KOCHI l thursday l November 06, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Pant checks in, shami ignored for tests against South Africa Rishabh Pant made comeback into India’s Test squad for two-match series against SA. However, Mohammed Shami has been ignored once again Rishabh Pant Delhi keeper-batter passes fitness test India’s wicketkeeper batter Pant was an automatic choice after recovering from a foot fracture sustained during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July. He missed the West Indies series but led India A team against South Africa A. Shami, who has had a creditable Ranji campaign as of now, has been overlooked again ■ Two akash deep in, prasidh krishna out ■ Pacer Akash Deep Singh recovered from shoulder injury and has been picked but Prasidh Krishna’s name has been dropped India’s pace attack features Jasprit Bumrah and Mohd Siraj while the spin will be led by veteran Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Washington Sundar. Shubman Gill is captain | P11 India will play two tests against SA in Kolkata, GUwahatI 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 BJP ‘stole’ Haryana poll with 25 lakh fake votes, Bihar next target: Rahul Americans of Indian origin make major political gains Mamdani first Indian-American and Muslim to be elected New York mayor “We have crystal-clear proof that 25 lakh voters in Haryana Leader of Opposition Rahul are fake, that they either don’t Gandhi on Wednesday accused exist, are duplicates, or were the Election Commission of designed in a way that allows India of colluding with the anybody to vote. One in eight BJP to ‘steal’ the 2024 Haryana voters in Haryana is fake, elections in the saffron party’s that’s 12.5%,” he said. favour and claimed To substantiate the same sinister his claim, he cited plan will be used in the example of a Bihar to ensure the woman who apBJP’s victory . peared 223 times on Addressing a the voter list. He press conference at also showed the the AICC headphoto of another quarters here on woman, which he We d n e s d ay, t h e SIR: Integrity of claimed was a BraCongress leader alzilian, saying it appoll main issue leged that 25 lakh peared 22 times unOn INDIA bloc’s votes were ‘stolen’ der different names strategy to protest in Haryana through in 10 booths. 5.21 lakh duplicate against SIR, Rahul said “This is proof of the “integrity of the votes, 93,174 invalid a centralised operaelection” is the addresses, and 19.26 tion. What is a Brafundamental issue lakh bulk voters. zilian person doing Haryana has a total on the voters’ list of two crore voters. in Haryana?” he asked. “I am confident that after the Responding to the allegaBihar poll, we will make a pres- tions, Election Commission ofentation that the same thing ficials said the vote manipulahappened in Bihar,” he said, tion charge is unfounded as no adding political parties are un- appeals were filed against Harable to check the ‘vote theft’ as yana electoral rolls, nor was they are provided with the vot- any multiple voting flagged er list at the last moment. when it allegedly happened. PREETHA NA I R @ New Delhi H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh All set Ghazala Hashmi Security personnel carrying election materials ahead of the first phase of Bihar polls, in Muzaffarpur on Wednesday | PTI Stillness of the discerning in Bihar B ihar has never been short of noise. Certainly not when it mattered. Its politics has marched through history with a daring swagger — JP’s call that shook New Delhi, Mandal’s churn that redrafted power, the long years of Lalu raj that jolted the old order. Even the subtler Nitish era made bold strokes on the canvas, turning India’s polity yet again with the caste census narrative and grand alliance politics. Yet this election arrives on soft feet. On November 5, the campaign for the first stretch of 121 constituencies is winding down, and the battle for the remaining 122 — those border districts where sentiment often travels across rivers and frontiers — will begin soon. And through it all, there hangs a curious quiet. Whether in Nitish Kumar’s native Bakhtiyarpur, or hamlets like Gauspur and Chitapur fringing Patna, whether in Dalit ‘tolas’ where caste is still geo-tagged or along the mobile 100-km sweep to Gaya on NH-22, out in villages like Barachati and Tekari near where a legend named Dashrath Manjhi once moved mountains, the stillness is audible. Even in places like Mokama where bullets flew the other day or Barh, , which saw fisticuffs after this writer left, the action is all on one slim band where politics does its business. The people santwana seem unmoved. Almost cold. bhattacharya This is not indifference. It is Editor an extended pause — a thinking state, perhaps it’s the hush of crores of people thinking harder. The old Bihar election grammar is still here: the woven caste alliances, the search for the right symbol atop the right community the deft stitch, ing of booth workers and social equations. But listen closely, and the dialogues are shifting pitch. It is no longer enough to promise representation; people want opportunity Bihar’s young . — impatient, painfully aware of the ticket-to-life stamped “migration” that’s been their lot for years, and now uniformly literate about the ways of the world beyond their panchayat WhatsApp group — are asking sharper questions. Identity of the other sort has not dissolved; only its fabric has thinned in the face of this new common identity, an identity of experience. Numbers are never incidental here. OBCs and EBCs together form roughly two-thirds of Bihar — a demographic truth that still underwrites strategy Yadavs remain the single biggest OBC . bloc, Kurmis and Kushwahas count in pockets where one village’s mood can bend a seat, Dalits and Mahadalits together hold a weight politicians can never ignore, and the elite castes — though numerically modest — continue to influence candidate choice and the political discourse, Continued on: P8 particularly in the plains.  Aftab Pureval Indian roots Ghazala Hashmi, L-G-elect Virginia was born in Hyderabad. Aftab Pureval is the son of a Punjabi father and a Tibetan mother In an extraordinary moment for diversity in American politics, three Indian-origin Americans carved history across key states signalling a possible new era in the United States. Zohran Mamdani became the first Indian-American and Muslim to be elected Mayor of New York City, Ghazala Hashmi was chosen as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and Aftab Pureval secured a second term as Mayor of Cincinnati. Together, their victories mark a milestone in the growing political influence of South Asian Americans. At just 34, Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s stunning win has made him New York City’s youngest mayor in over a 100 years and the first of Indian heritage to hold the post. Running as a Democratic Socialist, Mamdani triumphed over two formidable opponents, former governor Andrew Cuomo, contesting as an independent with the backing of President Donald Trump, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. With 83% of votes counted, Mamdani secured Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (2nd from right), with wife Rama Duwaji (2nd from left), father Mahmood Mamdani and mother Mira Nair in New York | AP 948,202 votes (50.6%), while Cuomo managed 776,547 (41.3%). The city saw a record turnout of nearly two million votes, the highest since 1969. Born in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York at the age of seven. His mother, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, and father, Columbia University scholar Mahmood Mamdani, have long been symbols of cultural and intellectual achievement. In his victory speech, Mam- Yes SIR, says Church; LDF, UDF to oppose E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram These (the BLOs) are officials deputed to help us. We should collect their phone number for clearing doubts and further communication Syro-Malabar Church’s Public Affairs Committee SIR Day 2 8.85 lakh people, around 3.18% of voters in 2025 list, handed enumeration forms on day 2 of SIR on Wednesday CEO-Kerala directs BLOs carry out the task even at night hours without inconveniencing voters In a significant political development, the highly influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has welcomed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, even as the ruling LDF and opposition UDF have decided to challenge it legally On Wednesday as an . , all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on the SIR, the Church asked the faithful to cooperate with the drive. The Church’s stance assumes importance as it comes a day after Major Archbishop Marf Raphael Thattil met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday . In a letter, the Church Public Affairs Committee secretary Fr James Kokkavayalil urged the laity to cooperate with booth level of ficers (BLOs) visiting their homes with enumeration forms. The Church also asked the faithful to ensure they keep all the documents prescribed by the Election Commission ready at the time of the BLOs’ visit. “These are officials deputed to help us. We should collect their phone number for clearing doubts and further communication,” it said. It also instructed Church members who CEO, SEC hold meeting with district collectors T’Puram: The office of the Chief Electoral Officer(CEO)-Kerala Rathan U Kelkar and the State Election Commissioner (SEC) A Shajahan held a joint meeting with all 14 district collectors on Wednesday to discuss how polling personnel, including Booth Level Officers (BLOs), could be deployed for SIR without impacting the impending local body elections. The CEO said polling personnel, including BLOs, requisitioned by the SEC could be exempted from SIR and new persons recruited. are based abroad, but are Indian citizens, should fill the forms online or through relatives via the BLOs. Meanwhile, at the all-party meeting held online, the government and the Opposition came together as all parties, with the exception of the BJP backed , the proposal to move court against the SIR. The CM said the government and CPM will seek legal opinion on challenging the SIR, which was being carried out when the state is heading to local body polls. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the Congress was ready to become a party if the government took the lead in challenging the SIR legally  ● More on P5 . grand plan Kerala to host own Kumbh Mela from Jan 18 K S SREEJ I TH @T’Puram Taking a cue from the mega religious gathering in the north, Kerala, the land of Shankaracharya, is gearing up to host its own Kumbh Mela for the first time in history . Shankaracharya is believed to have founded the akhara system to oversee the propagation of Sanatana Dharma in North India, under which Kumbh Melas are held. dani called his win a “mandate for change,” thanking his parents and wife, Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji. His campaign, which resonated with young and workingclass voters, centered on reducing living costs, expanding housing, and improving public transport—a continuation of his progressive record as a Queens assemblyman, where he introduced a pilot programme for free city buses. Continued on: P9  On the lines of the four major Kumbh Melas—in Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik and Prayagraj— Kerala will hold its Kumbh Mela from January 18 to February 3, 2026 on the banks of the Bharathapuzha in front of the Thirunavaya Nava Mukunda Temple in Malappuram. A reception committee will be constituted on November 23 to coordinate the events. Juna Akhara, the country’s largest monastic order and one of the principal bodies responsible for organising the Kumbh Melas, will oversee the festival in Kerala, the akhara’s Mahamandaleshwar Swami Anandavanam Bharathi told TNIE. In Thirunavaya, Maha Makham was held during the time of Cheraman Perumal. This was equivalent to Kumbh Mela in north India — Swami Anandavanam Bharathi, Mahamandaleshwar, Juna Akhara He is only the third Keralite to reach the coveted spiritual rank. Once an SFI leader in Thrissur, he parted ways from red ideology to embrace the saffron order. Swami Anandavanam said Kerala has a rich religious tradition similar to Kumbh Mela. “In Thirunavaya, Maha Makham was held during the time of Cheraman Perumal. This was equivalent to the Kumbh Mela held in north India,” he ● More on P4 said.  National pride Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets the victorious ICC Women’s World Cup team in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI Sabarimala gold theft: HC likens prime accused Potti to int’l art thieves E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi The operations of Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, bore a disturbing similarity to those of notorious individuals like international smuggler Subhash Kapoor, the Kerala High Court observed on Wednesday as it , cautioned the Special Investigation Team (SIT) about the possibility of temple artefacts being smuggled. Kapoor was a US-based art thief who smuggled priceless stolen ancient idols, particularly from India, across the globe. The court also said it was deeply alarming that Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) authorities had been shockingly casual and negligent in permitting an individual of questionable integrity to take measurements and produce replicas of sacred and invaluable temple assets, including the main doors, dwarapalakas, peedams, and other sanctum artefacts. Such replicas, crafted under the guise of temple work, Net cast to catch unsustainable fishing practices SIT to snare TDB heavyweights in net T’Puram: The HC’s criticism against the Travancore Devaswom Board during the submission of interim report on Sabarimala gold theft has the set the stage for the arrest of key ex-TDB office-bearers, including its former chief N Vasu. Sources said the SIT would not delay arresting Vasu and, if required, another ex-TDB chief A Padmakumar | P4 could easily be sold in international markets at astronomical prices, a well-documented modus operandi of art smugglers and conmen worldwide. “This bears disturbing resemblance to the operations of notorious figures like Subhash Kapoor, the international temple-art thief, who similarly exploited religious patronage to loot and traffic priceless heritage objects,” the court noted, and directed the SIT to include in its investigation the entrustment of repairs of the sreekovil’s main door to Potti in the first ● More on P4 quarter of 2019.  Ji t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi The Centre has issued a notification to promote the sustainable exploitation of fisheries within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The newly introduced rules, titled ‘Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Rules, 2025’, focus on licensing, registration, and scientific monitoring of fishing activities in the EEZ. They seek to encourage sustainable mariculture, including seaweed cultivation, reduce fishing pressure, create new livelihood opportunities, and enhance overall marine production. The rules recognise Fisheries Cooperatives and Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs) as key stakeholders in managing the EEZ. The government will provide training and capacity-building for traditional and small-scale fishers, including fisheries cooperatives and Self-Help Groups. 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express