belagavi l Monday l November 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION Trump’s Gaza peace plan faces crucial vote today at UNSC ‘No’ vote equals support for Hamas: US ■ The draft backs Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan, which proposes the creation of a Board of Peace under his leadership and a stabilisation force. It mentions a possible future Palestinian state ■ Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the opposition to a Palestinian state The US last week began negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a draft resolution. “Any refusal to back this resolution is a vote either for the continued reign of Hamas terrorists or for a return to war with Israel, condemning the region and its people to perpetual conflict,” US ambassador to UN Mike Waltz wrote in The Washington Post | P11 The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will vote on Monday on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan 5 pm Draft mentions future Palestinian state local time on monday is when the UNSC will vote on U.S. resolution 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 NDA firms up formula for Bihar govt formation BJP expected to get 15-16 ministers, JD(U) 14 and LJP(RV) 3; buzz on one of the two deputy CM posts going to LJP(RV) Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha is likely to be replaced by LJP (RV) state president Raju Tiwari, elected from Govindganj, while former Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav, who won from Danapur, is being considered for the same post from the BJP’s side. In the recently-concluded Assembly election, the NDA swept aside the Mahagathbandhan, with BJP emerging as the singlelargest party, winning 89 seats. JD(U) followed with 85, LJP (RV) 19, HAM five, and RLM four. The RJD-led combine could muster only 35 seats. The JD(U) has instructed all its MLAs to remain in Patna from Monday onwards. Nitish is expected to recommend dissolution of the current cabinet on Monday before submitting his resignation to the Governor. This could be followed by the NDA meeting, sources said. Nitish could take oath as Chief Minister for a record tenth time on Wednesday or Thursday depend, ing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s availability . Preparations for the oath ceremony have begun at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Patna.  P10 r a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna BIHAR Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday held a series of meetings with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders at his official residence in Patna to discuss the formation of a new government after the ruling alliance secured a three-fourth majority, winning 202 out of 243 seats, in the Assembly elections. Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha were among those who met Nitish. Earlier, he convened discussions with senior JD(U) leaders and all newly elected MLAs. JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh also attended. Sources said the NDA would follow the same formula for portfolio allocation as it did for ticket distribution. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) will retain the Chief Minister’s post, while the BJP and Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) are likely to get one Deputy CM each. As per the cabinet-sharing formula, the BJP is expected to get BJP supporters celebrate NDA’s victory in the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, in Patna, on Sunday | PTI 15-16 ministerial berths, the JD(U) around 14, the LJP (RV) three, and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM one each. “During the ticket distribution, for every MP, an NDA partner was given five-six assembly seats. So, it is likely that the same formula may be in place for cabinet berths,” said a senior BJP leader. With 85 MLAs, the JD(U) could secure 14 berths besides the CM post. 3 more daughters move out of Lalu’s residence r a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna THE turbulence within the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) first family deepened on Sunday, a day after Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya announced her decision to quit politics and sever ties with her family . What began as a single outburst has now snowballed into a full-blown family crisis. Three more of Lalu’s daughters—Rajlakshmi, Ragini and Chanda— left the family’s 10, Circular Road residence in Patna early Monday , taking their children and flying to Delhi. Sources said their departure reflected growing distress over the recent turmoil. On Sunday, Tej Pratap Yadav, who heads the newly launched Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), issued an emotional appeal to his father and a veiled warning to those he termed “traitors.” He said, “Yesterday’s incident has shaken me to the core. What happened to my sister is unbearable.” Without naming anyone, he accused “new faces” of clouding Tejashwi Yadav’s judgment and warned that the consequences of “this injustice will be grave.” “I urge my father to intervene for the family’s honour,” he said. Neither Tejashwi nor his advisor, RJD MP Sanjay Yadav, has responded to Rohini’s allegations linking them to the family’s discord. RJD managed just 25 seats in the recent Assembly polls. Rohini, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Saran, alleged harassment and threats from Sanjay Yadav and his associate Rameez. With Rajlakshmi, Ragini, and Chanda’s exit, only Lalu, Rabri Devi, and Misa Bharti remain at the family home, which was once the nerve centre of RJD’s politics. for gambhir and co, it’s pitch dark at home S w a r oo p s w a m i n at h a n @ Kolkata EVEN before the presentation ceremony was over, the ground staff at the Eden Gardens, as if to carry out a meta joke, watered the square. With natural light dying, the 22 yards was properly bathed, a dark sheen shimmering in the distance. It was the first time the strip had been hydrated since last Saturday over a week ago. , You can draw a straight line between the Indian team’s decision to not water the pitch to los- ing a fourth Test in eight home games since Gautam Gambhir was appointed to the post last year (decisions like not watering the strip are usually made by the leadership group, something that happened in Kolkata as well). “This (the pitch) is what we wanted,” Gambhir after the match. “This is what we got.” With the ball misbehaving from as early as the first over on Day 1, both teams knew they were in for a dogfight. India have flipped-flopped on the kind of pitches they want but it had seemed like they were going away from this model. However, Sunday was a sharp reminder of how spectacularly it can backfire. So, why did the Indian team go back to a designer surface for the visit of South Africa after playing on two typical sub-continental decks against West Indies? Was it because of the stakes of WTC points? Was it because of their somewhat inexperienced batting line-up? Was it to take the toss out of the equa- tion even if they have lost on these tracks after losing the toss? Gambhir defended the pitch by saying the batters should be able to absorb pressure. He called it more mental than skill. But after a point, survival is nigh on impossible. And that is no way for the game to be played. With less than one week to regroup — the next Test starts in Guwahati on Saturday — how will the team management dig themselves out of a hole of their own choosing?  P13 South Africa players celebrate their win over India in the first Test at Kolkata on Sunday | sayantan ghosh Colour and song return to climate talks in Brazil S O U M YA SARKAR @ Belém (Brazil) The gypsies invariably brought colour and magic to the grey city of Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Belém is no Macondo living in isolation and innocence, neither are the indigenous people and climate activists who joined the “Great People’s March”on Saturday at halfway point of the UN climate summit the wandering Roma. But the tens of thousands marching through the streets of the Amazonian host city demanding climate action did splash a vibrant palette of colours and added song and dance to the otherwise grey proceedings at the conference venue of Parque da Cidade. Through the late morning hours, the procession stretched for kilometres—a river of red, white, yellow and green flags flowing past watching crowds leaning from balconies to capture the spectacle on their phones. The streets pulsed with drumbeats and chants as protest transformed into celebration, grief into performance. In the most gothic part of the procession, demonstrators carried enormous coffins marked for oil, coal and gas. A 30-metre inflatable serpent wound through the marchers, an enormous anaconda symbolising the sacred and iconic Amazonian creature. A giant balloon painted as Earth bobbed on the streets while sound systems on trucks blared everything from Brazilian samba to socialist anthems. The joy was deliberate, the defiance unmistakable. This was the first major protest outside UN climate talks since Glasgow four years ago.  continued on: p9 2025 express read RSS holds route march in Chittapur peacefully Kalaburagi: RSS volunteers conducted the Patha Sanchalana (route march) for 1.3 km in Chittapur town from 3 pm till 5 pm on Sunday, without violating any of the norms laid down by the high court bench. The police allowed 350 volunteers whose names had been given by RSS | P4 150 days & counting, KRS maintains full capacity Mysuru: The Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam has reached a remarkable milestone by maintaining its maximum water level of 124 feet for 150 consecutive days. For the first time in 93 years, KRS reached its full capacity as early as June 29, 2025, whereas the dam typically fills up only by July or August | P6 Bangalore International Exhibition Centre November 18–20 Inauguration Tomorrow at 10:00 AM GUESTS OF HONOUR H.E. Mr. Jan Christian Vestre H.E. Ms. IIse Aigner H.E. Mr. Rafal Rosinski Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece Minister of Health and Care Services, Norway President of the Bavarian State Parliament, Germany Deputy Minister, Digital Affairs, Poland Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia TECH SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS Business Expo Awards & Quizzes Multitrack Conference Startup Pitches & Product Launches Cong to meet state heads where SIR under way New Delhi: Amid the Bihar poll debacle and its “vote chori” pitch, the Congress has called a review meeting on November 18 of in-charges, state unit chiefs, Congress Legislature Party leaders and secretaries of 12 states and union territories where Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is under way | P9 GLOBAL INNOVATION ALLIANCE PARTNERS ATTEND CONFERENCE VISIT EXPO GUINEA EMIRATES