Four women Maoists killed in Odisha encounter
Bhubaneswar: Four women Maoists were killed during an exchange of fire with Odisha police in Koraput district bordering Andhra Pradesh, an official said on Monday.
The Maoists were killed during a joint combing operation conducted by Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) at Dokari ghati in the district on Sunday night.
While the deceased are yet to be identified, they are members of the Andhra-Odisha Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist), said Inspector General of Police (anti-Maoist operations), R.P. Koche. He added the combing operation is still on in the area.
"All the deceased are women and are cadre Maoists. But we are yet to identify them. The search operation is still on," Koche said arond 1 p.m.
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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
