TUESDAY FORM 17C SC TO HEAR PLEA FOR TIMELY RELEASE PART-1 OF VOTER TURNOUT DATA ON FRIDAY 14 HAS DETAILS OF VOTES RECORDED BY EACH POLLING STATION MAY, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in Plea by Association for Democratic Reforms seeks a direction to the poll panel to put out station-wise voter turnout data within 48 hrs of close of voting facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard RUSSIA PUTIN NAMES NEW DEFENCE MINISTER SUSPICIONS ABOUT TURNOUT DATA’S ACCURACY Russian President has replaced Sergei Shoigu as defence minister in a Cabinet shakeup that comes as he begins his fifth term in office A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11 NEW DELHI J8.00 CHADOORA, CHARAR, GANDERBAL SEGMENTS RECORDED MORE THAN 45% VOTES Highest Srinagar voter turnout in decades; better 4th phase polling BENGAL VIOLENCE People stand in queues to cast their votes at a polling station in Fakeer Gujri on the outskirts of Srinagar, in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Monday | PTI followed by Madhya Pradesh (70.47%), Andhra Pradesh (68. 2%), Jharkhand (64.59%), Telang ana (62.28%), Odisha (64.4%), UP (57.88%) and Bihar (55.90%). The low voter turnout in the last three phases has been a cause of worry for the Election Commission and political parties. The fourth round is crucial for the BJP as it hopes to make considerable gains in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. In 2019, the BJP and its allies won 47 of these 96 seats. One of the main highlights of the fourth phase is the simultaneous election to all 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 in Odisha. The contest in Andhra is keenly watched as the NDA alliance of the BJP, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) is taking on the ruling YSRCP led PAGES 14 Maliwal says assaulted by Kejriwal aide at CM house, but no complaint U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AFTER registering a dip in voter turnout in the first three phases, the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections saw a 64.09% turnout in 96 seats across 10 states and Union territories. In the 2019 polls, the polling percentage in these 96 seats was 69.12%. “Polling in the fourth phase of general elections 2024 closed at 6 pm, but a large number of voters were still in the queue at polling stations,” the Election Commission said in a statement, adding these were provisional figures. Voting was also held in Srinagar, one of the three constituencies of Kashmir. Polling was brisk by Srinagar’s standards — it recorded over 38% voter turnout — the highest in decades. In 2019, it was just 14.43%. Srinagar’s highest ever turnout was 40.9% in 1996. This is the first general election in Kashmir after the hollowing out of Article 370 in 2019. West Bengal recorded 76.32%, The final voter turnout data for the first two phases were published by the Election Commission on April 30, by which time 11 days had elapsed since the first phase voting and four days since the second phase, the plea said. The delay, coupled with the unusually high revision of over 5% in the poll panel’s press note of April 30 has raised suspicions about the data’s accuracy, it said In this combo, BJP candidate Dilip Ghosh’s personal security (left) and a TMC worker (right) got injured after clashes between rival groups in the Susunia area of Bardhaman-Durgapur seat by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy . With Andhra Pradesh and Telangana concluding the polling, the fourth phase will also mark the culmination of voting in South. Scattered incidents of violence were reported in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Trinamool Congress and BJP workers clashed in various areas under Birbhum and Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seats. MORE REPORTS ON PG 5, 6, 7 &10 AAM Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal was allegedly physically assaulted at the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following which she alerted the police but did not file a formal complaint. A senior police officer said they received a PCR call around 9:30 am in which Maliwal, who was at the CM’s residence, alleged that she was assaulted by a member of the CM’s staff. “As per information, the woman was saying she was at the CM’s house and was assaulted by CM’s PA Bibhav Kumar,” the note of the PCR call read. DCP (North) Manoj Meena said the local police responded to the call, and SHO along with other staff reached the CM’s residence. However, they didn’t find her there. Maliwal, the former Delhi Commission for Women chief, later visited the Civil Lines police station but did not formally complain, the DCP said. The National Commission EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru for Women (NCW) stepped in and vowed to act against the accused. “The NCW demands justice from the police and is sending an inquiry team,” the panel posted on social media. It stated the NCW would write to the police seeking ‘action taken report’ within three days. No official reaction has come from Maliwal or AAP However, . the matter snowballed into a political controversy with BJP , demanding accountability . Party’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said the residence of Kejriwal has always been a subject of controversy “We demand a thorough . investigation so that Kejriwal’s misogynistic face can be exposed,” he said. India gets strategic depth to run Chabahar port for 10 yrs Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi INDIA and Iran signed a contract on Monday allowing India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) to equip and operate the strategically located Shahid Beheshti Port in Iran’s Chabahar for 10 years. “We are scripting a new chapter in bilateral partnership. The contract will give a boost to regional connectivity and India’s linkages with Af- ghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said. The IPGL will invest around $120 million in equipping the port. India has also offered a credit window equivalent to $250 million, for mutually identified projects that will improve port-related infrastructure in Chabahar. Shahid Beheshti is the closest Iranian port to India. The deep sea port can accommodate large cargo ships. It is a more economical and stable alternative route for Indian goods to reach landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, bypassing Pakistan. In fact, more than 2.5 million tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of Govt schools set benchmark, better CBSE national average I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi BILLBOARD FALLS OFF IN RAIN-HIT MUMBAI, 8 DEAD A 100-foot tall illegal billboard fell over a petrol pump in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai as unseasonal rains accompanied by dust storms lashed the city Efforts were underway on Monday night to rescue about 100 people feared trapped beneath the hoarding. About 60 people were injured in the incident Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the maximum permissible size for hoardings is 40X40 feet. But the one that collapsed was 120x120 feet DELHI government schools yet again surpassed expectations in the CBSE Class XII board results, achieving a 96.99% pass rate compared to the national average of 87.98%. In Class X results, the pass percentage increased by 8.36% from last year. This year 1,51,429 students belonging to Delhi government schools appeared in the Class XII board. Out of these, 1,46,885 students cleared the exam. This year the result is 96.99%, which is 5.4% higher than the previous year’s 91.59% and more than 9% higher than the national CBSE average. An official statement said that in the Class X board results, government schools proved best across the country The result of government schools across the country . is 86.72%. The result of the Delhi government schools is 7.48% more than the figures | P3 HIGHEST PASS PERCENTAGE IN KERALA CBSE recorded an overall pass percentage of 87.98 in Class XII board exams, a minor increase of 0.65% in the previous year’s figures. The board pass percentage in Trivandrum was the highest (99.91) followed by Vijaywada (99.04) and Chennai (98.47) | P5 Lalu factor writ large in daughter’s spirited fight in Saran R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna FOR voters of Bihar’s Saran Lok Sabha constituency (Chapra before delimitation in 2008), the contest between Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Prasad’s family and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy is nothing new. In the past two polls, it was a direct fight between Rudy and RJD candidates linked to the Lalu family . In 2014, Rudy trounced Lalu’s wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi by 40,000 votes while in 2019, he sent Chandrika Rai, father-inlaw of Lalu’s son Tej Pratap Yadav, packing, increasing his winning margin to 1.38 lakh votes. This time, there is a lot of interest in the Saran joust as Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya is seeking her electoral debut. Rohini is a medical doctor by education and is settled in Singapore. She was in the news in 2022 when she donated one of her kidneys to her ailing father, an act that won her praise even from Lalu’s bitter rivals. Lalu himself is campaigning in Saran, which will go to polls on May 20, to ensure his daughter’s win. Despite health issues, he has addressed rallies and held meetings with party workers. Lalu has deeper connect in the constituency, which he represented four times till he was disqualified in 2013 following his conviction in cases linked to the multi-crore fodder scam. In the 2009 LS poll, the first general election after delimitation, the seat went to the RJD with Lalu defeating Rudy by over 50,000 votes. But Rudy won the next two elections. Rohini has an uphill task to defeat Rudy, a veteran who has worked with both Atal Bihari and Narendra Modi as a Union minister. But the Lalu scion is confident. “I am not a novice. I am aware of what’s happening in Bihar. I have been closely watching the day-to-day political developments and giving my views on Rohini Acharya (left) and Rajiv Pratap Rudy ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR social media platforms. I have learnt the nuances of politics from my father, who is also my political guru,” she told this newspaper. As for Rudy, he is showcasing his work for the region in terms of infrastructure and industrial development besides riding on the popularity of PM Modi, who addressed an election rally in Saran on Monday But Rudy acknowledg. es the Lalu factor. “It’s not Rohini in the fray. The real opponent is Lalu, who is fighting from behind the scenes,” Rudy said. Rohini is relying on RJD’s traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank, besides the extremely backward classes as RJD has given tickets to many EBCs. She has the daunting task of carrying forward her father’s legacy However, the political . landscape of Saran has changed dramatically since the Lalu rule. Revanna gets bail in sexual assault survivor abduction case pulses have been trans-shipped from India to Afghanistan through the port since IPGL, through its wholly owned subsidiary India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone, took over its operations in 2018. In August 2023, PM Modi met Iranian President Raisi in Johannesburg on the sidelines of BRICS Summit. Both discussed the pending long-term contract on Chabahar. THE special court on Monday granted bail to Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna of JD(S), who is facing charges of abducting a sexual assault survivor in a case allegedly involving his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. It has come as a big relief for Revanna who was in judicial custody after being remanded into custody of the SIT till May 8. The SIT had arrested him on May 4 immediately after his anticipatory bail was rejected by the court. Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court conducting trials of criminal cases against sitting and for mer MPs/MLAs, pronounced the order in the evening after day-long arguments by the defence and the prosecution on the criteria over granting or rejecting of the bail application. Revanna’s advocate, senior counsel CV Nagesh argued that Section 364(A), which was introduced as an amendment to IPC Section 364 to punish terrorists, had been invoked against Revanna. The amendment was made after the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar in 1999, for the release of three terrorists, but such an offence was invoked against Revanna, he said. Countering it, Additional Special Public Prosecutor Jayna Kothari said that the bail should be rejected considering the severity of the offence.
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