CHENNAI  MONDAY  NOVEMBER 23, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 34  LATE CITY EDITION JUDGE THROWS OUT TRUMP SUIT ON PENNSYLVANIA LOSS A Pennsylvania judge on Saturday dismissed Trump campaign’s lawsuit seeking to invalidate millions of mail-in votes STATE CAN NOW CERTIFY BIDEN AS WINNER HELPFUL VERDICT, CLAIMS TRUMP TEAM Judge Matthew Brann ruled that the Trump campaign “presented strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations unsupported by evidence”. Donald Trump had claimed some Pennsylvania counties contacted and let voters to fix mistakes in their mail ballot declarations. The path is now clear for the state to certify Joe Biden as the winner ■ ■ Trump’s legal team cast the ruling in a positive light, saying it helps their strategy to get the case expeditiously to the US Supreme Court, where a majority of judges are conservative The case will now go to the 3rd circuit of the US Court of Appeals, which, the Trump campaign hopes, will pass a quick verdict | P11 81,000 VOTES IS BIDEN’S LEAD OVER TRUMP IN PENNSYLVANIA CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Experts see building of a second Covid wave in India S U M I S U K A N YA D U T TA @ New Delhi AFTER reaching the trough of just 28,609 fresh Covid-19 cases on November 16 — the lowest in four months — India has seen between 38,000 and 46,000 new cases daily in the last four days, raising concerns that the country is staring at a second wave of the deadly infection. The daily infection count reached its peak of 96,860 on September 16. Ever since, there had been a steady decline. But, in recent days, states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Delhi have seen a sharp rise in daily new cases, pushing the national tally up. “We are definitely seeing early signs of a second wave at the national level,” health economist Rijo M John said. The mortality rate, too, is rising in several states, including Kerala, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, John pointed out. Experts warned that the states that did well in containing the first wave U.S. MAY START VACCINATION BY DEC 11 The US is planing to start coronavirus vaccinations by December 11, a top official said. Two US firms Pfizer and Moderna have reported their vaccine candidates to be over 90% effective in final round trials | P11 BJP SHOW TIED TO MUSLIM MLAS S A N A S H A K I L @ New Delhi BARRING a few exceptions, the fact that fewer Muslim MLAs were elected in the recent Bihar Assembly elections falls into a pattern witnessed in recent years. Wherever and whenever the Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partners have performed strongly, coming to power in most cases, the number of elected Muslim representatives has gone down, like in Bihar where it dropped from 24 to 19. Conversely, where non-BJP parties have done well, Muslim representation in the elected houses has generally increased, an analysis by this newspaper found. Take, for instance, the Karnataka elections in 2018 and Uttar Pradesh in 2017. In both states, the BJP did well and the number of Muslim MLAs dived. The steepest fall was in UP where the BJP stormed to power with a crushing threefourths mandate. In the outgoing Assembly where the Samajwadi Party was in power, the state had 68 Muslim MLAs; that figure dropped to 24. Percentage wise, it dipped from 17% of the total strength of the Assem- Cow cabinet mulls cess to raise funds E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bhopal THE first of its kind gau (cow) cabinet meeting on Sunday convened by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan explored the possibility of levying a cess to raise funds for the welfare of cows in Madhya Pradesh. “There was a time when every individual offered the first roti of the meal to a cow and the last roti to dogs, but now it doesn’t happen. Maybe we’ll make the people contribute financially but it will , be ensured that they aren’t pained by it,” Chouhan said. The gau cabinet, which met virtually also decided to set up over 2,000 cowsheds in the state for the protection of the cows. “We won’t let any cow remain shelterless. We’ve targeted 2,000 gaushalas to be managed by gover nment along with self-help groups,” CONTINUED ON: P10 he said. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST 34 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID), 4 OF CITY EXPRESS YOUR LIFE COACH bly to 6%. In Karnataka, the number of Muslim MLAs fell from 11 to seven. Contrast them with the elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in late 2018, Odisha in mid-2019, Maharashtra and Jharkhand in late 2019, and Delhi in February this year. In all these states, the Congress and regional parties upended the BJP and the Muslim MLA count grew, even if marginally in some cases. The biggest increase was in Rajasthan — from two to eight — where the Congress wrested power from the BJP. In Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress ended 15 years of continuous BJP rule, Muslim MLA numbers went up from nil to one and one to two, respectively . Maharashtra and Jharkhand are also interesting, as the BJP lost power, and the number of Muslim MLAs increased. Exceptions to the trend were Gujarat, Assam and Tripura, where Muslim representation went up though they are ruled by the BJP On the flip side, the . Muslim MLA count dropped in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab, where the BJP has negligible electoral presence. CONTINUED ON: P9 ly,” he added. Understandably the spurt in , cases has forced state governments to re-impose some of the curbs that were dialed back. Haryana and Manipur, for instance, have shut schools again while many districts in Rajasthan and Gujarat are witnessing more restrictions. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned the second wave “looks like a tsunami” and urged people not to lower their guards so as to P9 avoid another lockdown. How they stack up Ten states where the number of Muslim legislators went up as compared to the last Assembly elections are Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam and Tripura  Percentage in population  % of Muslim MLAs at present  Number of Muslim MLAs  Number of MLAs in the last Assembly Jammu & Kashmir 68.31% 68.9% 60 60 Himachal Pradesh 2.18% 00 0 Punjab 1.93% 0.85% 1 2 Haryana 7.03% 3.33% 3 3 Delhi 12.78% 7.14% 5 4 Uttarakhand 13.95% 2.85% 2 2 Uttar Pradesh 19.3% 5.9% 24 68 Arunachal Pradesh 1.9% 0 0 0 Assam Bihar 34.22% 23% 16.9% 7.81% 29 28 19 24 Meghalaya 4.39% Sikkim 1.6% 0 1.66% 1 1 0 0 Nagaland 2.4% 0 0 0 Rajasthan 9.1% 4% 8 2 Gujarat 9.6% 1.64% 3 2 Madhya Pradesh 6.57% 0.86% 2 1 Maharashtra 11.54% 3.47% 10 9 Goa 8.33% 0 0 0 Manipur 8.40% 5% 3 3 West Bengal 27.01% 18% 59 59 Tripura 8.60% 3.33% 2 1 Jharkhand 14.5% 4.87% 4 2 Mizoram 1.3% 0 0 0 Odisha 7.08% 0.68% 1 0 Chhattisgarh 2.02% 1.1% 1 0 Telangana 12.7% 6.72% 8 8 Andhra Pradesh 9% 1.71% 3 4 Karnataka 12.9% 3.12% 7 11 Puducherry 4.97% 3% 1 1 Kerala 26.56% 22.85% 32 36 Tamil Nadu 5.86% 2.13% 5 5 Good news delayed by two days crushes career dreams of teen Thanga Petchi scored 155 in her maiden NEET attempt. CLAD in her unifor m, S She secured 438th rank in Thanga Petchi stood out in the the merit list released under crowd of 14 government school the 7.5 per cent horizontal students who were felicitated reservation. for cracking the NEET by Rev“Looking at my NEET score enue Minister RB Udwh e n t h e re s u l t s hayakumar at the Macame, I was convinced durai Collectorate on that I would not be Sunday Her’s was an . able to secure a mediodd presence because cal seat this year. It of her uncertain fuwas then the 7.5 per ture. Among the 14 cent reservation came students, she is the as a blessing. Full of only one who is on the optimism, we set out Not a waiting list despite atsingle case to Chennai to attend tending the medical the medical counselPrincipal counselling on Noling,” she told. But Secretary vember 19. her plight was not yet (Health For her, the State over. Department) g ove r n m e n t ’s a n Words failed her as Dr J nouncement that it the teary-eyed girl Radhakrishnan would bear the educatried to explain what said that there tional expenses of happened next. Cutgovernment school are about 10-15 ting in, her maternal students admitted in students across uncle V Alagarsamy private medical col- the State facing who accompanied her a similar plight leges came two days to the counselling late. She had already said that seats were turned down the seat in a pri- available only in 10 private colvate medical college. leges during their turn. A student of the Govern“Requiring to pay `25,000 as ment Kallar Higher Secondary deposit to block a seat, it was School and belonging to a de- certain that the family could notified community, which is never afford the fees for the categorised as Most Backward 5.5-year-long course,” said AlaP2 Class (MBC), 17-year-old garsamy . L A L I T H A R A N J A N I @ Madurai may see a higher caseload this time around if they let the guard down. “In those states, since seroprevalence and infectioninduced immunity are low, people venturing out would mean high daily cases,” said public health expert Oommen C Kurian. “India will have multiple peaks before vaccines arrive and a second wave by end-November or early-December is highly like- Nine states where the number of Muslim legislators has remained the same as compared to the last Assembly elections are Haryana, Telangana, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Puducherry and J&K Six states where the Muslim MLA count dropped as compared to the last Assembly elections are Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab Six states that do not have a single Muslim MLA are Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, Goa and Himachal Pradesh Cyclonic storm likely to bring heavy rains in TN E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai A cyclonic storm, named Nivar, is likely to cross Tamil Nadu coast between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram around Wednesday (Nov 25), bringing extreme or heavy rainfall to most parts of the State, except the western region. The rainfall is expected to begin in central Tamil Nadu from Monday and intensify and spread in the subsequent days to parts of northern and southern regions. The rains are expected to last till Thursday A Met advisory issued on Sunday said that a low. pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has become well marked. It is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts around Wednesday. The Met department has predicted ‘extremely very heavy rainfall’ on Tuesday (Nov 24) for Delta districts and Karaikal. BJP chief’s ABC Plan for 120-day tour from Dec 5 Party-ruled states have been categorised as A, while those by the Oppn are on the B list workers in the course of his state visits, which will commence from Uttarakhand. BeTO get a head start for the 2024 sides the ABC states, Nadda Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will also travel to the states has put in place an ‘ABC Plan’ where Assembly elections will that will see party be held next year. chief J P Nadda emThe BJP has said bark on a 120-day tour Nadda’s travel plans of states from Decemwill follow all Covid-19 ber 5 to gear up the orguidelines, with arganisation for the big rangements being electoral challenge. made for checking Nadda will head out temperatures, masks to the A, B and C cateand santisation. gories of states, with “The plan of action Strategy in the first two compris- Oppn-ruled for the travel of the ing party and opposiBJP chief across the states tion ruled states, recountry includes In Oppositionspectively The smaller . building a positive imruled states, states have been placed age in the party-ruled Nadda will in the C basket. states, team spirit, strategise to BJP national generstrategy for the 2024 build campaigns al secretary Arun Lok Sabha elections, against the Singh on Sunday told besides stress on clarreporters that the 120- ruling parties by ity of the party ideoltaking up day long tour would be ogy said Singh. ,” various ssues utilised for building Given the imporforcefully dialogue, strategies tance of social media, and team spirit in the Nadda will hold meetcadre. “The BJP chief will be ings with digital volunteers spending three days each in during his state visits. Another large states and two days each important feature will be meetin the smaller states,” he said. ings allies in the states. “The BJP national general secretary BJP will endeavour during the Tarun Chug will coordinate meetings to strategise on winNadda’s travel plans. ning those Lok Sabha seats the Singh said the BJP chief will party could not in 2019,” said connect with booth level party Singh. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi Shah discusses strategy with BJP & RSS leaders EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai UNION Home Minister Amit Shah left Chennai on Sunday, after holding a series of meetings with the core committee of the state BJP unit and senior RSS functionaries. The meetings that happened after Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam announced that the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP would continue for the Assembly elections next year, much to the surprise of the even the saffron party’s state unit leaders, were held to chalk out strategies at multiple levels in the state, said sources. They were also held in the context of the expected release from prison of V K Sasikala, former aide of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the over- tures by M K Alagiri, estranged brother of DMK chief M K Stalin, and the ever looming Rajinikanth factor. Among those who met Shah from the RSS on Sunday morning were Tamil Nadu-Kerala zone organiser Senthil, TNKerala secretary Rajendran, southern TN organiser Arumugam and secretary Adalarasan, north TN organiser P M Ravikumar and secretary Jegadeesan. Thuglak Editor S G u r u m u r t hy a l s o called on the Union minister, and the meeting lasted about three hours. Speaking about his meeting, Gurumurthy said: “We discussed national and international issues, not just about Tamil Nadu. Nothing much was discussed about Rajinikanth as he has not taken a decision regarding his political entry .” PANDEMIC WOES EXPRESS READ Saviour of 3,000 lives, lifeguard struggles to tide over viral wave Azad roasts ‘five-star culture’ of Congress S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai WAVES kept washing his feet as Selvam walked along the sandy Kovalam beach. The sea and its waves have been his world all these years. It was in the stormy tides of the Bay of Bengal that Selvam learned how to pull tourists out of the treacherous clasp of death. His acquaintance with the water world had saved hundreds of Chennai residents who were stranded in the ma- rooned city during the 2015 floods. A trained lifeguard and surfer, Selvam is now struggling to tide over a crisis from which he is not able to rescue himself. The 42-year-old father of two kids was earning a decent livelihood from the sea before the coronavirus swept across the world in the beginning of this year. His job as a lifeguard at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove and a parttime trainer in the Bay of Life Surf School in Kovalam used to earn him around `40,000 to `50,000 per month. With the beaches turning off limits to visitors, as part of Covid-control measures, Selvam suddenly found himself trapped in a financial whirlpool. Having lost his lifeguard job to the virus, Selvam is currently venturing into sea with fishermen to feed his wife and children. “I am able to earn hardly `300 a day ,” P3 he laments. New Delhi: Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday lashed out at the party leadership saying there’s a huge disconnect between people and Congress leaders and “five-star culture” has crept into the party, which is costing it elections | P9 BSF detects border tunnel in J&K Srinagar: Three days after four Pakistani terrorists of Jaish-eMohammad were killed in Nagrota in Jammu, the BSF on Sunday detected a tunnel on the border in Samba district, which is suspected to have been used by the intruders | P10