Bhubaneswar, June 3 (IANS) Odisha Governor Raghubar Das on Monday dissolved the 16th Odisha state assembly ahead of the counting on June 4.

“In exercise of the power conferred upon me by Clause (2) (b) of Article-174 of the Constitution of India, I hereby order that the Odisha Legislative Assembly constituted vide Notification No. 308/OR-LA/2019 dated 25th May, 2019 Of Election Commission of India, shall stand dissolved with effect from the date a newly elected Legislature is constituted by the Election Commission of India,” a notification issued by the Odisha Parliamentary Affair Department said.

The state cabinet in its last meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has earlier on Monday recommended Governor Das to dissolve the 16th session of state assembly.

The Chief Minister is eying to return to power continuing its winning streak for a record sixth term in the state assembly.

Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party aims to wrest power from the ruling Biju Janata Dal this time.

Notably, the Exit Polls surveys by different agencies have projected massive gains for the opposition BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, June 3 (IANS) Distancing himself from the alleged sex video scandal in Karnataka, former Chief Minister and JD-S state unit chief H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Monday that “we are done with our responsibilities”.

His remarks came after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case launched a hunt for his sister-in-law and former Zilla Parishad member Bhavani Revanna, the mother of JD-S MP Prajwal Revanna, the prime accused in the case who is in SIT custody now.

Asked about Bhavani Revanna not appearing for questioning despite being served notices, Kumaraswamy said, “Our responsibility is over. Now the responsibility lies with the SIT and the court. I will not interfere in any matter. We are done with our responsibilities in connection with Prajwal Revanna.”

“I had appealed to him to return from abroad and face the investigation. H.D. Deve Gowda also issued a stern warning to him. Henceforth, the responsibility rests with the SIT and the court,” he said.

Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Dowda.

Meanwhile, SIT sources said that more than five teams are searching for Bhavani Revanna in connection with a kidnap case linked to the alleged sex video scandal.

Since the court has rejected her anticipatory bail plea, Bhavani Revanna faces imminent arrest.

Sources indicated that Bhavani Revanna will approach a higher court seeking bail.

She was not present at her residence in Holenarasipur town when the SIT officers reached there on Saturday morning and waited till late evening.

Earlier, Bhavani Revanna wrote to the SIT claiming that she would cooperate with the probe.

Bhavani Revanna is the wife of JD-S MLA and former state minister H.D. Revanna, the elder brother of Kumaraswamy.

H.D. Revanna was jailed in the kidnap case and is currently out on conditional bail.

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) On the eve of the declaration of results of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday acknowledged that polls should not be held in such extreme heat and a lesson had been learnt.

At a press conference held on Monday, the poll panel discussed various arrangements for the June 4 counting process.

Additionally, the EC stated that everything was in place to prevent post-poll violence.

The poll panel said that paramilitary forces would remain deployed in several states, including West Bengal.

Although these forces are under the control of state governments, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) expressed the hope that state administrations would prevent any violence.

CEC Rajiv Kumar announced on Monday that there were no delays or discrepancies in providing Form 17C during the voting process.

He also stated that the entire counting process would be videographed, and all the representatives of political parties would have the freedom to sit and record facts at the counting centres.

Regarding postal ballots, the CEC said that counting would be conducted in the same manner as it had been since 2019 in various elections, however, it would be completed first as the number of postal ballots is usually low.

The CEC stated that this time, more than 64 crore 20 lakh people, including 34 crore women and senior citizens aged 85 and above, had cast their vote.

Calling it a remarkable achievement, he said India had set a world record.

Along with this, the CEC emphasised that the entire counting process would be videographed, and the representatives of political parties would be allowed to sit at the Returning Officer’s table.

The CEC said the counting process would involve around 70-80 lakh people, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

He dismissed the claims of irregularities with the issuance of Form 17C as “false narratives” and said that no complaints were raised at the polling stations.

Highlighting the election process, he mentioned that arrangements were made to avoid inconvenience to women. Additionally, voters over the age of 85 were given the option of voting from home, keeping their health in mind.

The nationwide, election process was supported by various brands and institutions, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), veteran cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, athletes, Indian Railways, petrol pumps, as well as startups, Kumar noted.

There were no major incidents of violence during the elections, unlike previous incidents in states like Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra, said Kumar, adding that in Manipur also, the voting took place peacefully at all 94 special booths.

The CEC also mentioned that this time, it was ensured that factors such as misinformation and money power were not able to play a part.

He mentioned, “This time around Rs 1,054 crore in cash, Rs 898 crore worth of alcohol, Rs 1,459 crore worth of precious metals and Rs 2,198 crore worth of freebies were seized.”

All the helicopters were checked, Kumar said, adding that a lot of questions were raised when the helicopters of some leaders were investigated, however, the EC officials fearlessly checked all of them, whether they belonged to central ministers, chief ministers, party presidents, or others.

The CEC said while all demands of Opposition leaders regarding counting, including videography of the entire process had been met, “Any attempt to create disturbances would be dealt with sternly.”

The CEC noted that they had anticipated attacks from outside the country’s borders but instead faced attacks from within.

He highlighted how a “mischievous narrative” was set during the elections, including claims of communication with 150 District Magistrates and concerns about Form 17C, and various allegations regarding voter lists and voting statistics.

The CEC also announced that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held soon.

–IANS

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Kolhapur (Maharashtra), June 3 (IANS) A retired Pro Vice-Chancellor of Shivaji University Kolhapur, Vasant M. Chavan, was among three persons killed in a ghastly road accident of multiple vehicles at a prominent traffic junction here, here on Monday, officials said.

The crash took place when a speeding car, reportedly driven by Chavan, rammed into at least three motorcycles at the Cyber Chowk at around 2.30 p.m. on Monday.

Officials suspect that Chavan (72) was probably unwell and may have lost control of the speeding car arriving from the Rajarampuri Road, crashing into the two motorcycles at the busy junction.

Eyewitnesses and CCTV footage showed the other two victims being flung several metres in the air before falling to their deaths, officials said.

The impact of the collision was so severe that even Chavan was killed in his vehicle as it sped and rammed into another stationery vehicle – just two days after his 72nd birthday last Saturday.

At least three-four persons were also injured in the accident, while several vehicles were damaged, a couple of traffic barricades were knocked, and a traffic signal was partly damaged.

The injured were rushed to the nearby C.T. Hospital and C.P.R. Hospital where their condition was described as ‘serious’. Further details are awaited.

The Cyber Chowk is one of the prominent thoroughfares in Kolhapur with the Shivaji University Kolhapur on one side, the Rajaram College on another side, besides several other schools and other private educational institutions in the vicinity.

Chavan had been associated with the IIM-Ahmedabad, served as a former college principal, besides serving as the former Director of Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s institutions in Kolhapur and Delhi.

He was the Pro-VC of SUK from April 2001 to March 2004.

–IANS

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Amaravati, June 3 (IANS) The Election Commission of India is following one rule in Andhra Pradesh and another rule in the rest of the country about the validity of the postal ballots, said YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Monday.

YSRCP General Secretary and Andhra Pradesh government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that the poll panel violated its own rule by relaxing the postal ballot norms only in the case of Andhra Pradesh.

On the Supreme Court refusing to interfere in the matter, he said this does not make a wrong the right.

A vacation bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta said on Monday that in the facts and circumstances of the cases, the court was not inclined to interfere with the June 1 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The YSR Congress Party had challenged the EC’s May 30 circular which relaxed the norms of the attestation of postal ballots for Andhra Pradesh on the grounds that it was discriminatory to the State.

The EC through its circular asked the election officials to consider the postal ballot as valid even if the postal ballot declaration form has no name, designation, or seal but has the signature of the attesting officer.

The YSRCP leader alleged that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu tried to manipulate the system and used his alliance with the BJP to influence institutions like the Election Commission.

“Chandrababu trying to manage systems is not new. Ever since he entered into an alliance with the BJP, he has been trying to put pressure on systems and get a hold of the official machinery,” he said.

He mentioned in July last year the Election Commission issued the norms which make it mandatory that the postal ballot carry not only the signature of the attesting officer but also details like his name and designation.

“But in Andhra Pradesh, it blatantly violated its own rule by announcing that postal ballot will be accepted only if it carries the signature of the official. This relaxation after polling and before counting has created doubts,” he said.

Ramakrishna Reddy, however, said that the conspiracies by Chandrababu Naidu had no impact on the ground realities. “YSRCP is confident that it will form the government again with an overwhelming majority,” he said.

He said YSRCP cadres had been asked to be ready for celebrations between 10-30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

“The writing on the wall is clear no matter how many doubts created with the Exit Polls,” he said.

He rejected the predictions made by some Exit Polls and claimed that since Chandrababu Naidu has an alliance with the BJP, they have made such predictions.

“These Exit Polls are an attempt to show a few seats more for the BJP and its alliance in the south,” he said.

He found fault with the predictions saying they do not match with the actual number of seats contested by the parties.

Ramakrishna Reddy said a workshop for counting agents of YSRCP was conducted ahead of the counting of votes on Tuesday.

“In view of the unusual situation, we have asked the counting agents to remain alert,” he said.

The party has asked the counting agents not to leave the counting centres till the counting process is completed and the result is officially declared. The agents were told to ensure that not a single vote is missed.

–IANS

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