DESPITE AN INTENSE CAMPAIGN, PUNJAB VOTER TURNOUT ONLY 65%

Punjab voted to elect MLAs to its 117-member legislative assembly on Sunday. The state recorded 65.32 per cent voter turnout compared to 77.36 per cent in 2017.

The state is witnessing a multi-cornered fight with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Akali Dal-BSP and BJP-Punjab Lok Congress in the fray. This resulted in a high-decibel campaign with drugs, corruption and employment emerging as key issues.

Uttar Pradesh recorded an average voter turnout of more than 63% in the third phase polls of the seven-phase state assembly election across 59 constituencies spread over 16 districts on Sunday, according to data available with the election commission.

The average voter turnout in the first phase (February 10) was 62.43% and in the second round (February 14) of the 2022 UP polls, it was 64.44%.

MODI ATTACKS SP ON TERRORISM; TRIES TO LINK POLL SYMBOL WITH CYCLE BOMBS

As UP voted in Phase 3, PM Narendra Modi targeted the SP and Congress from Hardoi and Unnao that will go to the polls in Phase 4 on February 23, accusing them of being “soft on terror” and in specific questioning Akhilesh Yadav’s party over Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s “UP ke bhaiye” remark.

Recalling the 2008 Ahmedabad bomb blasts, Modi also accused the erstwhile Samajwadi govt of “trying to withdraw cases against terrorists and giving a free hand to criminals”. “People of Hardoi have seen the days when these people had given a free hand to those using ‘katta’ and those in ‘satta’ (power),” he said.

Claiming that “parivarvadis” (dynasts) stood in the way of development till 2017, he said, “The double-engine govt has worked without hindrance because it does not belong to any family. If you bring them again, will they let me work for you? Should such people be re-elected?” he asked.

Later in Unnao, he took another swipe at Akhilesh, saying he was insecure about winning Karhal, therefore he brought SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav to campaign for him.

“They are about to lose the seat that they (SP) were considering as the safest. It is getting out of their hands. You must have seen, the father (Mulayam Singh Yadav) who was pushed away from the stage, was humiliated and his party was captured, had to plead to save his son’s seat,” he said.

In Unnao, he said, “A few days ago, the poor, Dalits and Backward Class of UP were abused by Punjab CM Channi to get votes in the elections. But the SP here did not oppose him even once.”

Modi also stated that the bombs were planted on cycles, which is coincidentally the election symbol of the SP.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Union minister Anurag Thakur released a photograph in which a man, alleged to be the father of one of the convicts in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case, is seen standing with Akhilesh Yadav.

Addressing an election rally in Lakhimpur Kheri, UP CM Yogi Adityanath too on Sunday accused the SP of being sympathetic towards terrorists, alleging that the father of one of the convicts has links with the party.

RAKING UP AHMEDABAD BLAST CASE BJP’S POLL STRATEGY: AKHILESH YADAV

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday termed the BJP’s allegation that his party has links with the father of an Ahmedabad terror strike case convict as part of a “strategy” in the state assembly polls.

Yadav made the claim while talking to reporters in his village Saifai in Etawah district.

Asked about the BJP allegation that the convict’s father belonging to Azamgarh is an SP leader, Yadav said, “Strict action should be initiated against a terrorist. And if the BJP is levelling the allegation during the elections, the BJP is moving with a strategy.” Yadav’s reaction came a day after the BJP on Saturday dubbed Samajwadi Party as “friends of minority appeasement” and alleged that it has links with terrorists involved in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts.

In his talks with reporters, Akhilesh Yadav also dubbed the BJP as a party of “liars”, claiming that it tried to show UP’s development through photographs of China and the USA “Who used the photos of China? Who used the factories of the US to show development? No party can be a bigger liar than the BJP,” he said.

On allegations of “dynastic” politics being followed by the Samajwadi Party, Yadav asserted, “Those who do not have a family, how can they understand the pain of the family people? Only a family man can understand the problem of inflation and its impact and understand his responsibility towards his family.”

INDIAN DIPLOMATS’ FAMILIES IN UKRAINE ASKED TO LEAVE

The Ministry of External Affairs has decided to withdraw the families of Indian diplomats in Ukraine even as in a fresh advisory, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv asked Indian nationals to leave the country temporarily, if their stay is not essential.

The advisory came following rising tensions between NATO countries and Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

“In view of continued high levels of tensions and uncertainties with respect to the situation in Ukraine, all Indian nationals, whose stay is not deemed essential, and all Indian students are advised to leave Ukraine temporarily,” the advisory said.

Meanwhile, India has rejected suggestions regarding a parallel between China's belligerence in the Indo-Pacific region and Russia's military build-up around Ukraine.

“Certainly the assumption in your question that somehow there is a trade-off and one country does it in the Pacific and so in return you do something else, I don’t think that’s the way international relations work,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / Feb 21

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday 16,051 

Active Cases 2,02,131 (-22,056)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,12,109 (162)

Total Vaccination: 175.46 Crores (+7,00,706)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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BIDEN AND PUTIN AGREE IN PRINCIPLE TO UKRAINE SUMMIT: MACRON'S OFFICE

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said, provided Russia does not invade its neighbor.

The Elysee Palace said Macron had pitched both leaders on a summit over "security and strategic stability in Europe." "Presidents Biden and Putin have both accepted the principle of such a summit," the statement said, before adding that such a meeting would be impossible if Russia invaded Ukraine as Western nations fear it plans to.

The announcement - released after a volley of phone calls between Macron and leaders on both sides of the Atlantic - comes after a week of heightened tensions spurred by Russia's military buildup up and down the Ukrainian border.

Nerves were further frayed after the Belarusian defence ministry announced that Russia would extend military drills in Belarus that were due to end on Sunday. Satellite images appeared to show new deployments of Russian armor and troops close to Ukraine.

U.S.-based satellite imagery company Maxar reported multiple new deployments of Russian military units in forests, farms, and industrial areas as little as 15 km from the border with Ukraine - something Maxar said represented a change from what had been seen in recent weeks. "Until recently, most of the deployments had been seen primarily positioned at or near existing military garrisons and training areas," the company said.

US secretary of state antony blinken told CNN "everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious," adding the West was equally prepared if Moscow invades. "Until the tanks are actually rolling, and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President Putin from carrying this forward."

COPS RECLAIM OTTAWA AS TRUCKER SIEGE ENDS

The last big rigs were being towed on Sunday out of Canada’s capital, where the streets were quiet for the first time in three weeks after a massive police operation ended a three-week siege over Covid curbs. A major clean up was underway in Ottawa’s downtown area, where police faced off with trucker-led demonstrators for two days, finally driving them out of their protest hub outside parliament. On Sunday, police were manning checkpoints restricting access to a 500-acre area, while a sizeable force remained on standby to defend the ground reclaimed from the truckers. Only a handful of protesters remained testing the perimeter.

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KCR TALKS ANTI-BJP, NON-CONGRESS FRONT WITH UDDHAV, PAWAR

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday flew into Mumbai to meet his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar for drafting a new agenda for setting up an anti-BJP, non-Congress front with ‘like-minded’ parties. There was unanimity among the three leaders on the urgent need for a ‘parivartan’ (change).

While thanking Pawar for supporting the cause of formation of Telangana, KCR said the veteran leader “should take a lead in the formation of the antiBJP front’’.

Launching a frontal attack against the NDA govt over “politics of revenge”, Thackeray said: “We never believed in politics of revenge, it was neither Hindutva nor Indian culture…it’s a worsening political environment. We have to bring our country on the

right path. Who will be the PM can be discussed later. We will meet many political leaders from today onwards. ”

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole welcomed Rao’s efforts to organise an anti-BJP front, but said that no such front can be successful unless it takes the help of Congress.

PRASHANT KISHORE MEETS NITISH KUMAR, TEJASHWI YADAV TAKES A DIG AT IT

A day after Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar met political strategist Prashant Kishor, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav took a swipe at him stating it would have been better if the chief minister met victims of daily murders and kidnappings in the state.

"Whoever Nitish Ji meets is his business. It would've been better had he met victims of daily murders and kidnappings in Bihar or family members of those who get tortured by mafias," Yadav told reporters yesterday.

Kishor was expelled from the JD-U for "making controversial remarks" which were not in accordance with the policies of the party. He was vice-president of JD-U and was seen as close to Nitish Kumar before his expulsion from the party.

Kishor had worked with the grand alliance that won the 2015 assembly polls in Bihar. The grand alliance included JD-U and RJD but the two parties fell out with each other later.

18 UP COPS BOOKED FOR FAKE ENCOUNTER 18 YEARS AGO

A court in Shahjahanpur has directed the police to register a case against 18 policemen, including the then Superintendent of Police, in an alleged fake encounter case in which two persons were killed 18 years ago.

On October 3, 2004, two villagers from Chachupur, Prahlad and Dhanpal, under the Jalalabad police station were caught by the police on the suspicion of their involvement in dacoity cases. The police later shot both of them dead, and their bodies were taken away.

Prahlad’s brother Ram Kirti appealed before various commissions and officials, but to no avail. On November 24, 2012, he moved the court urging to register a case against the policemen. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, however, rejected the appeal saying a lot of time had passed, and a final report had also been filed. After that, he filed a revision plea in the court of District Judge Saurabh Dwivedi. He pleaded that the then District Magistrate Amit Ghosh got the entire matter probed by Additional District Magistrate who found the entire matter suspicious.

The argument was accepted and the revision plea was heard in the court of CJM Abha Pal.

MOVE TO FILL UP CRUDE OIL STORAGES

India has invited bids from oil companies to lease out storage space equivalent to 1.05 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil as global prices simmer on account of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The tender invited bids to fill up the Visakhapatnam storage facility — they are in the form of underground caverns — up to 0.3mt with only Basrah light as the rest of cavern holds the same grade.

The Mangalore cavern offers 0.75mt storage for leasing that can be filled up with any grade. Analysts expect crude prices to remain high, with the stand-off in Ukraine heightened by low production by Opec nations and rising  demand following the gradual restoration of normality from the pandemic

India is vulnerable to rising prices as it imports more than 84 per cent of its crude requirement.

EX ACTOR ZAIRA WASIM REACTS TO HIJAB CONTROVERSY

The ongoing unrest in the state of Karnataka over whether students should be permitted to wear hijab in educational institutions has caught the attention of many celebrities including veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar, and actor Sonam Kapoor among others.

Former actor Zaira Wasim is the latest to use her social media power to react on the same.

On Twitter Zaira posted a long note in which she spoke about "the inherited notion of hijab being a choice is an ill-informed one." "It's often either a construct of convenience or ignorance. Hijab isn't a choice but an obligation in Islam. Likewise, a woman who wears the hijab is fulfilling an obligation enjoined upon her by the God she loves and has submitted herself to," the 21-year-old shared.

She added, "I, as a woman who wears the hijab with gratitude and humility, resent and resist this entire system where women are being stopped and harassed for merely carrying out a religious commitment." Her statement continues, "Stacking this bias against Muslim women and setting up systems where they should have to decide between education and hijab or to give up either is an absolute injustice."

ONE IN THREE IPOs THIS FISCAL TRADING BELOW ITS ISSUE PRICE

At least one in three IPOs this financial year since is currently trading below its issue offer price. In the past 10-plus months since April 1, 2021, in FY 2021-22, as many as 50 companies mopped up a record Rs 1,11,156 crore; state-owned LIC too expects to mobilise over Rs 50,000 crore through an IPO this year itself.

During the same 10-month period, the Sensex gained over 16.5 per cent. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 18 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively during the period.

If investors in 18 companies out of 50 listed are sitting on losses, several others have generated only marginal gains. But half-a-dozen IPOs are quoting at a premium of over 100 per cent and another six have returned between 50 per cent and 100 per cent capital gains since their listing.

Amongst the losers, investors in CarTrade Tech and One97 Communications (Paytm) suffered the maximum value erosion with shares trading over 60 per cent below their issue price. Even Zomato witnessed a sharp 36 per cent correction over the last one month; it is currently trading at Rs 86, which is 13 per cent over its issue price. FSN E-commerce (Nykaa) saw its share price fall from Rs 2,071 on January 17 this year to Rs 1,397 on February 18. The issue was priced at Rs 1,125. Data Patterns dropped from Rs 815 to Rs 652.20 during the same period.

INDIA WIN 3rd T20i; COMPLETE WINDIES ROUT

India turned in another clinical performance to beat the West Indies by 17 runs in the third and final T20 International and complete a 3-0 series sweep at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Sunday.

After Suryakumar Yadav, who was later named man of the match and series, scored a blazing 31-ball 65 that saw the hosts finish with an imposing 184 for 5, their bowlers did well to restrict the visitors to 167 for 9.

Deepak Chahar limped off the field after dismissing both the West Indies openers, unable to complete the third over due to a hamstring injury, but Harshal Patel (3/22), Venkatesh Iyer (2/23 from 2.1 overs) and Shardul Thakur (2/33) responded impressively to quell the West Indies’ challenge.

Wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran continued his fine form, slamming a third successive fifty (61 off 47 balls; 8x4, 1x6) but it was not enough.

For Rohit, it was his third successive clean sweep as full-time skipper, having earlier defeated New Zealand (0-3) in T20Is and the West Indies (0-3) in ODIs.

For the West Indies, this was their third successive bilateral series defeats away from home -- 0-2 to New Zealand in 2020-21 and 0-3 to Pakistan 2021-22 -- as they capped a forgettable India sojourn, losing six matches on the trot, including three in the ODI leg.

WRIDDHIMAN SAHA IN NO MOOD TO FADE AWAY QUIETLY

After being dropped from the Indian squad for an upcoming Test match series, wicketkeeper and batsman Wriddhiman Saha has hit out at the BCCI, its chief Sourav Ganguly, and the team’s head coach Rahul Dravid, as well as a “journalist”,

37-year-old Saha, who has in the recent past been in and out of the Indian Test squad, did not find his name in the team announced for an upcoming two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on 4 March. Three other senior cricketers — Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara — have also been left out of the squad.

According to reports, Saha has said he was asked to “think about retirement” by India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, after having been dropped from the series. This was in spite of  BCCI chief — and fellow cricketer from West Bengal — Sourav Ganguly having told Saha that he “should not worry” as long as Ganguly was at the helm of the BCCI.

Afterwards, Saha also took to Twitter to share a screenshot of messages he had purportedly received from a journalist. In the screenshot, the ‘journalist’ seems to be issuing a veiled threat to Saha after the latter did not respond to his request for an interview. “I don’t take insults kindly,” writes the journalist in the messages shared by Saha.

After Saha’s post whipped up a storm on social media, Virender Sehwag tweeted: “Extremely sad. Such sense of entitlement, neither is he respected nor a journalist, just chamchagiri. With you Wriddhi.”

So did former off-spinner Harabhajan Singh: “Wridhi you just name the person so that the cricket community knows who operates like this. Else even the good ones will be put under suspicion… What kind of journalism is this.” Harbhajan tagged BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur in his tweet.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There's harmony and inner peace to be found in following a moral compass that points in the same direction regardless of fashion or trend. - Ted Koppel

OFF TRACK

Three guys entered a taxi. The taxi driver knew that they were terribly drunk so he started the engine and turned it off again. "We have reached," he told the passengers.

The 1st guy gave him money the 2nd guy said "thank you". But the 3rd guy gave the driver a slap.

The driver was shocked, and asked: "what was that for?".

The 3rd guy replied: "CONTROL YOUR SPEED NEXT TIME, you nearly killed us!".