The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday placed restrictions on Chhath Puja processions across the state of West Bengal, setting curbs on the number of people per family who can enter a water body to offer the puja. The court ordered that only two members per family can gather for rituals on the banks of rivers and other water bodies.
Besides, devotees are prohibited from entering the largest two lakes with the city, Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar. The order came on the heels of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive that had banned Chhath Puja at Rabindra Sarobar.
“As far as the Subhas Sarobar and Rabindra Sarobar are concerned, in view of the subsisting order of the NGT, these water bodies will be totally out of bounds for Chhath Puja celebrations,” the Calcutta high court said.
Only two members of the family will be allowed to participate in the Chhath Puja rituals while other family members will have to observe the Chhath Puja from home or in and around their home. The court order also mandates wearing masks at all stages. Devotees who would partake in the upcoming celebrations are asked to travel in open vehicles. The state government has been directed by the court to enforce Section 144 of the CrPC to restrict the number of people in any area amidst the festivities.
“The court has banned Chhath Puja processions. Only two persons from a family can enter any water body to perform the puja. Devotees coming in vehicles will have to maintain social distance and not all will be allowed to get down,” a high court advocate as quoted by Hindustan Times said.
Enforce a strict ban on fireworks: Calcutta High Court to State Government
The court had also affirmed the earlier order of a strictly enforced ban on firecrackers in the forthcoming festivities. Earlier this month, Calcutta High Court had banned the bursting of crackers during all pujas, including Kali Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja.
The division bench of the Calcutta High Court, comprising of justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee, cited the health hazards posed by the bursting of crackers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and instructed the state government to rigorously implement the firecrackers ban.
Also, the police have been asked to ensure that no crackers are sold or used in Kolkata as they have already been till November 30 by the High Court and the National Green Tribunal.
The court has also called upon the state government to take a call on the curbs that need to be put in place on local trains during the festive days so as to avert crowd surge.
Is participating in procession an integral part of Chhath Puja rituals?
The procession associated with Chhath Puja is not an intrinsic part of the rituals related to the festival. Devotees who celebrate Chhath Puja do so even on the roof of their house or in their courtyard. Though gathering in a group has community significance but given the sheer level of pollution in water bodies, many devotees choose to dig a small pool around their preferred area and perform the puja there. Some of them even use plastic inflated pools to perform the ceremony. A part of the rituals involve offering the Sandhya puja to the setting sun from water, so in many places, devotees with family members gather around the women observing fast and accompany them to the water bodies.
The HC order only bans gatherings and large congregations around water bodies. As such, there is no blanket ban on the festivities and rituals associated.
Amidst the allegations of massive elections fraud by the Democrats in the US Presidential elections, the Arakan Rohingya National Unity (AU), an organisation that claims to represent the Rohingya immigrants in Bangladesh, has written a letter congratulations Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris for their alleged victory in the US Presidential elections.
In its letter, Arakan Rohingya National Unity (ARNU), a group representing the Rohingya immigrants currently living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh said that they would like to convey the warmest congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Image Source: Vidya
The Rohingya organisation said that the alleged ‘decisive victory’ of Joe Biden was a personal triumph and a historic achievement in this symbolic election.
“We, the Rohingya Refugees under the temporary shelters of tarpaulin, prayed profoundly for the landslide victory of such a broad mined candidate, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We are very happy that our wish is answered by the Almighty Allah ultimately,”
The Rohingya group also cited the recent elections that took place in Myanmar government on November 8 and referred to it as ‘undemocratic’ as it deprived the Rohingya community of the freedom of expression and participation in the election.
The letter further claimed that the USA, being the most powerful nation in the world, it will remain on inspiration and hope for one of the most ‘persecuted’ communities – Rohingya people.
“We wish you every success and prosperity in the years to come,” the Arakan Rohingya National Unity said in its letter.
Nearly one million Rohingya Muslims currently stay in camps on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border due to the alleged persecution in their home region in Rakhine, Myanmar. The Rohingya Muslims are attempting to flee the camps for other more affluent Asian nations.
Ahead of 2017 Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, the Congress went into an alliance with Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, calling it the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ to defeat the BJP. This was forged on the lines of successful ‘Mahagathbandhan’ ahead of 2015 Bihar polls where JDU’s Nitish Kumar had joined hands with RJD’s Lalu Yadav. The 2015 Bihar elections were won the ‘Bihari vs Bahari’ (Bihari vs outsider) rhetoric as PM Modi as well as then BJP President Amit Shah were from Gujarat.
Similar strategy was sealed for 2017 UP elections. Rahul Gandhi, who is born in Delhi then represented Amethi, which has traditionally been a Congress stronghold. In fact, Rahul Gandhi’s parents, grandparents and greatgrandparents and other extended family have UP connections either by birth or by electoral victories. Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and extended family have been associated with UP politics over the years. Hence, “UP ke ladke” strategy was decided for Rahul and Akhilesh to woo the voters.
Except, the “UP ke ladke”, failed to create magic on ground. In fact, so bad was the outcome that Samajwadi Party not only lost, it faced a humiliating defeat, thanks to its alliance with Congress. It was so bad that Samajwadi Party alliance went from 252 seats it had won in 2012 to as low as 54 seats in 2017. The BJP alliance which had won 47 in 2012 surged to 312 seats forming a very decisive government.
Analysts believed that the fact that Samajwadi Party offered over 100 seats to Congress, of which it won just 7 might have been one of the major reasons that Mahagathbandhan failed miserably. Of 298 seats Samajwadi Party contested from, it won only 47.
Evidently, Samajwadi Party learnt its lessons and in 2019 general elections decided to go solo.
Similarly in recently concluded Bihar elections, analysts believe the fact that RJD allied with Congress may have been the reason the Mahagathbandhan failed. Congress contested on 70 seats of which it won just 19 seats, thereby bringing down the Mahagathbandhan tally in an election that was so closely fought.
As per reports, Bihar Congress leaders feel that the top leadership failed to understand the pulse on ground. Several top candidates who might have won were dropped. The local leaders are especially upset with the fact that leaders from outside the state, with zero connect to ground reality, were calling the shots.
This, followed by the dismal performance of the grand old party in Gujarat, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh bypolls where the BJP had a clean sweep has now made Congress allies apprehensive. With fast-dwindling relevance, reports are now coming in that in Tamil Nadu state elections, the DMK might be reconsidering forging the pre-poll alliance with Congress as well.
The disastrous results in assembly elections and bypolls is not the only concern with Congress which is also struggling to have an inspiring leadership. The entitlement of the Gandhis who cannot seem to let go of the power and adds to their woes. With the Congress fighting for its relevance, one can only wait and watch which way things go for the grand old party.
A day after Supreme Court advocate Dushyant Davewrote to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court protesting against the ‘preferential’ hearing granted to Arnab Goswami by the apex Court, questions are being raised on the integrity of the senior Supreme Court lawyer after it was revealed that Dave himself is one of the biggest beneficiaries of such ‘urgent hearings’.
On Tuesday, Dave, who is the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association had written a letter to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court, strongly protesting against the urgent hearing granted to Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV under the special leave application that was filed by him.
Calling it ‘extraordinary urgent listing’, Dushyant Dave had condemned the listing of the case, even as Arnab Goswami is spending his seventh day in jail in Mumbai in a case that was unilaterally re-opened by the Mumbai Police without the consent of the court.
In his letter, Dave has written against “selective listing” of matters by the SC Registry and had gone to the extent of calling it as a ‘gross abuse of administrative power’.
Ironically, the letter to the Supreme Court written by Dave lamenting about the urgent listing of Arnab Goswami’s case has displayed his own hypocrisy as there are various instances to show that not only Dave has been granted similar urgent hearings by the Supreme Court in the past but also exposes how the senior advocate had no problem when such urgent hearings were granted by the Supreme Court to his ideological compatriots.
Urgent hearing granted to Dushyant Dave by the Supreme Court
Interestingly, there are two cases in which Dushyant Dave was a direct beneficiary of such urgent hearings in the Supreme Court.
First, in August 2018, a petition was filed by self-proclaimed historian Romila Thapar seeking an interim measure to some of the arrested Urban Naxals in the Bhima Koregaon case. The petition was filed and listed on the same day. Incidentally, Dave was one of the lawyers who had represented Thapar in the top court.
A group of ’eminent’ persons, including historian Romila Thapar, had moved the Supreme Court with public interest litigation on August 28, questioning the arrests of the alleged Urban Naxals and seeking an independent investigation into the case. The Supreme Court of India bench comprising of the then Chief Justice Dipak Mishar had heard the case on the same day it was listed.
Dave’s petition on behalf of Prashant Bhushan was heard the next day by the Supreme Court
Again, in April 2020, Prashant Bhushan had approached the Supreme Court in connection with a case filed by Gujarat police against him for hurting religious sentiments of the Hindus.
The petition filed by Prashant Bhushan was listed on April 30, 2020, and was given an urgent hearing on the next day on May 1. Interestingly, Dushyant Dave, who is now lamenting about the court granting an urgent hearing to Arnab Goswami, had pleaded before the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against the activist lawyer.
Dushyant Dave, who had managed to get an ‘urgent hearing’ from the Supreme Court just a few months back, is now accusing the same judiciary of carrying out gross abuse of administrative power.
Further, it is not the first time that an urgent hearing has been listed by the Supreme Court to which Dave seems to be taking an exception.
The Supreme Court had opened its doors on Sunday in June 2020 to hear a petition filed by controversial journalist Vinod Dua seeking quashing of a sedition case filed against him by the Himachal Pradesh Police over a YouTube show. In a special hearing, a Supreme Court bench of justices UU Lalit, MM Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran held special proceedings at 11 AM on Sunday. Vinod Dua had approached the apex court just a day before on Saturday asking for protection from coercive action.
However, the likes of Dushyant Dave had no problem whatsoever then. Perhaps it would be pertinent to ask Dave why he did not write a similar letter when a Supreme Court bench assembled on a Sunday to hear the petition moved by Vinod Dua for anticipatory relief – this, when Dua was not even in jail.
Arnab Goswami moves to Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will be hearing the interim bail plea of Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami on Wednesday. Republic TV Chief Arnab Goswami had moved Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court dismissed his petition for interim bail in 2018 abetment to suicide case on Monday.
The petition has been filed by Arnab’s lawyer on Tuesday. The case will come for hearing before a two-judge bench comprising of Justice DY Chandrachud and Indira Bannerjee.
Former Pakistan Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik, fondly known as ‘Senator Malik’ on Wednesday took to Twitter to congratulate the US Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden for his alleged victory in the US Presidential elections that is yet to conclude.
However, in doing so, Senator Malik caused himself a massive embarrassment and become a subject of ridicule after he tweeted an image of Former US President George Walker Bush thinking him as Joe Biden.
”Joe Biden has worked with three democrats presidents and hope they will support him to get USA out of the self created crises. Afghan issue, Syrian crises and Row with China must come to end. I hope the Democrats will support the oppressed Kashmiris to get out of curfew,” wrote Senator Malik by attaching an image of Bush.
Senator Rehman Malik, who seems to have no idea who Joe Biden really is, sharing an image of himself with Former US President George W Bush, went on to claim that Joe Biden has worked with three Democrats presidents and hoped that they will support him to get the USA out of the self-created crises such as Afghan issue, the Syrian crisis.
Malik, displaying his low IQ, also urged him to end the current tensions with China.
“I hope the Democrats will support the oppressed Kashmiris to get out of curfew,” said ‘Senator Malik’, displaying the Pakistani habit of getting the begging bowls out even before some alleged President-elect assumes power. Also, there is no curfew in the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir.
There is another aspect of irony to Pakistanis celebrating a Biden victory. The Obama administration, where Biden was Vice President, had the habit of drone-bombing Pakistan quite frequently.
Rehman Malik keeps falling for Indian parody accounts
Last year in August, Senator Rehman Malik had also displayed how aware and informed he is, by constantly falling for a parody Twitter user, who had tricked him into believing that he is on Pakistan’s side.
It all began after popular Twitter user @being_humor, and co-founder of satire website, The Fauxy, had posted a few screenshots on Twitter saying Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI and ED for ‘raising his voice against PM Modi’ and against abrogation of Article 370. @being_humor had sent Rehman Malik an image saying that Malik’s earlier statement about Chidambaram was correct. He even added that Chidambaram was being badly beaten up by the CBI in custody.
The image was a screenshot from the Bollywood movie ‘Singham’.
Soon enough, Malik fell for it. He asked for more pictures where it is more clearly visible that Chidambaram is being beaten up in custody. He even asked if he could get WhatsApp number of any of his family members.
The user, however, added that he did not have contact details of Chidambaram’s family but urged him to tweet the picture and if anyone knows the contact details, they would send him. He even added that Malik posting the above image may control the ‘atrocity by police’ against Chidambaram. Rehman Malik then added that he will share the image with the United Nations.
Pakistan minister Rehman Malik accused of raping a American filmmaker
Earlier in June this year, in a shocking revelation, American filmmaker Cynthia Dawn Ritchie had accused former Pakistan Interior minister Senator Rehman Malik of raping her in 2011 at his residence.
Cynthia D Ritchie has also accused former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and former health minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin of physically manhandling her inside President’s House in Islamabad. Asif Ali Zardari was then President of Pakistan. Cynthia Ritchie had detailed how the PPP senator, Rehman Malik sexually assaulted her and also revealed about two other senior PPP leaders of manhandling and harassing her.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has won five seats in Bihar elections. Party president Asaduddin Owaisi has said while talking to Aaj Tak that his party will contests elections in West Bengal in the upcoming Assembly Elections in 2021. Using the phrase ‘Fas gai raziya gundon mein’, Owaisi tried to describe his situation. After winning five seats, he feels like he has stuck among goons as BJP calls him anti-national, and Mahagathbandhan is blaming his party for ‘cutting votes’.
‘Mahagathbandhan leaders ignored my offer to form an alliance,’ says Owaisi
Owaisi said AIMIM’s state President Akhtarul Iman met every party leader of the Mahagathbandhan alliance and requested them to join hands. He further added that he tried to join Mahagathbandhan and met the coalition leaders three times in the central hall of the Parliament, but they did not give heed to his request. He denied the allegations of cutting votes and said it is not his fault that his request was ignored.
The fight for Seemanchal will continue
He said his party’s fight for the rights of the people of Seemanchal will continue. The region comprises four districts Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj, and Purnia. It accounts for 24 assembly seats. The region is considered to be one of the most backward regions in Bihar and has a sizable Muslim population.
Though RJD-Congress has a stronghold on the region, AIMIM managed to hurt the alliance by cutting their Muslim votes that benefitted NDA. AIMIM’s Akhtarul Iman in Amour, Muhammed Izhar Asfi in Kochadhamam, Shahnawaz Alam in Jokihat, Azhar Nayeemi in Bahadurgunj, and Syed Ruknuddin in Baisi have won the seats.
Political Analyst Ashutosh mocked by Owaisi
Political Analyst Ashutosh asked Owaisi if he is willing to join hands with NDA in Bihar. Owaisi said AIMIM had opposed CAA, UAPA amendment, and abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir. His party has opposed several decisions made by NDA in the centre. How can someone who calls himself a political analyst think that he will join hands with NDA or support NDA in any capacity, he asked Ashutosh.
AIMIM will contest elections in West Bengal
AIMIM chief said his party would contest elections in West Bengal. He said, “AIMIM’s victory in Bihar is an answer to those who think AIMIM should not contest elections in other states. “This election result is a message for everyone who thinks that AIMIM should not contest in elections. Are we NGOs that we will only hold seminars and present papers? We are a political party and we will contest in all elections,” Owaisi added.
AIMIM had challenged Mamata earlier
It is notable here that last year too, AIMIM had hinted that they are going to contest in West Bengal elections. “It is true that we are fewer in number, but do not dare touch us. We are atom bombs. Didi, we welcome your friendship and enmity as well. You have to decide whether you consider us friends or foes,” AIMIM national spokesperson and Bengal observer, Asim Waqar has stated last year.
The AIMIM had also organized a meeting at Dharmatala in Kolkata where the former MLA from Maharashtra Waris Pathan was also present. Consequently, in November, Mamata Banerjee had warned the citizenry about the radicalism of the Owaisis. She did not name them but it was quite obvious who her comments were directed at. “I am watching that there are some extremists among minorities,” she told her party workers in Coochbehar, “They have their base in Hyderabad. Don’t listen to them.”
Hours after the Mahagathbandhan lost the high octane elections in Bihar state assembly, Rahul Gandhi, like clockwork, has again was supposed to go on a holiday leaving others to face embarrassment on their own. However, this time, instead of taking off to some exotic foreign location, he had decided to go to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan instead.
As per reports, Rahul Gandhi with his friends was to reach Jaisalmer on Wednesday where he was to stay for two days. The administration had been instructed to make arrangements for VIP movement for 10 people. Rahul Gandhi was expected to stay in Suryagarh fort for one night and in a tent in the desert for another night. Apparently, local Congress leaders were asked not to gather around to welcome him.
Rahul Gandhi was to land at the Jaisalmer airport at 6 AM on Wednesday through a private chartered flight. From there, he was to go to the luxury hotel via road. He was expected to return to Delhi on Friday. Suryagarh hotel is the same luxury hotel where Rajasthan Congress MLAs supporting Ashok Gehlot during his rift with Sachin Pilot were shifted earlier this year.
As per reports, Rahul Gandhi was also expected to take a camel ride and enjoy folk music performances. However, as per latest reports, the has cancelled the vacation citing ‘personal reasons’.
The results for the Bihar assembly elections were declared on Tuesday, 10th November where Congress won 19 out of the 70 seats it contested on. The Mahagathbandhan settled on a seat tally of 110, way behind the majority mark. The NDA led by BJP was safely above the majority mark at 125 seats.
Rahul Gandhi and post-election vacations
Rahul Gandhi is particularly fond of going on long unwinding vacations either in middle of elections or right after losing them. In October 2019, in middle of crucial state assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, Rahul Gandhi had taken off to Thailand as per reports. Soon after losing Haryana, he had reportedly gone on to Indonesia on another vacation. In 2018, too, when he was the party president, in midst of Karnataka elections, he left the party in the lurch and went abroad with his mother for her ‘annual health check up’. Similarly during last leg of Jharkhand elections, Rahul Gandhi packed off to South Korea.
At the first sight of slight discomfort, Rahul Gandhi usually just packs off and goes off to undisclosed foreign locations. Except, this time, he has decided to go to the exotic Jaisalmer, perhaps due to Chinese coronavirus-related restrictions.
Note: This article has been updated with latest information.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won the Bihar 243-seat legislative assembly elections with an absolute majority with 125 seats. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has emerged as the single largest party but will sit in opposition with Congress and other members of Mahagathbandhan as the alliance managed to win only 110 seats. The counting of the votes took 19 hours to complete. These elections tested Election Commission’s capacity to conduct smooth elections amid a pandemic.
Prime Minister Modi thanked the people of Bihar
PM Modi tweeted from his official account and thanked the people of Bihar. “The poor in villages, farmers, labourers, merchants, shopkeepers and every section of Bihar have relied on the NDA’s mantra of sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas. I again assure every citizen of Bihar that for the balanced development of every person, every region, we will continue to work with full dedication,” he tweeted in Hindi.
बिहार के गांव-गरीब, किसान-श्रमिक, व्यापारी-दुकानदार, हर वर्ग ने NDA के ‘सबका साथ, सबका विकास, सबका विश्वास’ के मूल मंत्र पर भरोसा जताया है। मैं बिहार के हर नागरिक को फिर आश्वस्त करता हूं कि हर व्यक्ति, हर क्षेत्र के संतुलित विकास के लिए हम पूरे समर्पण से निरंतर काम करते रहेंगे।
Additional polling booths to ensure precautions amid Covid-19
The vote counting commenced at 8 AM on Tuesday at 55 centres in 38 districts. There were 1,06,515 polling stations compared to 72,723 in the 2015 elections due to preventive measures against Covid-19. Due to additional 30,000+ polling stations, the number of EVM machines used was also higher, resulting in slower counting.
The seat tally
Apart from BJP winning 74 seats, JDU won 43, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won four each, totalling 125. Congress contested 70 seats but only managed to win 19 among them, and their loss on remaining seats severely affected the Mahagathbandhan tally. CPI and CPI-M as Mahagathbandhan allies won two and 12 seats, respectively.
Among others, AIMIM won five while Bahujan Samaj Party managed to grab one seat. One independent candidate also won the elections. Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) separated from NDA and fielded candidates on over 130 seats but managed to win only one seat.
Opposition cries foul
A delegation of RJD and Congress met the Election Commission officer in Patna and alleged that there was tempering in vote-counting in some constituencies. RJD leader Manoj Jha after meeting the EC officer, said EC has assured it will “try to address their grievances”. He said, “There are over dozens of seats where tampering has been done. They are trying to change the people’s mandate. Even after all such ill-intended attempts, we will form the government. EC has assured us that they will try to address all our grievances. We trust the EC but not the district administration.”
While some Congress leaders blamed EVM for their loss, Congress’s Karti Chidambaram tweeted blaming EVM should stop. Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General, ECI, said the commission has never worked under anyone’s pressure. “All officials and machinery are working sincerely for declaration of Bihar election results,” he said.
NDA gets majority as Nitish Kumar is set to return as chief minister of Bihar. BJP won 74 seats out of 110 it contested, JDU won 43 out of 115 it contested. Vikassheel Insan Party and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), both NDA allies won 4 seats each.
Mahagathbandhan won 110 seats.
The counting continued late into the night.
9:07 PM
The NDA appears to have regained its slender leader over the Mahagathbandhan. As per ECI, the NDA has won 49 seats while the MGB has won 40 seats.
BJP
RJD
JDU
Congress
Left
NDA ally
Others
Total
NDA
43 (29 won)
26 (17 won)
5 (3 won)
123
MGB
51 (25 won)
12 (7 won)
10 (8 won)
113
Total
72
76
43
19
18
8
7 (4 won)
243
8:00 PM
While NDA is now ahead in 122 seats, the MGB is ahead in 114. NDA has officially won 26 seats, the MGB has won 24 seats according to the ECI website.
BJP
RJD
JDU
Congress
Left
NDA ally
Others
Total
NDA
56 (16 won)
36 (7 won)
4 (3 won)
122
MGB
60 (16 won)
17 (3 won)
13 (5)
114
Total
72
76
43
20
18
7
7
243
7:45 PM
The election in Bihar is far from over. While the leads taken by NDA seem close to MGB, there are 21 seats with less than 1000 vote lead with 16 out of 21 in favour of RJD. So far, it appears like the election can swing either way.
BJP
RJD
JDU
Congress
Left
NDA ally
Others
Total
NDA
59 (14 won)
35 (6 won)
6 (2 won)
122
MGB
66 (9 won)
18 (2 won)
16 (2)
113
Total
73
75
41
20
18
8
7
243
6:45 PM
NDA continues to maintain lead, however, the contest is becoming extremely close. As of 6:45 PM, NDA was ahead in 120 seats while the MGB was ahead in 115.
BJP
RJD
JDU
Congress
Left
NDA ally
Others
Total
NDA
67 (6 won)
37 (3 won)
5 (2 won)
120
MGB
71 (6 won)
18 (2 won)
17 (1)
115
Total
73
77
40
20
18
7
8
243
While the NDA had won 11 seats till 6:45 PM, the MGB had won 8 seats.
6:00 PM
NDA continues to maintain lead even as RJD closes in gap with BJP. As of 6 PM, the NDA barely managing to breach the majority mark with leading on 114 seats while having won 9 seats (total 123 seats). Mahagathbandhan is closely behind with lead on 109 seats and having won 3 seats (total 112 seats).
BJP
RJD
JDU
Congress
Left
NDA ally
Others
Total
NDA
72 (5 won)
43 (2 won)
8 (2 won)
MGB
74 (2 won)
20 (1 won)
18
Total
72
74
43
20
18
8
8
243
In other state bypolls, BJP won 3 and leading in 1 in Manipur while independent candidate has won the 5th seat. Congress leading in 1 seat in Chhattisgarh and won the 1 seat in Haryana. In Gujarat, BJP won 3 and leading in remaining 5. In Jharkhand, Congress leading in 1 and JMM leading in other. In Karnataka, BJP won one and leading on other. In Nagaland, independent candidate leading in one while Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party won other. In Odisha, BJD leading in both seats. In Telangana BJP leading in one. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP wins 5 while leading in 14. Thereby ensuring Shivraj Singh Chouhan may retain the power in state. Congress leading in 7 and has won 1 seat. BSP is leading in remaining one seat. In Uttar Pradesh, BJP leading in 5 and SP leading in 2 seats.
5:00 PM
BJP’s Sanjay Saraogi won Darbhanga with a margin of 10,639 votes and Ram Chandra Prasad won Hayaghat with a margin of 10,252 votes. JDU’s Shashibhushan Hajari won Kusheshwar Asthan with margin of 7,222 votes and Ashok Kumar Chodhary won Sakra with margin of 1,537 votes. BJP leading on 74 seats and JDU on 39. NDA still maintaining lead in majority seats with lead in 125 seats. RJD leading on 68 seats while winning 2 seats. Congress has also won a seat and is leading on 19 seats. Left parties have again upped their lead to 18 seats.
Meanwhile, the usual suspects are out with conspiracy theories that EVMs are hacked.
First time contestant Pushpam Priya Choudhary was one of the first to float the theory after she was losing from both the seats she contested.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, too cast aspersions on EVMs being hacked after BJP clean swept Madhya Pradesh.
EVMs are not tamper-proof, and selective tampering is done. There are seats that we would have not lost in any circumstance but we did by thousands of votes. We'll hold a meeting tomorrow & analyse the results: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh #MadhyaPradeshbyelectionpic.twitter.com/m0xvCcHdzG
Another tall Congress leader Dr Udit Raj, who has an honorary doctorate humanities from Bible College and Seminary, Kota, Rajasthan, too wondered that if one can operate devices going towards Mars and Moon from Earth, why can’t EVMs be hacked.
It is not yet clear whether he was alleging that EVMs are being hacked or he is suggesting that EVMs be hacked so Congress, which is leading in 20 out of 243 seats, might increase its tally.
4:00 PM
As per official EC data, BJP is set to sweep by bypolls as it registered victory in 3 seats and is leading in remaining 5 seats in Gujarat.
BJP
INC
BSP
SP
BJD
Others
Total
Chhattisgarh
1
1
Gujarat
8 (3 won)
0
8
Haryana
1
1
Jharkhand
1
1 (JMM)
2
Karnataka
2 (1 won)
2
Madhya Pradesh
20 (1 won)
6
1
28
Manipur
4(3 won)
0
1 (Ind)
5
Nagaland
2
2
Odisha
2
2
Telangana
1
1
Uttar Pradesh
6
1
7
Gujarat has also shown massive vote share of 54.5% to the BJP. Karnataka and MP, too have shown vote share of 51.8% and 51.1% to the BJP.
In Bihar, BJP’s lead has increased to 77 while Left parties have lost their lead on two seats and have gone from 18 to 16. RJD too has one down to leading in 62 seats while registering victory in 1.
3:30 PM
As per official EC website, RJD is the first to have the first winner in the 243 seat assembly in Bihar. Lalit Kumar Yadav has won Darbhanga Rural seat with a margin of 2,141 votes. Meanwhile, BJP continues to lead on 73 seats. RJD is currently leading on 64 seats after registering 1 win. JDU is leading on 49 seats.
The NDA is currently leading on 129 seats as of 3:30 PM. This is more than the half-way mark.
Trends at 3:30 PM
BJP (73) + HAM (2) + JDU (49) + VIP (5) = 129 seats showing lead for NDA.
Mahagathbandhan leading on 102 seats (RJD 64), Congress (20) and Left parties (18). Further, MGB has already registered victory on one seat.
1:00 PM
In UP by-elections, BJP now leading on 6 out of 7 seats. In Gujarat, BJP leading on all 8 seats with massive 54.2% vote share. Congress far behind with 34.4% vote share. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP leading on 19 out of 28 seats with over 50% vote share. In Manipur BJP registered victory in second seat and leading in two more.
In Bihar, BJP continues to lead on 72 seats while JDU is now leading on 50 seats. RJD on 65 and Congress on 20 seats.
RJD’s Tej Pratap Yadav leads on Hasanpur seat with 1333 votes margin while Tejashwi maintaining lead on Raghopur constituency with 5327 votes. Jitan Ram Manjhi of Hindustani Awam Morcha, an NDA ally, leading from Imamganj. Congress leader and film actor Shatrughan Sinha’s actor son Luv Sinha continues to trail on Bankipur.
12:30 PM
NDTV India editor Ravish Kumar’s brother Brajesh Pandey is trailing from Govindganj constituency. He was contesting from the Congress seat. He was accused of sexually exploiting a Dalit woman. He is currently trailing with a margin of 5,400 votes behind BJP’s Sunil Mani Tiwari.
Govindganj seat trends
Early trends for all 243 seats are officially out. BJP now leading in 72 seats and RJD in 65. JDU on 47, LJP on 2 and Congress on 21 seats as of 12:30 PM. AIMIM now leading on 3 seats.
Meanwhile, in other state by-elections, BJP is leading in 19 out of 28 seats. In Gujarat, too, BJP is leading in 8 out of 8 seats. In Karnataka, too, BJP is leading on both the seats.
12:00 PM
State-wise leads on by-elections as per official EC data.
BJP
INC
BSP
SP
BJD
Others
Total
Chhattisgarh
1
1
Gujarat
8
0
8
Haryana
1
1
Jharkhand
1
1
2
Karnataka
2
2
Madhya Pradesh
17
9
2
28
Manipur
1(won)+3
0
1
5
Nagaland
2
2
Odisha
2
2
Telangana
1
1
Uttar Pradesh
5
1
1
7
BJP registers its first win in Manipur. It is also leading in 3 seats in Manipur. BJP is leading in all 8 seats in Gujarat where bypolls were held. BJP needs 8 seats to retain power in Madhya Pradesh and is leading in 17 seats.
Meanwhile, in Bihar elections, as per ECI website, Pushpam Priya Chaudhary who floated a party called ‘Plurals’ is trailing from both the seats. Pushpam Priya Chaudhary is an alumni of London School of Economics. Other Plurals candidates were highly educated like engineers and doctors and had ‘Bihari’ as religion. She is the daughter of former JDU MLC Vinod Chaudhary.
The BJP in Bihar is leading on 73 seats, while RJD now leading on 60 seats. JDU leading on 49 seats with Congress leading on 21 seats.
11:30 AM
Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha’s son Luv Sinha who is contesting from Bankipur on Congress ticket trailing. RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav leading with 1554 votes. Meanwhile, RJD’s Tej Pratap Yadav is also leading from Hasanpur with a margin of just 146 votes.
BJP continues to maintain lead on 68 seats with RJD closing in with leading on 64 seats. AIMIM has registered lead on 2 seats. JDU on 47 while Congress leading on 21 seats.
In Uttar Pradesh byelections, BJP is leading on 5 out of 7 seats while Samajwadi Party and Independent candidate aare leading on one each.
11:00 AM
Three hours into counting, the BJP-led NDA in Bihar is showing slight edge over RJD-Congress’ Mahagathbandhan with official EC trends showing BJP leading in more seats than RJD.
EC trends as of 11 AM
As per EC trends at 11 AM, BJP is leading in 62 seats against 60 seats of RJD. JDU leading on 49 and Congress on 19. LJP is leading on 5 seats.
AIMIM also showing early leads in one seat as now. Meanwhile, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav has officially registered lead as per EC website.
Voting share
As of 11 AM, BJP has 21% vote sharewhile RJD has 23.2% vote share. JDU has registered 14.96% vote share.
Meanwhile, in Madhya Pradesh bypolls, BJP leading in 17 seats out of 28. Congress showing lead on 9 and BSP on 1. Early trends for 27 seats are out in Madhya Pradesh. BJP needs 8 seats to retain power in Madhya Pradesh.
10:30 AM
Early trends for Bihar assembly elections show Lalu Yadav’s son Tej Pratap Yadav trailing in Hasanpur. He had changed his seat from Mahua to Hasanpur to avoid possible clash with estranged wife Aishwarya. Official data for Tejashwi Yadav for Raghopur constituency are not out yet.
As per trends as of 10:30 AM, BJP leading in 53 seats while RJD in 54 seats. JDU is leading in 39 and Congress in 14. LJP is leading in 3 seats.
10:00 AM
Early trends for bypolls in various states as per EC website:
BJP
INC
BSP
SP
BJD
Others
Total
Chhattisgarh
1
Gujarat
7
1
8
Haryana
1
1
Jharkhand
2
2
Karnataka
2
2
Madhya Pradesh
12
5
1
28
Manipur
1
5
Nagaland
1
2
Odisha
2
2
Telangana
1
1
Uttar Pradesh
4
1
1
1
7
Early trends for 119 seats out of 243 in Bihar are out. BJP leading in 31 seats while RJD in 34. JDU in 24 while Congress in 12. LJP is now leading in 3 seats.
9:30 AM
Official Election Commission trends show BJP leading in 8 seats.
Official ECI trends
Of the 43 seats showing early trends, BJP leading on 15 while RJD on 9. JDU leading on 8 and Congress leading on five seats.
Madhya Pradesh trends
Early trends in Madhya Pradesh show BJP leading in 6 and Congress in 2. A total of 28 seats underwent voting for bypolls.
9:00 AM
Battle of prestige for Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh as bypoll results will decide the fate of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Byelections were held on November 3 in Madhya Pradesh. Of the 28 seats undergoing counting, the BJP needs to win at least 8 to retain power.
The Congress-led Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh fell earlier this year after former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party along with rebel Congress MLAs. He later joined the BJP.
Meanwhile, latest figures for Bihar show MGB (Mahagathbandhan) leading on as many as 114 seats with NDA on 90 in Bihar. MGB only 8 seat short of the breaching the half-way mark.
#BiharResultOnABP | 243 seats l Grand alliance mere 8 seats away from magic figure of 122, NDA ahead in 90 seats
Counting of votes begins for the 243 seats in Bihar Assembly as well as bypolls to as many as 58 seats across 11 states. As per media reports, early trends show Mahagathbandhan leading on 44 seats while NDA on 28.
RJD has been projecting confidence of Tejashwi being elected as the Chief Minister of Bihar. Tejashwi is son of fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav, who himself has been Bihar chief minister as well as Union Minister under the UPA government. His wife, Rabri Devi, too, has been chief minister of Bihar. Under Lalu’s rule, Bihar was often referred to as ‘jungle raj‘ for the unbridled crime and corruption.
Along with Bihar, counting for 28 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh is also currently underway. This will decide the fate of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in state.
The President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Dushyant Dave, has written a letter to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Court, strongly protesting the hearing granted to Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV for the special leave application that has been filed by him. Calling it ‘extraordinary urgent listing’, Dushyant Dave has condemned the listing of the case, even as Arnab Goswami spends his 7th night in jail today for a case that was re-opened unilaterally by the Mumbai Police without the consent of the court, simply to settle scores with the journalist.
Dave has written against “selective listing” of matters by the SC Registry, especially during the pandemic where an influential man’s petition listed within a day.
Dave wrote, “I have nothing personal against Mr Goswami and I am not writing this letter to anyway interfere in with his rights to move the Supreme Court. Like all Citizens, he also has the right to seek justice from the highest court. The serious issue here is a selective listing of matters that the Registry under your leadership is indulging in for the last eight months during Covid pandemic. While thousands of Citizens remain in jails, languishing for long periods while their matters Tled before the Hon’ble Supreme Court are not getting listed for weeks and months, it is, to say the least, deeply disturbing as to how and why every time Mr Goswami approaches the Supreme Court, his matter gets listed instantly.”
Further, he wrote, “Likes of Shri Goswami get special treatment while ordinary Indians are made to suffer, including Imprisonment, which are many times illegal and unauthorised. Even someone like Mr P Chidambaram, a respected Senior Advocate, could not get similar speed listing and had to spend long months in jail till finally, the Hon’ble Supreme Court declares that he deserved to be Bailed out.”
Calling it a ‘gross abuse of administrative power’, Dave further wrote, “It is quite well known that such extraordinarily urgent listings of matters cannot and does not take place without specific orders from Hon’ble the Chief Justice. Or is it that as the Administrative Head you or the Registrar listing is giving special preference to Shri Goswami?”.
Why Dushyant Dave is being hypocritical
While the Lutyen’s cabal has remained conspicuously silent after weeks of hounding of Arnab Goswami and Republic TV by a vindictive state government, Dave’s letter only seems to be a desperate attempt to ensure that the unilateral state persecution of Arnab Goswami continues while making extremely hypocritical statements.
Dushyant Dave seems to have taken exception to the fact that Arnab Goswami’s hearing has been listen within a day of him filing the petition and claims that the urgent listing is an abuse of power. He seems to be targeting not only Arnab Goswami but also his lawyer Harish Salve when he says that influential people represented by big lawyers get their hearings listed. He further insinuates some sort of influence that either Goswami or Salve could have had on the Chief Justice of India when he says that it is common knowledge that such cases do not get listed without the express instruction of the CJI.
However, in his unhinged letter, Dave seems to forget some crucial points.
It is not the first time that an urgent hearing has been listen by the Supreme Court. Dave seems to be taking an exception to it simple because the petition is that of Arnab Goswami who has been languishing in jail for a week for a frivolous case that was closed in 2019.
Perhaps it would be pertinent to ask Mr Dave why he did not write a similar letter when a Supreme Court bench assembled on a Sunday to hear the petition moved by Vinod Due for anticipatory relief – this, when Dua was not even in jail.
The Supreme Court had opened its doors on Sunday in June 2020 to hear a petition filed by controversial journalist Vinod Dua seeking quashing of a sedition case filed against him in Himachal Pradesh Police over a YouTube show. In a special hearing, a Supreme Court bench of justices UU Lalit, MM Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran held special proceedings at 11 AM on Sunday. During the #MeToo movement, Vinod Dua was accused of stalking and sexually harassing a filmmaker.
Vinod Dua had approached the apex court just a day before on Saturday asking for protection from coercive action, including arrest and sought the top court to take up his matter on an urgent basis as the case was related to the personal liberty of a person.
In addition to the quashing of FIR, Dua had also asked the apex court to issue a direction that FIRs against media persons with at least 10 years’ of experience should not be filed unless cleared by a committee constituted by every state government comprising the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court or a judge designated by him, the leader of the opposition and the home minister of the state.
“State governments who do not find a particular telecast to be in sync with their political ideologies register FIRs against persons of the media to harass and intimidate them so that they succumb to the line of the state or else face the music,” the petition stated.
If Dua’s case can be taken up urgently on a Sunday because it was a matter of his personal liberty, when he was not even in jail, why can’t Arnab Goswami’s, who has been in jail for the past 7 days clearly due to the vindictiveness of the Maharashtra state government that seems to be using its state machinery to quell personal scores? The question that must be asked here is why Dushyant Dave had not written such a scathing letter when Dua’s personal liberty was made an issue? Why is he suddenly so concerned about the functioning of the SC, which has certainly been a usual course of business for several cases?
It almost appears as though Mr Dushyant Dave with his letter, wants the hearing delayed so Arnab Goswami continues to languish in the jail, as the state government continues to snatch his personal liberty.
It would certainly appear as though the personal liberty of individual matters far more when his political ideology is one that sits well with certain people than those whose views are contrarian to their own.
Why SCBA wanted Dushyant Dave removed from the post of President and how it proves that his letter protesting hearing granted to Arnab Goswami is a product of his ideology
In February 2020, the SCBA had passed a resolution that had condemned Justice Mishra for making a statement in support of PM Modi. The statement had said, “The SCBA believes that the Independence of the Judiciary is the basic structure under the Constitution of India and that such independence be preserved in letter and spirit. The SCBA believes that any such statement reflects poorly on the Independence of the judiciary and so calls upon the Hon’ble Judges not to make statements in future nor show any proximity or closeness to the Executive including Higher Functionaries.”
Members of the SCBA had condemned the resolution even then. 11 members had written a letter to the SCBA Secretary in the first week of March demanding the resignation of Dushyant Dave. “We the undersigned members of this esteemed SCBA were taken aback by the mischievous act of passing the above-said resolution dated February 26 at the behest of President of SCBA showing as if the resolution has the accent and consent of the entire SCBA, when the fact remains that no Executive Committee meeting was convened despite the request of the Secretary and other members of Executive Committee to discuss this issue in the Executive Committee meeting,” the letter stated.
Thereafter, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Secretary Ashok Arora had called for the removal of senior advocate Dushyant Dave from the post of president of the organisation and also from the primary membership of it, LiveLaw had reported. An “extraordinary meeting” was also called by the SCBA secretary regarding the same. The removal of Dushyant Dave was sought in connection with the resolution passed by the association in February condemning Justice Mishra for his remarks praising Prime Minister Modi.
Justice Mishra had called Narendra Modi a “versatile genius who thinks globally and act locally” in his speech delivering the vote of thanks during the inaugural ceremony of the International Judges Conference on February 22, 2020. Dushyant Dave has called the move demanding his ouster “illegal and improper”.
It is rather evident that Dushyant Dave does have an ideology that and the letter today condemning the hearing granted to Arnab Goswami is also a product of that very ideology.
