SAMBALPUR  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 21, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION U.S. TO LET UKRAINE USE LANDMINES AGAINST ADVANCING RUSSIAN FORCES President Joe Biden will allow Ukraine to use US-supplied anti-personnel landmines to help it slow down Russia’s battlefield progress THEY POSE LESS RISK TO CIVILIANS: AUSTIN U.S. EMBASSY SHUT AMID RUSSIAN ATTACK FEAR US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US will supply non-persistent landmines that become unable to detonate over time. “We can control when they would self-activate... and that makes them far more safer eventually,” he said. Anti-personnel land mines have long been criticised because they present a lingering threat to civilians ■ ■ The latest policy shift comes days after Biden allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia The US Embassy in Kyiv shut its doors on Wednesday after receiving a warning of a significant Russian attack on the city in response to Biden’s decision on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles | P9 1.74L sq km OF UKRAINIAN LAND IS INFESTED WITH LANDMINES AS PER AN ESTIMATE 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 Exit polls forecast close fight in Jharkhand with narrow edge for BJP POLLSTERS PREDICT MAHA ADVANTAGE TO RULING ALLIANCE P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AS the high stakes Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand came to a close on Wednesday, several pollsters gave the BJP-led alliance a clear edge in Maharashtra and a close fight in Jharkhand. An aggregate of exit polls projected that the ruling NDA may retain power in Maharashtra while four of the eight pollsters projected an NDA win in Jharkhand. Counting of votes will take place on November 23 Saturday for the single-phase Maharashtra election held on Wednesday and the two-phase voting in Jharkhand held on November 13 and 20. While the Matrize exit poll gave 150-170 seats for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra with a 48% vote share, it gave the MVA allies only 110-130 seats with a vote share of 42%. The pollster gave others 8 to 10 seats, with a vote share of 10%. In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP is contesting in 149 seats, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena 81 and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress party 59. To retain power, the Mahayuti will need 145 seats to reach the majority mark. The exit poll conducted by Peoples Pulse gave Mahayuti 175-195 seats; it showed that MVA will secure only 85112 seats and 7-12 to others in Maharashtra. In the MVA alliance, the Congress has contested in 101 seats, Uddhav Thackarey’s Shiv Sena (UBT) 95 and Sharad Pawar’s NCP 86 seats. The high-pitched campaign in the state has seen the opposition and the ruling BJP locking horns over the latter’s slogans batenge to katenge and ek hai toh safe hai on religious lines. While the ruling Mahayuti centred its campaign around its flagship POLLS 2024 schemes for women, the MVA focused on the government’s failure to address farmer’s distress, inflation, and reservation among others. In Jharkhand, Matrize predicted 4247 seats for the NDA and 25-30 seats for the Congress-JMM alliance. It gave 0-4 seats to others. Axis MyIndia and Electoral Edge predicted victory for the INDIA bloc. Dainik Bhaskar and P Marq have predicted a hung House. Jharkhand has seen highly polarised election campaigns with the BJP attacking the Hemant Soren government for the alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh. CM Majhi wraps up visit, gets Singapore interested in Odisha EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar CHIEF Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday wrapped up his maiden foreign visit to Singapore on a high note with several investors evincing interest for collaborations in semiconductor, green energy, shipr e cyc l i n g a n d c o n t a i n e r manufacturing as well as portled industrial development in Odisha. The high-level delegation led by Majhi attended a series of G2G and G2B meetings with the government of Singapore and leaders in technology, renewable energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. Citing the state’s rich mineral resources, skilled workforce and investment-friendly policies, the CM showcased Odisha as a burgeoning hub for industries. “Odisha is committed to providing a seamless and transparent business environment. Our visit to Singapore has been highly productive and we are ready to partner with global players for new avenues in Odisha’s transformative journey,” he said. The CM and the team Odisha CM and Industries minister during their visit to PEP Innovation Private Ltd CM invites Singapore President to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has invited Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Odisha during his upcoming visit to India in January next. “We have invited Tharman to visit the state in January. The invitation was conveyed during the CM’s meeting with senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann,” said an official statement. held discussions with promoters of PEP Innovation Private Ltd, a prominent player in Singapore’s semiconductor ecosystem, and explored opportunities to leverage the company’s expertise to enhance Odisha’s electronics and semiconductor infrastructure. CONTINUED ON P5 First-time voters after casting votes at a polling station in Nagpur on Wednesday | PTI MAHARASHTRA SEATS 288, TARGET 145 Source Chanakya Strategies Dainik Bhaskar Electoral Edge Lokshahi Marathi-Rudra Matrize P-Marq Peoples Pulse Poll Diary Times Now-JVC Poll of exit polls NDA 152-160 125-140 118 128-142 150-170 137-157 175-195 122-186 150-167 150 JHARKHAND SEATS 81, TARGET 41 Source Axis My India Chanakya Strategies Dainik Bhaskar Electoral Edge Matrize P-Marq Peoples Pulse Times Now-JVC Poll of exit polls NDA 17-27 45-50 37-40 32 42-47 31-40 44-53 40-44 39 Anmol Bishnoi seeks asylum in US MUKESH RANJAN AND HARPREET BAJWA @ New Delhi/Chandigarh IN what was seen as a ploy to block his deportation, Anmol Bishnoi, brother of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has applied for political asylum in the US following his arrest by immigration officers there last week. He was detained in California for entering the country using fake papers — based on information shared by India — and subsequently arrested. Anmol is currently in Iowa’s Pottawattamie County Jail. However, chances are he could have intentionally offered himself for detention by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of his strategy to seek asylum, sources said. For, the US legal system is inclined to grant bail in such cases, like it did to another gangster Goldie Brar, sources added. The Mumbai Police has already begun efforts to get Anmol extradited in connection with multiple cases, including the murder of NCP’s Baba Siddique. However, if the case takes a different trajectory Anmol could first , be handed over to Canadian authorities in connection with the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He is facing more than 32 criminal cases in India on charges of abduction, extortion and murder. At least 20 are registered in Rajasthan. He also managed Lawrence’s extortion cartel and invested money in businesses outside India. Punjab Police sources said Anmol is the key operator of Lawrance’s crime syndicate. He worked behind the scenes to manage gang’s businesses and activities. Messi’s Argentina to play in Kerala next year IT’S been 13 years to date since Lionel Messi mesmerised Indian crowds at the historic and football crazy city of Kolkata. Next year, Kerala, the other football-obsessed part of the country would be watching the living legend dribble and shimmy past opponents wearing an Argentina jersey The re. vered team is all set to play a couple of friendlies in Kerala. This was confirmed by Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Wednesday He said that the Argen. tine Football Association (AFA) will make an announcement after a delegation visits the state within two months. The opponents and schedule will be announced later. Kochi is being considered as the primary venue, said the minister during a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram. “The official announcement will be made by a team comprising Kerala and Argentina officials when the AFA delegation visits. FIFA officials will be visiting Kochi to inspect the venue and the security aspects,” Abdurahiman said. Messi last played in Brisk polling in Jharkhand, Maha tepid E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mumbai/Ranchi LEGEND’S VISIT E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram No exit poll sees MVA victory in Maharashtra India in 2011, when Argentina and Venezuela played an international friendly at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Calling it a dream come true, Keral Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attributed the development to the state government’s consistent efforts. “This is something many believed to be impossible, but we have made it a reality for Kerala’s sports lovers. This will be a proud moment for Kerala as our name will resonate on the global sports map,” the chief minister wrote in his Facebook post. MVA 130-138 135-150 150 125-140 110-130 126-146 85-112 69-121 107-125 125 INDIA 49-59 35-38 36-39 42 25-30 37-47 25-37 30-40 38 OTH 6-8 20-25 20 18-23 8-10 2-8 7-12 10-27 13-14 13 OTH 1-6 3-5 0-2 7 1-4 1-6 5-9 1-1 4 60% Voter turnout in Maharashtra as per provisional data. Only 51.41% voters in Mumbai city voted 68% Jharkhand voter turnout better than that in 2019. Maoist threat didn’t deter voters 1,185 Polling booths in high-rises in Maharashtra, but not many urban voters turned up THE high-voltage campaign in Maharashtra did not appear to have enthused voters to exercise their franchise as the provisional data released in the evening showed 60% turnout against 61.74% recorded in the 2019 Assembly elections, while Jharkhand witnessed brisk polling at 68%, surpassing 67.04% polled last time. Voting was largely peaceful in both states. In Maharashtra, the highest polling was recorded in Gadchiroli at 69.63% while Jharkhand’s Jamtara district topped the charts with 76.16% turnout. Like in past elections, Mumbai city disappointed with a dismal turnout of 51.41%. In Jharkhand, Bokaro district recorded the lowest polling at 60.97%, data showed. All 288 seats in Maharashtra went to polls on Wednesday in a single phase, Jharkhand voted for 38 seats in the second and final phase. The first phase of polling in Jharkhand was held on November 13 for 43 seats, registering 64.86% turnout. No major incidents of violence were reported from either state and Maoists had no effect even in their traditional strongholds. In Jharkhand, the Leftwing extremists were reduced to sticking posters at random places as security forces were deployed in full strength. Six-year-old girl raped at brick kiln E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Cuttack A six-year-old girl suffered serious injury after being allegedly raped on the premises of a brick factory near Trisulia within Barang police limits here on Tuesday evening. The heinous crime took place just a few metres away from the kid’s house. Cuttack DCP Jagmohan Meena said parents of the girls hail from Jharkhand and are working as labourers at the brick kiln. The 21-yearold accused, Kailash Thatera, is a relative of the survivor. He also belongs to Jharkhand and works as a tractor driver in a brick factory at Jaypur village. Sources said Kailash visited the girl’s house when her parents were away for some work. Luring her with chocolates, he took the child to a secluded area on the brick kiln premises behind her house and allegedly committed the crime before leaving the spot. Unable to bear the pain due to genital injury the minor narrated her or, deal to her parents when they returned home. She was immediately rushed to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (Sishu Bhawan) and admitted to the ICU with severe haemorrhage. She was later shifted to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of SCB Medical College and Hospital. CONTINUED ON P5