Maharashtra LS bypolls: BJP leads one, trails in another
Mumbai, May 31: The ruling BJP in Maharashtra is leading in Palghar but trailing in the Bhandara-Gondiya constituency as counting progresses in the May 28 Lok Sabha bypolls here on Thursday.
At 11 a.m., the BJP candidate in Palghar, Rajendra Gavit, notched up over 80,000 votes while his nearest Shiv Sena rival Shriniwas Vanga was trailing at around 62,000 votes.
They were followed by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi's Baliram Jadhav at 54,000 votes and Congress's Damodar Shingada at 17,000 votes.
In Bhandara, the BJP candidate Hemant Patle, who was leading in the earlier rounds of counting, suddenly fell behind Nationalist Congress Party's Madhukar Kukde, who surged ahead with a lead of over 17,000 votes.
Elections in both the constituencies were marred by large-scale incidents of malfunctioning EVM-VVPATs with all the opposition parties and ruling ally Shiv Sena hurling allegations of foul play and tampering of the machines.
The high-stakes elections in both the seats, came in the wake of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' vow, to win the elections "come what may" -- and his subsequent controversial remarks of using "Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed" to bag the polls at all costs.
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Two children die after arch collapses during outdoor play in Karnataka
Raichur (Karnataka) (PTI): Two children died on Saturday after a portion of an arch allegedly collapsed on them while they were watching an outdoor play in this district, police said.
The incident occurred in Bail Marchad village in Manvi taluk, they said.
According to police, seven people were sitting under the arch watching the play when the structure suddenly collapsed, killing two children on the spot.
The deceased have been identified as Vishwanath Ramalinga (8) and Sanvita (2).
Vishakshi (25), Lakshmi (18), Vishalakshi (25), Yallamma (3), and Bassamma (45) were injured in the incident and were shifted to Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital for further treatment, police said.
The bodies have been moved to the mortuary of Manvi Government Hospital, they added.
A case has been registered at Manvi Police Station, and further investigation is underway, police said.
