Morning Digest | 93 constituencies go to the polls in Phase 2 of Gujarat election today; Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Rajasthan to grand welcome, and more

Here’s a select list of stories to read before you start your day

December 05, 2022 07:55 am | Updated 07:55 am IST

Election duty officers take charge of EVMs and VVPAT Machines from Navrang School Centre to different polling booths in Ahmedabad ahead of Gujarat Assembly Election 2022 on Sunday, December 04, 2022.

Election duty officers take charge of EVMs and VVPAT Machines from Navrang School Centre to different polling booths in Ahmedabad ahead of Gujarat Assembly Election 2022 on Sunday, December 04, 2022. | Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

Gujarat Assembly elections | 93 constituencies go to polls in Phase 2 on December 5; Modi, Shah to cast vote in Ahmedabad

Under the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections, voting will be held for 93 seats in 14 districts, including Ahmedabad and Vadodara, across north and central regions on Monday. More than 2.5 crore people are eligible to vote in Phase II.

There are 833 candidates in the fray, including high-profile candidates such as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel from Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad. The Congress has fielded Rajya Sabha member Amee Yajnik against him.

At Steering Committee meet, Congress decides to elect new CWC at February plenary meet in Raipur

At the first meeting of the Steering Committee, newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge warned party’s office-bearers to leave the post if they are unable to deliver on their responsibilities.

Congress sitting MLA Kanti Kharadi allegedly attacked by BJP in Gujarat

Congress sitting MLA Kanti Kharadi from ST reserved Danta seat in Banaskantha district in North Gujarat, has allegedly been attacked. The party accused BJP of attacking Mr Kharadi ahead of voting in the seat.

Two party leaders including Rahul Gandhi have tweeted condemning the alleged attack on Mr Kharadi while questioning the ECI’s silence.

Investigators have to scan over 11,500 computers with a fine-tooth comb to trace the source of ransomware attack on AIIMS’ system

Two weeks after a cyber-attack crippled the servers at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the system has not been completely restored as investigators anticipate more damage if it is linked to the Internet. The file extensions for all the physical servers of AIIMS running on Operating System Linux were changed by the ransomware attackers, a probe has found. 

A senior government official told The Hindu that to trace the source of the attack, investigators have a huge task of scanning 11,500 computers with a fine-tooth comb as the system will continue to be affected till then.

Afghanistan open for Indian investment: Taliban 

Afghanistan requires Indian investment a representative of the Taliban told The Hindu on Sunday. Taliban’s Head of Political Office Suhail Shaheen said that a Taliban delegation met with the head of mission of the Indian Embassy in Kabul and invited its teams to help build and sustain infrastructure projects in the country. 

Re-poll in two DDC constituencies in J&K on December 5

Re-polling in two District Development Council (DDC) seats in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara and Bandipora districts will be held on Monday, officials said.

The DDC elections took place in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2020. However, the counting of votes was withheld in these two seats, Drugmulla in Kupwara and Hajin-A in Bandipora, due to the disputed qualification of two candidates.

Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Rajasthan to grand welcome, Rahul says learning immensely from march

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is teaching him things that cannot be learnt "while travelling in an aeroplane, a helicopter or any vehicle", as the march entered party-ruled Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh to a grand welcome by party workers here.

I trust ‘my friend’ PM Modi to bring us together in order to build peaceful, sustainable world: France’s President Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron on December 4 expressed confidence in India taking over the presidency of the powerful G20, saying that he has trust that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would bring everyone together to build a peaceful and a sustainable world.

Mamata, Stalin to attend all-party meet on G20 presidency; KCR likely to skip

As India takes over the presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, heads of political parties will attend a meeting convened by the central government on December 5 to discuss the way forward.

As per government sources, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu and Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik are amongst those who will attend the meeting on Monday evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Amid the political war between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and BJP, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is unlikely to attend the meeting

Delhi MCD election: 50% voting recorded; both AAP, BJP claim victory

Around 50% voting was recorded on December 4 in the election to the 250 municipal wards in Delhi, with main rivals BJP and AAP claiming victory in the high-stakes contest.

PM Modi to inaugurate a two-day BJP national office-bearers meeting on December 5

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a two-day national office-bearer meeting of the BJP on Monday, which will lay down the party's political agenda as it readies for the next round of state polls and the all-important Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Adani group’s NDTV open offer subscribed 32%; poised to be largest shareholder

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group has found investors willing to sell over 53 lakh shares of NDTV despite the deep discount to the stock’s current trading price, giving it the rights — which it may or may not exercise — to nominate a chairman of the broadcaster.

The open offer, made after Adani group acquired a little-known firm that gave it an indirect holding over 29.18% stake in New Delhi Television (NDTV), closes on December 5, according to a stock exchange notification.

China reports two new COVID-19 deaths as some restrictions eased

China on Sunday reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations.

The National Health Commission said one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. No information was given about the ages of the victims or whether they had been fully vaccinated.

Congress announces follow-up campaign to Bharat Jodo Yatra 

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra — a 3,500 km march from Kanyakumari to Srinagar on foot, led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi — is set to conclude on Republic Day 2023, the Congress intends to immediately follow it up with a two-month long countrywide intensive public engagement programme, Haath-se-Haath Jodo, the party announced on Sunday.

Construction begins on nuclear plant: Iranian state media

Iran on December 4 began construction on a new nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest, Iranian state TV announced, amid tensions with the U.S. over sweeping sanctions imposed after Washington pulled out of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The announcement comes as Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests challenging the theocratic government that began after the death of a young woman in police custody over an allegedly violation of the Islamic dress code. In a possibly related move, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency late Saturday quoted a top prosecutor as saying officials had “closed” the morality police force responsible for enforcing the dress code. It gave no details.

We understand India’s economic constraints on Russian sanctions, oil price cap: German Foreign Minister Baerbock

Europe’s “oil price cap”, meant to target Russian oil exports, which goes into effect on Monday will be top of the agenda as Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock meets with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for bilateral talks.

FIFA World Cup 2022 | England beat Senegal 3-0 to set up quarter-final clash with France

Free-scoring England extended their unbeaten record against African teams with a 3-0 victory over Senegal on Sunday which included a first goal at this World Cup from captain Harry Kane as they set up a quarter-final clash with holders France.

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