visakhapatnam l friday l march 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION 85% of FY25 donations went to ruling BJP BJP INC CPI(M) BSP AAP `7,960 crore income of national parties `6,769.1498 cr ■ `918.2865 cr bjp got `6,769 cr in donations `172.603 cr `58.5887 cr `39.2813 cr BJP declared a total income of `6,769.14 cr during FY 2024–25 and spent 55.76% of it, amounting to `3,774.58 cr. The INC’s total income was `918.28 cr, while its expenditure for the year was `1,111.94 cr, as per an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms Collection by Issuing coupons of `350.12 cr declared by INC form 38.12% of its income; while BSP reported 100% of its income (`58.5 cr) from other sources BJP showed the highest income amongst national parties. This forms 85.039% of the total income of 6 National Parties during FY 2024-25 ■ INC declared the second highest income of `918.28 cr which forms 11.536% of the total income of the 6 national parties ■ In FY 2024-25, national parties declared a total income of `7,960 crore, of which 85.08% (`6,772.53 cr) came from donations/ contributions and 14.92% (`1,187.569 cr) from other sources bsp’s other sources `3,335cr was the maximum expenditure for the BJP towards Election/General Propaganda in fy 2024-25, as per the adr analysis CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI RN Ravi new guv Trump wants say in Ayatollah’s successor Lanka to move out of West Bengal second Iran ship as Bose resigns A G E N CIE S @ Tel Aviv, Tehran Major shake-up of gubernatorial positions; Arlekar to discharge functions of TN guv S U B H E N DU M A ITI an d Faya z Wan i @ Kolkata/Srinagar Barely two months before the West Bengal government’s tenure is due to end on May 7, Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday abruptly put in his papers, drawing concern from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and speculation on the imposition of President’s rule in the state. He will be replaced by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi. “The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union home minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State assembly elections,” Mamata wrote on X. She came down heavily on the Centre for naming Ravi as the successor. “The Union home minister has only informed me about appointing R N Ravi as the Governor but didn’t discuss the issue with me as per convention,” Mamata alleged. Parallelly, Kavinder Gupta resigned as Lt Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh, just eight months after taking charge. The ruling Trinamool Congress fears the Centre could impose President’s rule amidst intense rumblings over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls because of deletions of over 60 lakh voters in the final rolls and placing 60 lakh more in the ‘under adjudication’ category . However, the BJP leadership denied the TMC charges. Economist and BJP MLA Ashok Lahiri, told this newspaper, “BJP has no interest in imposition of 356 in Bengal. We want elections to be held in time after completions of the proper voters list following the SIR exercise.” Bose served for three-and-a-half years as Governor before tendering his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, who is due to visit Bengal for two days from Friday Murmu . has accepted his resignation, sources said. Bose was quoted by a news agency as saying that he had spent enough time in office and did not want to continue any longer. He, however, refused to elaborate. His tenure was scheduled to end in November 2027. Bose had major differences with the Mamata Banerjee government on various issues, including bills and the appointment of vice chancellors, but overall he was not abrasive. That may not be the case with his Ravi, whose run-ins with the M K Stalin government spawned a whole gamut of legal challenges that went right up to the Supreme Court. As for Ladakh, its new Lt Governor is Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lt Governor of Delhi. He replaces Kavinder Gupta, who has been appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh.  P8 E x p r e s s Re a d Sunil Naik grilled in RRR torture case Vijayawada: Bihar cadre IPS officer and former APCID DIG M Sunil Kumar Naik appeared before police for questioning in connection with the alleged custodial torture of former Narasapur MP K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju at the CCS police station in Guntur on Thursday. AR Damodar, Vizianagaram SP, who is the investigating officer in the case, questioned Naik for more than 7 hours | P3 Cake smash: TTD mulls legal action Tirumala: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Vigilance Wing is considering legal action against former MLC Duvvada Srinivas, his companion Divvela Madhuri, and Bigg Boss fame Thanuja, after a controversial ‘cake smash’ celebration was held at the sacred Tirumala shrine. The couple celebrated their child’s first birthday at the Sri Padmavathi Guest House on Thursday | P3 CV Ananda Bose Full list of new governors Shiv Pratap Shukla, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed Governor of Telangana Jishnu Dev Varma, Governor of Telangana appointed Governor of Maharashtra Nand Kishore Yadav appointed as Governor of Nagaland Lt General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain appointed Governor of Bihar R N Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu appointed Governor of West Bengal Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Kerala to discharge the functions of Governor of Tamil Nadu Kavinder Gupta, Lt. Governor of Ladakh, appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lt. Governor of Delhi appointed Lt. Governor of Ladakh Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed as Lt. Governor of Delhi US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that he have a say in picking Iran’s next supreme leader, as the war triggered by the US-Israeli campaign that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reverberated throughout West Asia and beyond. Iran launched a fresh wave of attacks against Israel, US bases and Gulf allies, while warning that the US would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship. The war has escalated, affecting an additional 14 countries across West Asia and beyond. Israel issued a mass evacuation warning for all of Beirut’s southern suburbs. All the while, the US and Israel battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. Iran continued to pummel Gulf monarchies allied to the US-Israel axis. Iran claimed it hit Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with Khorramshahr-4 missiles, while Israel denied it, saying the airport is open. Bahrain said on Thursday a facility in its oil infrastructure was attacked. Residents in Abu Dhabi reported a series of loud explosions on Thursday . Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In the UAE, a drone was shot down near the Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts US forces, and shrapnel fell to the ground, authorities said. Six people were wounded. Azerbaijan accused Iran of attacking it with drones — though P9 Tehran denied it.  Sri Lanka on Thursday denied permission to Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr, sister ship of the frigate IRIS Dena, which was torpedoed by the US on Wednesday, to dock in Colombo. IRIS Bushehr has an engine problem, which it wants fixed. Lanka, however, agreed to bring part of the 208 personnel on board ashore while moving the vessel away from the vicinity of Colombo Port. In a televised address to the nation, President Dissanayake said he would permit the Sri Lankan Navy to transfer a portion of the crew ashore in line with the India condoles Khamenei’s death J AYA N T H J A CO B @ New Delhi india on Thursday condoled the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book “on behalf of the people and the Government of India” at the Embassy of Iran in New Delhi. Misri visited the embassy and conveyed India’s message of sympathy to Iran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad Speculation over, Nitish files Rajya Sabha nomination R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna three-and-a-half months after being sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time, JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar on Thursday filed his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha, marking his return to national politics after two decades. The move also paves the way for a new government in the state, likely to be led by BJP . Along with Nitish, BJP national president Nitin Nabin also filed papers for the Upper House. From Bihar, three others from the alliance filed nomination papers—former BJP MLA Shivesh Kumar, JD(U) nominee and Union minister of state for agriculture Ram Nath Thakur, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Upendra Kushwaha. Thakur and Kushwaha are sitting RS MPs. Their tenure ends on April 9. Nitish said that from the beginning of his parliamentary journey, he wanted to become a member of both Houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as both Houses of Parliament. “In view of my aspiration, I seek to become a member of Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time,” he posted on X, adding that the new government will have his guidance. The veteran leader’s sudden move left JD(U) cadre stunned. Naidu unveils new Population Management Policy for growth S G u r u S r i kan t h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday unveiled a landmark Population Management Policy in the Legislative Assembly, describing it as one of the most crucial initiatives for Andhra Pradesh’s future. This is the first such effort by a State gin the country for population growth. He emphasised a shift from traditional family planning towards comprehensive population care, urging legislators and citizens to engage in a month-long debate on the policy draft. Naidu pointed out that fertility rates have sharply declined worldwide, citing examples of Japan, South Korea and Italy and warned that Andhra , Pradesh is experiencing a similar trend now. The State’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined to 1.5, compared to 3.0 in 1993. He cau- j a v ar i a rana @ New Delhi Incentive for 3rd child tioned that if this decline continues, the working-age population will shrink, slowing economic growth. According to 2023 figures, only 6.7 lakh births were recorded annually and by , 2047, nearly 23% of the population will be old, creating demographic and economic challenges. The draft policy is built on a five-pillar framework – Motherhood, Strength, Welfare, Skills and Sanjeevani – designed to provide government support across the life cycle, from pregP4 nancy to old age.  Among key measures proposed are establishment of fertility centres in government hospitals and `25,000 incentive for the third child Population management should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a crisis. A healthy, wealthy & happy Andhra Pradesh is only possible through it Naidu, CM Fathali, marking India’s first of ficial gesture following Khamenei’s killing on February 28. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. country’s obligations under international law. The government, he added, did not want the vessel to enter Colombo Port, as its presence close to the island’s main commercial harbour could pose risks to shipping activity and the economy in, cluding the possibility of higher insurance surcharges on vessels using the port. Later, addressing the media, the President said the personnel aboard the vessel would first be disembarked in Colombo to ensure rescue operations continue without disruption. After that, the Lankan Navy will sail the vessel to Trincomalee, where it will be anchored. Search on Sukhoi 30 fighter jet goes missing in Assam j a v ar i a rana @ New Delhi AN Indian Air Force (IAF) Su30 MKI fighter aircraft lost contact after taking off from Jorhat in Assam on Thursday evening, with the last communication recorded at 7.42 pm. “An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam and was last in contact at 7.42 pm. “Further details are being ascertained. Search and Rescue mission has been initiated,” Defence PRO Lt Col Mahender Rawat said in a statement in the evening. He further said that search and rescue operations have been initiated to ascertain the status of the fighter jet. In aviation terms, an aircraft is considered “overdue” when it fails to report or make contact at the expected time after a flight or communication check. The status of the aircraft and its pilot is not yet known. More details are awaited.