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 ■ ■ hyderabad l monday l may 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION All eyes on which way the power pendulum swings P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d 9 dead as massive fire guts building in Delhi NEW DELHI: A devastating fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar in the early hours of Sunday, leaving nine people from two families, including a toddler, dead, with an airconditioner blast suspected to have triggered the blaze, officials said. rajamouli wants 15 lakh litres of drinking water for the shooting of his film Varanasi. HMWSSB says no | P3 as votes are counted in the high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry on Monday, all eyes are on the outcome, which will shape new political alignments and power equations. With the exit polls setting the tone, regional heavyweights such as the DMK in Tamil Nadu, TMC in West Bengal, and CPI(M) in Kerala are seeking to retain power, even as BJP attempts to expand its footprint beyond traditional bastions. In West Bengal, the results will be crucial in determining whether the three-term Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee can withstand a fierce challenge from the saffron party and secure another term in office. While several exit polls showed a tight race between the BJP and the TMC, a historic breakthrough for the BJP would be to breach the TMC stronghold for the first time. If the TMC secures a strong mandate in Bengal, Mamata will solidify her position in national politics. Security personnel patrol the streets of Howrah in Kolkata on Sunday | PTI What’s at stake State Total Halfway Seats Mark West Bengal* 294 148 Tamil Nadu 234 118 Kerala 140 71 Assam 126 64 Puducherry 30 16 TOTAL 824 — * Result of Falta constituency to be declared after repolling Tamil Nadu presents another intriguing contest. The DMK, under Chief Minister M K Stalin, is hoping for a second con- secutive term, while the AIADMK, now aligned with the BJP , is attempting a comeback. All eyes are on the new entrant TVK, led by actor-turned-politician Vijay which has added a , new dimension to the race. In Kerala, the results will be a make-or-break for the Congress, which is hoping to return to power buoyed by its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and recent local body elections. The ruling LDF, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is seeking a third consecutive term, while the BJP-led NDA is attempting to gain a foothold in the state with a bipolar polity . A defeat for the LDF would also mark the first time since the 1960s that Left parties are not in power in any state. In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is seeking a second consecutive term, with the Congress aiming to mount a credible challenge. Puducherry, known for its history of electoral alternation, is also witnessing a closely fought battle, with exit polls indicating a tight contest. Phogat flags bias ahead of comeback tournament HARPREET BAJWA & Firoz M i r z a @ Chandigarh / Chennai DAYS before her comeback event, Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday said she is among the six victims who had lodged sexual harassment complaints ag ainst former WFI chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Phogat, now a Congress MLA, is set to participate in the National Open Ranking Tournament to be held on May 10-12 in Gonda, UP a stronghold , of Bhushan. She had quit the sport after she was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics for being 100 grams overweight. In a video message on Sunday, Phogat said she is worried about her safety and fears unfair treatment. “This tournament is be- ing organised at Gonda, where Brij Bhushan’s home is. It is impossible to think wrestlers will get a fair chance to excel there. Which referee will officiate which match, who has to win, who will lose… all that can be controlled by his people,” she alleged. Centre releases document on framework for treatment of childhood diabetes | P7 Iran’s new Armed gang loots 1 kg gold from jewellery shop proposal to US to break deadlock A g e n c i e s @ Tehran CCTV footage shows a shop employee holding up his hands as a robber brandishes a pistol Na v ee n K u mar Ta l l am @ Karimnagar Five ar med miscreants struck at the PMJ Jewellery shop in the city around 11 am on Sunday, escaping with about 1 kg of gold ornaments and leaving four employees injured. The shop, where the daylight robbery occurred, is located very close to the court complex and the office of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar. According to police, a gang member entered the shop posing as a customer and asked the staff to show him a gold chain and a ring. Soon, four more walked in and pulled out pistols. They forced the staff to kneel before proceeding to collect gold jewellery and pack it into backpacks. The incident, which lasted about 10–15 minutes, created panic as the miscreants opened fire when employees tried to resist. Four staff EYEING to break the deadlock over peace talks with the US, Iran has conveyed a “multi-layered proposal” to Washington, a senior official in the know said on Sunday . While US President Donald Trump has not rejected Iran’s latest 14-point proposal outright, experts believe Washington is unlikely to accept any framework that does not include firm guarantees preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The official told PTI that the fresh Iran proposal is a phased de-escalation framework. “The first component of the plan focuses on urgent de-escalation measday ures. Iran has indicated willingness to ease tensions in and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, provided Washington reciprocates by scaling back its military posture and easing economic pressure,” he said. Secondly, Iran is seeking to decouple the restoration of maritime trade and oil flows from nuclear negotiations. Thirdly Iran says it is open , to discussing limits on uranium enrichment and enhanced monitoring mechanisms, but only within a broader agreement that guarantees sanctions relief.  P9 65 Images of four of the robbers. Police have announced a reward of `1 lakh for information on them members sustained injuries in the firing, with bullets hitting one of them in the head and another in the abdomen. The shop floor was splattered with bloodstains, indicating the brutality of the attack. A woman employee who tried to hide in the washroom was dragged out and tied up with ropes by the robbers. Later, ropes and adhesive plasters used in the crime were found in a nearby drain.  continued on p2