Tears Turn to Smiles as 'BJP Reject' Sartaj Singh Gets Congress Ticket Within Minutes
Bhopal: Minutes after senior BJP leader Sartaj Singh switched over to the Congress after he was denied a ticket by the BJP, he found a mention in the grand old party’s fifth list for the Madhya Pradesh elections.
Singh, who was the Union minister for health and family welfare in the 13-day Vajpayee government in 1998, has held several portfolios in the Madhya Pradesh government in the past. However, he was shunted out of the cabinet in 2016 on the basis of the 75-plus age criteria and had been at odds with the BJP since then.
A politician with a strong grassroots connect, Singh defeated Congress veteran late Arjun Singh in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls from Hoshangabad.
Singh, who represents Seoni-Malwa at present, was adamant on a ticket from the seat again but was refused. An upset Singh on Thursday went to Hoshangabad and was seen in tears after the third list of the BJP was announced.
On being ignored by the BJP, the 78-year-old said justice was denied to seniors like him. “I won’t die suffocating at home. I will take to the battlefield and die like a martyr,” he said.
Soon, he announced his decision to join the Congress. Barely half-an-hour later, the grand old party announced its list, naming Singh as the candidate from Hoshangabad against assembly speaker Dr Sitasharan Sharma.
Sources said the Congress, which did not name anyone from Seoni Malwa, was looking for a formidable opponent to field against Sharma.
After the BJP announced that it would field Babulal Gaur’s daughter-in-law Krishna from Govindpura in Bhopal, the Congress too named senior corporator Girish Sharma from Govindpura. A confident Sharma had already filed his nomination on Thursday.
The party also nominated Naresh Gyanchandani, a prominent Sindhi community leader from Huzur seat in Bhopal. Shivjeet Singh has been given a ticket from Panna where the BJP is still in a dilemma over denying ticket to minister Kusum Mehdele.
Basilal Verma, who was earlier nominated from Devsar, has been replaced by Rambhajan Saket. The Manpur seat, from where Tilak Raj Singh was named earlier, now shows ‘pending for candidature’. Farmer union leader Umrao Singh Gurjar has been named from Manada in Neemuch, which witnessed farmers’ agitation in 2017.
In its latest list, the party named 15 candidates, replaced one and rolled back one name.
The Congress also suffered a minor jolt on Thursday after Nitin Chaturvedi, son of senior party leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi, filed nomination from Rajnagar as a Samajwadi Party candidate. “Whatever mistakes the Congress made earlier are being repeated for the past 15 years and we have decided to approach the public’s court,” an upset Chaturvedi said.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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8 children between ages of 1 and 14 dead after mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
Shreveport(US) (AP): A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in shootings at two different homes early Sunday in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, police in Shreveport said.
The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, said Shreveport police spokesperson Chris Bordelon. A total of 10 were shot and some of the children were related to the suspect, Bordelon said.
The gunman later died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect, Bordelon said. The suspect stole a car while leaving the scene of the shootings and was followed by police, according to Bordelon.
Police did not release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male. The shootings were the result of a “domestic disturbance,” Bordelon said.
Officials said they were still gathering details at the crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — the two homes and a third location.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At a news conference outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It's a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken. “We're deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” he added.
