When a former police constable was appointed Gujarat unit chief, everyone was surprised. Now workers are laying bets on when he will be elevated to the Union Cabinet, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Mumbai, its satellite cities, north and central Maharashtra and south Gujarat received rains on Wednesday owing to a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea and a western disturbance, the India meteorological department said.
Members of the Parsi community, business leaders and politicians were among those who attended the cremation.
On the request of American authorities, police in Mehsana district in Gujarat have launched a probe to unearth an alleged racket in which ineligible students are getting help to acquire high International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score to obtain admission in colleges in Canada so that they can be then smuggled into the United States, an official said on Monday.
While the BJP faces rebellion in some pockets and an undercurrent of anger palpable among the dominant OBC Chaudhary community due to the arrest of dairy cooperative leader and former home minister Vipul Chahduary, local caste dynamics and selection of candidates are likely to play a major role in the final outcome, political analysts said.
It also assured that the amount of medical insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme would be doubled from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
'Adivasi seats will sound the bugle of the end of the BJP regime in Gujarat.'
A total of 788 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the elections on 89 seats spread across 19 districts of South Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions.
Cyclone 'Nisarga' is very likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' over the next 12 hours and cross Maharashtra and South Gujarat coast on Wednesday, an India Meteorological Department official said on Tuesday.
Hindu temples are also coming up in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the prime minister told the gathering.
The very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours and reach the Gujarat coast on Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Political analysts say the Congress's approach of taking the marginalised sections together has helped it in winning tribal-dominated seats, while the BJP will have to do a rethinking to win in Vyara, considering the social dynamics in this aAssembly segment.
Better living conditions must be an integral part of all political campaigns. But this will only happen if the public pressures the political class to understand the irreversibility of climate change and make the environment a crucial part of their manifestos.
Ahmed Patel, who was undergoing treatment at a Gurugram hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, breathed his last after multi-organ failure in the wee hours of Wednesday, his son Faisal confirmed.
The Gujarat government had evacuated over 63,700 people from coastal areas of eight districts and 18 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed for rescue operations.
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ashish Shelar said he was shocked to note the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell for cyclone Nisarga will start functioning on Tuesday while the windstorm is only some hours away from hitting the state's coast.
The Centre has decided not to give a go-ahead to the Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project following strong protests against it by tribals, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party president C R Paatil said on Tuesday.
An NDRF team has a strength of about 45 personnel and each unit is equipped with tree and pole cutters, communication gadgets, inflatable boats and a small basic medical unit.
An estimated 1.5 lakh people are being shifted from low-lying coastal areas in Gujarat while 54 teams of the NDRF and SDRF remained deployed on Sunday in view of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) warning that the very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae will reach the state coast on Monday evening and cross it on early Tuesday morning.
Heavy rains had battered the metropolis on Sunday and Monday as well.
The Supreme Court is all set to regain its full strength of 34 judges with the apex court collegium headed by CJI N V Ramana recommending names of the Chief Justice of Gauhati high court Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat high court judge Justice Jamshed B Pardiwala for elevation to the apex court, sources said.
The Congress won 77 seats or 42% of seats in the 2017 polls. How then can Gujarat be called a BJP bastion, asks Sanjeev Nayyar.
That AAP managed a sizeable vote share in Gujarat is creditable. The BJP can no longer ignore AAP's growing presence in its strongest bastion, explains Ramesh Menon, long-time observer of Gujarat politics.
The home minister held a video conference with Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Maharashtra -- Vijay Rupani and Uddhav Thackeray respectively -- and Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Praful Patel, and assured them all central help in view of the impending cyclone, an official statement said in New Delhi.
The Navy has has kept five flood teams and three diving teams on stand-by in Mumbai, the official said. These teams, trained and equipped for rescue operations, are stationed at various naval areas across Mumbai and can provide early response over a larger area, he said.
'By the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they moved back to the BJP almost totally and later their backing helped us win the local body elections.'
'The BJP's problem is what rabbit can it pull out of the conjurer's hat?'
Many villages were cut off as several roads connecting them were inundated.
The cyclone on Tuesday passed the Mumbai coast and much to the relief of the people in Maharashtra's capital, just brought rains and there was no loss of life or damage to property
'There was a slight change of direction towards north-eastwards which meant the impact of the cyclone on Mumbai was less severe than originally expected,' the IMD said in a statement.
Many towns in Gir Somnath turned into islands as the district has been witnessing heavy rains for the third consecutive day.
Cyclone Tauktae weakened into a 'depression' and lay centred over south Rajasthan and adjoining Gujarat region on Wednesday morning, the India Meteorological Department said.
While farmers in Gujarat are rejecting the compensation package, farmers in Maharashtra say they do not wish to part with their land for a project that largely benefits Gujarat.
Two deep cut marks were found on his neck and the stabbing was centred between jaws and chest.
Town planning authority MMRDA on Tuesday said that nearly 150 patients at its COVID facility in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) have been shifted to another location as a precaution in the wake of the Nisarga Cyclone which is expected to make a landfall close to the city on Wednesday.
In another forecast for August, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said monsoon is also likely to be normal in the month.
A total of 89 seats -- out of 182 -- spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
Over 20,000 people were evacuated to safer places in these three districts. State capital Mumbai too witnessed water-logging in many areas after overnight rains on Thursday.
The cyclone is likely to bring heavy rainfall in its wake in parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. The light showers/drizzle in parts of Mumbai city, its suburbs and neighbouring districts of Thane and Palghar on Monday morning brought some respite to people from the sweltering heat and humidity.
