Maharashtra to vote on Nov 20; Jharkhand on Nov 13, 20; results on Nov 23
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the voting schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand this afternoon. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23. Jharkhand will vote in two phases, on November 13 and 20, with vote counting for both states also taking place on November 23.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar noted that with these elections, the ECI is setting "gold standards," citing the "free and fair elections" conducted in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir as examples. Over 12 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots across the two states.
In Maharashtra, the 2019 elections saw the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a coalition of the then-unified Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress secure 154 out of 288 seats. However, this time around, both the Shiv Sena and NCP have splintered into factions.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is preparing to face the BJP. In the 2019 elections, JMM won 30 seats and formed a government with the Congress, which secured 16 seats.
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Puttur: Four arrested for alleged negligent disposal of Dalit labourer’s body
Puttur (Karnataka), Nov 26: Four people have been arrested for allegedly disposing of a Dalit labourer’s body negligently in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, Shivappa (70), a resident of Keremoole near Sullia, worked as an assistant mason at Tauro Cement Fabrication Unit in Salmara village. He reportedly collapsed and died during work hours on November 16.
Instead of providing medical assistance or notifying his family, the factory owner, Henry Tauro, allegedly loaded Shivappa’s body onto a pickup truck and dumped it near his home, placing it on wooden logs by the roadside, according to police.
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The incident sparked outrage among Dalit organisations in Puttur, including the Adi Dravida Samaja Seva Sangha, who demanded a thorough investigation.
Protests over delays in apprehending the accused intensified public pressure, leading to the arrests of Tauro, his son Kiran, their assistant Prakash, and a mason named Stany.
According to a complaint lodged by Shivappa's son-in-law, the accused brought Shivappa home unresponsive on the evening of November 16. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
A case has been registered under the Prevention of Atrocities Against Dalits Act, and investigations are underway to establish the cause of death and examine allegations of mishandling the victim’s body, police added.
