BJP AND ALLIES WIN ALL THREE STATES

The ruling BJP managed to notch up a morale-boosting win on its 'Mission Northeast' on Thursday by retaining Tripura emphatically, despite anti-incumbency and newcomer Tipra Motha playing spoilers to its party, while also piggy-backing to power in Nagaland on Neiphiu Rio-led NDPP's shoulder.

In Meghalaya, it was poised to be part of the ruling dispensation again as a junior partner, given that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's NPP has fallen short of majority while winning the lion's share of 26 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP's pointsman in the northeast, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, remained in touch with Sangma for the alliance in Meghalaya.

For the BJP, however, the wins as junior partners in the hills of Nagaland and Meghalaya will be good for optics and for crowing about the demise of the Congress, which was reduced to just five and zero seats respectively in the two states which it ruled not too long ago, but the real 'cream of the crop' was Tripura.

The BJP-IPFT alliance retained the state winning 33 seats in the 60-member assembly on Thursday, 10 less than the figure in 2018, but nevertheless a clear majority which will allow it to rule for five years without seeking help from the newcomer Tipra Motha, which bagged an enviable 13 seats.

The Trinamool Congress performed poorly winning none of the 28 seats it contested. Its vote share (0.88 per cent) came to less than that of those who stamped None-Of-The-Above (NOTA).

BJP contested in 55 seats and won 32, three less than what it bagged in 2018. While the IPFT was reduced to just one seat, down from eight five years back.

CPM, which lost power in 2018 after ruling Tripura for 25 years, won just 11 seats this time round, down from 16 which it secured five years back. The Congress won 3.

ELECTION RESULTS IN NUMBERS

Meghalaya (Total 59 Seats)

TMC     5

BJP      2

Hill State People’s Democratic Party      2

Independent      2

INC      5

NPP     26

People's Democratic Front         2

United Democratic Party            11

Voice of the People Party          4

Nagaland (Total 60 Seats)

BJP      12

Independent      4

JD(U)   1

Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) 2

Naga Peoples Front      2

National People's Party 5

Nationalist Congress Party        7

Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party           25

Republican Party of India (Athawale)      2

Tripura (Total 60 Seats)

BJP      32

CPM     11

INC      3

Indigenous People's Front of Tripura      1

Tipra Motha Party         13

VOTE EXPOSES ANTI-MINORITY PROPAGANDA…WILL ALSO WIN KERALA: PM MODI

Hailing the BJP’s performance after poll results were declared Thursday from Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as evidence of the country’s respect for democracy, and “a vote for progress and stability”.

He also sought to draw a line all the way from the Northeast down to the south, saying that the results have proved that allegations about the party being anti-Christian were wrong — and a “BJP coalition would come to power in Kerala also” as the people will “realise that the Left and the Congress have joined hands to loot the state”.

Addressing leaders and workers at the BJP headquarters, Modi said, “Their (the Opposition’s) ecosystem always tried to brand the BJP — initially as a baniya party, then an urban party which does not have any support in rural India. But the BJP kept proving all of them wrong. They said we are anti-tribal, but the party won all tribal seats in Gujarat recently. Now, like the Dalits and backward communities, the tribals are also with us. Minorities were fearful about BJP for years but the people of Goa and now from the Northeast have exposed such propaganda. The Christians in Nagaland and Meghalaya keep supporting us.”

Attacking the Congress-Left combine in Tripura, Modi pointed out that both parties have fought each other in Kerala. “The people in Kerala have seen this, they have seen their alliance… The truth is that the two have joined and are looting the state. So I am confident that in Kerala also, BJP will form a coalition government,” he said.

Modi said while his political rivals want him to be finished, the people want to see him winning more. “Some people say ‘mar ja (die) Modi’, (but) a country is saying ‘mat ja (don’t go away) Modi’,” he said.

According to Modi, the secret of BJP’s repeated victories is the “Triveni” of government, work culture and service mindset.

SC'S BIG ORDER: LOP, CJI TO HAVE A ROLE IN CEC APPOINTMENT

In a far-reaching verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the election commissioners will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice Of India.

Observing that the means to gain power in a democracy must remain wholly pure and should abide by the Constitution, a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice KM Joseph, in its unanimous verdict said an "unrelenting abuse" of the electoral process over a period of time is the "surest way to the grave of the democracy".

Welcoming the ruling, opposition parties described the verdict as "historic" and said the judgment would pave the way for free and fair elections in the country. The Congress sought the same selection process for the appointments to the Enforcement Directorate.

As of now, Chief Election Commissioner and ECs are appointed in terms of Article 324 of the Constitution by the President on the recommendation of the Centre.

Reacting to the development, S Y Quraishi, who was CEC from July 2010 to June 2012 and election commissioner before that from June 2006 onwards, said a long-pending demand has been met with the Supreme Court’s order. “We had been demanding it for 20 years. It is better late than never,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CONSENSUS ELUDES G20 COMMUNIQUE OVER UKRAINE

The G20 foreign ministers' meeting on Thursday was unable to come out with a joint communique due to the sharp rift between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite efforts by host India to bridge the differences.

The meeting, held under India's presidency, adopted a Chair's Summary and Outcome Document listing various key priorities for the grouping.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said there were differences over the Ukraine conflict because of which the meeting could not agree on the joint communique. "If we had perfect meetings of minds on all issues and captured it fully, it would have been a collective statement but there were issues on which there were divergences," he said replying to a question.

Several diplomats said there were deep divisions between the US-led West and the Russia-China combine over the Ukraine conflict.

The Chair's Summary and Outcome Document mentioned two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict but the footnote said all countries agreed to them except Russia and China. The two paragraphs were taken from G20's Bali declaration.

"It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending all the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts," according to one of the two paragraphs.

It said the "use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war."

Jaishankar said the G20 foreign ministers' meeting unequivocally condemned terrorism.

The Chair's Summary and Outcome Document said the meeting was deeply concerned by the challenges to global food security exacerbated by current conflicts and tensions.

In a video message at the start of the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for building consensus on pressing global challenges and not allowing differences on geopolitical tensions to affect overall cooperation in the grouping. "As you meet in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha, I pray that you will draw inspiration from India's civilisational ethos -- to focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us," Modi said.

In their remarks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while China's Qin Gang referred to the 12-point Chinese peace plan to resolve the conflict.

THE REST

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STATE BYPOLLS: CONGRESS FARES WELL, BJP GETS A REALITY CHECK IN MAHARASHTRA

The ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Thursday retained the Erode East bypoll segment in the western Tamil Nadu town with an emphatic win against the K Palaniswami-led All India Anna DMK, prompting Chief Minister M K Stalin to bill it as an endorsement of his near two year-old government's "Dravidian model" of governance.

Palaniswami charged the ruling dispensation with "misuse of authority, money power and violence" to win the election.

Setting a record of sorts, SPA candidate EVKS Elangovan of the Congress received more than one lakh of the around 1.70 lakh votes polled on February 27, galloping ahead of his nearest AIADMK rival KS Thennarasu by around 66,000 votes.

Much prestige was invested by both the DMK and its arch-rival AIADMK in the fiercely contested electoral battle as this was the first by-poll since the former came to power in 2021, and a year ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress on Thursday secured a seat in the present Bengal assembly as its candidate Bayron Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll, defeating the nearest rival of the Trinamool Congress by 22,980 votes. Byelection to the constituency, seen as a prestige fight for state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury in his home district of Murshidabad, was necessitated following the death of state minister Subrata Saha in December last year.

In the 2021 assembly elections, the Congress and the Left Front had failed to open their account in the West Bengal assembly, for the first time since independence.

The BJP failed to retain Kasba Peth Assembly seat, its stronghold in Maharashtra's Pune district, as Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar defeated the saffron party nominee Hemant Rasane in the bypoll. The BJP was in power in Kasba Peth constituency for 28 years. Girish Bapat, the current BJP MP from Pune, represented the seat five times till 2019.  

This time, Dhangekar, having support of the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), managed to breach the BJP's stronghold.

The victory of Congress in Kasba is significant as it was the first direct contest between the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the opposing MVA after the change of the state government in June last year.

All Jharkhand Students Union candidate Sunita Choudhary won the by-poll to Jharkhand's Ramgarh seat on Thursday, defeating the UPA-backed Congress's Bajrang Mahto by a margin of 21,970 votes. The by-election was necessitated due to the disqualification of Congress legislator Mamta Devi, following her conviction in a criminal case.

The BJP retained the Chinchwad assembly constituency in Maharashtra in a byelection as the party candidate Ashwini Jagtap won by 36,168 votes. The byelection was necessitated due to the death of her husband Laxman Jagtap, who was the sitting MLA.

JAISHANKAR MEETS CHINA’S QIN; SAYS STATUS OF TIES ‘ABNORMAL’

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting Thursday, and described as “abnormal” the current state of the bilateral relationship as they discussed the ongoing border stand-off.

Responding to questions later, Jaishankar said this was their first meeting since Qin took charge as China’s Foreign Minister. He said the “bulk of our conversation” during the 45-minute meeting was about the “current state of our relationship,” which is “abnormal”. “Those are the adjectives I used in that meeting,” he said.

Jaishankar said there are “real problems” and the two sides “need to talk about it openly and candidly”. He said the “thrust of the meeting” was on bilateral ties and the challenges confronting it, including “peace and tranquillity in the border areas”.

Thursday’s meeting with Qin and Jaishankar’s remarks came days after India’s top official dealing with China in the Ministry of External Affairs travelled to Beijing and held the 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs — marking the first such onsite meeting since the border stand-off began in 2020.

India has maintained that the border stand-off has impacted bilateral ties, and there cannot be a business-as-usual interaction till disengagement and wider de-escalation take place. More than 1 lakh troops are stationed on either side of the India-China border.

"WILL FIGHT ALONE": MAMATA BANERJEE RULES OUT ANY ALLIANCE FOR 2024

The Trinamool Congress will fight the national election next year "alone with people's support", party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared today, virtually punching a 42-seat hole in the opposition alliance for 2024 even before it took off. 

Accusing the CPM and the Congress of having a "setting" with the BJP, she said, "If there are unholy alliances, how will Congress fight with BJP? How will Left fight the BJP... How are CPM and Congress claiming to be anti-BJP?"

The reference was to the by-election in Bengal's Sardighi, where the Congress wrested the assembly seat from the ruling Trinamool.

The Congress, Left and the BJP all have played the "communal card" in Sardighi, Banerjee said. The difference is that the "BJP has played it openly, but CPM and the Congress have played it to a greater extent".

HINDENBURG: SC SETS UP SIX-MEMBER PROBE PANEL, WANTS REPORT IN 2 MONTHS

The Supreme Court on Thursday set up a six-member expert committee headed by former SC judge Justice AM Sapre to investigate if there had been a regulatory failure in dealing with the alleged contravention of laws pertaining to the securities market in relation to the Adani Group or other companies in the wake of the Hindenburg Research report. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the committee to suggest measures to strengthen the regulatory framework and secure compliance with the existing framework for the protection of investors.

Other members of the committee are former SBI chairman OP Bhatt, former Bombay High Court judge JP Devadhar, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, former chief of New Development Bank of BRICS KV Kamath and advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan, who was recently recommended for appointment as a judge of the Bombay High Court.

The Bench asked the expert committee to submit its report in a sealed cover to it in two months.

NEWS BROADCASTERS SEEK EXEMPTION FROM ADVISORY ON NATIONAL INTEREST CONTENT

Even as the advisory on mandatory national interest content for television channels – as part of the new ‘policy guidelines for uplinking and downlinking of television channels-2022’ – became applicable on March 1, a stand-off seems to be building between TV news channels and the government on the issue.

The news channels have written to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting seeking an exemption on the ground that they are “already producing and airing news programming that is in consonance with the guidelines”, and that they should be spared of additional compliance-related paperwork, to be filed every month.

With the detailed advisory pertaining to the matter issued on January 30 by the I&B Ministry, the government had said that national interest content, at least 30-minute at a stretch, can be embedded in the programmes being telecast. They are now required to keep a record of the content telecast for a period of 90 days. The Electronic Media Monitoring Centre under the I&B Ministry, shall keep the record. The government has also asked them to submit a monthly report online at the Broadcast Seva Portal.

INDORE TEST, DAY 3: NATHAN LYON LEADS AUSTRALIA TO CUSP OF RARE WIN IN INDIA

Australia spin spearhead Nathan Lyon claimed eight for 64 on a turning wicket to put the tourists on the verge of victory inside three days in the third Test against India on Thursday.

A winning target of 76 may sound a cakewalk but Australia will have to score those runs on a track where 30 wickets have tumbled on the first two days of the spin-dominated contest.

India have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series but a victory tomorrow would secure Australia's place in the final of the World Test Championship in June.

India have been on the back foot in the match since being skittled out for 109 in their first innings and they did marginally better in the second when they were all out for 163 when stumps were drawn.

Only Cheteshwar Pujara (59) put up a brave fight against Australia's three-pronged spin attack led superbly by Lyon.

The action-packed second day began with Australia resuming on 156-4 and after an hour's lull, it rained wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. Australia looked in cruise control at 186-4 but once overnight batsmen Cameron Green (21) and Peter Handscomb (19) departed, the wheels then came off their innings.

The tourists lost their last six wickets for 11 runs to fold for 197 with India seamer Umesh Yadav's reverse-swing skills earning him 3-12.

It still left Australia in possession of a sizeable lead of 88 and Lyon wrecked India's top order before the home side could erase their deficit.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Those who do not hear the music think the dancer is mad. - African Proverb

OFF TRACK

A wife and her husband attended a very important business party thrown by her boss where the husband may have had one or two more than he should have.  

On the way home from the party, the woman said to her husband, "Have I ever told you how handsome and sexy and totally irresistible to all women you are?"  

"Why no," said the husband, deeply flattered.  

"Then what the hell gave you that idea at the party?!" she yelled.