LS polls: Congress to contest 16 seats in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Congress Party will contest 16 seats in Kerala in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said here on Wednesday.
The allocation of seats within the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) for the Lok Sabha elections has been finalised, he said.
Like in the previous polls, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest coalition partner in UDF, would contest in two seats, the LoP said while addressing a press conference here.
Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress will contest in 16 seats, IUML- 2, KCJ (J) - 1 and RSP-1.
The IUML leadership recently admitted that they had demanded one more Lok Sabha seat this time and said they won't backtrack from their decision.
Satheesan, however, said issues were sorted through discussions.
He also indicated that the IUML would be allotted a Rajya Sabha seat instead of the Lok Sabha seat they had demanded.
VIDEO | Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Here's what Congress leader VD Satheesan said on seat-sharing with other parties.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 28, 2024
"Today, the United Democratic Front in Kerala has concluded bilateral discussions and reached a consensus regarding the UDF candidates in Kerala. Out of the 20 seats,… pic.twitter.com/V98WYndfAh
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Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people belonging to two families dead, including a toddler, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.
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"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.
Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.
On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).
On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
