THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l friday l april 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Sole woman among 17 Indians on ship seized by Iran returns home Cadet Ann Tessa Joseph was among 17 Indians on board the vessel MSC Aries. The Thrissur native reached the Kochi airport on Thursday Indian mission in touch with other 16 sailors crew not under arrest: Iranian official The Indian mission in Tehran is in touch with the remaining 16 Indians on board the ship, the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding all of them are in good health and in contact with their family members in India. Ann, who hails from Thrissur, was received at the airport by the regional passport officer. She was the only woman cadet on board the ship | P2 ■ ■ Meanwhile, an Iranian official said the crew members of the vessel are free, and not under arrest. “They can return to India and are under the command of their captain,” the source added The Portugal-flagged vessel was seized near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13 by Iranian special forces amid tensions with Israel 25 The total number of crew members on board the ship 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 EC dismisses concerns as Kasaragod mock poll sparks row E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram / Kasaragod The Election Commission has termed as ‘baseless’ the reports that electronic voting machines (EVMs) in Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency erroneously logged in votes in favour of the BJP during the mock polls. Irregularities were detected in four EVMs during the mock poll in Kasaragod constituency on Wednesday When the ‘vote’ . was cast for all 10 candidates in the EVMs, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine issued 11 printouts. The BJP’s ‘lotus’ symbol was found to have been printed twice during the mock poll. In the wake of the complaints, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala, Sanjay Kaul, sought a report from the district collector of Kasaragod, who is also the district electoral officer, on the matter. As per the report, the VVPAT slip that was not printed during the initial inspection conducted by officials, came out printed during the mock poll, causing the confusion. According to the CEO, the message ‘not to be counted’ was printed on this slip. It also recorded ‘Standardisation done’, and the ‘VVPAT serial number’. “Besides, the slip was also long- er than other VVPAT slips. All this makes it all the more evident that the slip obtained during the mock poll was the preliminary examination slip,” the official said. Kaul added that all voting machines used in the Lok Sabha elections in the state are completely safe and flawless and that there is no need for any apprehensions. He said the commissioning of EVMs is carried out by engineers of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) under the direct supervision of assistant returning officers. The commissioning process takes place in the presence of the candidates or agents appointed by the candidates, and the process is also fully webcast, he said. The issue also came up before the Supreme Court on Thursday when it heard a batch of petitions seeking direction to the and the Union government to ensure that voters are able to verify through VVPATs that their vote has been been “count● More on P6 ed as recorded”. Over-suspicion of EVMs not prudent, says SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday urged the petitioners seeking complete count of VVPAT slips against votes cast on EVMs to have trust in the system, saying over-suspicion is not desirable. A bench of judges Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta made the observation during the hearing of pleas on the matter. “We do not have to be suspicious about everything. You can’t be critical of everything,” Justice Khanna told advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for NGO Association of Democratic Reforms. The bench, which reserved its verdict, made the remarks when Bhushan said the opaque glass on VVPAT machines should be made transparent so that slips stay visible. Rahul, Pinarayi cross swords as poll campaign heats up in state E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kannur/Malappuram/ Palakkad Poll officials trekking with EVMs to the Kadambakuttai tribal habitation in Denkanikottai, Krishnagiri, in Tamil Nadu Phase 1 today, tough fight for BJP biggies Nitin Gadkari, Meghwal among Union ministers in the fray R A J E SH K U M A R TH A K U R @ New Delhi The electoral fate of over a dozen prominent BJP leaders, including some Union ministers, would be sealed on Friday in the first phase of polling amid tight security . The contest this time around is tougher than in the past, a senior party leader admitted. Heavyweight Union minister Nitin Gadkari is pitted against Vikas Thakre (Congress) as the former seeks to retain his Nagpur seat for the third time. Union minister Bhupendra Yadav is another BJP biggie who is hoping to make his Lok Sabha debut from Alwar in Rajasthan. Besides, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is pitted against Madan Gopal Meghwal (Cong) from Bikaner. Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal Pradesh West), Jitendra Singh (Udhampur in J&K), Sarbananda Sonowal (Dibrugarh in Assam) and L Murugan (Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu) are among the other ministers in the contest. Former governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is trying her luck from South Chennai and former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb from Tripura West. It will be interesting to see how Jitin Prasada fares from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, as he replaced the party’s outspoken sitting MP Varun Gandhi. But the biggest talking point in the South would be the performance of Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai in Coimbatore, as his hard work in the run up to the polls drew laudatory references from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP-led NDA had won 39 of the 102 seats that will go to polls in 21 states on Friday The party . is making a big push in the South, particularly in Tamil Nadu, to improve that tally . BJP sources said of the 12 seats where polling will take place in Rajasthan, the BJP is facing tough fights in seats like Churu, where sitting MP Rahul Kaswan is the Congress candidate after the BJP dropped him; and Nagaur, where its former ally and current MP Hanuman Beniwal (Rashtriya Loktantrik Party president) joined hands with the Congress. Bhupender Yadav, too, is facing a hard fight in Alwar, as is Gadkari in Nagpur. BJP facing resistance even in its strongholds: Pinarayi A N I L S @ Malappuram Claiming the emergence of a new-found resistance against the BJP even in its strongholds, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged that the Union government is resorting to intimidating and arm-twisting opponents out of desperation. “With each passing day, the BJP government seems to be getting more desperate... They are resorting to desperate measures that cross all acceptable limits. The BJP has been facing major setbacks, even in places where they claim to enjoy tremendous support... There’s a new-found resistance against the BJP that stems from simmering resentment, protests and opposition towards its arbitrary actions. In short, there’s an anti-BJP movement cropping up at the national level,”he told TNIE in an interview. Referring to the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi said, “Now two CMs are behind the bars... If these two decide to shift their allegiance to the BJP, they’ll be declared innocent overnight. We have seen several such instances. Can anyone recall such blatant abuse of the system in the past?” He said the INDIA bloc is an arrangement to bring together all secular parties who can unite against the BJP. Once the BJP is defeated, based on the prevailing situation, a call on how to take it further ahead will be taken, Full interview: P5 he said. Phase One factoids 102 inLS21seats 73; ST (General 11; SC 18) States/UTs 92 assemblySikkim constituencies in Arunachal and 16.63 crore to voters exercise franchise across With just a week left for the Lok Sabha election in the state, the UDF and the Left front have intensified their campaigns which saw Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan taking on each other. While Rahul launched a scathing attack against Pinarayi for “not speaking against BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and only targeting him during his campaigns, the chief minister shot back saying the LDF does not need a certificate from the Congress to fight the RSS and the antipeople policies of Modi. Pinarayi said through the CAA, the BJP is implementing the RSS agenda, and the Congress at the national level failed to act against the RSS agenda. He said Rahul should answer whether the Congress national leadership told its Kerala unit to stay away from antiCAA protests. Speaking at UDF’s campaign war of words If Pinarayi is against the BJP, I wonder why he has not faced any legal consequences yet. Why didn’t he go to jail? The CM is attacking me 24 hours a day. His approach is surprising — Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi is conducting campaigns in Kerala. He should answer whether the national leadership of the Congress told the Congress in Kerala to stay away from anti-CAA protests — Pinarayi Vijayan, CM programmes in Kannur and Palakkad, Rahul wondered why Pinarayi has not been investigated by the central agencies yet. “Two chief minister’s in this country are already in jail for standing against the BJP government. If Pinarayi is against the BJP I won, der why he has not faced any legal consequences yet. Why didn’t he go to jail? The CM is attacking me 24 hours a day. His approach is very surprising,” said Rahul. “I find it interesting that your chief minister is not being attacked in any way by the BJP No. body has taken away his house, nobody has taken away his membership to the Vidhan Sabha and he has not been called for interrogation (by the central agencies) for even one minute. So it’s a bit surprising that if he (Pinarayi) is fighting the BJP, then why are they (BJP) so pleased with him?” Rahul wondered. “If anyone attacks the BJP, the investigation agencies in this country will definitely go after them. Pinarayi says that he is waging an ideological battle against the BJP. Then I’m surprised why ED is not doing anything against Pinarayi in Kerala,” Rahul said. Addressing a UDF campaign rally in Palakkad, Rahul said while he attacks BJP in every state he goes, the Kerala CM spends the whole time attacking him. “He does not say a single word against the BJP So, I just wanted to leave . that with you to think about,” said ● More on P6 Rahul at the rally . 1.87 lakh polling stations 35.67 lakh to firsttime voters registered Majestic start to pooram cast their ballot young 3.51ofcrore inyears voters the age group 20-29 Tusker Ernakulam Sivakumar carrying the idol of Neythalakkavu Bhagavathy emerges from the Thekke Gopura Nada (south entrace) of Sree Vadakkumnathan temple on Thursday, heralding the Thrissur Pooram | S Lal 1,625 candidates (male 1,491, female 134) in the fray helicopters, 41 vehicles deployed 84 special trains, 1 lakh to ferry polling and security personnel Voting begins at 7 am, ends at 6 pm ED attaches properties of Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Thursday that it has attached movable and immovable properties worth `97.79 crore belonging to Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra in connection with of a money-laundering case. The properties include a residential flat in Juhu, which is in the name of Shilpa Shetty anoth, er residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in Raj Kundra’s name. The ED had initiated an investigation against Variable Tech Pte Ltd, Late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and a number of multi-level marketing a g ents, Raj Kundra based on multiple FIRs registered by Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police. The case pertains to duping investors through Bitcoins. The accused had allegedly collected huge amounts of funds in the form of Bitcoins (worth `6,600 crore in 2017) from the public with false promises of a 10% per month return. The collected Bitcoins were supposed to be utilised for Bitcoin mining, and investors were to get huge returns in crypto assets. “But the promoters cheated the investors and have been concealing the ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets,” a probe agency official said. Ajay and Mahendra Bhardwaj are absconding. 18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express KC in must-win contest in the ‘Venice of the East’ C i t h a r a Paul @ T’Puram A Rajya Sabha seat from north India becoming a talking point during elections in Kerala may sound bizarre. In this poll season, however, the Alappuzha constituency in central Kerala is abuzz with murmurs over the ‘Rajasthan seat’, courtesy the surprise candidature of AICC general secretary and Rahul Gandhi’s man Friday K C Venugopal. ‘KC’, as he is known in the state’s political circles, is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, which the BJP wrested from the Congress in the assembly elections last December, and his tenure lasts till 2026. If KC wins in Alappuzha, he will have to relinquish his seat in the upper house of Parliament. And that would be a booster for the BJP, which is just four seats short of majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Left Democratic Front has been raising this bogey, especially among the minority communities that have a significant influence in this constituency . KC is one of the ‘national leaders’ in the fray this year, along with the likes of Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Annie Raja. And this stature is certainly helping him bridge the five-year ‘gap’ with Alappuzha, which had elected him to the Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014, and the state assembly in 1996, 2001 and 2006. That KC managed to maintain his local connections developed during his previous stints here as an MP and MLA will work to the advantage of Illustration: Mandar Pardikar this former Union minister of state in the UPA II government. However, ironically, the weak organisational structure of the Congress has turned out to be a worry for the AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation. Moreover, KC faces equally strong opponents this time – sitting MP A M Ariff of the CPM and Sobha Surendran of the BJP So, it’s going to be quite . a tight contest. Once celebrated as the ‘Venice of East’, Alappuzha is now one of the poorest districts in the state, with its traditional sectors such as coir industry and fishing going through severe crises. Alappuzha – famous for its backwaters, beach- es, and boat races – is also a l a n d o f r e vo l u t i o n a n d revolutionaries. However, like the famed house boats of the Alappuzha, the constituency has swayed both ways, alternating between the LDF and UDF. Over all, the constituency – with 69% Hindu, 20% Christian and 11% Muslim votes – has elected Left candidates eight times, Congress eight, and its ally RSP once. Notably even when the UDF wave , engulfed Kerala in 2019, Alappuzha emerged as the saving grace for the ruling LDF, which was routed in the other 19 constituencies in the state. It is this unpredictable nature of the constituency that Ariff is banking on as he seeks a second term. Throughout his campaign trail, Ariff keeps reminding voters that he is the only “local candidate” in the Continued on: P9 fray .
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.
19042024 of The New Indian Express-Thiruvananthapuram