LIVE! Oppn to 'wait and watch' before making next move

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Wed, 22 May 2019

Oppn to 'wait and watch' before making next move

Timeline Refresh

23:50 Police protection for Vivek Oberoi

Actor Vivek Oberoi has been provided protection, a police official said Wednesday evening.

There were intelligence inputs about threat to the Bollywood actor, the official said.

Oberoi was provided with two personal security officers on Wednesday, he said.

A police vehicle has also been parked outside his residence in Mumbai, the official added.

Oberoi courted controversy recently when he tweeted a meme related to actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's personal life.

He deleted the tweet and apologized after receiving flak on social media.

Oberoi stars in the role of Narendra Modi in a soon- to-be-released biopic on the prime minister. -- PTI

Five Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers were sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court on Wednesday in a case related to the murder of a Communist Party of India-Marxist activist in Thalassery in 2006.

Additional Sessions Judge R L Byju convicted Shankaran Master, 48, his brother Manoharan, 42, Vijesh, 38, Prakashan, 48, and Kavyesh, 40, of murder, rioting and other offences under the Indian Penal Code.

Awarding rigorous life imprisonment to the five accused, the judge also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on them.

The court acquitted 11 other accused, including RSS worker Valsan Thillenkeri.

According to the prosecution, a group of men fatally attacked CPI-M activist K K Yakub with bombs on June 13, 2006, due to political rivalry.

In all, 16 RSS-BJP activists had been arraigned as accused in the case. -- PTI

Top opposition leaders will be in touch with each other and in case the National Democratic Alliance falls short of a majority, they will act swiftly to stake claim to form government, sources said on Wednesday, a day ahead of counting of votes of the Lok Sabha elections.

Non-NDA parties are in a 'wait and watch' mode and their top leaders will be in constant touch with each other to bringing the opposition together, they said.

In case the NDA does not get a majority, the opposition parties will write to the President and present themselves as one block and assert that they should be given preference over the single largest party, the sources said.

Opposition leaders have already held meetings and top Congress leaders also did some brainstorming ahead counting day as they think they stand a chance at forming the government if the NDA falls short of the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

Almost all exit polls have predicted a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, but that has not brought the morale of opposition parties down as they still hope for a 'better' result.

"We will be in constant touch with each other and will try to put our act together after seeing the numbers, in case the NDA fails to get a majority," an opposition leader said.

He added that any talk of forming the government would come only after the numbers come out on Thursday. -- PTI

The Madras high court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking recounting of votes if they do not tally with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips and pulled up the petitioner for moving the plea at the eleventh hour.

A vacation bench comprising Justice RMT Teekaa Raaman and Justice P D Audikesavalu asked why the petitioner did not move the court immediately after the Lok Sabha elections were over.

Noting that the petitioner, Lakshmi Krupa, has approached the court last minute, the bench refused to hear it.

The votes polled in the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections are set to be counted Thursday.

Earlier, advocate Swaroop, appearing for Krupa, cited the Election Commission's announcement based on the Supreme Court order.

He said random matching of the VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) would be done in five booths in every assembly segment.

However, there were many discrepancies and no provisions were available under the statute to match VVPATs with the EVMs, he contended.

He sought a direction to the EC for recounting in the constituency if there was a mismatch. -- PTI

21:59 AIB says Khamba out of company, Tanmay demoted

Comedy group AIB on Wednesday announced Gursimran Khamba will no longer be involved with the company and Tanmay Bhat will step down from the post of CEO.

Last year, Khamba and Bhat, the co-founders of the comedy quartet, distanced themselves from the comedy group, which is battling allegations of sexual harassment against its members.

While Bhat is under attack for his inaction in the complaints against writer-comedian Utsav Chakraborty, Khamba has been directly accused of sexual misconduct.

In a statement shared on its official Twitter account, the company also said the AIB YouTube channel is 'dead for the foreseeable future'.

AIB said there has been an Internal Committee and anti-harassment system in place from the start. But the culture at work may not have been perfect which needs to be improved, the statement added.

"To that end, we maintain that Tanmay Bhat's lapse of judgement regarding Utsav Chakraborty was egregious. As a result, even though, Tanmay Bhat's suspension has been lifted, he will no longer hold the position of CEO."

In Khamba's case, the company said they appointed a two-member External Committee (EC) -- comprising a senior partner at a law firm and a diversity consultant -- to look into the allegations.

But the comic had stepped away from the investigation process during its course, citing 'issues with procedure', AIB said in the statement.

"The EC was unable to conclude the investigation on account of this withdrawal. Given these circumstances, Gursimran Khamba will no longer be involved in operations at AIB, and will be working independent of us," the company added.

As per the statement, the company will continue to be managed by remaining two members Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya, who will also pursue solo interests in the coming future.

AIB said as a 'hundred per cent independent, creator-owned company', post the allegations going public, their business went to 'zero'.

"... The lack of revenue inflows made it impossible for us, as owners, to sustain outgoing costs... But with no revenue and operational costs piling up, we had to make some hard, and unfortunately permanent decisions. We had to let our office space and entire team go overnight."

The statement added all the employees who were let go managed to find another job.

"The AIB YouTube channel is for all intents and purposes, dead for the foreseeable future - there will be no new sketches anytime soon... If and when we decide to release other content on the channel (for eg stand-up clips), you will be the first to know," it added.

The statement was the first activity on the group's Twitter page since October 2018, after company HR head Vidhi Jotwani announced Bhat and Khamba were distancing themselves from AIB amid allegations in the wake of the #MeToo wave. -- PTI

21:14 EC is 'Enfeebled Commission', says Congress

The Congress on Wednesday dubbed the Election Commission as 'Enfeebled Commission' after the poll body was learnt to have rejected the opposition parties' demand for pre-verification of VVPATs with EVMs while counting and said it was a 'black day' for democracy.

Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi asked on what basis the commission had arrived at the decision as the Supreme Court ruling on VVPAT counting did not come under Rule 56-D as cited by it.

He also questioned whether the EVMs were 'electronic victory machines' for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Model Code of Conduct was 'Modi's Campaign Code', alleging that the poll body had succumbed to the pressure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.

"It is a black day for democracy and it is very sad and unfortunate for an institution like the Election Commission," he told reporters.

Addressing a press conference, Singhvi said though the Congress or any other party had not received any reply or order from the EC on their complaints, the poll body has no logistical reason to reject the demand as it entails no extra time or burden on it.

"Has the Model Code of Conduct become 'Modi's campaign code' and EVMs 'electronic victory machines' for the BJP. Has the Election Commission become 'Enfeebled Commission' or is it 'Eradicated Commission' or 'Eliminated Commission' as it has succumbed to the pressure of PM and Amit Shah," he claimed.

The Congress leader also alleged that the EC had adopted 'discriminatory' standards, 'one for the aam aadmi (common man) and the other for two people, who are above the law -- the prime minister and Amit Shah'.

Questioning what could be the possible ground for rejection of the opposition's demand, Singhvi said they have only asked for random checking of VVPATs at the beginning of counting so that a sample can be checked.

Asked whether the Congress will move court against the EC's decision, Singhvi asked, "Why should we?"

He indicated that there was no enough time left to move the court.

"We are appealing to the court of people. We have fought a clean battle. There is no time to go anywhere," he said, adding that the EC's decision had given rise to suspicion about its functioning.

Singhvi said the demand made by the opposition was only to reinforce the credibility of EVMs and that of the EC. -- PTI

20:09 Govt advisory to TV channels ahead of counting

A day before the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels, asking them to strictly comply with their respective undertakings of carrying news or non-news content.

In accordance with the 2011 policy guidelines for up-linking of television channels from India, the ministry gives permission for up-linking under two categories -- non-news and current affairs, and news and current affairs.

The 'non-news and current affairs' channel means a channel which does not have any element of news and current affairs in its programme content.

A 'news and current affairs TV channel' means a channel which has elements of news and current affairs in its programme content.

News channels are mandated to carry news and current affairs content, while non-news and current affairs channels are not mandated to carry any news and current affairs content.

At the time of applying for a non-news TV channel, the applicant company gives an undertaking that the proposed channel is purely an entertainment channel and does not have any news or current affairs based programme.

"All TV channels may strictly ensure that there is no violation of the conditions of the guidelines," the I&B ministry order said.

The counting of votes for the just-concluded seven-phased Lok Sabha polls will be taken up on Thursday. -- PTI

19:51 Sri Lanka Prez extends emergency by a month

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday extended by a month the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the deadly Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 260 people.

The President issued a special gazette notification extending the state of emergency by a month, citing 'public security'.

The emergency law gives police and the military extensive powers to arrest, detain and interrogate suspects without court orders.

Sri Lanka initially imposed the emergency on April 23 to crack down on the nine suicide bombers who attacked three churches and as many luxury hotels April 21, killing more than 258 people and injuring 500 others.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) for the Ester Sunday bombings.

Following the deadly blasts, anti-Muslim riots broke out in the north of the capital as a backlash against the attacks.

The riots killed one person and caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and mosques.

Sri Lanka faced condemnation for the communal violence which was a fresh backlash from the Easter Sunday attack.

Police say they have arrested over 80 suspects in connection with the attack. -- PTI

The Indian Air Force on Wednesday said it has successfully test fired the aerial version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

The 2.5 tonne air-to-surface missile has a range of around 300 km, and it will significantly enhance the IAF's combat capability, military officials said.

The BrahMos cruise missile travels at a speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times that of sound.

"The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target," IAF spokesperson Group Capt Anupam Banerjee said.

The IAF became the first air force in the world to have successfully fired an air-launched 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category on a sea target on November 22, 2017.

"Today's was the second such live launch of the weapon. The integration of the weapon on the aircraft was a very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications on aircraft," the IAF said.

It said the software development of the aircraft was undertaken by the IAF engineers, while the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd carried out mechanical and electrical modifications on it.

"The dedicated and synergetic efforts of the IAF, Defence Research and Development Organisation, BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd and HAL have proven the capability of the nation to undertake such complex integrations," the IAF said.

It said the BrahMos missile provides the Indian Air Force a much desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions.

"The capability of the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF the desired strategic reach," the IAF said.

BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.

-- PTI

Former CEC OP Rawat responding to the allegations of EVMs being hacked, said, "There is no means to hack EVMs. They are totally tamper proof."

He added that the EVMs are stand-alone machines which go in factory mode if one tries to hack them.

On Thursday, the three-member Election Commission rejected the demand from 22 political parties to make last-minute changes to the way votes will be counted on Thursday.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora had taken up the opposition demand to change the protocol for counting at his meeting with election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. Leaders of 22 political parties had yesterday approached the commission to demand that paper slips from the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) module are matched before the counting begins so that in cases of discrepancy, all votes in that particular assembly segment can be cross-checked with the paper slips.

At present, the counting will involve the matching of paper slips in five polling booths picked at random for each assembly segment towards the end of counting.

18:07 Home Ministry alerts states ahead of counting

The home ministry on Wednesday put out a nation-wide alert to states about possible eruption of violence in different parts of the country in connection with the counting of votes.

The Centres advisory comes just a day after former union minister Upendra Kushwaha threatened of bloodshed in Bihar if any attempt is made to steal the peoples votes. Ram Vilas Paswan, the union minister and the BJP ally in Bihar, had responded to Kushwahas warning of bloodshed. Paswan, who spoke after the dinner for NDA allies hosted by BJP chief Amit Shah, declared that there will be a tit for tat.

The Home ministry has asked states and union territories to maintain law and order, peace and public tranquility and take adequate measures for the security of strong rooms and venues of counting of votes, a Home Ministry statement said.

The Home Ministry did not spell out the statements that had provoked the advisory ahead of counting of votes but said the alert had been sounded in the wake of calls given and statements made in various quarters for inciting violence and causing disruption on the day of counting of votes.

The Centres unusual advisory comes against the backdrop of a sharp campaign by opposition parties against the Election Commission who they accuse of interpreting the law and rules in favour of the ruling alliance.

17:47

Home Ministry alerts chief secretaries, DGPs of all states on possibility of eruption of violence during counting of votes Thursday.

17:27 Election 2019: Rahul addressed 145 rallies

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addressed more than 140 rallies each in the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.

Modi addressed 142 rallies and Gandhi 145 in the fiercely contested elections that saw both leaders totting up many thousand miles as they crisscrossed the length and breadth of the country in a bid to reach out to the maximum number of people.

Both leaders covered all the states in the elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19 with Modi flying over 1.5 lakh kilometres, his party said. The votes will be counted on Thursday.

The Congress said its president addressed 145 poll rallies, eight press briefings and five road shows.

He started with a joint public meeting in the Bihar capital Patna on February 3 and ended in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, on May 17. The campaign culminated with a press conference in Delhi.

"You must have seen that I have improved with press conferences. You've seen that? Now, how do you think I have improved, who made me improve? What do you think? You made me improve. So it is because I come here and I do press conferences in front of you...," Gandhi said, thanking media persons.

-- PTI

17:04 Indian, Chinese armies hold meeting in Ladakh

Indian and Chinese armies held a border personnel meeting in eastern Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The Indian delegation was led by Major General Arvind Kapoor from the Fire and Fury Corps, while the Chinese delegation was led by Senior Colonel Gan Wei Han, said Colonel Rajesh Kalia.

The border personnel meet was conducted at the Daulat Beg Oldi meeting point on Tuesday, the spokesperson said.

"Both sides reiterated the mutual desire of maintaining peace and tranquility and improving relations at the functional level at the border areas," Kalia said.

"The meeting was marked by saluting the national flags by members of the delegation, followed by exchange of greetings."

The delegations interacted in a free, congenial and cordial environment, the spokesperson said, adding that they parted amidst a feeling of friendship and commitment towards enhancing the cordial relations and maintaining peace along the border areas.

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday slammed the opposition over its doubts on EVMs, saying the rival parties are rattled by their likely defeat and are "tarnishing" India and its democracy by raising questions on its electoral process.

He also termed as unconstitutional the demand of 22 opposition parties that the Election Commission change its counting protocol and count five random VVPATs first, saying any decision in this regard is not possible without an all-party consensus.

In his tweets, Shah said the Supreme Court has given final shape to electoral process by hearing three PILs and asked if the opposition is raising questions on the apex court.

Any opposition to electronic voting machines is disrespect to people's mandate, he said, adding that many rival parties came to power through elections done through EVMs in the past.

-- PTI

Lok Sabha Secretary General Snehlata Shrivastava on Wednesday said the newly-elected members of the Lower House of Parliament will no longer be lodged in hotels but in state bhawans, Western Court, a transit hostel for parliamentarians, and its annexe building.

With the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for Thursday, the newly-elected members are expected to start arriving in the national capital from Friday.

MPs were often lodged in hotels earlier, which at times invited criticism for the money it cost the exchequer.

"The newly-elected members will be accommodated in Western Court, its newly-built annexe and various state bhawans. Thus, the Lok Sabha secretariat has done away with the system of transit accommodation in hotels," Shrivastava told reporters. -- PTI

The government is learnt to have cleared the names of four judges for their elevation to the Supreme Court, sources said Wednesday.

Once the appointments formally come through, the top court will have its full sanctioned strength of 31 judges (including the chief justice). As of now, the apex court is functioning with 27 judges.

The four names cleared by the government are justices Aniruddha Bose, A S Bopanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

The names of justices Bose and Bopanna were earlier returned by the government to the SC collegium citing seniority and representation of regions as the reasons.

But in its resolution passed earlier this month, the collegium had reiterated its recommendation to elevate justices Bose and Bopanna to the apex court, observing that nothing adverse has been found regarding their competence, conduct or integrity.

The collegium had also recommended the names of justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant for elevation to the apex court.

The five-member Collegium is headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Sources aware of the development said the notification is expected either this evening or on Thursday morning once the President signs their warrant of appointment.

Justice Bose, whose parent high court is Calcutta, is the Chief Justice of Jharkhand high court and is at number 12 in all-India seniority of judges.

Justice Bopanna, whose parent high court is Karnataka, is the Gauhati high court Chief Justice and stands at number 36.

Justice Gavai is a judge of the Bombay high court and Justice Kant is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court. -- PTI

An army man was killed and seven others were injured in a blast during a "training activity" along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday, officials said.

"On Wednesday at 0915 hours, during a training activity on a military post in Mendhar sector, one soldier was critically injured and later succumbed to injuries", a Defence public relation officer said.

Seven others suffered minor injuries and two of them were taken to the nearest military hospital. Their condition is stable, the officials said.

The incident took place at the Dhera Dabsi forward post of the 12 Madras Regiment, they said. -- PTI

16:13 Kumaraswamy will be CM till Friday: Union Min

Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda claimed on Wednesday that the Congress-Janata Dal-Secular coalition government in Karnataka would collapse after the Lok Sabha poll results and HD Kumaraswamy would be the chief minister only till May 24 morning.

Gowda, a former Karnataka chief minister, also said the stage would be ready for the formation of a new government in the state after that.

"Kumaraswamy will be the chief minister of Karnataka till tomorrow evening only. Tomorrow evening or by day-after-tomorrow morning, because if he does not get to sleep in the night...so day-after-tomorrow morning, hundred per cent Kumaraswamy will step down," he said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the BJP leader said, "The stage will be set for the formation of a new government."

Speculation is rife that an adverse outcome in the Lok Sabha polls would impact the stability of the coalition government in Karnataka.

Exit polls have forecast that the Congress-JDS alliance is likely to perform badly in the parliamentary polls.

The two parties had faced the polls in an alliance, despite resentment at the grassroot level, especially in the old Mysuru region, where they consider each other as arch rivals.

The BJP will win big in Karnataka, bagging 21 of the 28 seats, the pollsters have predicted.

In the 2014 polls, the saffron party had won 17 seats in the southern state. -- PTI

Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra cabinet minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who has been at loggerheads with senior party leaders, has resigned from MLA post and will join Shiv Sena on Wednesday.

He will be inducted into Shiv Sena in presence of its chief Uddhav Thackrey at Shivsena Bhavan in Mumbai.

There were whispers in political circles that Kshirsagar may soon join the Shiv Sena after he expressed discontent with the NCP leadership for ignoring him and giving importance to his local rival Dhananjay Munday in Beed.

Later, he decided to extend his support to BJP-Shiv Sena's Beed candidate Dr Pritam Munde and urged people to cast vote in her favour.

In April, a miffed Kshirsagar held a secret meeting with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence Matoshree. However, he denied any talks regarding him joining the party and claimed that it was a "courtesy visit" to wish Thackeray a happy new year.

Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray, President of Beed Zila Parishad Bharatbhushan Kshirsagar, party secretary Milind Narvekar were also present in the meeting. -- ANI

Virgin Atlantic is returning to Mumbai after four years with a new direct flight from October 27.

The UK carrier will operate daily service between London and Mumbai with a 258-seat Boeing 787 aircraft with a three class configuration.

The airline currently operates a daily service to Delhi.

Virgin Atlantic is majority owned by Delta Airlines. It flew to Mumbai between 2005 and 2009 and again from 2012-2015 before withdrawing from the route.

The grounding of Jet has given the airline a chance to relaunch its flight.

In another note of dissent from the Karnataka Congress, MLA K Sudhakar questioned on Wednesday why the issue of alleged EVM manipulation was being brought into the discourse about the Lok Sabha exit poll predictions.

Sudhakar's stand is contrary to that of the Congress, which has joined other opposition parties in upping the ante on alleged EVM tampering or manipulation ahead of the counting of votes on Thursday.

The Congress MLA's remarks came a day after senior party lawmaker Roshan Baig unleashed a scathing attack on its state leadership, calling Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Dinesh Gundu Rao a "flop show" and party general secretary K C Venugopal a "buffoon".

Sudhakar, who had often been vocal in airing his grievances against the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the southern state, tweeted on Tuesday night, saying EVM tampering and exit polls were two different things.

The Chikkaballapura MLA tweeted: "Personally I am confused why the issue of EVM manipulation is being brought into conversation while talking about the exit poll results.

"When in fact the exit poll results indicate the feeling of the voter at the conclusion of polling."

Later, talking to PTI, Sudhakar clarified that he had only said exit polls had nothing to do with EVM tampering.

"I have only spoken about exit polls because some people have a difference of opinion on them. I said it had nothing to do with EVM tampering...because exit polls are conducted on the polling day," he said.

The Congress MLA added that exit polls were conducted by media houses and different professionals who went to the polling booths, spoke to the voters and determined their opinion. "Whatever opinion is built, becomes part of the exit polls," he said.

15:18 Smriti Irani tweets thank you ahead of results

Union Minister Smriti Irani this morning thanked the people of the country for "blessing" the BJP as she reflected on the last five years of the BJP-led NDA government in a series of tweets

Taking to Twitter, Irani -- who is pitted against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Amethi -- said: "24 hours to go .. while most of us will be glued to our TV sets tomorrow to watch vote by vote, count by count analysis, here's taking this opportunity to say thank you for the countless blessings of millions across the Nation for my party and my leadership."

The seven-phased national elections were held between April 11 and May 19 and votes will be counted tomorrow.

Irani, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, also slammed the opposition parties for constantly attacking PM Modi in five years. "In the last 5 years not a day went by when Narendra Modi was not subjected to humiliation and hateful barbs by the opposition," she said.

In another post, she said the people of the country "stood firm against the people who screamed 'Bharat ke tukde honge' (India will be divided)". "It is to those citizens that I give my grateful thanks for they resolutely and unabashedly believed in 'Bharat' & her future," the textiles minister wrote.

The exit polls have predicted a comfortable win for the BJP.

An attempt was made to break-in into a facility of the Indian Air Force Rafale project management team in a suburb of Paris in France on Sunday night, sources said.

The defence ministry has already been briefed about the incident by the Air Force, according to sources.

The Indian team, headed by a Group Captain rank officer, is overseeing the production of 36 Rafale aircraft and training of Indian personnel in France. -- ANI

Seeking to bolster the morale of his party's workers, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked them to not be disheartened by fake exit poll results and urged them to stay alert and vigilant.

His appeal to workers came a day after opposition parties raised concerns over reports of alleged tampering of EVMs and asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting.

Gandhi asked the workers to believe in themselves and the Congress.

"The next 24 hours are very crucial. Stay alert and vigilant. Don't be scared. You are fighting for the truth. Don't be disheartened by the propaganda of fake exit polls. Believe in yourself and the Congress. Your hard work will not go to waste. Jai Hind," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

On Monday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra issued a similar message, asking party workers to not be disheartened by "rumours" and exit poll results.

She also urged them to be alert at their respective strong rooms and counting centres.

Issuing a recorded audio message for Congress workers, she said they should not fall prey to "rumours and exit poll trends which are being promoted to undermine the spirits of Congress persons".

"Don't be disheartened by rumours and exit polls. These are crafted to undermine your spirits. Because of all this your alertness becomes all the more important. Be on your guard in strong rooms and counting centres. We are sure our and your hard work will bear fruit," Priyanka Gandhi said in the message.

Most exit polls have predicted a majority for the BJP-led NDA, leaving the UPA far behind.

Bad news for all the Game of Thrones fans!

If the series finale, which aired on Monday, left you unsatisfied or you are still in denial that the show has finally ended, don't wait for a sequel or spinoff, because it is not on the cards.

HBO programming president Casey Bloys in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ruled out any possibility of a sequel.

The insanely popular TV series, based on the books of George R R Martin, which were adapted by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, ended two days back with a shortened season, leaving fans wanting for more.

On being asked if there could be a sequel featuring Arya Stark (played by Maisie Williams) as she ventures west of Westeros, Bloys said "Nope, nope, nope. No."

"I do want this show, this Game of Thrones, Dan and David's show, to be its own thing. I don't want to take characters from this world that they did beautifully and put them off into another world with someone else creating it. I want to let it be the artistic piece they've got," he added.

Ruling out the possibility completely, he said, "That's one of the reasons why I'm not trying to do the same show over."

Bloys said that the world that Martin has created is "massive," so HBO wants to keep trying out new things instead of bringing back familiar characters and settings.

"George has a massive, massive world; there are so many ways in. That's why we're trying to do things that feel distinct -- and to not try and redo the same show. That's probably one of the reasons why, right now, a sequel or picking up any of the other characters doesn't make sense for us," he said.

However, just because a sequel isn't going to happen, doesn't mean there won't be more of Game of Thrones content.

Bloys stated that there are three prequel projects in the works currently. Two are in development and the pilot for the third will be shot in June.

"I am not clarifying anything other than yes, we shoot the first pilot in June. There are two more in development and beyond that, there's nothing else to report," he said.

-- ANI

13:45 EC rejects Oppn's demand on VVPAT counting

The Election Commission has rejected the demand from 22 political parties to make last-minute changes to the way votes will be counted on Thursday.

Leaders of 22 political parties had yesterday urged the poll panel to ensure paper slips from the VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) module are matched before the counting begins so that in cases of discrepancy, all votes in that particular assembly segment can be cross-checked with the paper slips.

The Election Commission had told the delegation of opposition leaders that the poll panel would meet on Wednesday to take a decision on this proposal.

The Opposition also demanded that if any discrepancy is found during VVPAT verification, 100 per cent counting of the paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that particular assembly segment should be done and compared with the electronic voting machine results.

The Bharatiya Janaat Party will keep an open mind if other parties want to join their coalition seeing the national mood, said party's vice president Baijayant Jay Panda who recently left the Biju Janata Dal to join the BJP.

"My Party president Amit Shah has said that we are confident of getting more than 300 seats. We will form the government with NDA allies. If other parties seeing the national mood want to also join in, I think, the BJP will keep an open mind," BJP's Baijayant Jay Panda told ANI on being asked if the BJD will support the NDA.

"All exit polls are showing that the BJP has dramatically grown in Odisha. The BJP will form the government in Odisha and get a majority in Lok Sabha. In Odisha, people have seen the Modi government has been taking strong political decisions, which were not easy, whether on the economic or security front. Naveen Patnaik has been chief minister for 19 years, but last five years witnessed a dramatic departure of his party's image and reputation due to rising crimes and corruption in the state," he added.

Replying to a question on who will be the chief minister if the BJP gets a majority in Odisha, Panda said, "I joined the BJP after soul searching. I am happy to carry out whatever responsibility the party gives me. Whether it is my friend Devendra Pradhan, KV Singh Deo or Pratap Sarangi, the good thing is the BJP has a lot of talent, whosoever takes whichever responsibility, we are going to cooperate with each other."

He further cornered Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik saying that he had attacked him personally in several interviews.

"The BJD has long considered that Kendrapara is its seat. I represented the seat as a BJD member. People have seen how I was eliminated and moved away from the BJD. For whatsoever reason, it little unusual that Patnaik seemed to focus extra on Kendrapara and attacked me personally in many interviews. But then, I had to give a strong response to allegations levelled against me. He spent two days in Kendrapara but he neglected other seats where campaigning was underway," he remarked. -- ANI

Ahead of counting of votes for Lok Sabha polls, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma on Wednesday claimed that May 23 will witness the "political funeral" of the anti-BJP alliance of opposition parties.

The month of May, he said, will prove to be a "sad month" for the SP, the BSP and the Congress, which are fighting for their political survival.

"May 23 will witness the political funeral (rajnitik antim sanskar) of the anti-BJP 'gathbandhan' of SP, BSP, RLD and Congress. These parties will level allegations and counter-allegations against each other, Sharma told PTI here.

The deputy chief minister also claimed that in the 'gathbandhan', the SP is contesting elections to decimate the BSP and vice versa.

Taking a jibe at the 'gathbandhan', he said, "With mercury rising everyday, the temperature of the 'gathbandhan' is also rising as they can easily see defeat approaching. It is for this very reason that they are making preposterous remarks.

He said, "Transfer of votes among gathbandhan partners could not take place".

"Akhilesh knew this very well and in order to make Mayawati happy said the BSP chief should be made the prime minister. When Akhilesh's party is contesting on 37 seats, how can he think of making someone the prime minister? It seems Akhilesh is showing 'Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne' (day dreaming)," Sharma remarked. -- PTI

12:19 Kamal Haasan's kamaal in Kanchipuram exit poll

While the exit poll results have led to a mad scramble among political parties, one finding in particular has left many baffled.

A survey in Tamil Nadu predicted Kamal Haasan's Makkal Neethi Mariam bagging 3-6 per cent of the votes polled in the Kanchipuram constituency.

But the problem is that the party did not contest that constituency because the Election Commission of India did not give permission to its candidate to contest.

The television channel that commissioned the survey admitted the mistake and said that it was "a human error".

-- Business Standard

In a shocking statement, Congress leader Udit Raj accused the Supreme Court of rigging polls.

"Why don't the Supreme Court want all VVPAT slips to be counted, is it also included in the rigged? In the electoral process, when the government work has been slowed for almost three months, then what is the harm in if it counting takes two or three days," Raj tweeted while tagging Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secreatary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation seeking 100 per cent matching of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail slips with Electronic Voting Machines during the counting of votes on May 23 for Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier, a three-judge bench headed by the CJI on May 7 had dismissed a review plea filed by 21 opposition leaders, led by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking that random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs be increased to 50 per cent.

The opposition leaders had said that the present system of 2 per cent of random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs was inadequate and did not inspire confidence among the electorates.

Just last month, Raj had joined the Congress after the BJP denied him a ticket from northwest Delhi.

A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved for June 7 order on a complaint seeking lodging of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged khoon ki dalali remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal reserved order on the complaint, filed by advocate Joginder Tuli, which has sought direction to the police to register an FIR against Gandhi for allegedly making derogatory remarks in 2016 against PM Modi, accusing him of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and cashing in on their sacrifice.

The Delhi Police had on May 15 filed an action taken report before the court in which the police had said that Gandhi allegedly made the defamatory statement against the prime minister for which a suit may be filed. -- PTI

11:32 VVPAT counting likely to delay LS poll results

Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, in which over 8,000 candidates were in the fray for 542 seats, will begin at 8.00 am Thursday and results are expected only by late evening due to tallying of voter verified paper audit trail slips with EVM count for the first time.

67.11 per cent of the 90.99 crore electors had cast their vote in the seven phase elections.

This is the highest ever-voter turnout in Indian parliamentarian elections.

This is for the first time in a Lok Sabha election that results of voting machines will be matched with slips generated by paper trail machines.

The exercise will take place in five polling stations per assembly segment which effectively means that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20600 such stations.

The Election Commission is yet to provide the number of counting centres being set up for Thursday, saying the data is not centrally available.

As per procedure, postal ballots would be the first to be counted.

Service voters stood at 18 lakh.

These include personnel of the armed forces, central police force personnel and state police personnel who are posted outside their constituencies.

Diplomats and support staff posted in Indian embassies abroad are also counted as service voters.

Out of 18 lakh registered voters, 16.49 lakh have sent their postal ballots to their respective returning officers as on May 17.

The exercise of counting postal ballots manually will itself take a couple of hours at least, an EC official said.

The paper trail machines slips will be counted in the end.

As per the procedure, first the slips will be counted and the EVM displays would be switched on later to match the results.

In case of a mismatch, the results based in paper slip count will be considered as final.

The entire exercise of EVM-Paper trail machine matching will take an additional four to five hours.

Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the grounds of excessive use of money power. -- PTI

In a major boost for the Pakistan Air Force, China has delivered the first overhauled multi-role JF-17 fighter jet to Islamabad as part of a project undertaken by the two countries over a decade ago for the development and manufacture of the aircraft.

China and Pakistan had begun joint development and manufacture of the single-engine light JF-17 jets over a decade ago.

Beijing delivered the first batch in 2007 and a number of them were later commissioned by the PAF, state-run Global Times reported on Wednesday.

After a decade of use, it was time for the first JF-17s to undergo overhauls, the report quoted military analysts as saying, adding that the first overhaul started in November 2017 after a contract was signed between the two sides in 2016.

Changsha 5712 Aircraft Industry Co Ltd under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China reassembled the jet and delivered it to its Pakistani client in March, the daily quoted a report by China Aviation News.

This is also the first time AVIC has overhauled a made-for-export third generation fighter, or fourth generation according to another widely used standard, the report said.

"The first [JF-17] overhaul marks an important milestone [in the JF-17 project]," Fu Qianshao, a Chinese air defence expert, said.

It represents the trial-and-error phase of the project and provided experience in establishing standards for other JF-17 overhauls in future, Qianshao said.

The overhaul of the fighter jet includes major maintenance, featuring repairs and replacement of old components, including the airframe and engine.

Also, a Block 3 variant of the JF-17 is under development. It is expected to be much more powerful than the previous two blocks due to new China-developed active electronically scanned array radar, the report said.

Though China has made significant strides in avionics and developed new range of war planes including stealth fighters, it is yet to develop engines for its planes, including JF-17 and mostly rely on Russian supplies. -- PTI

A day before the counting of the votes polled in the Lok Sabha election, the Congress on Wednesday termed as "constitutional travesty" the EC's rejection of its commissioner Ashok Lavasa's demand that dissent notes should be recorded and alleged that the poll watchdog wanted to set a new precedent of "dark secrets" and "secluded chambers" in performing its duties.

"A Constitutional travesty! ECI wants to set a new precedent of 'dark secrets' & 'secluded chambers' in doing its constitutional duties.

"If CEC can't play fair in its functioning, can it play fair in ensuring a free & fair election?," Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wrote on Twitter.

His comments came a day after the Election Commission decided not to record the dissents put forward by the members of the "full commission", overruling Lavasa.

On Tuesday, the poll panel rejected with a majority vote Lavasa's demand that dissent notes should be recorded in its orders on model code violations, days after the simmering tension within the EC over the issue came out in the open.

The "full commission" of the panel, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and two other members -- Lavasa and Sushil Chandra -- deliberated on the contentious issue, after which the EC said dissent notes and minority views would remain part of the records but would not be part of its orders.

Lavasa had dissented on a series of clean chits given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on their speeches during the election campaign. -- PTI

10:24 Sensex rises over 150 pts; Nifty tests 11,700

The benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 150 points in early trade Wednesday, led by gains in oil and gas, banking and IT stocks, ahead of the general election results.

The 30-share index was trading 157.51 points, or 0.40 per cent, higher at 39,127.31.

In similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty rose 30.90 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 11,740.

In the previous session, the Sensex ended 382.87 points, or 0.97 per cent, lower at 38,969.80, and the Nifty plunged 119.15 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 11,709.10.

Top Sensex gainers in morning trade include Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, RIL, HDFC twins, Tata Motors, ONGC, Infosys, Maruti and Kotak Bank, rising up to 1.38 per cent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, ITC, HUL, Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel fell up to 2.84 per cent.

According to experts, investor sentiment turned positive this week after most exit polls forecast a win for Narendra Modi-led NDA. The results of the seven-phase polls will come out Thursday.

Continued foreign fund inflow too buoyed market mood here, traders said.

Foreign institutional investors bought equity worth Rs 1,185.44 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares to the tune of Rs 1,090.32 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. -- PTI

09:46 2 terrorists gunned down in J-K's Kulgam

Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Gopalpora area of Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The gun battle between the terrorists and security personnel is still underway.

A fierce gun battle ensued after security personnel launched an operation to eliminate the terrorists in the vicinity.

More details are awaited.

A medium intensity earthquake of magnitude 5.8 hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands on Wednesday morning.

The quake, which had its epicentre in the Andaman islands, occurred at 6:09 am, the National Centre for Seismology said.

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is prone to earthquakes. -- PTI

In a pre-dawn launch on Wednesday, Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO scripted history by successfully launching earth observation satellite RISAT-2B that would enhance the country's surveillance capabilities among others.

As the 25-hour countdown which began on Tuesday concluded, the agency's trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) blasted off at 5.30 am from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on its 48th mission, carrying the 615 kg satellite.

The RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B), meant for application in fields such as surveillance, agriculture, forestry and disaster management support, was released into the orbit around 15 minutes after the lift-off.

It would replace the RISAT-2, which was successfully launched in 2009.

ISRO chairman K Sivan had earlier described the mission as a "very, very important" one for the country.

"This is a very, very important mission for India. It is an excellent satellite with hi-fi earth observation (capabilities)," he had said.

The RISAT-2B is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar that can take pictures of the earth during day and night, and also under cloudy conditions.

With a mission life of five years, the satellite would also be used for military surveillance, ISRO sources said. -- PTI

08:27 Tech glitch hits Mumbai WR train services

Western Railway suburban train services in Mumbai have been affected on Wednesday morning due to a signalling failure, and local trains have been delayed on both the fast and slow tracks, with commuters resorting to walking alongside the tracks.

Western Railway has tweeted: 'Due to technical glitch in signalling at Goregaon at 7.05 am, train movement was affected. It has been restored at 07.50 am. Trains will be delayed for some time due to this. Inconvenience is deeply regretted.'

Photograph: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com

On a day it dismissed allegations that the voting machines used in the Lok Sabha election were being switched with fresh ones ahead of counting of votes on May 23, the Election Commission on Tuesday set up a 24-hour control room in New Delhi to monitor complaints relating to EVMs.

"The complaints related to storage issues at strongrooms, security of strongrooms, permissions to candidates to post their agents at strongrooms, CCTV monitoring, movement of any EVMs, and any complaints during counting related to EVMs can be informed at control room, number is 011-23052123 (with 5 hunting lines)," it said in a statement.

Referring to the allegations and complaints, the commission earlier in the day said it would like to 'emphatically and unambiguously' clarify that all such reports and allegations are 'absolutely false and factually incorrect'.

The visuals on TV and social media 'do not pertain to any EVMs used during the polls', it said. In an earlier statement, the EC said, after the close of polls, all polled EVMs and VVPATs are brought under security cover to designated strongrooms, which are sealed with double locks in the presence of candidates and observers of the commission.

The entire process of storage and sealing of the strongroom is videoed.

"Continuous CCTV camera coverage is done till completion of counting. Each strongroom is guarded with round-the-clock security by Central Armed Police Forces. -- PTI

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