Bhopal, May 17 (IANS) If the defeat in the assembly elections in November last year was a major setback for the Madhya Pradesh Congress and several prominent leaders joining the ruling BJP led to shrinking ground, it is also believed that these political developments of the past six months have some positive aspects too.

These setbacks have undoubtedly demoralised the Congress cadre. However, at the same time, to some extent it has reduced the factionalism the party has been suffering from for decades in Madhya Pradesh.

Until a few years back, the Congress in Madhya Pradesh boasted a number of stalwarts — Jyotiraditya Scindia, Suresh Pachouri, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Singh (Rahul) with a strong base in their respective regions.

Scindia left the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020 and contested the Lok Sabha election on the Lotus symbol in 2024. Suresh Pachouri also shifted to the BJP.

Another Congress veteran Kamal Nath led the party for over five years and under whose leadership the party won the assembly election in 2018. However, the political developments unfolding after the 2023 assembly elections restricted him to his pocket borough Chhindwara.

Kamal Nath managed to secure a ticket for his son Nakul Nath, however, he did not campaign beyond his bastion even after polling in Chhindwara was completed in the first phase on May 19.

He did not visit the Congress headquarters in Bhopal after he addressed a press conference in December last year, a Congress functionary told IANS.

“Kamal Nath has restructured the party and undoubtedly he led the party single handedly and he was an unopposed leader. But, rumours of his possible shifting to the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections and the drama which unfolded from Bhopal to Delhi was a drawback for him,” a senior Congress leader said requesting anonymity.

Two other senior MP Congress leaders, Ajay Singh (Rahul) and Kamleshwar Patel, also do not have much to do because the party lost badly in the Vindhya region (BJP won 25 out of the 30 assembly seats in the Vindhya region) to which the duo belong.

Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who contested his last Lok Sabha election (as he announced) from his home district Rajgarh has given his full backing to new state party president Jitu Patwari, reliable sources in the Congress claimed.

“Jitu Patwari is Rahul Gandhi’s choice, but he obliged Digvijaya Singh more than any other state leader because the latter has a strong base in the state. And overall, Jitu Patwari has always enjoyed Digvijaya Singh’s support,” another Congress leader said.

Now, the new MP Congress chief has started reshaping the party from top to bottom and the process will move ahead in earnest after the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are announced on June 4.

After the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh concluded on May 13, addressing a press conference Jitu Patwari said, “The party has lost four assembly elections between 2003 and 2023, and we can’t always blame our opponent (BJP) every time. We need to introspect over it and the process will start soon after the Lok Sabha results are out.”

–IANS

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Mumbai, May 17 (IANS) A Mumbai court on Friday sent Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of the gigantic hoarding that crashed in Ghatkopar claiming 16 lives, to police custody till May 26.

Bhinde, Director of EGO Media Pvt Ltd., was arrested from Rajasthan’s Udaipur town on Thursday and brought to Mumbai.

He was produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Esplanade Courts, K.S. Zanwar who sent him to 10 days police custody.

On May 13, when a sudden dust storm followed by rains, thunder and strong winds lashed Mumbai, the mammoth illegal hoarding had crashed on some homes and a petrol pump, crushing more than 100 people and 71 big and small vehicles.

Soon after the tragedy, the Bhandup police booked Bhinde under various charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and launched investigations.

Seeking 14-day custody, the Mumbai police prosecutor said that Bhinde’s firm owns several more hoardings in the city and the police needed to carry out a thorough investigation. This would include the financial aspects as it requires at least Rs 5 crore to manage one hoarding, the details of who granted permission for erecting the billboards, its structural stability clearance, and related aspects.

Bhinde’s lawyer Rizwan Merchant contended that the grounds for the remand plea were invalid as the police did not inform his client about the reasons for his arrest.

–IANS

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Kochi, May 17 (IANS) The producers of the hit Malayalam film ‘Manjummel Boys’ heaved a sigh of relief on Friday after the Kerala High Court put a stay on criminal proceedings against them in a cheating case.

The three producers of the film directed by Chidambaram S. Poduval — Babu Shahir, Soubin Shahir, and Shawn Antony — are accused in a case registered at the Maradu police station near here for various offences, including criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, and forgery.

The order was passed on a petition moved by Babu Shahir, who is one of the three partners in Parava Films LLP.

In November last year, these three producers entered into an investment agreement with a person named Siraj Hameed, who agreed to invest Rs 7 crore for the production of the film for a 40 per cent share of the net profit.

After the film became a hit, Hameed alleged that the producers failed to keep their word as he approached a commercial court, seeking action against the producers. The court issued an ex-parte order attaching the accounts of Parava Films.

After this, Hameed filed a criminal complaint alleging that the producers cheated also him.

However, after hearing the arguments on Friday, the Kerala High Court stayed the criminal proceedings against the producer trio.

The counsel appearing for petitioner Babu Shahir pointed out that the full revenues and expenses for the film haven’t been settled yet, as it has only been two months since its release. Moreover, according to their agreement, Hameed would receive his share of profit only after all financial matters were settled.

It was also pointed out that Shahir has already paid Rs 50 lakh to Hameed and was ready to pay the due amount, but is unable to do so as their accounts were attached due to the earlier order passed by the commercial court.

–IANS

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Chandigarh, May 17 (IANS) A total of 328 candidates, including 26 women, will be in the fray for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, 50 more than 2019, Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C. said on Friday.

The state will go to the polls in a single phase on June 1, the seventh and final phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

He said 25 candidates have withdrawn their names on the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Earlier, 466 candidates had filed 598 nominations. After the scrutiny and withdrawal of papers, the total number of candidates has come down to 328, comprising 302 men and 26 women.

The Ludhiana seat has the highest number of candidates at 43, including two women.

There are 26 candidates in the fray in Gurdaspur, comprising 23 men and three women. Amritsar has 30 candidates with 26 men and four women, while Khadoor Sahib has 27 men.

Fatehgarh Sahib has 14 candidates, with one woman. In Faridkot, there are 28 candidates, of which 26 are men and two are women.

Jalandhar has 20 candidates, comprising 17 men and three women, while Hoshiarpur has 16 candidates including two women, and Anandpur Sahib has 28 candidates with two women.

Ferozepur has 29 candidates, all men. Bathinda has 18 candidates, including three women.

Sangrur has 23 candidates with one woman, while Patiala has 26 candidates, with 23 men and three women.

Sibin C urged all political parties and candidates to follow the Model Code of Conduct for peaceful and fair elections. He requested avoiding unverified allegations and distortions when criticizing others. He prohibited the use of loudspeakers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. without written permission and asked for compliance with local traffic regulations.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on disclosing the authenticated record of voter turnout after each phase of polling for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Posting the matter for hearing on May 24, a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), D.Y. Chandrachud, granted a week to the poll panel to respond to the application seeking directions to the ECI to disclose on its official website the scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part- I (Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations containing the authenticated figures for votes polled, within 48 hours of the close of polling.

The bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, decided to take up the matter after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned it for urgent hearing.

The plea also demanded that the ECI should provide a tabulation of constituency and polling station-wise figures of voter turnout in absolute numbers and percentage form for the ongoing general elections.

Referring to the voter turnout data published by the ECI on April 30 for the first two phases of polling, 11 days after the first phase of polling on April 19, and four days after the second phase of polling on April 26, the plea claimed “dereliction of duty” on the part of the poll panel in declaring election results (of the Lok Sabha and Assemblies through Electronic Voting Machines).

“The data, as published by the ECI in its press release dated April 30, 2024, shows a sharp increase (by about 5-6 per cent) as compared to the initial percentage announced by ECI, as of 7 p.m. on the day of polling.

“It is submitted that the inordinate delay in the release of final voter turnout data, coupled with the unusually high revision (of over 5 per cent) in the ECI’s press note of April 30, 2024, and the absence of disaggregated constituency and polling station figures in absolute numbers, has raised concerns and public suspicion regarding the correctness of the said data,” it said.

The application added that these apprehensions must be addressed and put to rest, and to uphold the voter’s confidence and ensure that the democratic process is not subverted by electoral irregularities, and ensure free and fair elections.

–IANS

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