About 150 terrorists are waiting near the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to sneak into the Valley, a top army official said today with an assertion that the attempts would be foiled.

Lt Gen J S Sandhu, Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps which is responsible for security of the Kashmir valley, said there would be more terrorists at the launching pads in PoK in the areas facing Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu province.

"According to an estimate, in our area -- 15 Corps -- there are about 150 militants at present. There would be some more near Poonch-Rajouri areas (in Jammu region) as well," he said.

He was speaking to the reporters at the end of a two-day youth festival 'Jashn-e-Baramulla', organised by the army in the north Kashmir town.

The army commander said the infiltration from PoK across the LoC has been low this year compared to the last year. -- PTI

A court in Aurangabad has issued a non-bailable warrant against filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma and producer Ronnie Screwvala in connection with a copyright violation case of 2009.

Siddiqui Mushtaq Muhsin in his petition claimed that the film Agyaat, directed by Varma and produced by Screwvala and released in August 2009, was based on a story written by him.

Judicial Magistrate K K Kurandale issued the non-bailable warrant after Muhsin's lawyer Pradeep Walujkar pointed out that Varma had not responded to the summonses that were served on him since last two years.

The court posted the matter for hearing on May 31.

'Varma had been making offbeat films and as such I wrote a story and sent it to him through post but received no reply.

'In 2009 when the film Agyaat was released, I was shocked to see that it was based on my story,' the petition mentions.

Muhsin said, "I had registered the story with the Film Writers Association and the records can be verified."  -- PTI

The West Bengal government has decided to drop the tag 'Pradhan Mantri' from 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna' and rename it as 'Bangla Fasal Bima Yojna', a senior minister today confirmed today.

The reason behind the decision to drop the Pradhan Mantri tag, taken at a state cabinet meeting earlier this month, was that the Centre's share in such schemes had come down to 50:50, state agriculture minister Purnendu Basu explained to PTI.

"We do not see any necessity in continuing with the Pradhan Mantri tag on a project for which the state government has been contributing much. This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting," Basu said.

As per the norm, the farmer had to pay one-third of it while the remaining two-thirds was borne by the Centre and the state government.

Earlier, the Centre's contribution was either 90 per cent or around 75 per cent, which now came down to 50 per cent or below in several schemes.

"Give me a logic why we should continue with the name Pradhan Mantri when the state government's contribution to the scheme was maximum," Basu reasoned.

The state has already renamed some of the central government schemes like Swach Bharat has become Nirmal Bangla.

It was also learnt that the Centre has sent a letter to the state Panchayat department seeking the reason behind dropping 'Pradhan Mantri' tag from the schemes. -- PTI

JUST IN: We have information that 10 Maoists were killed and five got seriously injured, says D P Upadhyay, CRPF DIG Operations on Sukma Naxal attack.

The Central Reserve Police Force team targeted by Naxals in Chhattisgarh seemed to have ignored Standard Operating Procedures, leading to the killing of 25 personnel in the ambush.

Home Ministry officials said initial reports from the ground indicated that the nearly 100-member team did not follow the SOPs which resulted in casualties of such a large number of personnel.

It seemed that they were not adequately trained, otherwise such a tragedy would not have happened, an official said.

The SOPs were prepared for the security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations.

Many in the home ministry believed that the CRPF team had lowered its guard which gave the Maoists an opportunity to attack the security personnel from multiple directions.

Acting Director General of the CRPF Sudeep Lakhtakia is expected to arrive from Chhattisgarh tonight and he will give a detailed presentation to the Home Ministry top brass on the circumstances leading to the attack on Monday in Sukma district.  -- PTI 

Benchmark Sensex closed above the 30,000-mark for the first time today, while the Nifty too finished at a record high on sustained buying amid positive global cues.

Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother requests the intervention of Pakistan government for his release. Jadhav, an Indian, has been sentenced to death in Pakistan allegedly for spying.

His mother has filed an appeal at a higher court in Pakistan. The appeal was filed in the name of Avanti Jadhav by the Indian envoy in Islamabad in the Pakistan court of appeals today, reports NDTV.

India also demanded consular access to Jadhav for the 16th time. So far, Pakistan has denied all requests for access in the case. On Monday, Pakistan's envoy Abdul Basit said under a 2008 agreement between India and Pakistan, consular access was only given to civilian prisoners and fishermen.

Jet Airways says a full-fledged internal investigation is underway over the complaint by cricketer Harbhajan Singh that an expat pilot with the airlines hurled 'racist' comments at and physically assaulted a woman on a flight.

The airlines said the pilot has been de-rostered.

Harbhajan Singh said the pilot abused a physically challenged man, and said the incident was "disgraceful" and demanded strict action against the person concerned.

"So called this Bernd Hoesslin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow Indian (u bloody indian get out of my flight) while he is earning here," Singh said in a series of tweets.

The tweets from Harbhajan Singh also come at a time when Jet Airways' local pilots body NAG has raised concerns about the behaviour of expat pilots at the airline.

Last week, the National Aviators Guild (NAG) had said the carrier is treating Indian pilots in a "step-motherly" manner compared to their expat counterparts on the rolls. 

Nephew of the jailed AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala, TTV Dinakaran, who was was arrested by the Delhi Police around Tuesday midnight on charges of fixing a deal to bribe Election Commission officials, has been sent to five days in police custody.

He is accused of attempting to bribe an Election Commission official for retaining the party's poll symbol of two-leaves for his faction.

Dinakaran was on Tuesday called for questioning at 5 pm at the Crime Branch Inter State Cell office in Chanakyapuri and was arrested around midnight, Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner of police (crime), said.

His long-time friend Mallikarjuna has also been arrested after being quizzed for the second day on the trot, he said.

Mallikarjuna had been accompanying Dinakaran everywhere ever since Sukesh Chandrsekar, the middleman in the EC bribery case, was arrested, police said.

Dinakaran had on Monday confessed to meeting Chandrsekar, assuming he was a high court judge.


Imaging: Dominic Xavier.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered the suspension of internet services in the trouble-hit valley for a period of one month or till further orders.

In an order, the Home Department has said that internet services in Kashmir valley shall not be transmitted for a period of one month or till further orders, officials said.

The state home department invoked powers conferred on it under Indian Telegraph Act and Information Technology Act to suspend the internet services, the officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether the order pertains to all internet services or just the mobile internet services, which are already suspended since April 17.

The mobile internet services in Kashmir were snapped last Monday following widespread student protests in the valley against alleged highhandedness of security forces.

The move comes amidst disturbances in Kashmir, which the authorities believe are fanned through social media.

Finally, here it is. Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal  tweets: I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi.

Jammu & Kashmir Government's Home department orders that internet services in Kashmir valley will continue to remain suspended for a month. 

TTV Dinakaran, the deputy general secretary of the AIADMK is believed to be regretting his decision of inducting a close relative into the party and giving the person a key post. It is this relative who tipped off the Tamil Nadu police about the two leaves  election symbol bribery scam. In fact, Sasikala's family is said to leaking lots of insider stories not only to local media, but also to local police.  

An expat pilot with Jet Airways hurled "racist" comments at and physically assaulted a lady on a flight, cricketer Harbhajan Singh claimed today.      

Just In: Sensex zooms 190.11 pts to close at new peak of 30,133.35; Nifty ends at record 9,351.85, up 45.25 pts.

Verdict in 2G spectrum allocation case involving former Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others, reserved for July 15.

India today demanded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying. This was conveyed by Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Gautam Bambawale to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua during a meeting sought by him. On April 19, a meeting between Bambawale and Janjua was rescheduled. Pakistan has denied India's request for consular access to 46-year-old Jadhav over a dozen times in the last one year.

The Indian envoy also handed over an appeal to the Pak Foreign Secretary for Jadhav under the Pakistan Army Act Section 133(B) seeking to go to Court of Appeals.

Pakistan Army has already rejected any chance of granting consular access to Jadhav who was sentenced to death for espionage and subversive activities. On April 14, Bambawale had met with the Pakistani foreign secretary, showing increasing concern of India about the fate of Jadhav. He told media after his meeting that he had asked for list of charges and authentic copy of verdict of military tribunal against Jadhav to launch appeal against his conviction. He also said that India was seeking consular access on the basis on international law humanitarian grounds. Pakistan Foreign Office has said that during the period of trial of Jadhav, due judicial process was followed and he was provided a lawyer in accordance with relevant laws and the Constitution of Pakistan. Jadhav was awarded death sentence by the Field General Court Martial earlier this month, evoking a sharp reaction in India which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the "pre-meditated murder" was carried out. Pakistan claims its security forces had arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. It also claimed that he was "a serving officer in the Indian Navy." The Pakistan Army had also released a "confessional video" of Jadhav after his arrest. However, India denied Pakistan's contention and maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped by the Pakistan authorities. India had acknowledged that Jadhav had served with the navy but denied that he has any connection with the government.

Flurry of resignations from the Congress. After Ajay Maken and PC chako, senior Congress leader & AICC General Secretary Gurudas Kamat resigns from all party posts.

With the BJP all set to emerge victorious in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls for a third consecutive term, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said the number of seats saffron party has got is unbelievable, adding that analysis will be done to find out the reason for their defeat. "The BJP is working for the past 10 years with the MCD. That party has done nothing but spread corruption, Dengue, Chikungunya and pollution. Despite of that the number of seats BJP has got is not believable. We will do analysis of the reason behind our defeat," Sisodia said.

He added that there is no reason that the public would choose the BJP again in Delhi.

"AAP has been working here for the past two years now, we do have faults and we will solve them as well as usual. If the difference would have been of two-three seats then it was acceptable, but the result which has come is unbelievable. Without the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tempering BJP cannot win so many seats," Sisodia asserted.

He added that the BJP, who appealed in the Supreme Court and which after losing in 2009 put forward a full-fledged research on EVM tampering, now they are winning through that very tempering only.

"Till now no expert and not even the Election Commission (EC) have come with an answer as to how in Bhind, an EVM was found which produced only BJP tickets," Sisodia said.

Congress' Delhi in-charge P C Chacko sends his resignation to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi after the party's dismal show in the MCD polls.

Indian Envoy met Pakistan Foreign Secretary today. He demanded consular access to former navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav: reports

The knives are out for Mr Kejriwal.

Former AAP member Prashant Bhushan tweets: @pbhushan1  No point blaming EVM for MCD rout. AAP must realise that this is because they betrayed the promise of clean, transparent, accountable politics.

Former AAP leader and a close aide of Arvind Kejriwal who worked with Anna Hazare in the India Against Corruption movement writes an open letter to the Delhi CM a day before the results of the MCD polls announced a crippling defeat for the AAP.

Dear Arvind,
A defeat deals a body blow to arrogance and makes the mind ready to reflect. So, the timing is appropriate.

I am addressing you as your former friend and colleague who believes that AAP can still be salvaged and become the party for alternative politics. I am reaching out to you because my agony is not just mine; but of lakhs of volunteers, donors and supporters.

We have known each other since 2003, when I was part of Annaji fast-to-death in Mumbai for the RTI etc. You have been my hero first, friend next and politician later.

Arvind, the unselfish hero who would never compromise, was dead. In his place was a politician who wanted to manipulate that support to fuel his ambition to become a PM in 2019. You and your coterie decided.

Read the full letter here.

And read this  for a backgrounder of the rift between Gandhi's letter to Kejriwal

BJP's Shazia Ilmi: People of Delhi, including poor and marginalised sections, have come together for the saffron party's development agenda casting aside the identity politics. People have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, the idea of new India. It a rejection of negative politics of the conspiracy, blame game, shoot and scoot politics. I would like to warn Kejriwal not to blame EVM and leave politics as a career. He is drama queen. He is very good at making baseless stories, conspiracy theories. He should not fool the people and blame other for his sins and omissions.

Sambit Patra (BJP spokesperson): Kejriwal will lose the elections because of his aggression. "BJP is heading toward victory and Aam Aadmi Party is losing the elections. Kejriwal hoped to become Prime Minister after becoming Chief Minister of Delhi. Kejriwal is losing the election just because of his aggression.

PM Modi: Grateful to people of Delhi for the faith in BJP. I laud the hard work of team @BJP4Delhi which made the resounding MCD win possible.

Mayank Gandhi‏ (former AAP member):  DearAK, I have seen you turn 180 from what you were. After your complete rejection, can I expect you to introspect and make anr. 180 turn? ...Look around you Arvind all original volunteers who had left everything to join for the principles hv been removed, quit or are inactive..."

PM Modi: Grateful to people of Delhi for the faith in BJP. I laud the hard work of team @BJP4Delhi which made the resounding MCD win possible.

Why the attack on Jammu's nomads is a big concern. Read

Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to shortly meet Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry over Kulbhushan Jadhav issue.

Everybody loves a winner. Shazia Ilmi posts this picture with the BJP's
Delhi chief, Manoj Tiwari, who along with PM Narendra Modi is being credited with the party's spectacular win in the MCD polls. Ilmi who joined the BJP recently, tweeted, "Manoj Tiwari is such a humble and a decent human being!"

Wins so far:  BJP: 103, Cong 8, AAP 26.

Just as the counting began, Tiwari took a dig at Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party saying it had "already conceded defeat".

"Those who lose the battle even before the results clearly have a negative attitude. People can't support that," Tiwari said. "When you have the chance, why are you hurting the poor man? Why are you losing before the results?"

The BJP retained all the three MCD corporations after registering landslide wins. The party made huge gains in North, South and East MCDs. The AAP was routed in the civic polls and failed to retain its supporters, unlike in the 2015 assembly polls. The Congress finished third but made reasonable gains in Delhi.

The central government has no plan to impose any tax on agriculture income, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

Ajay Maken resigns as the Congress party's Delhi chief after coming in a poor third in the MCD polls. "We have made a reasonable comeback, but I had hoped to do better," Maken said speaking to the media. "For one year I will not take up any post in the party, I will work as a party worker. I take responsibility for defeat and I am going to resign as Delhi Congress President."

Maken was entrusted with the party in Delhi after former CM Sheila Dikshit was defeated by the AAP in 2014. His main task was reorganisation of the state unit and grooming leaders with a clean image, which he has failed to do.

We have made a reasonable comeback, but I had hoped to do better in #DelhiMcdElection2017 : Ajay Maken, Congress


For 1 year I will not take up any post in the party, will work as a party worker: Ajay Maken, #Congress

Take responsibility for defeat and I am going to resign as Delhi Congress President: @ajaymaken  #ABPResults
8 replies 7 retweets 27 likes
Reply  8   Retweet  7   
Like 27
 ABP News‏Verified account @abpnewstv  5m5 minutes ago
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 For 1 year I will not take up any post in the party, will work as a party worker: Ajay Maken,

BJP president Amit Shah on the party sweeping the MCD results: People of Delhi have given a clear signal, bahaane baazi ki rajneeti nahin chalegi.'

AAP deputy CM Manish Sisodia on poll rout: "Unbelievable that such a huge victory for BJP is possible without EVM tampering. BJP leaders had written books on EVM tampering, now same leaders saying EVMs are fine."

Sisodia, in a series of tweets, said that the BJP had research on EVMs for five years after losing the 2009 elections. BJP ne 2009 ka chunav haarne ke baad 5 saal EVM par research kar mahaarat haasil ki aur ussi research aur mahaarat ke dum par chunaav jeet rahi hai, Sisodia tweeted. (After losing the 2009 elections, BJP conducted a research on EVMs for five years and gained expertise. On the basis of this research and expertise they are winning elections)

Sisodia also said that senior BJP leaders GVL Narasimha Rao and LK Advani had also written a book on EVMs. EVM tampering desh ke loktantra ki ek aisi kadvi sachai hai jiska shuru me mazaak ud sakta hai lekin mazaak ke dar se hum sach bolna nahi chhod sakte, Sisodia added. (EVM tampering is a truth of our democracy and people can make fun of it in the beginning but that does not mean we will stop speaking the truth.)


Sisodia was in a meeting with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal at the latters official residence in Delhi. Kejriwal has not yet made any statement on MCD elections. However, other party leaders, including Gopal Rai and Ashutosh, have also claimed that EVM tampering is the reason behind BJPs performance in Delhi.

The Congress party's Ajay Maken who handled the election for the party has been criticised for being unwilling to discuss or accept suggestions from other party members.

The Congress party's Arvinder Lovely crossed over from the Congress to the BJP just a week before voting.

Dixit, a three-term CM, is credited with efficient administration, despite corruption taints during the Commonwealth Games. Gracious, despite defeat, Dixit said, "Each time we lose, we learn something." No doubt, there's been lots of opportunities for the Congress to learn.

The BJP's winning streak is credited largely to the immense popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


Image: A media contingent waiting outside Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence as he holds a meeting with deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

Nitin Gadkari weighs in on the MCD wins and the AAP's EVM crutch. "Winning and losing is a part of democracy, one must accept mandate of the people with maturity," he said.  

The BJP took an early lead in the MCD polls by winning three wards for which results were announced. The party candidates won Janakpuri West and Janakpuri South, in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) by defeating AAP candidates. Narender Chawla won from Janakpuri West by a margin of 1347 votes, while Veena Sharma defeated her AAP rival by 5362 votes.

The BJP also won Rajender Nagar ward in North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The early victories combined with positive trends reflected BJP's success in overcoming anti-incumbency despite ruling the three civic bodies including East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for last 10 years.

The BJP was leading in all the three-North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations. While rivals Congress and AAP were left far behind. The vote counting for 270 wards of three municipal corporations began at 35 centres across the city at 8 am. Voting for 270 of the total 272 municipal wards was held on April 23. Two wards where candidates died, voting was cancelled.

Former Delhi CM Sheela Dixit explains the Congress debacle in the MCD polls, saying aggressive campaigning was necessary. "Aggressive campaign karna chahiye tha, maine campaign nahi kiya kyunki kisi ne mujhe kaha hi nahi. I did not campaign because nobody even asked me."

Speaking on the EVM controversy, Dixit said the Election Commission and the government should work it out.

"EC aur Govt ko duvidha duur karni chahiye, par jo haarta hai vo kehta hai EVM kharab hai. Jo jeet ta hai vo kehta hai theek hai. Those who lose blame the EVM, those who win say the EVM is fine."

The AAP has continued to blame the use of EVMs for the poll debacle.

The BJP dedicates their victory in the MCD polls to the Sukma martyrs. Posters like this have cropped up across the city.

The party will not be celebrating their sweep in the polls in respect to the jawans who laid down their lives in Sukma on Monday.

Arvind Kejriwal's media adviser Nagendar Sharma, hints at EVM tampering, tweeting that the "human will' has no relevance when "machines are with you'.

@sharmanagendar  Sweeping Delhi MCD polls without sweeping Delhi's streets for a decade. When machines are with you human will is of no relevance.

"Kejriwal is a drama queen,' quips BJP's Shazia Ilmi over his recent remarks on EVM fraud. Ilmi was a former AAP leader but quit the party after differences with Arvind Kejriwal. 

AAP's Gopal Rai further said, "AAP's gain or loss is a small thing, but EVMs will not dictate the democracy of this country. The BJP is trying to finish democracy in India through EVMs. We want to free the nation of this EVM fraud."

Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party has blamed the decimation in the Delhi Municipal Elections on its pet peeve -- the EVM machine.

With the BJP leagues ahead at 181 seats, Cong: 38 and AAP: 40, Delhi's Rural Development minister Gopal Rai said, "Yeh Modi lehar nahi hai, EVM lehar hai."

To bring you up to speed, on April 23, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal raised concerns about the reliability of EVMs, alleging that many machines were malfunctioning.

Just two days prior to the MCD elections on April 21, the Delhi High Court rejected the plea seeking direction to state election commission and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to use only second generation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the civic polls.

Earlier on April 18, the Delhi High Court had refused to give immediate relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its plea seeking the same. The court questioned the AAP as to why it was approaching it at "11th" hour for getting MCD polls conducted via VVPAT machine EVMs.

The plea was filed by the AAP on the very same day itself.

A day before, the Delhi Chief Minister met the State Election Commissioner on the issue of the EVMs and put forward his demand. However, the SEC rejected the proposal, saying there was no provision to postpone the elections.

Earlier on March 24, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had turned down Kejriwal's request to amend rules and conduct the civic polls using ballot papers.

The Delhi Congress had also written to Kejriwal, seeking use of ballot papers instead of EVMs in the civic polls.

Update: Banners featuring AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala were removed from the party headquarters here, a day after the rival Panneerselvam camp made the demand to "uphold the sanctity" of the party office.

The Panneerselvam camp welcomed the move, saying it was a "positive step."

The banners were removed this morning.

Yesterday, the 'Presidium Chairman' of the Panneerselvam led faction, E Madusudanan, had demanded that the portraits of Sasikala be removed from the party office to "uphold the sanctity" of the AIADMK headquarters.

"This is definitely a positive step," 'Aspire' K Swaminathan, Media coordinator of the Panneerselvam led AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) told PTI.

He also said the move came in "continuance" to Madusudanan's appeal and said, "We are happy the cadres have decided to remove the banners." Panneerselvam had yesterday said that a "conducive" atmosphere was evolving in both camps for talks.

Union Science & Technology minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on the MCD polls trends: Massive mandate for the BJP visible in the MCD polls indicates our stand that people want BJP back.

AIADMK gets its groove back. Sasikala's portraits have been removed from the AIADMK office.

Rakesh Rajpurohit @RakeshR54526698
#MCDresults
AAP and Delhi:
2015: Honeymoon
2016: Yeh kya ho raha hai?
2017: Talaq Talaq Talaq

MCD Polls leads so far:
BJP: 184, Congress: 40, AAP: 27

First wins of the MCD polls are from BJP: Narender Chawla wins Janakpuri (West), Veena Sharma wins Janakpuri (South).

The BJP took an early lead in the MCD polls, heading ahead in 71 wards while rivals Congress and AAP were left far behind leading in 16 and 14 wards respectively, initial trends indicated today.

The vote counting for 270 wards of three municipal corporations began at 35 centres across the city at 8 am. Trends were available for 104 seats.

The BJP was leading in all the three-North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations. The party was leading in 31 wards while Congress and AAP on 6 and 1 wards respectively in North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in the beginning of counting.

The civic body has a total of 104 wards. In South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), BJP was ahead of rivals in 29 of the 44 wards for which initial trends were available by 8.40 am. SDMC too has 104 wards.

The Congress was leading in 8 wards while AAP in 6 wards, respectively. BJP has also maintained lead in counting of votes for East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) wards.

The total number of wards in EDMC is 64.

BJP was leading in Ghumanhera, Roshanpura,, Hauz Khas, Malkaganj, Kadipur Sriram Colony, Geeta Colony and Krishna Nagar wards. Congress was leading in Hari Nagar, Kondli, Bhajanpur and Subhash Nagar wards.

The AAP candidates were leading in Vinod Nagar, Ballimaran, Paharganj, Kishanganj and Mongolpuri wards. Voting for 270 of the total 272 municpal wards was held on April 23. Two wards where candidates died, voting was cancelled.

Sensex at a record high of 30,030.80 points. Nifty at 9,328.75. 

Turkey and Israel on Tuesday condemned the deadly Naxalite attack in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district in which 25 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed.

'We condemn this heinous terrorist attack. We convey our condolences to the friendly people and Government of India and wish a speedy recovery those wounded,' the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israel emphasised on deepening cooperation with India to combat terrorism, as it conveyed condolences to the Indian government.

Daniel Carmon, Israel's envoy to India, said there is a 'new battlefield, an asymmetric warfare' which the security forces have to face.

"Terrorism is one of the challenges India and Israel face. It is an opportunity to reconvene our condolences to what happened in Chhattisgarh, but there are different facets to this.

"Every life lost due to the terrible attacks by terrorists is really very, very sad and also brings us to be more engaged in fighting terrorism," Carmon said, adding that the two countries signed an agreement on Homeland Security and Anti-Terrorism agreement in 2014. -- PTI

JUST IN: Delhi Police arrests All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Amma) leader T T V Dinakaran for allegedly trying to bribe an Election Commission official to get the 'two leaves' symbol of the party back.

His aide Mallikarjuna has also been arrested.

Earlier in the day, Dinakaran had confessed to meeting Sukesh Chandrasekhar, the arrested middleman in the bribery case, under the impression that he was a high court judge, police said.

The leader, who is accused of trying to bribe an Election Commission official in a bid to retain the 'two-leaves' symbol of AIADMK, however, denied having paid any money to Sukesh in this regard, police said. -- Agencies