CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ kollam l tuesday l January 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Reveal logical discrepancy list in WB: SC e x press n e w s ser v i c e @ New Delhi/Kolkata THE Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India to publicly display names of 1.25 crore voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” at gram panchayat offices, block headquarters, and ward offices in the state. Logical discrepancies, linked to the 2002 voter list, include mismatches in parents’ names and biologically implausible age gaps between voters and their parents (less than 15 years or exceeding 50 years). A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi said those likely to be affected by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal shound be allowed to submit their documents or objections. Directing that the exercise be conducted smoothly , the bench said, “Let us ensure that this exercise runs smoothly, it is timely completed by ensuring a transparent measure giving fair opportunity to all those who feel because of some discrepancy they are under unnecessary doubt.” Speaking at a rally in Barasat, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee interpreted the Supreme Court’s direction to the Election Commission as “slaps on faces of those who tried to deprive people of the fundamental right to vote.” E x p r e s s Re a d Rahul predicts UDF sweep in Kerala polls Kochi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the UDF will replicate its local body poll show in assembly elections and return to power in Kerala with a “thumping P4 majority” Woman booked for abetting suicide Kozhikode: A day after a man allegedly ended his life following social media trial over a video accusing him of harassment, cops on Monday booked the woman who P5 uploaded the content Nitin Nabin unopposed candidate for BJP prez The 45-year-old leader is youngest ever to take the hot seat RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi NITIN Nabin, 45, on Monday emerged as the unopposed candidate for the BJP national president. A formal announcement on his election will be made on Tuesday A five-term Bi. har MLA and currently the party‘s national working president, Nabin will be the youngest to occupy the top seat. He will succeed veteran leader J P Nadda. His candidature was backed by top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. On Monday in line with organ, isational rules, outgoing party chief Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over Nabin’s nomination papers to K Laxman, the returning officer for the election, at the par ty’s central of fice. Thereafter, Arunachal CM Pema Khandu and BJP leaders from Bihar, Andhra, Maharashtra, Assam, Outgoing BJP chief J P Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju, and other senior leaders proposing the name of Nitin Nabin for BJP national president during the nomination process at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday | PTI and Jharkhand submitted papers in his support. In all, 37 sets of papers favouring Nabin were filed, paving the way for his unopposed election as the BJP’s 12th national president. Nabin is taking over at a crucial time as he will have to lead the party through the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The first BJP chief to hail from Bihar, Nabin has travelled extensively across HC on Sabarimala gold theft ‘Analysis reinforces replacement doubts’ E x press Ne w s S er v i c e @Kochi The Kerala High Court on Monday observed that the chemical analysis of samples from Sabarimala prima facie reinforced its doubts that the original gold-cladding on dwarapalakas and door frames of the temple were replaced. The court, citing analysis reports from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, noted that the original goldclad plates didn’t have nickel and acrylic polymer layers, whereas they were present in the subsequently-plated copper plates. This, along with the absence of mercury and comparative thickness of the gold and nickel layers in the latter, indicated a systematic process behind the execution of the alleged offence (of gold theft), it said, adding that the reports not only disclose the manner and modus operandi of the alleged tampering and substitution, but also provide critical evidentiary pointers for cor relating past transactions with later activities. It said the report assumes importance in the probe as it sheds light on multiple technical and material aspects and furnishes scientific basis for evaluating transactions done in 2024 and 2025, identifying, among other things, the chain of deci● More on P4 sion-making.  Don’t fuel terror: India to Poland J aya n th ja c o b @ New Delhi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday delivered a blunt message to Poland, warning it not to take actions that help fuel terrorist infrastructure in India’s neighbourhood. “You are no stranger to our region and are certainly familiar with the longstanding challenge of cross-border terrorism,” Jaishankar said in his televised opening remarks during talks with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in New Delhi. “Poland should display zero tolerance for terrorism and not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood.” The remarks reflect New Delhi’s unease over a reference to Kashmir in a Poland-Pakistan joint statement, issued during Sikorski’s visit to Islamabad in October, which went against India’s position on the issue. Jaishankar also criticised the West’s “selective targeting” of India over New Delhi’s energy ties with Moscow. Sikorski’s three-day visit to India comes days ahead of a visit by the EU’s top leadership to New Delhi. states since becoming BJP working president on December 14, 2025. During his interactions with cadre, his common message has been to become full-time politicians and give their 100% to serve people. He entered mainstream politics in 2006, when the BJP fielded him from the Patna West Assembly constituency following the death of his father Navin Kishore Sinha, who had close ties with the RSS. Setback for govt over Cheruvally Estate claim ABHILASH CHANDRAN @Kottayam The Pala sub-court on Monday dismissed the government’s suit asserting ownership of Cheruvally Estate, the site identified for the proposed Sabarimala Greenfield Airport in Erumeli. The court ruling comes as a setback for the government. It may also set a precedent and prove crucial in resolving a broader spectrum of ownership disputes affecting plantation estates throughout Kerala. The property spanning 2,263 acres is currently in the possession of Ayana Charitable Trust of Believers Eastern Church. Consequently, the government will need to negotiate purchase of the land from the Church to proceed with the initiative. The Church had earlier responded favourably to the project and expressed willingness to hand over the land, provided the government acknowledged the Trust’s ownership. “We welcome the court order. We continue to support the project and will cooperate with any land acquisition proceedings in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act, 2013,” Believers Church spokesperson Fr Sijo Pandapallail ● More on P4 told TNIE.  ne x t i c c o p t i o n s Forfeiture or Scotland in place of B’desh s w ar o o p s w ami n atha n @ Chennai THE International Cricket Council (ICC) continues to juggle multiple T20 World Cup related issues even though the event is now less than three weeks away . It’s understood that multiple stakeholders are deep in conversation with respect to Bangladesh’s insistence on not playing their games in India. If in case the ICC doesn’t relent and Bangladesh withdraw, the world governing body has to consider the way forward. And time is very limited before the first set of matches on February 7. It’s understood that one of the ways could be a last minute invitation to Scotland to fill the Bangladeshsized hole in Group C. Scotland, by virtue of being the highest-ranked team to not qualify for the event, will be one of the first teams to get a call. What adds to the intrigue is that when contacted by this daily, a Cricket Scotland source said they ‘aren’t commenting’ on the matter. But do remember that Jersey finished higher than Scotland in the actual qualifiers but they are not expected to be be an option. The other option ICC has is a straightforward forfeit. That would mean that the other four teams in Group C essentially beginning the tournament with a win against their names. But that may not be palatable to the broadcasters who have spent a lot of money to secure the rights for this event. Lack of four live games results in a loss of revenue. If Scotland does come, the very lopsided nature of Group C — the other teams are England, West Indies, Nepal and Italy — could give a potential advantage to two of the former champions. TVK chief and actor Vijay leaves the CBI headquarters in New Delhi after the second round of questioning over the Karur stampede on Monday | PTI | P5