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West Indies names Bravo and Pollard among the World Cup reserves

OpIndia Staff
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West Indies names Bravo and Pollard among the World Cup reserves

Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have been named as the World Cup reserves along with 10 others. Both of them were left out from the main World Cup squad. Bravo retired from International cricket in 2018 and played his last International match way back in September 2016.

West Indies’ CEO Johnny Grave thanked Hampshire county and Australian board for additional warm games before the start of World Cup.

He said: “We are very grateful to Hampshire CCC for agreeing to host us at the Ageas Bowl and to Cricket Australia for agreeing the additional warm-up game.”

“Due to the commitments and promises made, to both our players and the BCCI, this is the first time that our entire World Cup squad can get together since the IPL finished.”

“We are confident that these additional five days of training and the extra warm-up game will mean that our players will be ready to perform at their best in our opening match against Pakistan on the 31st May.”

“The choice of players in the reserve list is to really cover our bases and ensure we have a good balance in the pool of players that can be selected if replacements are required. We think the skill-set in this pool is strong, with a good blend of experience and upcoming young players who can be ready to contribute if and when required,” said Robert Haynes, the interim chairman of selectors.

West Indies will begin their World Cup campaign on May 31, when they play against Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

West Indies World Cup squad: Jason Holder (capt), Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach, Darren Bravo, Andre Russell, Shai Hope (wk), Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shannon Gabriel, Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Oshane Thomas, Nicholas Pooran

Reserve players: Sunil Ambris, Dwayne Bravo, John Campbell, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Raymon Reifer, Kieron Pollard

As Exit Polls predict 0-1 for AAP, the party starts finding excuses to float the ‘elections should be cancelled’ theory

Jhankar Mohta
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As Exit Polls predict 0-1 for AAP, the party starts finding excuses to float the ‘elections should be cancelled’ theory

The month-long voting for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections concluded on Sunday and almost all the exit polls predicted a thumping victory for the BJP government which is expected to come back for its second term with huge margins. While these results have set in a celebratory mood across the country the usual suspects cannot hide their frustration and despondency.

After ‘Liberals’ and ‘neutral journalists’ had a meltdown on Twitter, the opposition parties have also started coming up with their customary excuses to tuck away their failure. Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, after all the exit polls, predicted gloomy numbers in AAP’s favour, started raising questions over the elections and has said that elections should be cancelled if there’s any mismatch between VVPAT and EVM vote count.

Most of the exit polls have either predicted a single seat or no seats for the ruling AAP in Delhi while predicting a clean sweep for the BJP in the national capital. Considering this, the AAP’s frustration is only understandable.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh in his tweet said, “Is EVM the real game? Were these exit polls conducted after taking money? How is this possible that in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and West Bengal, everywhere, BJP is predicted to win? Every Opposition party should demand cancellation of Lok Sabha Election if there’s any mismatch in VVPAT and EVM vote count.”


The AAP leader was responding to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee’s Tweet, who also for obvious reasons, did not appear pleased after the exit polls predictions.

In West Bengal, some of the exit polls suggested the TMC would get 24 seats, while the BJP would be bagging 16, the Congress two seats and the Left Front drawing a blank.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee seemed visibly irate at the exit poll numbers. She summarily rejected the “poll gossip”, making an outrageous claim that it is a “game plan”  to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs.

“I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together,” Banerjee said in a tweet.


Amusingly, the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi, almost conceding defeat, had started whining about the EVMs even before the exit poll results were out. The Congress President posted a tweet, blaming the Election Commission for the impending defeat of the Congress party.


History seems to be repeating itself. In 2014 too, Liberals had an epic meltdown after the exit polls then had predicted that the BJP will be sweeping the Lok Sabha 2014 polls and that Narendra Modi is well placed to become the country’s new Prime Minister.

Cricket Australia coach Justin Langer compares Steve Smith with Sachin Tendulkar

OpIndia Staff
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Cricket Australia coach Justin Langer compares Steve Smith with Sachin Tendulkar

Australian coach Justin Langer has praised the former Australian captain Steve Smith who is making a comeback to International cricket after a year ban. Langer went on to say that Smith reminds him of Tendulkar.

“Last week in Brisbane, [Smith] batted beautifully, he played an unbelievable shot off Nathan Coulter-Nile there – it was like watching Sachin [Tendulkar] bat. He’s in pretty good shape I think,” Langer said to cricket.com.au

“(I) watched Steve Smith batting against New Zealand in those three practice games, he’s literally a master of the game, so it’s nice to have him back,” Langer added.

“It’s been hilarious for me, because whether on the Anzac Cove or in the lunch room or we’re on the bus playing cards, he’s just shadow batting the whole time.

“He loves batting – he’s shadow batting on the sand, he’s shadow batting in the shower – I’m not joking.

Langer also praised David Warner who had a wonderful IPL season.

“Dave’s got that look on his eye, he’s really hungry, he’s a great player as we all know, he’s so dynamic, he brings so much energy, and that’s what we ask from our players.

“They’ve had 12 months to have a good think about a mistake they and the team made. I’m sure they’ll be better people for that.”

Australia will play Afghanistan in their opening game on 1st June.

Sensex surges over 900 points as exit polls predict a second term for Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Sensex surges over 900 points as exit polls predict a second term for Modi

The Indian markets jumped in the early trade today as the exit polls after the seven-phase of polling concluded last evening showed a trend of Narendra Modi returning as the prime minister for the second time.

Sensex opened at 38,819.68, up by 888.91 points while the Nifty opened at 11,691.30, up by 284.15 points.

After the elections concluded last night, most exit polls suggested that the BJP-led NDA government will come back at the centre, forming a decisive government. Analysts have suggested that the share market may hit its highest later in the trade today while it may just cross the psychological mark of 40,000 points soon.

The Indian Rupee, too, jumped against the US Dollar and rose to a two-week high of 69.36 against the USD as compared to Friday’s close of 70.23. Stock market experts believe that the exit poll results were better than expected which is being reflected in the stock market.

A surging stock market is considered the hope an investor has in a stable government. As per reports, NDA losing the Lok Sabha elections would have meant uncertainty in politics which usually spooks the investors.

In 2004, markets had gained in the pre-poll rush, in hopes of a second term of BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the markets crashed soon after the results were out. In fact, back then it had reached the all-time high of 6,250 points but lost almost 2,000 points by mid-May. However, a few days later when the Congress-led UPA came to power and the BJP conceded defeat, the Sensex fell by 842 points, showing instability in the markets.

England captain Eoin Morgan – Every guy should be proud of what we’ve achieved so far

OpIndia Staff
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England captain Eoin Morgan – Every guy should be proud of what we’ve achieved so far

A 15 men English squad for World Cup is to be announced on Tuesday and while captain Eoin Morgan isn’t sure about the squad, he believes that everyone who played in last 2 years helped England to become Number One ODI team and they should be proud of it.

Morgan was speaking to Sky Cricket after winning the 5 match ODI series 4-0 against Pakistan, “I don’t know the 15, every one of these guys should be proud of what we’ve achieved so far. The continuous improvement of performances makes the selection meeting extremely difficult.

“But every single member of the 17-man squad here will play some role, due to the nature of injuries and illness and call-ups.”

The series went as well as we could have hoped,” Morgan agreed. “Pakistan are a strong side and they played some competitive cricket. We’ve chopped and changed our side a lot but the performance has never been compromised. That emphasises how competitive positions are as well as everyone’s hunger and determination to constantly improve their games.”

Chris Woakes who took 5 wickets in the last match against Pakistan accepted that he is nervous about the team selection. Woakes said: “Everyone will be wary of that phone call, even if you feel like you’ve got a good chance to being in the squad, until you hear it from selectors’ mouths, it’s not quite set in stone. You’re still probably a little bit on edge, in particularly with this 16 and 17 players because everyone has performed at some point. It’s a tricky decision for the selectors. Everyone will be looking at their phones tomorrow I suppose, if that’s when we find out.”

England is yet to win the World Cup and many experts have said that this is their best chance to win the title.

Are we jokers?: Miffed, Congress ally and Karnataka CM reveals that the state is mulling law to control electronic media

OpIndia Staff
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Are we jokers?: Miffed, Congress ally and Karnataka CM reveals that the state is mulling law to control electronic media

Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday, expressing his anger against electronic media, asserted that the Karnataka government was planning to introduce laws to restrain the electronic media.

Speaking at a book launch, organised by the Mysuru Zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Kumaraswamy said that he had stopped speaking to media for the last month because of “irresponsible reporting”.

While speaking for over half an hour after releasing two books- Samudaya Nayakaru and Samajamukhi Sri Samanyaru, authored by senior journalist Amshi Prasanna Kumar at Kalamandira in Mysuru, the Minister reserved most of his time venting out his anger at the electronic media, meanwhile, displaying a soft corner for print media for still following the precedent set by the ‘seniors’ in the realm.

Referring to the programmes based on political developments over the last three months, Kumaraswamy asked the television channels: “Are we here for free? What do you know about politics? Just to keep your TRP ratings high, why are you hounding us with unfounded facts and news ?” “Media also has a role to play in the development of society and focus on farmers and agrarian crises,” he added.

Kumaraswamy said, adding, “I have always had cordial relations with the media, but now, because of irresponsible reporting, especially about politicians who they treat like jokers, I don’t bother to address the media as much as I used to.”

He went on to say, “If the chief of a television channel does not have a good enough story, let him close the channel and go home instead of airing false reports and having discussions according to their whims and fancies. This sort of thing is of no use to society or the public. Electronic media earlier had ethics, but now, not many adhere to ethics. They should realise that I have not survived because of favourable reporting, but because of the faith of 6.6 crore people of this state.”

Continuing his tongue-lashing against electronic media alleging irresponsible reporting, the Karnataka CM said that the news being aired on TV channels were far from reality. Citing the example of his arrival in the city on Saturday he said, “While the channels were airing breaking news that the ministers from the city were joining the chief minister to discuss the recent political developments, the reality was different”.

Irked by the media for using his phrase ‘Nikhil Elliddiyappa,’ which became popular after it hit headlines recently, Kumaraswamy said, “Related programmes are being aired every 30 minutes.”

“Nikhil Elliddiyappa” which means “Nikhil, where are you?” a phrase which was used by HD Kumaraswamy during the release of the movie Jaguar in which his son played the lead role turned into a popular troll after Nikhil Kumaraswamy was announced as the JD(S) candidate for Mandya. In fact, a group of students of JSS pre-university college, Nanjangud, situated near Mandya, danced to the popular saying “Nikhil Elliddiyappa” just before polling for the Lok Sabha elections had commenced.

Reiterating that the media ignored his good deeds and instead focused on false reports, Kumaraswamy said, “Do you think the government will keep quiet? The government is mulling over a law so that there is some control on irresponsible reporting,” he said.

This is however not the first time when the Karnataka CM has expressed his displeasure with media. Earlier he had ordered police officials to identify social media users who expressed dissent on social media over his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s candidacy from Mandya.

According to local media reports, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy may have issued gag orders to the state police officers and intelligence officers to not only stop people trending ‘Go back Nikhil’ on social media but also to find these social media users who have been expressing their dissent over JDS ‘parachuting’ Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

Congress must die: Expelled AAP leader and Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav

OpIndia Staff
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Congress must die: Expelled AAP leader and Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav

After the polling concluded last evening, the media was abuzz with exit polls which predicted a second term for Prime Minister Modi. While half the ‘liberals’ of the country were visibly upset and fanning the fear that they won’t get to eat beef ever again, others were busy writing obituaries for Congress. Like psephologist-who-usually-gets-it-wrong, Yogendra Yadav.


While interacting with India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, who went on to discredit his own channel’s survey after sensing that Modi emerges victorious in the exit polls, Yogendra Yadav said, “Congress should die. This was an election for the soul of India. At stake was the very idea of India. And if this party called Congress which says it stands for constitutional values, which says it stands for secular India, cannot put up a resistance, cannot put fight against the BJP, it has no reason to exist. This party has finished its historic role in India. Today Congress represents the biggest single obstacle in the path of creating an alternative.” He added that if the current trends (BJP winning and NDA government returning at centre) continue, we badly need an alternative to ‘this divisive politics’. He added that establishment opposition has failed to do so.

A friendly reminder that Yogendra Yadav had urged Delhi voters to vote for NOTA (none of the above) in the recently concluded general elections where his former party Aam Aadmi Party was contesting on all seven seats.

Of course, Yadav’s views didn’t quite go down well with Congress supporters.


‘Liberals’ from all walks of life came together to condemn this comment against The Family.


Some ‘independent journalist’ also wished that Yadav should die just because he thought the grand old party should die.


After the ‘backlash’ from ‘liberals’, Yogendra Yadav lagbhag backtracked his statement.


While the actual results are yet three days away, the meltdown of freedom of expression champions is most amusing, to say the least.

The exit polls for 2019 Lok Sabha elections at a glance

OpIndia Staff
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The exit polls for 2019 Lok Sabha elections at a glance

After the completion of the last phase of Lok Sabha elections, several News Channels along with poll agencies have published exit poll results. And almost all exit polls are predicting the same result in the elections, a clear majority for NDA, with several surveys also predicting clear majority for BJP alone.

Exit poll results

News18 IPSOS has predicted 336 seats for NDA, while saying that BJP alone with get 276 seats, above the majority mark. Todays Chanakya exit poll has given 350 seats to NDA out of which they have projected 300 seats for BJP. They have projected the highest number of seats for NDA in  all exit polls released so far. After that India Today-Axis has projected 347 seats for NDA and just 93 for UPA. Republic TV carried two exit polls by two different agencies, CVoter and Jan Ki Baat, and both predicted NDA win with 287 and 305 seats.

According to Times Now -VMR exit poll, the BJP and its allies will win 306 seats, and BJP alone is projected to win 262 seats. According to this survey, Congress may win 78 seats, while UPA is projected to win 132.

According to India TV-CNX, NDA will win 300 seats, while News Nation has projected 286 seats for BJP and its allies. ABP Nielsen has projected 277 seats for NDA, just above the majority mark. The only survey to project below-majority-mark seats for NDA is NewsX-Neta, which has predicted only 242 wins for the coalition.

Although exit polls are never accurate, they mostly give a broad idea about actual results to come. And with 9 polls out of 11 predicting a clear majority for NDA, it can be said that the exit polls have predicted that Narendra Modi will again become the Prime Minister with a comfortable majority for both BJP and NDA.

Rohingya Muslim arrested at IGI with fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card procured through his contacts in Hyderabad

OpIndia Staff
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Rohingya Muslim arrested at IGI with fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card procured through his contacts in Hyderabad

In a shocking development, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar was arrested Wednesday from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi with fake Indian documents. According to reports, he was arrested for procuring fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card for travelling to Indonesia. Identified as Mohammed Faisal, the 24-year-old’s application seeking refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) was under consideration.

While nothing suspicious was reportedly found out in the joint interrogation of the man by the Delhi police and the Intelligence Bureau officials, an FIR has been registered. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport), Sanjay Bhatia, Faisal was interrogated for terror links. “He told us that he is a Rohingya and was going to Indonesia in search of work”, Bhatia added.

According to the police, Faisal introduced himself as an Indian passenger during immigration clearance after his arrival at the airport. “Faisal had introduced himself as an Indian passenger and produced Indian passport and Aadhaar card before the immigration officer. He was caught after some discrepancies were found in his travel documents,” a police officer said.

Apart from the fact that he failed to give satisfactory answers regarding his trip to Indonesia, a UNHCR document was also recovered from him, which established his Myanmar nationality. “Also, when he was questioned about his trip to Indonesia, his replies were not found satisfactory. After this, all the documents he was carrying were checked, and a copy of a certificate issued by the UNHCR, dated March 20, 2017, was recovered, which established him as a citizen of Myanmar. The documents mentioned his permanent address as Rakhine, Myanmar,” added the police officer.

According to Faisal he came to India from Bangladesh about six months ago through land route and travelled to Mewat via Agra. He got the fake passport made through his contracts in Hyderabad. “Faisal told us that he had come to India about six months ago from Bangladesh where he lives with his family. He said he got a Bangladeshi passport made and entered India through the land route. He then travelled up to Agra and then to Mewat where his relatives live. He got a fake passport made with the help of his contacts in Hyderabad during his stay in India,” revealed the officer.

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha: The BJP could make significant gains from its combined tally of 76 in 2014

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha: The BJP could make significant gains from its combined tally of 76 in 2014

The Exit Polls for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections are in and the NDA appears set for a resounding victory. While the majority of the pollsters have pegged the NDA to secure around 300 seats, we have good reason to believe that the BJP alone may touch that figure.

Now, let us dig a little deeper into how the BJP may increase upon its tally from 2014. We will be focusing our attention on three states: West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. It is expected that the BJP will lose quite a few seats in Uttar Pradesh and is expected to compensate for them in Odisha and Bengal. In 2014, the BJP had won a combined 76 from these 3 states.

In Odisha, the pollsters expect the BJP to increase its tally significantly from 1 in 2014. Today’s Chanakya gives the BJP 14 +/- 3 seats, CVoter gives the saffron party 10, Jan Ki Baat gives them 11-13 while India Today predicts the BJP to win between 15-19 seats. Times Now-VMR gives the BJP 12 seats.

Exit Polls: Odisha

In West Bengal, it is a similar story for the BJP. The BJP had managed to win only 2 seats in 2014 but this time around, it appears set to take its tally to double digits. CVoter gives the BJP 11 in West Bengal while Jan ki Baat gives them 18-26 seats. Today’s Chanakya gives the BJP 18 +/- 8 seats and Times Now-VMR 11.

Exit Polls: West Bengal

Uttar Pradesh is the state where the BJP is expected to lose a few seats due to the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. The Congress, too, has tried to act as a ‘Vote-Katua’ in the state against the BJP. It is in Uttar Pradesh that there’s significant difference between the pollster’s predictions.

Exit Polls: Uttar Pradesh

The predicted numbers for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh range from 38 by CVoter to the base figure of 65 by Today’s Chanakya. India Today, too, predicts the BJP to win between 62-68 seats.

For the purposes of speculation, since Today’s Chanakya was the most accurate the last time around, it is pertinent to calculate the total number of seats the BJP could possibly win from the three states based on their speculations.

If we are to take the base numbers for the BJP in each of these states as predicted by Today’s Chanakya, then the party could win 97 seats from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha in 2019. It is important to remember that the BJP had won 76 seats from these states the last time around. Thus, there could be a net possible gain of 21 seats for the party here. If we are to take the best case scenario, again as per Today’s Chanakya, then the BJP could win 116 seats from the three states which translates into a net gain of 40.

If we speculate in the same manner with minimum and maximum seats predicted by India Today for the BJP in these three states, then it turns out to be a minimum of 96 seats and a maximum of 110 seats, that is a net gain of a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 34 seats.

Thus, we can see evidence that the losses the BJP is expected to suffer in Uttar Pradesh could very well be overcompensated for by its gains in West Bengal and Odisha. Although the best case scenario may be too good for the BJP to expect, it could still look at a net gain of 10 or 15 very credible.

There are other states such as Karnataka and Kerala where the BJP is expected to increase its tally from last time around. The North East too is a place where the BJP is expected to make gains. Combined with the tendency of pollsters to underestimate the vote-share of right-wing parties, the BJP could very well be looking at 300 seats in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

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