The results of the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Elections are pouring in and contrary to what most pollsters predicted in their exit polls, while the saffron alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena is doing well in Maharashtra and looks set to win, Haryana has thrown in a surprise.
Although it’s too early to say, it appears that there could very well be a Hung Assembly in Haryana with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) having an opportunity to play the Kingmaker. Thus, it perhaps is a good time to look back at the Exit Polls and check how accurate they were.
All the major polls had agreed that the NDA was going to win again in Maharashtra. The Times Now gave 230 seats to BJP-Shiv Sena, India Today-Axis polls gave 181 seats to the alliance, News18-IPSOS made the astounding prediction of 243 seats for the alliance, ABP News gave the, 204, TV9 Marathi gave 197 while Republic Jan Ki Baat gave the alliance 223 seats.
On the other hand, the pollsters predicted 81, 41, 69, 48 and 55 respectively for Congress and NCP alliance. It appears while pollsters underestimated the BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections, they massively overestimated that in these assembly elections. However, in Maharashtra, NDA still looks set to win again this time around.
In Haryana, however, it’s a completely different story. While all the pollsters predicted a massive victory for the BJP, it has certainly not been the case. Times Now gave the BJP 71 seats out of total 90, IPSOS gave them 75, ABP News gave them 72, NewsX gave them 75-80! Jan Ki Baat gave them anything between 52-63 while TV-Bharatvarsh gave them 47 which was far more conservative and even that appears to be off-target.
No matter how one looks at it, the currents trends suggest that the BJP is certainly heading for a defeat, and so are the pollsters. Only India Today-My Axis poll can walk out of this with their heads held high. They did predict a Hung Assembly with the BJP predicted to win between 32-44 seats and Congress to win between 30-42 seats. India Today’s predictions stand out in stark contrast to the rest and as current trends suggest, the only ones who got it right.
All in all, the pollsters didn’t have a very good at the office today. It appears they overplayed the ‘non-existent’ opponent card too much. Although it’s certainly true that at the national level, there’s no credible opposition to Prime Minister Modi, however, at the state level, the Opposition continues to wield significant political mileage.
The BJP Haryana chief has refuted the claims of his resignation from party post. He said the news of his resignation is a rumour.
BJP’s Haryana chief Subhash Barala says that he has not resigned from his post and that the news of his resignation is a rumour. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/0pGOIVUWxc
The BJP has failed to perform as it has hoped in the Haryana 2019 assembly elections. The party needs to win at least 46 seats to win the Haryana elections and trends suggest that BJP may not be able to touch the majority mark. It was reported earlier that taking responsibility of the unsatisfactory performance, the BJP state chief Subhash Barala has resigned from party’s state presidentship.
Apart from BJP’ overall performance in the state, Barala’ own achievement’s in his constituency has not been up to the mark, which might have acted like a stimulant compelling the state chief to take up such a step.
According to reports coming in, Subhash Barala who contested from the Tohana assembly seat in Fatehabad district is currently trailing by more than 20,000 votes. The Jannayak Janata Party’s Devender Singh Babli is leading from the seat.
According to the ECI website data, the voters of Haryana have preferred to vote for NOTA or ‘None Of The Above’ rather than voting for parties like Aam Aadmi Party and the Communists.
The Congress, accused of running a listless campaign amid massive infighting, has reportedly started talks with possible allies.
The Congress has reached out to Dushyant Chautala, whose Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) is less than a year old but was predicted to win enough seats to count. Party president Sonia Gandhi has also reportedly spoken to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Speculations were rife that Congress desperate to gain Haryana has offered Chautala the chief minister’s post. However, sources in the party said the party leadership is not in favour of offering chief ministership to the JJP leader as it has been singed in Karnataka, where its government with Janata Dal-Secular crashed.
Note: The above report has been updated with latest information.
Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has claimed that Congress party will form the next government in Haryana. He said that time has come for Congress, Jannayak Janata Party, BSP, INLD and independents to come together to form a strong government in the state.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that BJP has lost the mandate in the assembly elections and the Manohar Lal Khattar government in the state should resign by accepting defeat. Hooda also alleged that independent candidates who are leading in the election results are being held up by administration so that they can’t be reached by Congress. He warned the concerned officials to not block any MLA or candidate, and said that he will send a written complaint to the Election Commission.
Former Haryana CM BS Hooda in Rohtak: The time has come for Congress, JJP, INLD, and independents to come together to form a strong government. #HaryanaAssemblyPollspic.twitter.com/VZ8IKe4kdW
Although the final results for the assembly elections are not declared yet, the trends indicate a hung assembly with no party crossing the halfway mark. As per latest trends showing on the EC website, BJP and Congress both were leading in 35 seats each, while JJP is leading in 11 seats. Significantly, 7 independents are also leading, 4 of whom are rebel BJP leaders who were rejected tickets by the party.
JJP leader Dushyant Chautala is emerging as the kingmaker in Haryana, with enough numbers to form a government with either Congress or BJP going by current trends.
As 2019 Haryana assembly elections are poised to have a tighter finish between the incumbent BJP and the Congress, there is another close battle taking place along the sidelines in which Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is fighting against the NOTA (‘None of the Above’) option and even trailing against it.
According to the ECI website data, the voters of Haryana have preferred to vote for NOTA or ‘None Of The Above’ rather than voting for parties like Aam Aadmi Party and the Communists.
The ECI data suggests that the NOTA option has garnered more votes with a vote-share of 0.55% while Aam Aadmi party are yet 0.45% of the total votes counted. The two Communist parties – CPI and CPI(M) are currently at 0.03% and 0.09% of votes only.
ECI website data
The Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal had fielded its candidates on 46 seats in the 90-member Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party had made promises such as Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of armed forces personnel killed in the line of duty. They had promised to provide 200 units of power for free of cost, besides 20,000 litres free water for each family.
However, it seems that voters of the Haryana are unimpressed with the promises that were made by Kejriwal’s party and has preferred NOTA rather than voting for AAP.
Interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Pary and NOTA have an interesting relationship. Even in 2018, ‘None Of The Above’ had trumped the Arvind Kejriwal-led party as NOTA was given more preference in assembly elections.
The NOTA vote share oscillated between 2.0% in Chhatisgarh and 0.5% in Mizoram, and rest three states got an average of 1.2% NOTA votes. In Chhattisgarh, AAP had got 0.9% of total votes. In Madhya Pradesh too, AAP lost all candidates and failed to outnumber NOTA votes. The AAP got 0.7% of total votes while NOTA received 1.4%.
Even in Rajasthan AAP got 0.4%, while NOTA registered 1.1% of total votes.
The Supreme Court has asked the Modi government how long do they plan to extend the restriction on communication modes that was imposed on Kashmir after the effective abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcating the state of Jammu and Kashmir in into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.
A 3 judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana asked the Modi government “How many days you want restrictions? It’s already 2 months now. You have to come clear on this and you have to find out other methods”. After saying this, the bench posted the matter for hearing for 5th November 2019.
“You may impose restrictions, but you have to review your decisions. Do you?”, said asked the SC Bench.
“You may impose restrictions, but you have to review your decisions. Do you?” SC to Govt. SG for J&K administration replies that 90% restriction is released&its being reviewed daily. “About Internet restrictions, ultimately people have to have a mode of communication,” SC to Govt
The Modi government, in turn, answered the Supreme Court by saying that 90% of restrictions have been released in the valley and the situation is reviewed every day.
“About Internet restrictions, ultimately people have to have a mode of communication”, said the Bench to the Modi government.
The Bench has agreed to consider the petitions filed by several people about the Modi government’s handling of the abrogation of Article 370. The 3-member Bench agreed to consider the cases of Enakshi Ganguly (child detention), Sitaram Yechury (Tarigami detention), Anuradha Bhasin (against communication blockade), Ghulam Nabi Azad (against JK restrictions), Asifa Mubeen and We The Citizens (against lockdown) etc.
On November 5th, the Supreme Court will also hear on November 5, plea filed by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who had sought a nod from SC to visit his family members and relatives.
The three-Judge Bench also allowed the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Chief Justice to file an additional report on the access of judiciary by people in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of abrogation of Article 370.
Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray is addressing the press. He stated that the results of the election are a clear public mandate for the BJP-Sena alliance. thanking voters for support, Thackeray said, “We are not in a hurry, and we are not power-hungry. Whatever is decided, will be followed.”
He stated that during the Lok Sabha elections the Sena and the BJP had agreed on a 50-50 formula and it is time to implement it. He also added that it is important to see who becomes the CM, again fanning speculations that the Sena might demand CM’s post for Aditya Thackeray.
Thackeray also stated that he has been accommodating to the BJP because of the Lok Sabha elections. “But I can’t keep doing that anymore. I have to make sure my party flourishes,” he added.
CM Devendra Fadnavis is also about to address party workers at the state BJP office shortly.
The BJP-Sena alliance is leading in over 165 seats. However, seven sitting ministers have lost their seats. Pankaja Munde, Ram Shinde, Madan Yerawar, Arjun Khotkar, Vijay Shivtare, Bala Bhegde and Anil Bonde have lost.
3.15 PM
Shiv Sena’s Ramesh Mahatre is leading by only 217 votes against MNS’ Raju Patil. In Chandrapur, independent candidate Kishor Jorgewar is looking at a comfortable victory as he leads against BJP’s Nana Shamkule by over 51,000 votes.
AIMIM’s Waris Pathan has been defeated by Shiv Sena’s Yamini Yashwant Yadav in Byculla. Ajit Pawar’s winning margin of 1.62 lakh votes in Baramati may be the highest in the state.
Uddhhav Thackeray is set to address the media at 4. With no single party getting the 145-mark on its own, all eyes are on Thackeray whether they will continue with the BJP but will demand CM’s post or be willing to be wooed by Congress and NCP.
2.30 PM
BJP’s Captain Tamil Selvan is leading Sion Koliwada seat. There is a tough contest going on in Aurangabad-East seat where BJP’s sitting MLA Atul Save is leading against AIMIM’s Gafar Qadri by over 6000 votes. Save is Maharashtra minister of Industry, Minorities and Mining.
As of latest updates, BJP has won 5 and leading in 97 constituencies. Sena has won 5 and leading in 55 seats. BJP’s Manisha Chaudhary has won Dahisar. As per ECI trends, NCP has won 1 and leading in 54 seats. Congress is leading in 44 seats.
2.00 PM
Former BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s daughter Pankaja Munde has lost to her cousin and NCP candidate Dhananjay Munde by over 22,000 votes in the Parli seat.
In Konkan’s Kankavali seat, BJP’s Narayan Rane has lodged a surprise victory. It was one of the few seats where BJP and Sena both had fielded candidates. Uddhav Thackeray had even expressed displeasure and warned Devendra Fadnavis over this.
Addressing the public after a considerable performance, Sharad Pawar stated that the Congress-NCP alliance has worked hard. Pawar’s NCP has performed better than Congress. He also added that leaving NCP and joining other parties have not worked in the favour of defectors.
In a surprise loss for Shiv Sena, Congress’ Zeeshan Siddiqui has won the Bandra-East seat where Sena family home Matoshree is located. Siddiqui has defeated Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar. So far, Owaisi’s AIMIM is leading in 3 seats and VBA is leading in 3 seats.
Celebrations have started in the state BJP office.
BJP and Shiv Sena win two seats each as per EC official website. BJP’s Sunil Rane wins from Borivali. 1 independent candidate has registered win. Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray leading from Worli. BJP is currently leading in 100 seats, Shiv Sena in 59, NCP in 54 while Congress in 41.
1:00 PM
NCP’s Ajit Pawar wins from Baramati reports News18. EC website has not yet confirmed Ajit Pawar’s victory. Pankaja Munde loses Parli seat as per Republic TV. BJP leader in 103 seats, Shiv Sena in 62. NCP leading in 53 while Congress in 40 as per EC website. Celebrations are underway at BJP office in Mumbai as Devendra Fadnavis may return as CM for the second term.
12.30 PM
The Aam Aadmi Party is trailing behind NOTA votes in Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which had contested in 101 of the 288 seats, is yet to register a single lead in any of them.
Party-wise vote share in Maharashtra so far, courtesy: Election Commission data
12.00 PM
CM Devendra Fadnavis is leading the Nagpur South-West seat over his Congress rival Asish Deshmukh by over 5103 votes.
CM’s Abhimanyu Pawar is leading in the Ausa assembly seat.
The BJP-Sena alliance is now leading in 167 seats. Speculations are already on whether the Sena will ditch the alliance with the BJP to join with the Congress and the NCP. Experts suggest that as Sena grasps a good number of seats, it might demand the CM post for Aditya Thackeray.
11.35 AM
The BJP’s Chhatrapati Udayan Raje Bhosale is trailing from the Satara constituency Lok Sabha by-polls. He had jumped ship from NCP just months before the elections. BJP had fielded him from the same seat where he was NCP’s candiate in the general elections in May.
#ElectionResults2019 | Shivaji Maharaj’s descendant Udayanraje Bhosale trails in Satara in Lok Sabha bypolls. The BJP had fielded NCP-turncoat from the same seat where the NCP had fielded him in general elections. The bypoll was necessitated after Bhosale jumped ship to the BJP pic.twitter.com/brdoOFnwqd
NCP candidate Shrinivas Patil is leading the Satara seat by over 1 Lakh votes.
As of assembly elections updates, the BJP and Sena are still leading in 166 seats while Congress and NCP are leading in 96 seats.
11.20 AM
As per the latest updates, the BJP is leading on 101 seats and the Sena is currently leading on 64 seats. Congress and NCP are leading on 39 and 52 seats respectively.
BJP’s Pankaja Munde is trailing by 13000 votes behind her cousin and NCP candidate Dhananjay Munde.
10.50 AM
Early trends in the Maharashtra Assembly elections are showing a lead for BJP-Sena alliance in Maharashtra. In the 288-seat assembly, the BJP-Sena is leading currently at 161 seats while the Congress-NCP is leading in 92 seats. Others are leading in 36 seats.
The majority mark is 145 in the Maharashtra assembly.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in the Maharashtra state in 2014 is hoping for a similar outcome with support from its alliance partner Shiv Sena.
As per the latest updates, The BJP is leading in 100 seats while the Sena is leading in 67 seats. Congress is leading in 42 while NCP is leading in 46 seats.
ANI News agency quoting sources says that ML Khattar may meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government. BJP President Amit Shah thanked the voters to give BJP a chance to serve for five years and making BJP emerge as single largest party in the elections.
गत 5वर्षों में मोदी जी के केंद्रीय नेतृत्व में खट्टर सरकार ने हरियाणा की जनता के कल्याण के लिए हर संभव प्रयास किये। भाजपा को सबसे बड़ी पार्टी बनाकर पुनः सेवा का मौका देने के लिए जनता का अभिनंदन करता हूँ।
INLD says it won’t support Congress. Former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said that Dushyant Chautala will become the next Haryana Chief Minister. He extended his ‘unconditional support’ to Chautala. As of now, BJP has won 25 seats and is leading in 15. Congress has won 19 and leading in 12. JJP has won 10 seats. Haryana Lokhit party and INLD have won 1 seat each. 5 independent MLAs have won and 2 are currently leading.
4:30 PM
JJP’s Dushyant Chautala says that he will meet the other MLAs of JJP and decide future course of action. Haryana is heading towards a hung assembly as none of the parties appear to be emerging with a clear majority. As per ECI official figures, BJP has won 15 seats and leading in 23 while Congress has won 12 and leading in 21. JJP has won 7 and leading in 3. JJP has emerged as the kingmaker in the Haryana elections.
Dushyant Chautala,JJP: Counting of slips from a VVPAT is underway. As soon as I get certificate,I’ll discuss with everyone,hold meeting with MLAs tomorrow&decide future course of action.Too early to say anything.I believe state wants change&JJP will bring it. #HaryanaAssemblyPollpic.twitter.com/bavFtOhLJL
Haryana Lokhit Party wins 1 seat, BJP on 12, Congress has 9 in its kitty. JJP still at 5 while leading on 5 others. BJP leading on 26 and Congress leading on 25 seats. 1 independent candidate won while 5 others leading. 1 INLD candidate leading.
3:00 PM
BJP Haryana chief Subhash Barala has dismissed media reports that he has resigned. Says they are rumours. Meanwhile, as per ECI website, BJP has won 5 seats, Congress 3, JJP has one 5 and 1 independent candidate has also won. BJP is leading in 34 seats while Congress is leading in 30.
2:15 PM
JJP’s Dushyant Chautala wins from Uchana Kalan constituency. Congress’ Randeep Surjewala loses. As per ECI website, JJP has total won 4 seats, BJP got 1 while 1 independent candidate has also won. Congress’ Deepender Singh Hooda has reportedly called upon JJP and independent MLAs who are leading to come together to form a coalition government in Haryana. As per official ECI website, BJP leading on 38 seats, Congress on 33.
1:45 PM
Congress’ Randeep Singh Surjewala loses Kaithal seat by narrow margin of 567 votes. As per official data of ECI, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has registered one win. BJP is currently leading in 36 and Congress is leading in 35. JJP is leading in 9 seats.
1:30 PM
As per reports, Congress’ Bhupinder Singh Hooda has won. Congress’ Kuldeep Bishnoi won. He was contesting against Sonali Phogat, actor turned politician and a popular TikTok star. BJP’s Babita Phogat trailing from Dadri by 1410 votes. Yogeshwar Dutt, wrestler turned politician also trailing in Baroda. BJP state chief Subhash Barala resigns. As many as seven ministers are trailing in Haryana currently. BJP Minister Captain Abhimanyu concedes defeat in Narnaund, Hisar.
Captain Abhimanyu, Haryana Finance Minister& BJP candidate from Narnaund constituency in Hisar district: As per the latest trends, I feel that public mandate is in favor of Jannnayak Janta Party (JJP). We respect public mandate. pic.twitter.com/odkfpkseOy
BJP state president offers to resign, reports Republic. BJP now leading on 36 seats while Congress on 35. JJP is leading on 10 seats and INLD on 2.
12:30 PM
BSP enters the fray with a lead in 1 seat. BJP leads in 39 and Congress now leads in 29 seats. JJP leading in 11 seats. 46 seats required to form a majority. In Mewat region’s Nuh, BJP’s Zakir Hussain is leading with a margin of over 600 votes. Bhupinder Singh Hooda to address media at 1 PM. Sonia has reportedly given him a freehand to reach out to allies to forge an alliance. Meanwhile, it is reported that BJP has reached out to SAD to get JJP on BJP’s side. BJP’s Babita Singh Phogat leading with 2387 votes in Dadri constituency.
12:00 PM
BJP now leading in 40 out of 90 seats while Congress leading in 30. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi calls up Bhupinder Singh Hooda as Haryana heads for a probable hung assembly. JJP leading in 10 seats. Celebrations have already started at JJP workers in Jind as party leads in 10 seats. AAP continues to trail NOTA.
11:30 AM
25 seats in Haryana have margin of less than 1000 votes. Meanwhile, AAP is trailing NOTA in Haryana. As of now, BJP leading in 37 seats while Congress in 30. The BJP-Congress gap is closing.
Haryana election updates, AAP trailing NOTA
11:15 AM
As per reports, JJP leader Dushyant Chautala is in touch with BJP as well as Congress as Haryana results show a close contest. Says JJP will support either Congress or BJP, whichever party offers JJP the CM’s post. HM Amit Shah to reach BJP office at 2 PM to take stock. CM ML Khattar is expected to leave for Delhi soon via Karnal.
The counting for the Haryana State Assembly elections which took place on 21st October is currently underway and early trends show BJP leading in 40 seats, Congress in 25 seats in Haryana according to official Election Commission data. Jannayak Janta Party is leading in 11 seats and may emerge as the kingmakers.
CM Khattar, contesting from Karnal is leading with 14,030 votes after third round of voting. BJP minister Capt. Abhimanyu and Kavita Jain trailing in Narnaund and Sonipat while BJP’s Babita Kumari Phogat is leading from Dadri.
As per reports, Congress has already offered Dushyant Chautala of JJP the CM post as the Jannayak Janata Party emerges as potential Kingmakers with lead in 11 seats.
The results for the much anticipated Maharashtra and Haryana assembly election 2019 will be out today. The elections were held on October 21.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in the Maharashtra state in 2014 is hoping for a similar outcome with support from its alliance partner Shiv Sena. Similarly, Manohar Lal Khattar led BJP is also hoping to get a second term in Haryana.
Early trends are indicating a clean sweep for BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra. However, BJP is facing a tough fight in Haryana against the Congress and the regional party Jannayak Janata Party headed by Dushyant Chautala.
Maharashtra:
According to early trends from Election Commission, BJP is leading in 21 constituencies, Shiv Sena in 15, Congress in 5 and NCP in 13. However, news reports suggest that BJP-Sena alliance leading by 168 seats and Congress-NCP alliance by 80 seats.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is leading from Nagpur South West by a margin of 2,560 votes. Fadnavis earlier said he was confident that the BJP-Sena alliance will be re-elected in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray establishes a comfortable lead in Worli assembly constituency where he is making his electoral debut. He is the first Thackeray to face elections.
Former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has established a lead of 6595 votes over his BJP rival Gopichand Padalkar in Baramati.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde is leading over his rival and BJP minister Pankaja Munde by 1,654 votes.
BJP’s Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil leading with 6,313 votes from Shirdi after the first round of counting.
Interestingly, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray has not yet opened its account, according to early trends.
As many as 1,169 candidates, including 105 women, are in the fray for the 90 assembly constituencies that went to elections on Monday including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Congress leader and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, JJP leader Dushyant Chautala and INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala.
Early trends indicate that the incumbent BJP is leading in 41 seats, Congress leading in 29 seats out of the 90 assembly seats in the state. According to the Election Commission website, BJP and Congress are leading in one seat each while Jannayak Janta Party is leading in 2 seats.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is leading from Karnal seat while former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is seeking re-election from his stronghold Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district is also leading. Haryana minister Anil Vij, a five-time legislator from Ambala Cantt, is leading from his constituency in early trends.
BJP candidate from Adampur, Sonali Phogat who gained fame as a TikTok star is currently trailing in her seat. She is up against Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi.
Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt is leading in Baroda assembly seat in Haryana. Indian wrestling star & BJP candidate Babita Phogat is trailing against Surender Singh from Dadri.
However, two senior Haryana ministers, OP Dhankar and Captain Abhimanyu, are trailing from their respective constituencies.
(These are early trends. The report will be updated soon)
Moinuddin Pathan, one of the two men who is arrested in the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case, worked as a Zomato delivery boy till October 6. He reportedly joined the platform in August this year and was hired by Zomato after a thorough ‘background check’. His Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence and other past court records were also independently checked by an agency before the food aggregator hired him.
As reported by news agency PTI, Zomato has said that the company has zero tolerance for anyone breaking the law. A Zomato spokesperson has said that the company has pledged complete support to the authorities and will assist them in the investigation. The company also said that the safety of the customers is their paramount concern.
“We recently learnt that one Moinuddin Pathan has been detained by the Gujarat Police in connection with the murder of Mr Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow. It has also been brought to our notice that he was a delivery boy on the Zomato platform. Our internal investigations have revealed that the said person had been on-boarded onto the Zomato platform on August 17, 2019, in Surat. Prior to his onboarding, a background check (including a check of his Aadaar card, driving license, PAN Card and past court records) had been carried out on him by an independent agency in which his background check was clear. Between that date and October 6, 2019, he had worked on and off as a delivery person on our platform. All his deliveries were in Surat as he was based there,” the spokesperson told PTI.
Moinuddin, along with Ashfaq, were arrested by Gujarat ATS on October 22 from Gujarat-Rajasthan border after being on the run for four days. While Moinuddin worked as Zomato delivery boy, Ashfaq, second man arrested for murder of Kamlesh Tiwari, worked as medical representative in pharma company. He had forged his colleague’s Aadhaar to pose as Rohit Solanki, a Hindu rights activist, to gain trust of Tiwari.
Tiwari, a former Hindu Mahasabha leader, was assassinated at his Lucknow office by Ashfaq and Moinuddin from Surat. The Uttar Pradesh police and Gujarat ATS sprung into action to blow the lid off a Surat-based Jihadi group that was indoctrinated by one of the accused who planned the murder, Maulana Mohsin Sheikh. Two other conspirators, Rashid Pathan and Faizan have been arrested. While Ashfaq and Moinuddin will be handed over to the UP Police for further investigation, the other three accused have already been sent to UP on transit remand.
India has seen a big improvement in the annual Ease of Doing Business report of the World Bank issued on Thursday as it moved up 14 places to the 63rd spot in the rankings.
India, which was ranked 77th among 190 countries in the previous ranking, has shown an improvement of 14 places compared to its position in 2018. 2018 rankings were also an improvement of 23 places. Even though the jump in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking is remarkable, India missed its target of getting within the top 50.
The country’s score improved from 67.3 last year to 71.0 this year, as per the survey released by the World Bank on Thursday morning.
The indicator measures the performance of countries across 10 different dimensions in the 12-month period ending May 1, 2019. The ten areas of study are defined as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.
Reportedly, the latest report has named the economies of India and nine other nations as the countries that have shown the most “notable improvement” in the ease of doing business. The improvement in the ranking was possible because of four reforms, especially in categories such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, trading across borders and resolving insolvency. The report also says there were improvements in the efficiency of acquiring building permits.
The country has been ranked ninth among the most improved, with a score of 3.5 in the change in ‘Doing Business’ score. Saudi has been ranked at the top of this list with a score of 7.7, while Pakistan has been ranked sixth with a score of 5.6.
The report stated that India has conducted a remarkable reform effort with World Bank noting that India has joined the list of top 10 improvers for the third year in a row, which it said was commendable given the size of the economy.
Praising the Narendra Modi government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ scheme, the report said that it has helped attract foreign investment, boost the private sector and enhance the country’s overall competitiveness.
“In 2015 the government’s goal was to join the 50 top economies on the ease of doing business ranking by 2020. The administration’s reform efforts targeted all of the areas measured by Doing Business, with a focus on paying taxes, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency. The country has made a substantial leap upward, raising its ease of doing business ranking from 130 in Doing Business 2016 to 63 in Doing Business 2020,” the report said.
India was declared the fifth best performing nation in reforming the business environment this year. The country had improved its ranks in six of the 10 sub-categories used by the Bank to judge the business climate.
The ten top-ranking countries with respect to the indicator were – New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR China, Denmark, Republic of Korea, United States, Georgia, United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden.
