Voting begins for second phase of Gujarat assembly elections

Agencies
December 14, 2017

Ahmedabad, Dec 14: Voting for the second and final phase of Gujarat assembly elections began today on 93 seats of North and Central Gujarat. After an acrimonious campaign, around 2.22 crore voters would be exercising their franchise to choose between the two main contenders, the BJP and the Congress. A total of 851 candidates are in the fray for the second phase.

Prominent candidates in the fray for today's battle include state deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, who is contesting from Mehsana, Alpesh Thakor (Radhanpur), and Jignesh Mevani (Vadgam).

In Maninagar, the constituency once represented by Prime Minister Naredra Modi, Congress has given ticket to foreign- educated young face Sweta Bhrambhatt against BJP's sitting MLA Suresh Patel. Modi had vacated the constituency after becoming the PM in 2014. The first phase of voting for the 182-member house, held on December 9, covered 89 seats. The election is being seen as a "prestige battle" for Prime Minister Modi and a litmus test for the leadership of Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi. The battlefield Gujarat which witnessed a vitriolic campaign goes into the decisive phase today, in the elections being viewed as precursor to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The influential Patidar community, which accounts for around 12 per cent of the state's population, could prove to be the 'X factor' in the polls. Patidar quota warrior Hardik Patel has pledged support to the Congress and appealed to the people to "uproot the BJP" this time. The campaign shaped up as a duel between Modi and Gandhi, and often turned personal. Gandhi emerged as the Congress' pivot to take on the might of the prime minister on his home turf.

In the 2012 assembly polls, the BJP had won 115 seats, while the Congress bagged 61. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 18.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 11: The effective handling of Covid-19 pandemic by the Kerala Government has received a big endorsement in the International media with the latest being a report in Washington Post which suggests that the State’s success could prove instructive to the entire country.

The Washington Post quoted Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher as saying “We hoped for the best but planned for the worst. Now, the curve has flattened, but we cannot predict what will happen next week.”

"The Minister said six states had reached out to Kerala for advice. She, however, noted that it might not be easy to replicate Kerala’s lessons elsewhere," according to the Minister's office quoting the report here on Saturday.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Thiruvananthapuram , May 10: Issuing latest order in view of coronavirus outbreak, the Kerala government has ordered complete shut down on all Sundays.

"With a view to prevent the spread of COVID-19, improve the quality of life, reduce the carbon emissions, protect the environment and greenery of the State, the following protocol would be observed on Sundays across the State. Sundays will be observed as total shut down days until further orders," the order read.

Following activities will be permissible on Sundays:

A) Shops selling essential items

B) Collection and distribution of milk

C) Supply of Newspaper, media, hospitals, medical stores, medical labs and related institutions

D) No social gathering is permitted except for marriages and funerals

E) Departments, agencies and activities connected with the containment of COVID-19

F) Movement of goods vehicles

G) Agencies in the field of waste disposal

H) All manufacturing and processing activities of continuous nature and ongoing construction activities will be permitted

I) Take away counters of the hotel from 8 a.m to 9 p.m, online delivery up to 10 pm

J) Walking and cycling will be permitted.

K) In addition, the following roads mentioned in Annexure will be closed for motorised traffic except for movement of essential goods and emergency vehicles from 5 am to 10 am. During this time, non-motorised traffic such as walking and cycling will be permitted.

L) Movement of persons on Sundays are allowed only for health emergencies, Government servants on emergency duties and persons engaged in activities connected with Covid-19 containment, persons involved in the activities from (a) to (k) above, priests and other religious persons responsible for conducting rituals in worship places.

M) Any other movement of persons, if any in exigencies, shall only be with the travel passes obtained from District Collector or Police authorities concerned.

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News Network
July 26,2020

New Delhi, Jul 26: India reported a spike of 48,661 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

The total COVID-19 positive cases stand at 13,85,522, including 4,67,882 active cases, 8,85,577 cured/discharged/migrated, it added.
With 705 deaths in the last 24 hours, the cumulative toll reached 32,063.

Maharashtra has reported 3,66,368 coronavirus cases, the highest among states and Union Territories in the country.

A total of 2,06,737 cases have been reported from Tamil Nadu till now, while Delhi has recorded a total of 1,29,531 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 4,42,263 samples were tested for coronavirus on Saturday and overall 1,62,91,331 samples have been tested so far.

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