Kings by 1 Run to Win Fourth IPL Title
Through twists and turns befitting the plot of a bestseller, the Indian Premier League final was decided off the last ball with spectators holding onto the edge of their seats and players chewing off their fingernails. Lasith Malinga turned hero from villain after conceding 20 runs in his previous over, trapping Shardul Thakur leg-before when Chennai Super Kings needed two runs of the last ball.
Shane Watson opened Chennai’s batting, stood like a rock when wickets kept falling and tore into the Mumbai’s bowling later, only to miss two balls in the end. Mumbai Indians turned the table in those two deliveries. With Jasprit Bumrah operating in tandem with Malinga, Mumbai held their nerve better but this was more a victory of cricket as an entertainer, and of the belief that experience always matters.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Odisha Confirms 21 More Deaths, Cyclone Fani Toll Hits 64
The state government on Sunday confirmed 21 more deaths due to Cyclone Fani, which struck the Odisha coast on May 3. With this, the death toll rose from earlier reported 43 to 64. The special relief commissioner’s situation report on Sunday confirmed that 39 people died in Puri district alone. This is 18 more than what the government had declared earlier.
Three more deaths were confirmed in Khurda district, bringing up the district toll to nine. Out of the 64 people dead, 25 died due to wall collapse, 20 were crushed by uprooted trees, electric poles and hoardings, and six died after being buried under collapsed roofs.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. PM Modi Interview to Indian Express: ‘Khan Market Gang Hasn’t Created My Image, 45 Years of Tapasya Has… You Cannot Dismantle It’
PM Narendra Modi Interview to Indian Express: It’s the last day of campaign for the penultimate phase. Before he leaves 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, on May 10, for his first rally of the day in Rohtak, Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to RAVISH TIWARI and RAJ KAMAL JHA.
December 11, 2018, was a setback for you and your party with defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. This is May 11. In this time, you have held more than 200 public rallies. What has been your learning?
Every pollster, media, Lutyens Club, the Khan Market gang, was eager to defeat us and predictions were being made that we will wind up with about 40 seats in all three states. We were in power for 15 years in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. There was some natural anti-incumbency within the cadre as well as stakeholders. They (the Congress) could not form a full majority government, neither in Madhya Pradesh nor Rajasthan… We had more votes than them (in Madhya Pradesh).
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. PM Modi’s ‘Cloud Benefit’ Remark on Balakot Strike Sparks Political Row
A political row broke out on Sunday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments in a television interview over the timing of the Balakot air strikes. In this interview, PM Modi had outlined how the government had decided to go ahead with the strike at Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest terror training camp despite a cloud cover.
“The weather suddenly turned bad. There was a doubt about whether we can strike in bad weather. During a review (of the Balakot plan), experts said what if we change the date. I had two issues in mind. One was secrecy... second, I said I have a raw vision, the clouds can benefit us too. We can escape the radar. Everyone was confused. Ultimately I said there are clouds... let’s proceed,” he told News Nation on Saturday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh Fails to Vote. He Regrets, Then Explains
Congress’s Bhopal candidate and a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh expressed regret as he could not travel to Rajgarh to vote in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls on Sunday.
“Yes I couldn’t go to vote to Rajgarh and I regret it. Next time I will register my name in Bhopal,” said Singh.
Singh is contesting the Bhopal seat, which the Congress has not won since 1984, where his rival is BJP’s Pragya Singh Thakur.
The Congress leader is a registered voter at his hometown Raghogarh, a part of Rajgarh parliamentary constituency.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. EC Says No Poll Code Violation by Niti Aayog in Sharing Data With PMO
The Election Commission has found no violation of the poll code in Niti Aayog sharing data with the prime minister’s office (PMO) on places where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said the prime minister was exempted from the provision that bars ministers from combining official visits with campaigning.
The exemption to the prime minister was given in October 2014. “It was not a one-time exemption but a standing instruction,” PTI quoted Saxena as saying.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. BJP Youth Wing Leader Held for Mamata Banerjee Caricature
A BJP Yuva Morcha leader was arrested on Friday and slapped with non-bailable charges for posting a photoshopped image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Facebook. On Saturday, Priyanka Sharma, 25, was produced at the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Howrah which remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days.
Priyanka Sharma, whose Facebook profile describes her as Howrah district club cell convener of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was arrested on Friday for allegedly posting a picture of actor Priyanka Chopra with her husband Nick Jonas at the red carpet of the recent Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala in New York, with Banerjee’s face superimposed on the actor’s. The image is no longer on Priyanka’s Facebook timeline.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Opposition Rift Before Polls End, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati May Skip Meet
At least three key opposition leaders - Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and her ally Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav - are likely to skip the post-election opposition meet in Delhi that will be hosted by the Congress.
Sources said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who had gone to Bengal last week and met Mamata Banerjee, received a negative when they discussed the meet. There is no need for any meeting before the results come out on May 23, she told Mr Naidu, sources said. Negative responses have also come from Mayawati.
The reason, sources indicate, is the inevitable question of the Prime Minister's post in case of a favourable result for the opposition. While all opposition leaders have so far carefully avoided questions on the top job for the sake of unity, both Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee harbor prime ministerial ambition. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's name has already been proposed for the post by several leaders, including DMK chief MK Stalin.
(Source: NDTV)
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