chennai l sunday l february 09, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION as rupee’s fall continues, RBI guv says No level for currency in mind focus is on long-term value, says Malhotra “There is no change in RBI’s approach. It does not look at any price level or band,” Sanjay Malhotra said, adding the central bank focuses on the value of the rupee in the medium to long term and not on its daily movement. His comment comes a day after the rupee recovered 9 paise from its all-time low level to close at 87.50 against the US dollar Market forces decide the value of rupee and the central bank is not worried about day-to-day movement of the currency value, he said ‘Depreciation due to global uncertainties’ ■ ■ About 5% depreciation impacts inflation to the extent of 30-35 bps, Malhotra said, adding the RBI weighed the current rupee-dollar rate while working out the growth and inflation projections for the next FY He said most of the depreciation in the Indian currency is driven by the global uncertainties caused by Donald Trump’s trade wars | P14 613th meet of the central board of directors of the RBI was held on Saturday 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 How the electoral map of the National capital territory of Delhi changed in 10 years from 2015 to 2025 Swing 2025 Factor PARTY SEATS 2020 2015 VOTES% PARTY SEATS VOTES% PARTY SEATS VOTES% AAP 22 43.57 AAP 62 53.8 AAP 67 53.3 +2.08% BJP 48 45.56 BJP 8 38.7 BJP 3 32.3 Cong Cong 0 6.34 Cong 0 4.26 Cong 0 9.65 NOTA 0 0.57 NOTA 0 0.5 NOTA 0 0.5 +7.05% BJP AAP -10% AAP BJP AAP BJP(NDA) AAP BJP(NDA) DELHI AAM AADMI TURNS TO BJP E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi The BJP wrested power in Delhi after 27 years, delivering a decisive blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 70-member assembly, with Saturday’s results establishing its dominance in the national capital and giving the divided opposition enough points to ponder over. The BJP’s massive victory saw Arvind Kejriwal and most of his party’s biggies, including Manish Sisodia, lose, while the Congress was decimated, failing to open its account for the third consecutive time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the party’s performance, calling it a triumph of “development, vision, and trust”. He said the BJP would make the Yamuna the identity of Delhi. During the last leg of the campaign, Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP-led Haryana government had been poisoning the Yamuna, adding had the Delhi Jal Board not stopped its water from coming into the city, it would have triggered genocide. It fueled a uproar with the Election Commission getting into the act, issuing a notice to Kejriwal. Home to over 3.3 crore people, power in Delhi’s assembly eluded the BJP for over 25 years despite its meteoric rise under Modi since 2014. However, the party’s persistence finally paid off. Its strategy focused on addressing critical issues impacting daily life, especially corruption charges against AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, along with Yamuna and air pollution, and the excise policy scam. The BJP gained from RSS’s efforts, which organised more than 1,000 meetings. The income tax relief in the Union Budget drew the middle class away from the AAP. As for AAP, allegations of corruption, lack of civic amenities and development, and the absence of fresh ideas resulted in its worst performance since its debut in 2013. The results gave the INDIA bloc a lesson or two in unity, as the Congress and AAP went solo. At least in 11 seats, AAP lost due to a split in opposition votes. For example, Kejriwal lost by 4,089 votes while Sandeep Dikshit (Cong) stood third with 4,568 votes from the same seat. Had AAP and the Congress fought together, Kejriwal could have squeaked through. polls 74.7% DMK records thumping win in Erode East by-election P SRI N IVA S A N @ Erode The ruling DMK continued its electoral winning streak by emerging victorious in the Erode East by-election on Saturday by getting 1,15,709 votes, which was 74.7% of the total votes polled. DMK’s V C Chandhirakumar trounced Naam Tamilar Katchi’s M K Seethalakshmi by a margin of 91,558 votes. The NTK candidate, who had polled 24,151 votes, forfeited her deposit. Since all the major political parties including the AIADMK, BJP, PMK and the DMK’s V C DMDK had Chandhirakumar b o yc o t t e d the bypoll, the by-election was seen as a direct contest between DMK’s Dravidian politics and NTK’s Tamil nationalist outreach. A total of 46 candidates, including 44 Independents, were in the fray. NOTA ( N o n e O f T h e A b ove ) grabbed third place with 6,109 votes. Speaking to reporters after the counting, Chandhirakumar dedicated the victory to Chief Minister M K Stalin. “People have reposed faith in the DMK, the CM and deputy CM (Udhayanidhi Stalin),” he said.  P4 Will clean up Yamuna: Modi R A J E SH T H A K UR @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said people of Delhi have rejected the politics of appeasement and put their faith in Modi ka guarantee. Addressing party workers after the BJP’s victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, Modi stated that the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) ‘politics of shortcuts’ had been shortcircuited. “This is a historic win, not a usual victory, as the people of Delhi have shown the door to ‘AAP-da’. Delhi has become Aapda-mukt,” he said, adding the BJP’s double-engine government would now ensure Delhi’s development at double speed. During his address, Modi promised to clean up the Yamuna and accused the AAP government of neglecting the river. “I had pledged during the election campaign that we will make Yamunaji the identity of Delhi. No matter how much time is spent or how much energy is used, we will make every effort to serve the Yamuna,” Modi said. He also promised that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, which revealed a revenue loss of `2,026 crore due to the Delhi government’s excise policy, would be tabled in the first sitting of the Delhi Assembly after the BJP forms the government. There is relief of liberating Delhi from ‘AAP-da’. I thank all Delhiites for putting their faith in ‘Modi ki guarantee’ - Narendra Modi, PM Focus shifts to BJP’s CM pick A n u p v e r m a @ New Delhi The BJP fought the Delhi elections without a chief ministerial face. Now that it has won a two-thirds majority the big question is: who will head the party’s first , government in the capital in 27 years? Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Central leadership will take the CM call. Several names are doing the rounds, including Bansuri Swaraj, Virendra Sachdeva, Pravesh Verma, Vijender Gupta, Manoj Tiwari, Satish Upadhyay, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Rekha Gupta. Bansuri, the daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj, is a rookie. Her mother was the last BJP chief minister of Delhi. Sachdeva, as the party’s Delhi president, enjoys support of the central leadership. Pravesh Verma could be the choice if the BJP opts for a Jat leader. Manoj Tiwari is a popular figure among Purvanchali voters in Delhi and enjoys significant support due Rekha Gupta and to his career as a Bhojpuri film star. , Virendra Sachdeva Satish Upadhyay a former Delhi BJP president, has held various party positions since the 1990s. Vijender Gupta, a three-time MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly could be considered because , of his extensive experience. Manjinder Singh Sirsa is a prominent Punjabi face in Delhi politics. Rekha Gupta has public service experience. She was a councillor in the past. Rekha defeated AAP’s Vandana Kumari at Shalimar Bagh. If the trend set in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, MP and Ra, jasthan are anything to go by, the BJP may consider someone from the OBC or Jat communities as CM. WITH THIS ISSUE Lost and Found PLUS 12 PAGES