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All 90 Names In With 2ND and 3RD List, BJP Banks On Fresh Faces To Buck Anti-Incumbency

Sanjeev Kochhar
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All 90 Names In With 2ND and 3RD List, BJP Banks On Fresh Faces To Buck Anti-Incumbency

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late on Wednesday evening completed the process of naming party nominees to all 90 seats for the October 5 Haryana assembly elections 2024. While a second list of 21 nominees was released on Tuesday, following the first list of 67 on September 4, the final third list of the remaining three nominees was released on Wednesday.

In its second list of 21 nominees, BJP appeared to have more seriously addressed the anti-incumbency concerns over its 10-year rule in the state, fielding 14 new faces and denying renomination to seven incumbent MLAs, including two cabinet ministers.

The party has pitched an OBC nominee Capt Yogesh Bairagi against former Olympian wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat from Julana. The Pehowa nominee, named in the first list, has been replaced after a couple of embarrassing old videos and photographs featuring the nominee surfaced on the social media.

Alliance with HLP dissolved: In the third list too, all three nominees named for Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Faridabad NIT are fresh faces. The party has dissolved its alliance with Gopal Goyal Kanda’s Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP). In 2019, the Sirsa seat had been left to the HLP from which Gopal Goyal Kanda had won by the thinnest of margins (600+ votes) against Gokul Setia, who contested as an independent.

Ram Bilas Sharma denied renomination: The party has also denied renomination to its former Haryana minister and state party chief Ram Bilas Paswan from Mahendragarh despite he and RSS member Kailash Pali having already filed their respective nomination papers in the constituency as party nominees.

Cabinet ministers Dr Banwari Lal, Seema Trikha replaced

The ministers who were denied tickets in the second list released by the party were from South Haryana – Health Minister Dr Banwari Lal from Bawal-SC in Rewari district and School Education minister Seema Trikha from Badkhal in Faridabad district.

One person, one post comes in Badoli’s way: State party president Mohan Lal Badoli had also been denied a renomination from Rai assembly constituency in adherence to the party’s one person, one post policy. After his defeat by a narrow margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, in which he was fielded from Sonipat, he had replaced Nayab Singh Saini to the post in July this year after the latter, who was holding dual responsibilities since he succeeded Manohar Lal as chief minister in March, relinquished the charge as head of the state unit.

Krishna Gahlawat fills his place: In Badoli’s place, BJP has named a former minister in the Bansi Lal government in the late 1990s, Krishna Gahlawat. Later she had joined the Congress and in 2014 quit the party to join the BJP. She contested the 2014 election on the party symbol from Rai but finished a close third behind the Congress and INLD in a hotly contested triangular.

The influence of BJP’s traditional ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was also apparently quite evident in the list with at least five of its nominees being given a ticket and its surveys given weightage wherever those conducted by professional private agencies raised doubts.

Focus on South Haryana & GT Road

In releasing the list, the saffron party had concentrated heavily on maximising benefits from the Ahirwal belt and rest of South Haryana, which send 23 legislators to the state assembly, and the GT road belt running from Sonipat district to Ambala district which accounts for another 30 seats.

In South Haryana, apart from replacing the two ministers, the party in its second list denied renomination to its five other candidates of the 2019 elections – in Pataudi-SC (MLA Satya Prakash Jravta), Punahana, Hathin (MLA Praveen Dagar), Hodal (MLA Jagdish Nayar), and Nuh assembly constituencies.

The Muslim face of the BJP in Nuh, Zakir Hussain has been replaced in the light of the 2023 Nuh riots. Minister of state in CM Nayab Singh Saini’s council of ministers and MLA from Sohna-Taoru assembly constituency falling in Gurugram and Nuh districts Sanjay Singh, is the new party’s nominee there.

Son of former Haryana minister Surajmal Singh, Sanjay Singh was part of the BJP delegation, headed by then state party president Om Prakash Dhankhar, which visited Nuh in the aftermath of the riots.

Zakir Hussain, as an INLD candidate in the 2014 elections, had defeated Aftab Ahmed of the Congress by a huge margin of 33,000+ votes, but after switching over to the BJP and contesting on its ticket in 2019 he had lost to Aftab by 4,000 votes.

The other Muslim face from the 2019 elections, Naseem Ahmed has been renominated from Ferozepur Jhirka constituency despite the former INLD leader having lost to Mamman Khan of the Congress by a huge margin of 37,000 votes after joining the BJP and being fielded as the party candidate. In the 2014 elections, as INLD candidate, Naseem had, defeated Mamman Khan by 3,000 votes.

The party has decided to put up a Muslim candidate, Aizaz Khan, this time from Punahana. In 2019 it had fielded a new woman entrant into politics Nauksham Chaudhary, who lost from Punahana but later won on the party ticket from Kaman assembly constituency in Bharatpur district during the 2023 assembly elections in Rajasthan.

Pehowa nominee replaced

The party replaced its nominee Kawaljeet Singh Ajrana from Pehowa, who was named in the first list, after being embarrassed by old videos of him going viral in which he is seen shaming Prime Minster Narender Modi and then Haryana Chief minister Manohar lal for their performance.

Some old photographs of him celebrating with and hugging Pakistani security officials during his visit to the neighbouring country also appeared on social media.

Under pressure from the party, which he joined only in July this year, the former Akali leader and spokesman of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) returned his party ticket. He was replaced in the second list by Jai Bhagwan Sharma.

Ajrana had earlier replaced incumbent BJP MLA from the constituency and former minister Sandeep Singh, who is embroiled in a molestation case involving a Haryana government woman junior athletics coach when he was sports minister. The court framed charges against the former Olympian and Indian hockey captain in July this year and he is awaiting trial.

OBC face Capt Yogesh Bairagi Against jat Vinesh Phogat

The party has pitted an OBC face against former Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat of the Congress, who belongs to the Jat community. Vinesh had recently joined the Congress after a shattering disqualification from the Paris Olympics ahead of her gold medal bout and was immediately rewarded with a party ticket to contest the elections from Julana constituency.

The BJP nominee, Capt Yogesh Bairagi, is a former commercial airlines pilot and currently holding responsibility as vice president of the state unit of Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the party. In fielding Yogesh, the party is looking to consolidate all non-Jat votes against Vinesh.

The BJP in its second list also replaced its 2019 election candidates in Naraingarh, Pundri, Assandh, Ghanaur, Baroda, Narwana, Dabwali and Ellenabad, all of whom had lost.

The Rohtak candidate from the 2019 elections, Manish Grover, has however, been rewarded with a renomination for putting up a spirited fight against Congress’ Bharat Bhushan Batra, eventually going down to the latter by less than 3,000 votes.

The last day for filing of nominations for the October 5 polls in the state expired today. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 8 and results are expected to be announced in the afternoon the same day.

The BJP had returned to power in the state for a second straight term in the 2019 elections, through it did not secure a majority on its own. Winning 40 seats it fell short of the magic figure of 46 and had to cobble together a post poll alliance with the JJP which won 10 seats. Their coalition government lasted for nearly the entire tenure before it was dissolved following differences in the runup to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

BJP’s 2nd list

BJP’s 3rd list

In Bihar, The Unthinkable Happens, Self-Styled Doc Performs YouTube-Assisted Surgery!

Sanjeev Kochhar
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In Bihar, The Unthinkable Happens, Self-Styled Doc Performs YouTube-Assisted Surgery!
Calamity strikes family as 15-year-old boy, Krishan Kumar alias Golu, dies

It’s common to hear or read about people indulging in all kinds of dangerous or illegal activities, inspired watching YouTube or other social media videos/tutorials. But untrained hands performing complicated YouTube video/tutorials-assisted surgery on humans is a different ballgame altogether.

According to news reports, an overzealous self-proclaimed doctor in Bihar’s Saaran district allegedly did just that with disastrous consequences for the victim.

The self-styled doctor, Ajit Kumar Puri, who had opened his own medical facility, Ganpati Seva Sadan at Motirajpur Dharambagi Bazaar in Saaran, after having earlier worked as a helper-cum-compounder for four years, performed gall bladder stone removal surgery on a 15-year-old boy, allegedly assisted by a YouTube video he was watching on his mobile phone.

After apparently botching up the surgery, when patient Krishan Kumar alias Golu’s condition deteriorated alarmingly, the ‘doctor’ assured the patient’s father Chandan Shah that he would rush the boy to a bigger hospital in Patna.

The boy, however, died on the way after the ‘doctor’ fled.

‘Doctor’ Puri was traced by the police and arrested following a written complaint lodged by the grieving father, Chandan Shah, in which he alleged that the ‘doctor’ started performing the surgery without their knowledge or consent. Later, when they learnt of the surgery being performed, and they protested, the ‘doctor’ silenced them saying who’s the doctor, you or me?

The reports quoted Saaran Superintendent of Police Ashish Bharti as informing the media that the accused, Ajit Kumar Puri, was absconding after the incident, but was later arrested and his clinic has been sealed. Earlier, the police registered a case on the written complaint by the boy’s father.

According to the complaint, the boy Golu was brought to the medical facility complaining of stomach-ache and vomiting. The ‘doctor’ initially tried out various injections and medicines over two days to treat the patient. On the third day he performed the surgery without their knowledge or consent.

 

A Unique Ancient Practice In Tribal Bastar Region Of Chhattisgarh: Divine ‘Trial’ of Local Deities!

Sanjeev Kochhar
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A Unique Ancient Practice In Tribal Bastar Region Of Chhattisgarh: Divine ‘Trial’ of Local Deities!

How would you react if told that the local deities we worship are to be put to ‘public trial’ for ‘failing’ in their divine duties! Blasphemy, right!

Not in the remote areas of Dhamtari district in the tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, where per ancient tradition even local deities are ‘held accountable’, and ‘punishment’ handed out to them, if they are ‘judged’ to have ‘failed’ in their divine duties or neglected responsibilities.

According to a report in The Vocal News (https://thevocalnews.com/), this practice, deeply rooted in the region’s tribal culture, has been observed for centuries and continues to draw crowds every year during the rainy season.

The venue for the annual ritual, held in the month of Bhadrapada (Bhado), is the Bhanga Rao Mai temple in Kursighat Borai. It’s a site revered as a ‘divine court’ where deities from various regions, including Bastar, Odisha, and Sihawa gather for the ‘day of judgment’. The ‘chief judge’ in this court is Bhanga Rao Mai, who ‘decides’ the fate of other deities perceived to have neglected their responsibilities, resulting in hardships or misfortunes faced by the villagers.

The ‘accused’ deities are represented by the village priests and elders, who argue on their behalf. If found ‘guilty’, a symbolic ‘punishment’ is handed out to the deity, often involving rituals like animal sacrifice.

During the ‘trial’, the ‘accused’ deities are symbolically placed in a dock, and the village elders, including the Sirha (tribal priest), Pujari, Gayta, and Majhi, present evidence and arguments.

Meanwhile a related NDTV report adds that the Bastar region, where tribals account for 70 per cent of the population, is steeped in myth and folklore. The tribes – Gond, Maria, Bhatra, Halba and Dhurwa – practice many traditions that are unheard of outside the region and form a key part of Bastar’s heritage.

The report further says that the divine ‘trial’ is part of a three-day festival in which villagers are the complainants. The complaints range from a failed harvest to a lingering illness and can include anything for which prayers were not answered. People from around 240 villages gather to see the deities on trial. A feast is arranged for them.

Behind the festival, which is a symbol of India’s diversity, is an idea that even Gods are accountable to the people, the NDTV report explains.

Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In Congress’s Brief 2nd List, Trigger For Legacy War In Tosham

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In Congress’s Brief 2nd List, Trigger For Legacy War In Tosham
Ex-MP Shruti Choudhry will face off with her lesser-known cousin Anirudh Chaudhry in former Haryana CM and strongman Bansi Lal’s family bastion
Former Hisar MP Brijendra Singh, who is respected farmers’ champion Sir Chhotu Ram’s great grandson and former Union minister Birender Singh’s son, will lock horns with former Dy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala from Uchana Kalan
Three senior leaders, who lost the last assembly elections in 2019, renominated from the same constituencies

Awaiting outcome of seat-sharing negotiations with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress is holding back naming of a large chunk of its nominees, even as the last day for filing of nominations for the October 5 assembly election in Haryana is just three days away (Sept 12).

The party, sensing that the prevailing political situation in the state has given it some momentum, and desperate to capitalise on it to wrest back power from the BJP after 10 years, on Sunday night released a second list of just nine nominees to add to the 32 names it released in two parts in the first list.

After seemingly unending talks, Congress is learnt to have served a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to AAP on Sunday to accept a handful of specific constituencies being offered to it, or there is no-deal.

Some senior AAP leaders, like Somnath Bharti, are not keen on a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, considering that the experiment proved disastrous for the party in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. They argue that while the AAP leadership put its heart into campaigning for Congress candidates, there was little reciprocal support from the Congress leadership for AAP candidates.

One of the most interesting aspects of Congress’ second list is that the party has tried to invoke the legacies of two tall leaders from the state’s past – Sir Chhotu Ram, well respected champion of farmers’ cause; and former chief minister for multiple tenures and Haryana strongman Bansi Lal – to counter the BJP.

Bansi Lal’s grandchildren to face off in Tosham

After Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry, widow of his younger son and minister Surender Singh; and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, a former Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, left the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, Congress was looking for another face from the family to challenge Kiran-Shruti combine.

Kiran Choudhry was recently elected Rajya Sabha MP from the state as a BJP nominee and Shruti has been named as the party nominee to contest the assembly elections from Tosham in Bhiwani district, the pocket borough of the Bansi Lal family.

To counter Shruti Choudhry, Congress has named Bansi Lal’s grandson Anirudh Chaudhry, from his elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as its nominee from Tosham. Little is known about Anirudh’s exploits in politics, through he has been a cricketer and treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI). His father Ranbir Singh Mahendra has also remained president and secretary of the governing body of cricket in India in the early 2000s.

Mahendra has also remained MLA from Mundhal Khurd constituency, the last one before it ceased to exist after the 2008 delimitation exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India. Its erstwhile territories were redistributed among other constituencies.

Bansi Lal’s elder son also contested the last assembly elections from Badhra in Charkhi Dadri district as Congress candidate in 2019, but lost to JJP’s Naina Singh Chautala, wife of party’s national president Ajay Singh Chautala and mother of former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

Tosham constituency has been represented for most part since 1967 by the Bansi Lal family – Bansi Lal himself, his younger son Surender Singh and daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry.

Upholding Bansi Lal’s legacy, Kiran Choudhry has uninterruptedly held the seat since 2005 when she won a by-poll, necessitated by the death of her then minister husband Surender Singh in a chopper crash along with another minister and noted industrialist OP Jindal.

Tosham also falls in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency, which Shruti Choudhry represented as a Congressperson from 2009 to 2014, after which it has been served without interruption by Dharambir Singh Chaudhary of the BJP.

Encashing Sir Chhotu Ram’s legacy in Uchana Kalan

To contest from Uchana Kalan in Jind district on the party ticket, Congress has chosen Brijendra Singh, ex-IAS officer and former BJP Lok Sabha member from Hisar, who switched over to the Congress in March ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Brijendra is great grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, the champion of farmers; and son of former Haryana finance minister in the Congress government Birender Singh, who had switched over the BJP and found a berth in the Union council of ministers and is now back in the Congress.

Brijendra will be pitted against incumbent Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA and former deputy chief minister in the now broken BJP-JJP coalition government Dushyant Chautala, who too will be banking on the legacy of his great grandfather, former Dy PM Devi Lal.

In the past, the constituency has been represented four times by Brijendra’s father Birender Singh and once by his mother Prem Lata. Dushyant’s grandfather and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has represented it once before he himself.

Others in the list

Among others named in Congress’ second list are Balram Dangi, son of former minister Anand Singh Dangi from Meham assembly constituency in Rohtak district; Manju Choudhary, wife of Gujjar leader Mula Ram, from Nangal Chaudhary constituency in Mahendragarh district; and former Haryana ministers Ashok Arora and Paramvir Singh from Thanesar (Kurukshetra district) and Tohana (Fatehabad district) assembly constituencies, respectively, despite both having lost the last elections from the same constituencies in 2019.

Former Haryana assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma is the party’s nominee from Ganaur assembly seat in Sonipat district from where he won twice, in 2009 and 2014, but lost in 2019 to BJP’s Nirmal Rani.

From Gurugram district, two new faces – Mohit Grover from Gurugram constituency and Vardhan Yadav from Badshahpur constituency – have been given the party tickets.

Mohit Grover, son of party’s former district president Madan Lal Grover, as Congress rebel (independent) candidate in the 2019 assembly elections had polled more than 25% of the votes, against official Congress candidate Sukhbir Kataria’s dismal 12% voters. He had, however, lost the elections to BJP’s Sudhir Singla, who polled more than 43% votes, by a big margin.

Vardhan Yadav, a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), faces a daunting task of vastly improving the party’s dismal performance in Badshahpur constituency in the 2019 assembly elections. The elections had been won by independent candidate Rakesh Daultabad, a businessman and committed social worker, who defeated BJP candidate Manish Yadav by more than 10,000 votes. Congress finished among the also rans.

Though he won as an independent, defeating the BJP candidate, Daultabad steadfastly supported the BJP-JJP coalition government in the state led by Manohar Lal and later BJP government led by Nayab Singh Saini. He passed away due to cardiac arrest at an early age of 44 years in May this year.

Kolkata’s Heritage Sweets Shop Prepares 500-kg Giant ‘Laddoo’ On Ganesh Chaturthi

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Kolkata’s Heritage Sweets Shop Prepares 500-kg Giant ‘Laddoo’ On Ganesh Chaturthi
In Hyderabad, the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol reaches a towering 70-ft height, up from 63 feet last year

As the fervour of celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi sweeps across different parts of the country, a heritage sweets maker in the Bhowanipore area of Kolkata, West Bengal has done what it always does differently, create something special. This time they thought up and prepared a massive 500-kilogram laddoo to celebrate the festival.

According to The Telegraph, Sudip Mullick, the owner of the nearly century-and-a-half-old Bengali sweet shop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick (or simply Balaram’s, incepted in 1885), on Saturday proudly presented a 500-kg laddoo decorated with myriad kinds of dry fruits and kaju barfis. A small idol of Ganesh finds pride of place atop the giant sweet.

The so-called ‘biggest laddoo’, up for sale, priced at Rs 1 lakh, has become a big attraction for visitors to the busy shop, famous for its classical Bengali sweet offerings like Korapak and Nolen Gur (Guli Sandesh).

70-ft Lord Ganesha idol unveiled in Hyderabad

Meanwhile the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year is a towering 70-feet tall, up from 63 feet last year, to commemorate 70 years since its organisers, the Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee (SGUC), Khairatabad, first installed a one-foot idol in 1954.

Since then, every year the committee has been raising the height of the idol. This year, at 70 feet, the Ganesha idol is claimed to the highest Ganesha idol in Telangana, if not in the country.

This year’s idol, called Saptamukha Maha Shakti Ganapati, has seven faces, seven snake canopy and 14 hands. Organisers have tried to keep it as ecofriendly as possible, with 25 tonnes inner core of steel and the rest of the idol made from 35 tonnes of clay mixed with straw, rice husk and other ingredients.

The famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year stands at a towering 70 feet height

Randhir Singh Becomes First Ever Indian To Be Elected Oly Council Of Asia (OCA) Chief

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Randhir Singh Becomes First Ever Indian To Be Elected Oly Council Of Asia (OCA) Chief
Scion of the erstwhile Patiala royals, who nurtured the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), right from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who first became IOA president in 1928

One of the most influential Indian sports administrators of the country, and a scion of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, Randhir Singh has become the first Indian ever to be elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

The appointment was made official at the 44th OCA General Assembly held at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, on Sunday. Sports leaders from all 45 countries of Asia were present.

Randhir Singh was unanimously elected by the OCA representatives for the top post when he emerged as the sole candidate contesting for the position earlier this year.

The 77-year-old’s tenure as OCA president will run till 2028.

Randhir Singh has been serving as the acting president of the OCA since 2021, stepping in for Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who received a 15-year ban from sports administration earlier this year due to ethics violations.

Prior to this he was appointed as the Secretary General of OCA in 1991 and held the position till 2015, before taking on the role of life vice-president which he held till 2021.

For his services to sports, Randhir Singh was conferred the OCA Award of Merit in 2005, the Merit Award from Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 2006 and the Olympic Order, Silver in 2014.

Olympic trap & skeet shooter

A five-time Olympic trap & skeet shooter, who became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in Asian Games (at the 1978 Asiad), Randhir Singh received the Arjuna Award in 1979 for his achievements in shooting. He retired as a sports shooter in 1994.

In domestic sports administration, Randhir Singh’s remained secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1987 to 2012. He is known to have played a major role in bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi.

Family nurtured IOA

Randhir Singh’s family has been deeply rooted in sports. He is grandson of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who served as IOA president from 1928-1938.

Randhir’s elder paternal uncle, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, the last maharaja of Patiala, was a Test cricketer and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, who succeeded his father as IOA President, serving in that capacity from 1938 to 1960. The maharaja is learnt to have played a prominent role in lobbying for and organising the first Asian Games, held in Delhi in 1951.

Randhir’s father, Bhalindra Singh, also a first-class cricketer, served as an IOC member from 1947 to 1992 and IOA president from 1980 to 1984 (taking over from his elder brother). His role was crucial in bringing the 1982 Asian Games to Delhi.

All the election results

OCA President: Randhir Singh (India)

OCA Vice Presidents

East Asia: Timothy Fok (Hong Kong, China)
Southeast Asia: Dr Norza Zakaria (Malaysia)
South Asia: HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (Bhutan)
West Asia: Dr Thani Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
Central Asia: Otabek Umarov (Uzbekistan)

Executive Board members:

East Asia: Ms. Mikako Kotani (Japan)
Southeast Asia: Prof. Dr. Supitr Samahito (Thailand)
Central Asia: Ms. Olga Rybakova (Kazakhstan)
West Asia: Noora Al Jasmi (United Arab Emirates)
South Asia: no candidate

Wow, Thai Firm! Paid Leave, Premium Tinder Subscription For Romantic Dates!

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Wow, Thai Firm! Paid Leave, Premium Tinder Subscription For Romantic Dates!

 

A Thai marketing agency, with 200 employees in its Bangkok office (as stated on its website), has thought of a novel way to ensure well-being of its younger staff for better productivity.

According to 9News Australia, the agency Whiteline Group is offering its employees, who have either passed probation, or who join between July and December this year, paid Tinder leave during working hours and six months of paid-for subscriptions of Tinder dating app’s premium products like Tinder Platinum and Tinder Gold with enhanced features to date someone they love or like to spend their time with.

The company shared this announcement, apparently made at a company event, on LinkedIn in August, 9News said.

It said the eligible staff was required to give one-week advance notice to avail of Tinder leave, according to the translated message on LinkedIn.

It did not, however, state the number of days employees could avail such leave.

Meanwhile, in this context Indian digital media platform The Tatva has said research supports the company’s approach, indicating that those in relationships are happier, which leads to higher job performance.

The Tatva mentioned that Brendon McConnell of the University of Southampton conducted a study in 2023 that found a “marriage wage premium,” in which married people often earn more than their single colleagues. This tendency can be related to the enhanced happiness and stability that come with being married, the media platform quoted him as stating from his research.

Boeing’s Spacecraft Returns Home, But Sans Indian Origin Sunita Williams And Her Co-Astronaut

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Boeing’s Spacecraft Returns Home, But Sans Indian Origin Sunita Williams And Her Co-Astronaut
The astronauts had to stay back at the International Space Station as carrying them home on the glitch prone Starliner was considered too much of a risk
They will now return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, but for which they will have to wait till February next year
What was supposed to be an eight-day stay at the space station will now be extended to eight months

The glitch prone Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which carried Nasa’s astronauts – Indian origin Sunita (short name Suni) Williams and Butch Wilmore – to the multi-nation joint International Space Station (ISS) returned safely to earth on Saturday, but without its astronauts.

After undocking from ISS, the capsule made its journey back to earth in autonomous mode.

The astronauts had to stay back at the space station as carrying them home on the Starliner was considered too much of a risk.

They will now return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, for which they will however have to wait till February next year. What was supposed to be an eight-day stay at the ISS will now be extended to eight months.

Pleased with the successful landing, a Nasa spokesman however wished the mission could have gone as originally planned.

Nasa has claimed that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are in good spirits. Photo credit: Nasa

Earlier, Nasa had informed that that Butch and Suni were in good spirits and in regular contact with their families.

On its first test flight with astronauts on board, Boeing’s Starliner was plagued with problems from the time it blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA on June 5 this year.

The capsule experienced several technical glitches, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system, and several of its thrusters malfunctioned.

Experts at Boeing and Nasa made concerted efforts over the months to get to the root of these technical issues, but by end of August Nasa decided not to risk the astronauts’ life by bringing them home in the Starliner, even when the Boeing team differed, expressing confidence that it would be safe for the astronauts to return in the capsule.

The absence of two Boeing representatives from the post landing news briefing organised by Nasa, was jarring.

Instead, in a statement, Boeing said it will “review the data and determine the next steps” forward for the programme.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson has also expressed 100% certainty that Boeing’s Starliner, despite its technical issues, would again fly with a crew onboard.

 

 

 

Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In First List, Congress Plays Safe

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In First List, Congress Plays Safe
From 32 nominees, 28 are sitting MLAs
Hooda, Udai Bhan, former Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat in first list
Sitting MLA Mewa Singh to take on CM Saini in Ladwa

The Congress party, eyeing a comeback in Haryana after 10 years, appears to be treading its path carefully while choosing its candidates for the October 5 assembly elections in the state.

In the first list of 32 candidates released by the party in two parts (31+1) late on Friday evening, the party has fielded all 28 sitting MLAs so as not to rock the boat at a time when the sailing appears to be smooth for it.

As expected, former chief minister for two consecutive terms (2005-2014) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is also the incumbent Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, has picked up a lion’s share with former Union minister and sitting MP from Sirsa-SC, Kumari Sejla also getting a few candidates from her camp included in the first list.

Even after following a cautious and laboured process of selecting candidates, involving three meeting of the central election committee (CEC) of the party, preceded by four rounds of meetings of the screening committee for the assembly elections in the state, the party leadership has had the confidence to name its nominees to just one-third of the seats in the 90-member House in the first go.

According to reports, to iron out the irritants, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi stepped in during the last CEC meeting before the first list was released.

Among others who attended the meeting were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hooda again from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi

As per the list, Hooda, who is also the incumbent leader of the opposition in the House, will again be repeated from his traditional Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district.

State party president Udai Bhan, a close associate of Hooda, despite losing the last elections held in 2019, gets another chance to redeem himself from Hodal constituency in Palwal district.

The party has decided to field Vinesh Phogat, who along with her co-Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, had joined the Congress hours before the release of the first list, from Julana constituency in Jind district. Her husband Somvir Rathee’s family hails from here.

Mewa Singh to take on CM Saini

The Congress has reposed faith in its sitting MLA Mewa Singh to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini from Lawda constituency in Kurukshetra district.

The party is keeping its cards close to its chest regarding the possibility of its two other prominent leaders from the state – former Union Minister and Current MP from Sirsa-SC Kumari Selja and Rajya Sabha member and former Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala – being fielded in the very crucial assembly elections for the party.

Both have been projecting themselves as chief ministerial candidates in the past, but Hooda, who commands a mass base across the state, has so far been able to keep them at bay.

Recent joiners too get tickets

Party tickets in two constituencies reserved for scheduled castes have been given to sitting MLAs who had joined the party at different times this year.

Independent MLA Dharampal Gonder, who joined the party in May, has got the party nod to recontest from Nilokheri constituency in Karnal district. Rebel Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA Ramkaran Kala, who joined the Congress just weeks ago in August, also gets to recontest from Shahbad constituency in Kurukshetra district.

Support for MLAs under ED scanner

In an apparent reiteration of the party’s support for loyalists through thick and thin, it has repeated its three MLAs who are under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering. The MLAs are Surender Panwar (Sonipat), Dharam Singh Chhoker (Samalkha in Panipat district) and Rao Dan Singh (Mahendragarh).

As MLA, Rao Dan Singh had also unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, losing to incumbent BJP MP Dharambir Singh by over 41,500 votes.

Haryana goes to the polls on October 5 and counting of votes is slated for October 8.

The Congress list (incomplete)

Sakshi Malik’s Fears Over Co-Olympians Vinesh & Bajrang Joining Congress

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Sakshi Malik’s Fears Over Co-Olympians Vinesh & Bajrang Joining Congress
Issues public appeal not to suspect the motivation behind their 20 months long agitation against former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

As was being expected, Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the core of a long-drawn agitation over women wrestlers’ sexual harassment charges against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on Friday joined the Congress party a month ahead of polling for the Haryana assembly elections.

Late evening, in the first list of candidates for the Haryana elections released by the party, Vinesh’s name appeared as the party nominee from Julana constituency in Jind district, from where her in-laws hail. In a separate letter issued by the party, Bajrang was given a national responsibility as Working Chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.

The move has apparently got co-Olympian Sakshi Malik, who was in the thick of the ongoing agitation with them, worried over its possible fallout on the agitation.

Moments before the two wrestlers formally joined the Congress, Sakshi, the first ever woman wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics (a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics), while describing their decision as a “personal choice”, said their protest should not be “misinterpreted” and given a “wrong colour” in the light of Vinesh and Bajrang joining the Congress.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Malik reaffirmed her commitment to the cause, stating, “From my end, the agitation continues…I have always thought about wrestling and had worked for it and will continue to do so. I too had received offers (from political parties), but I wanted to take the protest, which I have started for good reasons, till the end, until the Federation is cleansed, and the exploitation of women ends, my fight will continue…The fight is genuine, and it will continue …”

The former WFI president is facing a trial after the court found sufficient material on record to frame charges against him for offences under Section 354 (outraging modesty of woman) and 354A (sexual harassment) under the old Indian Penal Code.

Vishesh, Bajrang lash out at BJP

Earlier, joining the Congress in the presence of party General Secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal in New Delhi, Vinesh Phogat lashed out at the BJP over the treatment of wrestlers during their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was then a BJP MP as well. “When we were being dragged on the roads, every party except the BJP was with us. Other parties were able to understand our pain and our tears,” she said in anguish.

Bajrang Punia also attacked the BJP and said the wrestlers had invited women MPs from the party during the protest, but “they didn’t stand with the daughters”.

After her nightmarish disqualification ahead of her gold medal bout in the Paris Olympics on grounds of being just 100 grams over the weight ceiling in her weight category during the weigh-in on the morning of the bout, and being deprived of a medal in the process, Vinesh had indicated ending her wrestling career for good.

But did she have a political career in mind when posting an anguished message on social media addressed to her mother then, will remain a matter of speculation.

Congress wants to cash in

In this election, Congress is determined to wrest back power from the BJP after 10 years. By fielding Vinesh, the party is trying to cash in on the tremendous public support she received despite being disqualified after becoming the first ever Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. She received a hero’s welcome on her return to the state from Paris.

Being a wrestling hub of the country, Haryana is also angry at the BJP, which is the ruling party both in the state and the Centre, for its handling of the wrestlers’ agitation (started in January 2023), during which they staged a couple of prolonged sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

The ruling party was already on the backfoot for giving a cold shoulder to the farmers in their ongoing agitation and paid a heavy price, losing five of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the recently concluded elections, after winning all 10 seats in the previous two elections in 2014 and 2019.

BJP denies ticket to Babita, Yogeshwar

Facing a backlash, and rural Haryana becoming literally out of bounds for its leaders, BJP has denied tickets to two former top wrestlers who are in the party’s fold – Vinesh’s cousin sister Babita Phogat, Commonwealth Games gold medallist and daughter of her paternal uncle and former coach Mahavir Phogat; and Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, both having already unsuccessfully contested one and two elections respectively.

 

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