President Droupadi Murmu: President Droupadi Murmu confers national awards, calls for inclusive ecosystem | India News

NEW DELHI: One is a teen from Mumbai, Jia Rai, who did not let autism come in the way of achieving national and international fame as an open water para swimmer. Another a deaf designer from Madhya Pradesh, Himanshu Kansal, who made his disability his strength and chose to develop innovative Indian Sign language textbooks, videos, and accessible content.
Jia and Himanshu, along with 28 individuals, institutions and selected states and districts were applauded for showing the way on empowerment at the annual national awards to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilitieson Sunday.The annual awards are steered by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities of theministry of social justice and empowerment.
President Draupadi Murmu gave away the awards for 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan while emphasising on the need to focus on ensuring “physical and digital accessibility” to create an inclusive environment. Addressing the function at Vigyan Bhawan, President Murmu reiterated the significance of prioritising the empowerment of PwDs, constituting an estimated 15% of global population.
Citing the example of the new parliament building as an accessible space and a reflection of inclusivity, Murmu asserted the necessity of fostering an inclusive ecosystem aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Among the awardees was Taha ldrees Haaziq, who is a 100% visually impaired person and is trying to steer change as the secretary for the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Goa by proactively ensuring that departments in the state address grievances without delay. In the category of organisations, Amazon India has been awarded as it has among various inclusive work practices engaged 8,500 PwD associates across their sites since 2020.
Each citation of the awardees of 2023 reads like a story of grit and determination. Sixteen year old Jiya Rai an international open water para swimmer swam the world’s longest open water sea swimming relay from Mumbai to Goa and back to Vasai Fort in 11 days 22 hours and 13 minutes. Jiya has brought laurels to lndia by swimming across Palk Strait in World Record Time from Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) to Dhanuskodi (lndia) a distance of 29 kilometres in 13 hours and 10 minutes.
Her father, Madan Rai, a naval officer, shared that when Jia was very small, other children would not mingle with her and that is when he would take her to the nearby swimming pool to play. “A simple activity became a mission over the years as we found that she was gifted and very talented. After she started training and won awards the outlook of her school friends changed towards her and that is empowering for us,” Rai said.
Another awardee, Divya Sharma from Punjab is visually impaired but holds a blue belt in karate and inspires others with her motivational conversations as a radio jockey and a content manager of an online radio station run by visually challenged people.

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Serchhip Constituency Assembly Election Results 2023: Lalduhoma vs J Malsawmzuala Vanchhawng of MNF | India News

Serchhip constituency assembly election results 2023 Live : In this constituency of Mizoram, there will be a close contest between Lalduhoma of Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), and J. Malsawmzuala – The Best Of Malsawmzuala from Mizo National Front(MNF). Meanwhile, R. Vanlaltluanga is the candidate fielded by the Indian National Congress (INC), and K. Vanlalruati from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to secure a stronghold on this seat.Stay tuned for the latest updates as the Serchhip assembly election results 2023 unfold.
ALSO READ: Mizoram Assembly Election Results 2023 Live Blog
Serchhip Assembly Election Results 2023 Live
On November 7, 2023, the voting for the 40 members of the Mizoram State Legislative Assembly took place, and the results are set to be announced today. Stay connected with us for the latest updates as the counting begins today.
The present term of the 40-member Mizoram assembly is set to conclude on December 17.
About Serchhip Assembly Constituency
The Serchhip (ST) Assembly constituency, situated within the Mizoram Lok Sabha constituency, carries considerable political importance in Mizoram, particularly as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) constituency.
During the by-elections in 2021 for the Serchhip (ST) Assembly constituency, Lalduhoma, representing the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), secured victory, prevailing over his nearest competitor, Vanlalzawma of the Mizo National Front (MNF).
In the 2018 Serchhip constituency assembly election, Lalduhoma from the Independent (IND) party emerged victorious, defeating the runner-up Lal Thanhawla from the Indian National Congress (INC).
During the 2013 Serchhip constituency assembly election, Lal Thanhawla of the INC secured the win, surpassing the runner-up C. Lalramzauva from the Mizo National Front (MNF).

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BJP to retain all 7 Rajya Sabha seats next year, Congress will gain 2

Assembly election victory in three states will help BJP retain all its seven Rajya Sabha seats which will go to polls after the retirement of its members in April next year. Congress too will retain its two seats (one each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan), but the party will gain two additional seats from Telangana where those seats are currently being occupied by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Among prominent leaders, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and environment minister Bhupender Yadav will retire as Rajya Sabha members representing Rajasthan whereas education minister Dharmendra Pradhan will retire as member representing Madhya Pradesh in April 2024.
Though winning three states may not immediately help BJP in the Upper House where the ruling NDA still doesn’t have a majority mark, the party will eventually increase its tally after subsequent biennial Rajya Sabha polls in 2026 and 2028. Similarly, Congress will also increase its tally from Telangana where all seven seats are with BRS.

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Assembly election results: Saffron surges across Bharat | India News

After wresting Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from Congress, BJPalong with its allies, is in office in 18 states and UTs. South of the Vindhyas, however, Congress succeeded in expanding its presence, following up its victory in Karnataka earlier this year with a win in Telangana.
In 2017, BJP and allies were in office in 17 states/UTs as the party kept up the momentum of the Modi wave.
In 2021, BJP retained Assam and formed the government in Puducherry with ally AINRC.
What worked for BJP
1. Not projecting CMs: No CM face in three heartland states ensured local rivalries didn’t turn into bloodletting. Factions came together to work for the party. With big local leaders thinking they all have a chance, they didn’t undercut each other, even as they concentrated on different tasks. The result: An unlikely but working coalition of competitors who, though divided otherwise, worked to push the central leadership’s objectives. Modi’s projection as the sole face of the campaign had the advantage of bringing in voters who supported him but were not enamoured by state satraps. It also took attention away from the ‘fatigue factor’, widely considered to be a risk.

Assembly polls results 2023: Modi Guarantee helped party win in three states, says BJP leader Anil Gupta

2.Focus on corruption: ED’s action against the state governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana rendered them vulnerable to the PM’s spirited campaign against corruption. Even in MP, BJP worked hard to ensure that the memory of wads of currency notes being seized from the associates of senior Congress leaders, both in Bhopal and Delhi, did not go away. In Telangana, however, it was Congress that turned out to be the principal beneficiary of the anti-corruption campaigns.
3.Aggressive campaigning on ‘attacks’ on Sanatan Dharma: BJP repeatedly spoke of Congress’s failure to repudiate attacks on Sanatan Dharma by its allies. It proved to be effective in a geography where Hindutva has been on the rise even among those who are not supporters of BJP. Kamal Nath sensed the risk and tried to take corrective measures, but they turned out to be ineffective because of the Congress central leadership’s reluctance to back that up with a bold denunciation of Udaynidhi Stalin and UP’s ‘secular’ grandees. Add to this BJP scaling up attacks on ‘appeasement’ and conversions among tribals in Chhattisgarh. Congress’s decision not to attack Hamas for the October 7 brutal terror attack could have only helped enhance this message.

4.Pro-poor pitch: Modi’s welfare schemes, including free vaccination and foodgrains, helped in a territory marked by pockets of entrenched poverty. It was the first election after the pandemic and the beneficiaries did not skip the first opportunity to hand over a warm ‘thank you’ note. The PM’s effort to identify himself with the ‘poor’, the biggest caste according to him, appears to be working both because of his underprivileged background and the steps he has taken — from subsidised housing to free LPG connections and toilets.
5.Women and tribals: Modi’s targeted effort to expand his constituency among women and tribals also helped. Enactment of women’s quota in legislatures was the icing on the measures he took after his first victory; Ujjwala, toilets and LPG. Combined with Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s popular laadli behna, the pro-poor pitch turned out to be a formidable vote-getter. The wooing of tribals, marked by the celebration of tribal legends as well as the messaging via the elevation of Droupadi Murmu as President, paid rich dividends, especially in Chhattisgarh where the party could win only one of the ST seats five years ago.
What didn’t work for Congress
1. Attacking PM Modi is Adani: Ignoring the lessons of 2019 elections where his Rafale deal allegations turned out to be a dud, Rahul Gandhi targeted the PM this time for alleged links with the Adani group. It was not expected to work in states where Congress CMs had welcomed the strong and growing presence of the conglomerate. Little wonder the CMs did not join in the diatribe. The Adani-Modi rhetoric lost further steam when Adani shares started rallying and the Supreme Court refused to endorse the charges against the group.

2. Caste census: Congress’s embrace of ‘caste count’ and ‘jitni abaadi, utna haq’ was too sudden to carry conviction. Coming from a party that had opposed the idea of caste-wise headcount under Nehru and followed up that vision by opposing the Mandal Commission and by withholding the findings of the Socio-Economic Caste Census, the party’s new enthusiasm for this old idea looked too opportunistic to convince voters. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress found itself in a piquant caste situation: the party’s upper caste duo of Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh was pitted against the OBC Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In the event, the caste count gambit achieved little except alarming the party’s OBC allies and upper caste supporters.
3. Bharat Jodo Yatra: The party’s handsome win in Karnataka was swiftly attributed to Rahul’s exertions, raising the expectation that it would bring in similar returns in other battles. Rahul had spent considerable time in Rajasthan. Faith in this theory and a surge in the party’s belief in Rahul’s powers were reasons Congress rebuffed requests from INDIA partners for even token gestures of partnership. True, SP and RLD did not bring much to the table in MP and Rajasthan, but concessions would have helped generate the impression of an anti-BJP front taking place and invested the electoral battle with a larger symbolic purpose, besides insulating Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul from the blowback they now will have to face from allies.
4. No answer to appeasement charge: It is now nine years since Congress was done in by BJP’s allegation that it had reduced ‘secularism’ to pandering to Muslim hardliners. The election highlighted once again the party’s continuing struggle to come up with a credible response. The chaos over whether to blame Hamas for the October 7 terror attack on Israeli civilians showcased the problem that is going to get worse in the run-up to and after the consecration of Ram Mandir. The likely implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act will add to that.
5. Graft charges: Congress refused to pay heed to the growing heat on its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh over corruption. It preferred to dismiss the charges as vendetta. They appear to have stuck, especially in Chhattisgarh, showing that the party has not been able to shake off the perception born during UPA-2’s term. With the PM saying that there would be no let-up in the drive by central agencies, the Congress brass will have to find ways to cushion itself against the possibility of more troubles on this count. The National Herald case is a prime example of what the future may hold.

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BJP’s Surguja show raises prospects of Chhattisgarh getting its first tribal chief minister

The fluidity of the situation in Rajasthan has thrown up an interesting cast — the most prominent of them being the monk MP from Alwar Baba Balaknath, who won from Tijara. His image as a hardline Hinduva warrior — he belongs to the same Nathpanthi sect as UP CM Yogi Adityanath — is supplemented by his OBC Yadav background.

In Chhattisgarhthe party has senior faces among its winners, but none of them can claim to be a serious contender.

Few of them saw the victory coming and none of them, not even Raman Singh, who served as CM for three terms but appeared to be a reluctant warrior, are in a position to stake a claim. BJP’s emphatic win in the seats reserved for tribals — it won all 14 in Surguja district — has raised the possibility of the state getting its first tribal CM, a move that, like the elevation of Droupadi Murmu as President, may have resonance among tribals in other states, especially neighbouring Jharkhand which looks a realistic prospect for the party. PM Narendra Modi’s speech, where he acknowledged the support of tribals, has already set off speculation along those lines, but the party has other options too.
If BJP looks for a tribal face, Vishnu Deo Sai, a former Union minister and state BJP president, is seen to be a strong contender.

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In run-up to Lok Sabha polls, BJP set to sharpen its welfare plank

PM Modi’s sharp focus on ‘appeasement’ (read alleged pandering to minority hardliners by ‘secular’ opponents), corruption, and nepotism appeared to have hit the targets in different theatres.
The strength of Brand Modi is evident even in Telangana where the party enhanced its tally and, more crucially, vote share, raising questions whether BJP erred in delaying the organisational changes it made as well as the hope that the result will lay the foundation for a better yield in Lok Sabha results.
The optimism is not limited to Telangana and may not appear excessively extravagant considering that Modi’s enduring appeal is likely to be a bigger factor when he himself will be in the fray. The identification of achievements — from free foodgrain and vaccination to growth and successful conduct of G-20 — which appear to have rubbed off on BJP’s campaigns in states, may be of bigger help in the LS polls because of the direct associational factor.The build-up to the election is set to see the party using its status as the incumbent to sharpen its welfare plank through measures like increase in the stipend under Kisan Samman and by enhancing health insurance coverage, by securing its flanks against possible vulnerabilities like the demand for a return to the old pension scheme, and by building upon the advantages it has got in the Ram Mandir and the ‘ready-to-roll out’ CAA, as well as the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand.
Thanks to the comfortable fiscal situation, it also has room to play to diverse constituencies: from the middle class to those trying to break into the same bracket. The result means a loss of the sheen Congress had acquired post-Karnataka, and questions about the effectiveness of its style and tactics. The targeting of the PM over the Adani Group turned out to be a flop show, and may encourage those within the party who were wary of the obsession to articulate their misgivings.
They also spell an upheaval in the ranks of the INDIA bloc partners, some of whom may use Congress’s discomfiture to insist on a bigger say in the alliance’s functioning.
The chaos can only work to BJP’s advantage, meaning that Modi now looks closer than ever to equalling Nehru’s record of three consecutive terms as PM. The achievement in his case may look even bigger because unlike Nehru, who represented the mainstream, Modi arrived as an outsider and is having to operate in a far more competitive milieu and era.

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Outreach pays off, tribal vote shifts from Congress to BJP | India News

Elections in MP, ChhattisgarhRajasthan and Telangana were also a battle for tribal votes as they have a vast ST population. Both BJP and Congress based their tribal outreach on populism and symbolism, but in the end BJP won over this key social demographic.
“The tribal community played a key role in Congress’s defeat in Gujarat, and they have reflected their mandate against the Congress once again in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” PM Narendra Modi said in his address at BJP’s Delhi headquarters on Sunday.

Election Commission data on Sunday evening showed that BJP had won 17 of the 29 ST seats in Chhattisgarh to Congress’s 11. In MP, BJP got 24 of 47 ST seats to Congress’s 22. In Rajasthan, it won 12 of 25 ST seats to Congress’s 10. However, in Telangana, nine of the 12 ST seats went to Congress and three to BRS.

PM Narendra Modi Arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi as Party Wins Rajasthan Assembly Election 2023, Leads in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

BJP has focused on the tribal community in every election since 2014. It has projected the appointment of Droupadi Murmu as President as the ultimate symbol of empowerment. Modi’s visit to tribal warrior icon Birsa Munda’s village in Jharkhand, in the middle of elections, was part of the same signaling to tribals. Beyond symbolism, the Centre has focused on development works, such as building Eklavya model residential schools and model villages. To BJP’s credit, when it faced challenges on the cultural front among tribals, like protests against the Uniform Civil Code, it quickly doused their anger. Instead, it made the issue of religious conversions and incidents of atrocities a key plank in Chhattisgarh.

Congress was banking heavily on the ST community to tilt the scales in its favour in the three states, evident in how it played on the self-re spect messaging when the urination incident involving a tribal sent shockwaves across MP. It also made welfare promises to the tribals.
The importance of a tribal push was evident in the December 2018 elections when Congress swept the three states with good margins. It won 25 of the 29 ST seats in Chhattisgarh, 31 of the 47 ST seats in Madhya Pradesh, and 12 of the 25 ST seats in Rajasthan.

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Malaria deaths in state down more than 50% | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: While the number of malaria cases in the city has risen by 62% this year, BMC hasn’t reported a single death yet – last year saw one fatality. Malaria deaths in the state dropped from 26 last year to 11 this year.
Dr Daksha Shah, BMC’s executive health officer, said Mumbai’s numbers reflect a global trend of malaria and dengue cases surging due to increased vector activity.”It’s certainly a combination of factors ranging from weather to climate conditions and local factors such as Mumbai’s ongoing upgrade in infrastructure. However, we don’t know how much of a correlation is there with pollution,” she said. G South, E, G North, K West remain the biggest contributors among wards.
The World Malaria Report 2023 published by WHO last week, for the first time, recognised climate change as a growing threat in the battle against malaria. Also, partly due to disruptions by Covid-19, there has been a global increase of 5 million malaria cases in 2022, totalling 249 million (compared to 2021), the report said. It emphasised that most malaria cases in the South-East Asian region were concentrated in India (66%), with about 94% deaths occurring in India and Indonesia. “Malaria is extremely sensitive to climate change as temperature, rainfall and humidity influence several dynamics of malaria transmission, including malaria vectorial capacity,” the report underlined.
A single day of unseasonal rainfall can set the vector control activities back by weeks, said an insecticide officer. “Malaria is also manmade in Mumbai. The wells, water storage tanks are tough to treat, while people contribute little to free their premises of breeding,” the official said. In 2023, the insecticide teams doubled down on construction sites.
However, Dr Mahendra Jagtap, state entomologist, said that deaths have halved compared to last year. He also highlighted a sharp decline in cases of falciparum, the more severe type of malaria in Gadchiroli. “We are also intensifying training for more doctors to handle critical malaria and dengue cases more effectively,” he added.

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Woman gave mom's saree to help neighbours escape blaze | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: Residents from the neighboring buildings swiftly came to the aid of those whose homes were affected by the Saturday night blaze at Girgaon’s Jethabhai Govindji building.
Reshma Kirtikar, one of the residents, said her family were at dinner when they realised something was amiss. “I stepped out of home and saw flames coming out of the building.I immediately pulled out one of my mother’s sarees and threw it upwards to one of the affected building’s residents, asking him to tie it and come down through the balcony as descending down the stairs might not have been possible as flames had completely covered the building’s entrance,” she said. “The fire brigade also put out a ladder, which helped residents come out of the structure.”
Her brother Sachin said the ground floor had grills which had to be broken by the fire brigade to bring out inhabitants. He pointed to a nearby banquet hall where an event was taking place. “Several attendees from there joined in to assist. It’s worth noting that the Jethabhai Govindji building lacks a gas pipeline, suggesting that the fire may have resulted from a short circuit,” he said.
The building comprises four flats on each floor, with three occupied on the ground floor, four on the first floor, and one on the second floor (its owners live abroad). The Shah family, who lost two members in the blaze, lived on the third floor.

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Man refuses to leave behind bedridden mom, both die in fire | India News

MUMBAI: Dhiren Nalinkant Shaha chemist with a shop in Gaiwadi, couldn’t abandon his 80-year-old bedridden motherNalini, despite a raging blaze which broke out around 9pm on Saturday in Jethabhai Govindji building, Girgaon. Dhiren remained at their thirdfloor home. The fire brigade suspects a short circuit in the electric box on the ground floor as the possible trigger for the blaze, with the old wooden stairs intensifying its spread.
While the rest of Dhiren’s family left the century-old structure as the fire spread, the 60-year-old chose to stay with his recently discharged, bedridden mother.The Shah’s, a joint family, lived adjacent to a building undergoing redevelopment. “A plank was used to connect the building on fire to the adjacent high-rise for rescue,” said a fire officer. “But Dhiren hesitated as leaving his mother alone was not an option. By the time our teams controlled the flames, the blaze had already reached their home.”
Neighbors were shocked to see Dhiren suc cumb to the blaze while others were brought out through the connecting plank. The three-story wooden structure with Mangalore tile roofing suffered extensive damage as the flames rapidly spread. Located near Chowpatty, the old building lacked a fire-fighting system.
Salome Shah, a resident, said people had to break grilles of homes to exit as the building’s entry was engulfed in flames. “The only exit was from the windows,” Shah said. The fire was extinguished around 3.35am on Sunday.
Later in the morning, residents were compelled to evacuate their homes as the building became uninhabitable due to absence of electricity and widespread fire-related debris.

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Assembly election results: The big winners & big losers | India News

Big winners
Narendra Modi: Modi was the face of BJP’s campaign with the party not declaring its CM names for MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. ‘MP Ke Mann Mein Modi’, the central theme in Madhya Pradesh, became the plank elsewhere as the party tried to leverage his popularity to get past obstacles of an unambitious unit in Chhattisgarh, fear of anti-incumbency in MP, and leaders who did little groundwork to back up their personal ambitions in Rajasthan, besides Congress’s ‘populist’ and ‘caste’ planks
Amit Shah:Wins in MP and Chhattisgarh confirm the ‘master strategist’ tag that he earned after scripting BJP’s sweep of UP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.He chose the two states instead of Rajasthan, which has traditionally ousted the party in office. The victories, especially in Chhattisgarh, can be attributed to his shrewd planning, morale boosting and stern ‘party comes first’ message to self-obsessed local notables. His success removes any doubt as to who will run BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.

Assembly Polls Results : From Congress washout in Hindi heartland to end of KCR’s national ambitions

Shivraj Singh Chouhan: BJP didn’t name him as its CM face in MP, but he remained at the centre of the party’s narrative about the state’s transformation into an agricultural powerhouse with decent infrastructure. He got the PM’s endorsement as a ‘lokpriya and karmath (popular and diligent)’ CM. His initiatives like ‘ladli behna’ and the resultant popularity among women were important factors in the victory. The result is a blow to his rivals in the party and might keep him in the CM’s chair, a prospect that had almost been ruled out.
Revanth Reddy: Since the day he was appointed Telangana Congress chief, the slim, trim and aggressive Reddy stayed focused on targeting CM KCR and predicted BRS’s ouster. His outreach throughout the state boosted Congress, though his unilateral style threatened fragmentation in the party. The AICC intervened in time and a chastened Reddy disciplined himself while other leaders were accommodated in organisational roles.

JP Nadda: He assigned himself Rajasthan, where, the revolving-door pattern notwithstanding, BJP faced a challenge because of factional rivalries and Ashok Gehlot’s vigorous populism. He ensured the malcontents did not start mutinies and squabbles did not result in sabotage. The defeat of some of the senior lights and victory of rebels illustrate the enormity of the task he faced.
Vasundhara Raje: The two-time CM didn’t give up when the BJP brass projected a ‘collective leadership’ model instead of making her the CM face. Impressive turnouts at her rallies showed she is the most popular Rajasthan BJP leader, strengthening her claim to a third stint as CM. However, her aloofness during Congress’s entire term, and inability to come to terms with the new BJP leadership and take people along, could go against her.
Jyotiraditya Scindia: Responsible for the fall of the Kamal Nath government in 2020, Scindia can gloat over the party’s performance in the Gwalior-Chambal region as most of the Congress MLAs there had joined the saffron fold with him. Coming after Priyanka Gandhi’s dig about his height, the result may taste even sweeter. He is seen as a candidate for the CM’s post because he is relatively young and his appointment would be a taunt to the Gandhis, to whose inner circle he once belonged.
Big losers
Bhupesh Baghel: An aggressive politician and OBC face, Baghel ensured that Congress was connected to the ground through his five years at the helm and made farmers a big part of his voter outreach. But his tenure was marred by a power struggle with colleague TS Singh Deo, and the Centre’s allegations of corruption bothered him during his last two years. His confidence in his own strategy and the party’s chances pre-empted any fresh thinking, and Congress ended with a poor showing in Chhattisgarh.
KCR: The man who exhumed the Telangana statehood demand, and turned it into political capital, finally fell to hubris. Insulated from the ground after a decade in office, the Telangana CM erred in repeating his army of MLAs, and the perception that he was a BJP ally went against him. While he marginalised civil society, which had powered his rise, Congress successfully caricatured his term as rule by a ‘gang of four.’
Kamal Nath/Digvijaya Singh: A Delhi player, Nath stayed put in Bhopal after the 2020 coup that toppled his government, and micromanaged Congress’s Madhya Pradesh campaign. But insiders say he was overbearing, didn’t give prominence to other leaders, and was not relentless in his campaigning. His banking on anti-incumbency to win, refusing to accept the revamped party strategy of candidate selection, and not using the designated pollster, proved disastrous. Singh was the nuts-and-bolts man of the organisation, but his clashes with Nath created the impression of a disjointed campaign. His complacency and frozen ideas about candidates and strategy revealed a lack of touch with new realities.
Ashok Gehlot: Long dubbed ‘jaadugar (wizard)’, the Congress leader promised to buck Rajasthan’s tradition of ousting governments every five years. His exhaustive campaign for the last one year, promise of ‘mehengai rahat’ and ‘7 guarantees’ sought to blunt anti-incumbency and BJP’s communal push. They didn’t win him the match but staved off a rout. Gehlot’s insistence on repeating sitting MLAs will come in for serious scrutiny in the party, especially when Congress came this far in the otherwise lost battle.
Rahul Gandhi/Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: After sitting out Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, Rahul returned to the campaign trail in Karnataka where his voter outreach complemented the local Congress satraps and delivered a massive win. Rahul and Priyanka were Congress’s lead campaigners in this round of polls, adding weight to the party’s populist promises by targeting PM Modi over inflation and unemployment, and alleged patronage of the Adani group, while also promoting Rahul’s new ‘caste census’ theme. The siblings addressed dozens of rallies, but failed to bring dividends they were confident about. The result raises doubts about the effectiveness of Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which was widely credited for the Karnataka victory.
Sachin Pilot: The young Congress leader turned from resentful rebel to champion campaigner as he toured his stronghold of eastern Rajasthan and other seats to shore up Congress’s fortunes. Though Pilot was also in demand in other election-bound states, particularly MP, all eyes were on whether he could deliver Gujjar and youth votes, besides other demographics. In the final analysis, he couldn’t.

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Cats Rescued: 3 cats rescued 15 hours after blaze erupted in Mumbai's Girgaon | India News

MUMBAI: Geeta Rawal, a ground-floor resident of the fire-ravaged building in Girgaonawaited her three cats on Sunday morning, as fire personnel were still in the process of bringing them out from her home, reports Richa Pinto.
About 15 hours after the blaze, Cleo, Zeiss, and Golu were safely brought out in their cages. Soon, they were sitting proudly beside their owner.“I was confident they would survive; they’ve always been fighters in the 13 years they’ve lived with me,” added Rawal.

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IIT-B sets up 'Recharge Zone' for students

MUMBAI: In a move that could set precedence for other IITs, IIT-Bombay’s Student Wellness Centre (SWC) launched a ‘Recharge Zone’ to help students relieve their stress during the high-pressure placement season.
From foot spas to pet therapy, from art therapy to yoga, job aspirants at the institute are having a unique ‘de-stressing’ experience in this ongoing season.The initiative was launched after the counsellors experienced a significant rise in the numbers of students seeking counselling appointments during the annual placement seasons.
“The idea was floated in one of our brainstorming sessions. The placement season is considered to be highly stressful. Though eventually most students get placed in the end, there are a lot of ups and downs and uncertainties.
There is stress, anxiety, and hopelessness,” said Shoukath Ali, acting in charge of the SWC. “We wanted to go a little beyond conventional counselling and take a little more holistic approach,” he added.
At the ‘Recharge Zone’, strategically located outside the interviews’ venue, students have multiple stress-buster stations. There are two highly trained dogs for pet therapy. “Students are just coming and hugging the dogs and spending some time with them. An NGO has also arranged eight volunteers who are giving students foot and back massages. We have also organised art therapy for students – where students can come and draw or colour and talk with the therapists. The students can also choose to talk or vent about their emotions and connect with themselves and feel calmer. Based on their drawings, and the colours they use, the art therapists are also interpreting and providing some insights into the students’ state of mind and personality traits,” said Ali.
A student said that she gets shoulder pain whenever she is stressed, and the massage really helped her relieve the stress. “Many students who have not had good interviews even break down,” she said, adding that students have at least 3-4 interviews a day. “Even the waiting period after interviews is very stressful,” she said.
IIT-Bombay took to social media platform X to announce the launch and called it a ‘pioneering move’. A senior professor told TOI that it is an excellent initiative and also much needed given the stress that their students are under at this time. The services are provided free of cost to students and will be on for the first eight days.

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