DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Shah frames poll as vikas vs jihad; Rahul says it’s slipping from PM’s hands SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD, MAY 9 UNION HOME Minister Amit Shah said in Telangana on Thursday that the 2024 Lok Sabha poll is a “Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi election”, a fight between ‘vote for jihad’ and ‘vote for vikas’. Rahul, who also held a rally in Telangana,saidtheelectionpitted theINDIAblocagainst“thosewho want to change or destroy the Constitution”.Inavideopostedon social media, Rahul also said the electionwas“slippingaway”from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah, speaking at a public meeting in Telangana’s Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency, said, “2024 ka jo chunav hai, yeh ‘Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi’ ka chunav hai. Yeh chunav ‘vote for jihad’ ke against ‘vote for vikas’ ka chunav hai. (The 2024 election is a Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi election. It is an election that pits ‘vote for jihad’ against ‘vote for vikas’).” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES RAHUL GANDHI VS NARENDRA MODI: SHAH ● `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 VISIT OF MALDIVES FOREIGN MINISTER MOOSA ZAMEER ANANTHAKRISHNAN G External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer in New Delhi, Thursday, PTI First Maldives-India meet amid Muizzu chill flags ‘reciprocity’ NEW DELHI, MAY 9 In Jharkhand, ruling coalition hit by graft charges, internal rebellions was also heartening for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) RANCHI, MAY 9 ranks. Framing this contest as one between her jailed THE ARREST of former husband and Prime Jharkhand chief minister MinisterNarendraModi, Hemant Soren was seen she recently posted: as one potent issue “Braveheart Soren stays around which the in everyone’s hearts. His Opposition INDIA bloc DECISION every work has reached 2024 could rally together. The people'shearts.Howcan ease with which you extract him out of Hemant's wife Kalpana Murmu people’s hearts?” Soren slipped unofficially into The ruling party was also her husband's role in the party CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ABHISHEK ANGAD IN A veiled reference to the proChinatiltof theMaldivesgovernmentledbyPresidentMohamed Muizzu,ExternalAffairsMinister S Jaishankar told his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer Thursday that the development of India-Maldivestieswasbased on“mutualinterests”and“reciprocal sensitivity” given that they are “close and proximate neighbours”. The Maldives Foreign Minister and Jaishankar met in New Delhi a day ahead of the May10deadlinesetbyPresident Muizzu for India to withdraw its military personnel from the island nation. Zameer’s visit is the first high-level visit to India after Muizzu came to power last November. Jaishankar and Zameer held “extensive discussions” on the “bilateral relationship” and “regional security issues”. On the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from 113 141 175 70 THIS VISIT is the first signal by the government of President Muizzu, who rode to power on an ‘India Out’ poll plank, that it wants to ease tensions with Delhi. That he chose to visit China ahead of India, asked the Indian military team to leave did not help ties. Pradhan: Secys, ministers can’t meet Naveen... How is Odisha being run? P7 LIZ MATHEW SAMBALPUR (ODISHA), MAY 9 TAKING AIM at Odisha Chief MinisterNaveenPatnaikandthe Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Union EducationMinisterDharmendra Pradhanhasquestionedthestate government’s track record and askedwhowasrunningthestate and the ruling party in the state. DEVENDRA PANDEY MUMBAI, MAY 9 THERE IS disquiet in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) camp after visuals of team owner Sanjiv Goenka in what appeared to be a not-so-happy animated discussion with captain K L Rahul did the rounds of social media following the Why this visit matters THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW DHARMENDRA PRADHAN UNION MINISTER, BJP LEADER Sanjiv Goenka and K L Rahul on Wednesday. Videograb “What did Odisha get under Naveen babu’s leadership? The stateislagginginbasicsectors… The state chief secretary and the DGP may not have met the Chief Minister for a year. Neither the secretaries nor the ministers are allowed to meet him (Patnaik). How is the state run?” Pradhan asked during an interview to The Indian Express at the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY team’s 10-wicket thrashing by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL match Wednesday. Speculation was rife about Rahul’slong-termfuturewiththe Lucknow franchise that is now placedsixthinthe10-teampoints table and has two more league matches to play this season. After the game, as cameras on the ground zoomed in on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Polltime is boomtime for political consultancy PAGE 1 ANCHOR AISHWARYA KHOSLA NEW DELHI, MAY 9 WHEN SUHEL Pratap Singh, a political consultant, reached his politician client’s location in a “backward” constituency in Rajasthan, he was “flabbergasted”. He had been tasked to draftawinningstrategyandlead a “war room” for the candidate. the Maldives, Randhir Jaiswal, spokespersonfor the Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed that they have returned and have been replaced by “competent Indian technical personnel”. Riding to power last November on an ‘India Out’ poll plank, one of Muizzu’s first acts was to demand the withdrawal of around80IndianmilitarypersonnelbyMay10–theyhadbeen stationed there to operate two helicoptersandaDornieraircraft. “Both sides have been CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 OPPOSINGANYmovetograntinterim bail to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal to let him campaign in the Lok Sabhaelections,theEnforcement Directorate (ED) has told the Supreme Court that “any special concession”tohimwill“amount to anathema to the rule of law and equality… thereby creating twoseparateclassesinthecountry viz. ordinary people, who are bound by the rule of law as well as the laws of the country, and politicianswhocanseekexemption from the laws”. In an affidavit filed Thursday – a day after the Supreme Court said it “may” pronounce an order on the interim bail Friday – the ED, which arrested Kejriwal on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy case, said any such bail will “violate the cherished values of the Constitution which upholds theruleof law as abasic feature meaning thereby that howsoever high you might be, you are not above the law”. “Theright tocampaignfor an election is neither a fundamentalrightnoraconstitutionalright and not even a legal right,” the ED said, maintaining that to its knowledge, “no political leader CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION A war room set up by Prajatantra, a non-profit, providing pro-bono consultancy to aspiring politicians. X/ @IndianPAC “There was no hotel or building anywhere in sight, just a tabela (cow shed). I called the liaisons to check if I had been given the wrong address. A couple of minutes later, the client (party candidate) showed up at the spot. We had a brief chat about the constituency and started walking in the direction of the tabela,” recalls Singh, who works for Ground Zero, a political consultancy firm that’s currentlyrepresentingtheCongress in Maharashtra and Odisha. “As soon as we stepped in- side, I was stunned: it was indeedawarroom–abighallwith a sitting capacity of 70 people, equipped with laptops and PCs, and two dedicated conference rooms for internal meetings,” says Singh, who has in the past worked for the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Telugu Desam Party, besides the Congress. Heisamongthemanyprofessionals — engineers, MBAs, lawyers,journalistsandpsephologists —whoarepartoftheburgeoning business of political consultancy. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2024 ● Beant Singh’s family on opposite sides in Punjab ● JJP, INLD seek floor test in Haryana, Cong wants to meet Governor today ●InRajahmundry,stateBJP chief runsintoJagan’s ‘Navaratnalu’ ● Cong builds campaign around Nehru-Gandhi family’s ‘100-year link’ to Rae Bareli PAGES 7, 8 Disquiet in LSG over not-so-happy chat between owner and captain 10/05/2024 Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in Delhi excise policy case NEW DELHI, MAY 9 SHUBHAJIT ROY Tribal ire over Hemant arrest helps INDIA, but that may not be enough ED opposes interim bail to Kejriwal, tells SC campaigning not even a legal right AAP: Disregard of legal procedures, complaint lodged with SC Registry On Muizzu deadline-eve, Delhi says Indian military personnel have returned Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren with his sister Anjani Soren, who is contesting from Mayurbhanj, Odisha. PTI COURT HAS SAID IT MAY RULE TODAY
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