Vaishali makes history, wins Candidates 2026 GM R Vaishali etched her name in the record books as she beat Kateryna Lagno and won the Women’s Candidates 2026. She became the Women’s World Championship Challenger and will face reigning world champion Ju Wenjun. She is also the second Indian woman after Koneru Humpy (2011) to feature in title match | Michal Walusza/FIDE vijayawada l thursday l april 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION 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 Opposition parties to vote against delimitation bill Bills to be debated in LS today seek to expedite rollout of 33% quota P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Ahead of the three-day special session of Parliament, Opposition parties decided to vote against the proposed Constitution amendment bill on delimitation, Congress President Mallikar jun Kharg e said on Wednesday. Top Opposition leaders had met at Kharge’s residence here to discuss strategy on the women’s reservation law and the proposed delimitation amendment. Kharge stressed that the Opposition has always supported women’s reservation in Parliament, but was concerned about the manner in which the bill is being brought. “It is politically motivated. Just to gag and suppress Opposition parties, the government is doing this,” Kharge said after the meeting. “We are continuously supporting women’s reservation. We are insisting that the earlier amendment that was passed, be implemented. They (the BJPled government) are playing tricks with delimitation. Therefore, all parties have taken a decision unitedly to oppose this bill,” he added. Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, other leaders at the meeting included DMK’s T R Baalu, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, Trinamool’s Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, NCP-SCP’s Supriya Sule, SP chief Akhilesh Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge addresses the press after a meeting of Opposition leaders on the special Parliament session, in Delhi on Wednesday | Shekhar yadav Yadav (joining virtually), CPI’s Annie Raja, CPI-M’s Nilotpal Basu, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Independent MP Kapil Sibal, IUML’s E T Mohd Bashir and RSP’s N K Premchandran, apart from Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh. Leaders from Kerala and Tamil Nadu said that the women’s reservation Act should be implemented within the existing framework of 543 seats. Later, in a video message, Rahul said the Congress will not allow the women’s reservation bill to be implemented on the 18 hours of debate LS’s Business Advisory Committee has allocated 18 hours for the debate, which may run into Friday. Arjun Ram Meghwal will introduce two bills, while Amit Shah will introduce the third one basis of the 2011 Census as there is no data on backward communities in it. “Congress party unequivocally supports women’s reservation. Parliament unanimously passed the bill in 2023, it is already part of our Constitution,” he said, adding, “what the government is proposing now has nothing to do with women’s reservation. This amendment is an attempted power grab using delimitation and gerrymandering.” “We will not allow ‘Hissa Chori’ from OBC, Dalit and Adivasi communities by ignoring the caste census data. We will also not allow Southern, North Eastern, North Western and smaller states to be treated unfairly he warned. ,” Rahul cited his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 in which he had demanded the implementation of the women’s bill from the 2019 P9 general elections.  Indian team to visit US for trade talks P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi An Indian delegation will be in the US from April 20 to 22 to take forward the negotiations on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Wednesday .   This will be the first such inperson engagement between the two sides after the US Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs as illegal. The ruling had prompted both sides to recalibrate their positions ahead of the next round of talks. “The teams will be meeting in person after a gap of about 3-4 months. They have been engaging virtually We are looking at finalising . the legal agreement, which is a logical follow-up of the joint statement released on 7th February,” Agarwal said. The BTA was initially to be signed by mid-March. But after the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump administration rolled back the 25%tariffs and announced a 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 on certain imports from all countries. Meanwhile, India submitted its rebuttal to the US Trade Representative (USTR) on April 15 regarding Section 301 measures, a longstanding point of contention between the two countries. “The US has initiated investigations involving several countries. Both sides will sit together and discuss how these issues need to be structured and addressed,” he said. Four killed, 22 injured as detonators stocked in house explode at Kadiri E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Anantapur A powerful explosion at Kummaravandlapalli village in Kadiri mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district claimed four lives and injured at least 22 people on Wednesday afternoon. The explosion, suspected to have been caused by explosives stored for quarry operations, destroyed three houses and damaged nearby structures, plunging the village into grief. Kadiri DSP J Shiva Narayanaswamy said the deceased were identified as Durgam Mabunni (50), P Viswanatha Reddy (55), and T Madhusudan (45), all residents of Kummaravandlapalli, and Syed Aslam Basha (50) of Masanampeta. “One of the injured, Ashok, is in a critical condition, while the rest are stable and undergoing treatment at hospitals,” he said. Preliminary findings suggest that quarry-related explosives may have been illegally stored in a house. Officials suspect local resident Venkanna, who has been engaged in stone blasting for nearly a decade, might have kept explosive materials at home. District Collector A Shyam Prasad and Superintendent of Police S Satish Kumar visited the site and assured support to the affected fami- lies. “The injured will receive the best possible medical treatment, and all necessary assistance will be extended to the victims’ families,” the Collector said. The SP said, “A detailed investigation is underway to ascertain whether gelatin sticks or other explosives caused the blast. Clues teams are examining possible negligence and illegal storage of explosives.” Asim Munir in Tehran to draw it back to talks table a g en c i e s Amid efforts to extend the ceasefire between the US and Iran, a Pakistani delegation led by Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir reached Tehran on day Wednesday, carrying a US message to the Iranian leadership. Munir is accompanied by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the military, said in a statement. “Field Marshal Asim Munir... and Mr Mohsin Naqvi, Interior Minister, along with the delega- 47 tion, arrive at Tehran as part of the ongoing mediation efforts,” it said. Iran’s state-run TV reported that the purpose of the visit is to deliver a US message to Iranian leadership and to plan the next round of negotiations. In an interview that aired on Wednesday, Donald Trump said the war was “very close to over”. Earlier, reports quoting regional officials said the two countries had reached an “in principle agreement” to extend the truce However, Washington has denied P13 the reports.  District officials inspect the site of a powerful explosion, in which four people were killed at Kummaravandlapalli on Wednesday | Express express read All set for Digital Census in State from today Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is set to launch the Digital Census 2027, with the first phase of house listing and housing census (HLO) beginning on April 16. State Census Director J Nivas announced that this edition will be held entirely in digital mode, with citizens given the option of self-enumeration through a secure portal | P5 Below-normal rainfall in AP likely this monsoon Visakhapatnam: Most parts of Andhra Pradesh are likely to receive belownormal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season this year. The IMD has attributed the outlook to the likely development of El Niño conditions. In AP, except for a few districts in central regions, most areas are projected to receive below-normal rainfall | P5 HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh takes a selfie with students after inaugurating sports infrastructure projects worth `35 crore in Tirupati on Wednesday | Express TDP revamps structure, elevates Lokesh as national working prez S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada In a significant organisational overhaul that signals a decisive shift in its future trajectory the , Telugu Desam Party has announced its Politburo, national, and State committees, marking a new phase in the TDP’s evolution with HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh at the centre of its organisational leadership. The appointment of Lokesh as the national working president underscores a major generational transition within the TDP positioning him firmly at , the helm of party affairs and indicating a clear roadmap for the TDP’s future leadership. Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao has been reappointed as the State TDP president, completing a leadership alignment aimed at strengthening the party structure ahead of future political challenges. In a landmark move reflecting its commitment to women’s empowerment, the TDP has appointed Nandyal MP Byreddy Shabari as its first-ever woman national general secretary She . will serve alongside Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and Rajesh Kilaru as the TDP national general secretaries. This decision sends a strong political message, aligning with the broader vision of enhanced women’s representation, particularly in context of the Women’s Reservation framework. The newly constituted organisational structure includes a 29-member Politburo, a 31member National Committee, and a 185-member State Committee. The committees have been formed after extensive deliberations, factoring in social, regional, and political balance, keeping long-term goals, including 2029 polls in mind.  P4