Voting ended for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats across 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and southern regions at 5 p.m. on Thursday. While the final voting figures were awaited, 48.48% turn-out was recorded till 3 pm, the Election Commission said.
Barring a few minor incidents and some reports of problems in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the voting process, which commenced at 8 a.m., remained largely peaceful. The second phase of elections will be held on December 5 and results will be announced on December 8.
Out of the 4.91 crore registered voters in Gujarat, 2.4 crore are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase of the elections. These include 5.74 lakh voters in the age group of 18-19 years, and 4,945 above the age of 99 years, the office of the State CEO said.
Amid allegations and counter-allegations, a long-drawn campaign by the ruling BJP, the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party, the newest entrant in the political arena in the State, ended in what appears to be a dull election season compared with 2017, when the election was held in the backdrop of two massive agitations by the Patidars and OBCs, respectively, across the State.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has ruled Gujarat for 27 years, is trying to retain power in the State for the seventh term in a row. If it succeeds, it will equal the record of the Left Front government which won the West Bengal elections for seven consecutive terms till 2011.
This time, the BJP faces competition not just from its traditional rival Congress but also the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has tried to position itself as the main challenger of the ruling party. The BJP and the Congress are contesting in all 89 seats.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting in 88 seats. Its candidate from Surat East constituency had withdrawn his candidature, leaving the party with one less seat to contest in the first phase.
Provide land to landless beneficiaries under PMAY-G or funds will be withdrawn: Centre to States
States unable to provide land to landless beneficiaries of the Central Government’s flagship housing scheme by December 15 will find their targets for this financial year redistributed to other States, the Centre warned recently. This means that the Centre will withdraw its share of funds allocated to errant States under the centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana (PMAY-G). More than a fifth of such landless beneficiaries are in Tamil Nadu.
The scheme was launched in April 2016 with a goal of building 2.95 crore houses for the rural poor by March 2022, with the target figure derived from the Socio-Economic Caste Survey 2011. Due to the COVID pandemic, the deadline was extended by two-years till March 2024. As per the statistics available with the Union Ministry of Rural Development, 2.06 crore houses had been constructed till November 2022.
With the scheme entering its final phase, the construction of houses for at least 2.5 lakh landless beneficiaries across the country is one of the last impediments. “Providing land to the landless PMAY-G beneficiaries for the construction of the houses is of utmost importance since they are among the most deserving beneficiaries in the permanent wait list of the scheme,” Rural Development Secretary N.N. Sinha told The Hindu.
The original figure of 4.48 lakh landless beneficiaries has shrunk to 2.56 lakh since the beginning of the scheme because of financial assistance provided to purchase land. However, 43% of landless beneficiaries are yet to be provided with land.
Tamil Nadu, with 56,709 landless beneficiaries still on the wait list, is the worst offender, followed by Maharashtra (48,272), Assam (23,064), Odisha (19,869) and Bihar (16,943). Tamil Nadu has been particularly slow in providing help -- it started out with 57,680 landless beneficiaries, and has provided land to only 971 over the course of the scheme, according to the Ministry’s data.
Several States that began with a shorter list of landless beneficiaries have managed to achieve the target, such as Uttar Pradesh, which only had 2,080 such beneficiaries at the beginning of the scheme, or Uttarakhand which had only 539. There are success stories too, as in the case of Madhya Pradesh, which began with a list of 37,519 such beneficiaries, and has only 1,364 unresolved cases as on date.
The Centre, eager to wrap up the scheme in September this year, had also introduced a penalty clause against State Governments for tardy implementation.
Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain ‘misused’ official position to meet co-accused in jail cell: Sources
An inquiry committee constituted by Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena has found that jailed Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain “misused” his official position and met with co-accused in a money laundering case in which he was arrested in his Tihar Jail cell, official sources said on Wednesday.
The report by the committee, comprising principal secretaries of the Delhi government’s Home, Law and Vigilance departments, has noted “collusion” on part of then Director-General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel with Jain, they said.
Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case on May 31. No immediate reaction was available from the AAP or Goel over the findings of the report. The committee has also recommended “departmental proceedings” against Goel for “extending VIP treatment” to Jain.
“In violation of prison rules, [Mr.] Jain frequently held court in his room with co-accused in the same case in which he was arrested. These co-accused included Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, apart from Sanjay Gupta and Raman Bhuraria, who are accused in other cases filed by the ED,” said the report.
The report further said Jain’s wife and other family members “frequently” met him in jail in “blatant violation” of the rules and with “collusion” of senior prison officials, including the then Director-General (Prisons) and Tihar Jail Superintendent Ajit Kumar.
Goel was transferred after jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar accused him of taking money. Kumar has been suspended in the matter.
Five inmates of Tihar Jail, including one Rinku who was seen massaging Jain in a purported video, were “pressurized” by jail officials to provide “special services” to Jain, the report said. The committee was formed last month after the ED said in court that Jain was being provided special treatment in jail.
Pakistan asks Russia for 30-40% discount on crude oil; Moscow turns down demand
A Pakistani delegation holding talks with their Russian counterparts has asked for a 30-40% discount on crude oil, a demand turned down by Moscow which said it could not offer anything right now as all volumes were committed, according to a media report on December 1.
The delegation — comprising State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Secretary Petroleum Capt (retd) Muhammad Mahmood, joint secretary and officials of the Pakistan Embassy in Moscow — asked for a discount during talks in Moscow on Wednesday, The News reported.
The talks ended with no cogent conclusion but the Russian side promised to consider Pakistan’s demand and to share its decision later on through diplomatic channels, the paper said, citing its sources.
The U.S. has made it clear that it has no objections to Pakistan importing Russian crude oil, saying Washington does not currently have sanctions in place against Russian energy exports to other countries. File | Photo Credit: AP
The paper said that Russia can offer crude at the rates it is providing to its large client countries, which are reliable and sound economies, at a suitable time. Right now all volumes are committed with big buyers, sources said.
The Russian side asked Pakistan to first honour its commitment to the flagship project of the much-touted Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) to be constructed from Karachi to Lahore.
Pakistan’s official delegation left for Moscow on November 29 on a three-day visit for talks with the Russian authorities to explore possibilities of import of crude oil at a discounted price, mode of payment and shipment cost.
Citing industrial ministry sources, the paper said that Russian crude oil can be processed in Pakistan’s refineries, and in the past one private refinery had used Russian crude oil to deliver finished products.
The U.S. has made it clear that it has no objections to Pakistan importing Russian crude oil, saying Washington does not currently have sanctions in place against Russian energy exports to other countries.
“We recognise the pressure that governments are facing to secure affordable fuel supplies,” the paper quoted a U.S. state department official as saying. “We have been very clear that each country will have to make its own choices, based on its own circumstances, in terms of energy imports,” the official added.
However, the spokesperson warned that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Europe have shown that it was not a reliable supplier of energy, adding that the U.S. continues to encourage steps to reduce long-term dependence on energy supplies from Russia.
Ahead of talks with Russia, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had said that the delegation would hold talks with the Russian oil authorities to cut a potential import deal.
In the last few months, Russia has become India’s top oil supplier in October, surpassing traditional sellers Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
China’s energy-hungry economy is one of the biggest customers for Russian oil and gas. Its purchases more than doubled compared with a year ago, to $10.2 billion in October, as Chinese importers took advantage of discounts offered by Moscow.
In Brief:
The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022 has been awarded to ‘The Chipko Movement: A People’s Movement’ by historian and activist Shekhar Pathak, translated from Hindi by Manisha Chaudhry. The award, now in its fifth edition, is given for non-fiction on contemporary India by writers of any nationality, and carries a cash award of 15 lakhs, a trophy and a citation. The prize citation calls Pathak’s book “the definitive history of the Chipko movement by a scholar who has practically lived it…It is fitting that a book that tells the story of a movement through the eyes of the local communities, especially women, should be as readable as this one is.”
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
