Bengaluru–Kochi Vande Bharat Express schedule announced
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Kochi (PTI): The Ministry of Railways has announced the schedule for the new Bengaluru–Kochi Vande Bharat Express, which is set to commence operations soon.
According to a notification issued by the Railway Board on Friday, train number 26651 KSR Bengaluru–Ernakulam Junction Vande Bharat Express will depart from Bengaluru at 5.10 am and reach Ernakulam Junction at 1.50 pm.
The return service, 26652 Ernakulam Junction–KSR Bengaluru, will leave Ernakulam at 2.20 pm and arrive in Bengaluru at 11 pm. The train will have stops at Krishnarajapuram, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Palakkad, and Thrissur.
The ministry has instructed the Southern Railway and South Western Railway zones to introduce the service at the earliest possible date. “If required, the inaugural train may be operated as a special service which shall pick up its respective link subsequently,” the notification said.
This will be the third Vande Bharat Express service in Kerala, after the Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram–Mangaluru routes.
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BJP to fight Assam polls on twin planks of development, secure state
Guwahati (PTI): In a bid to win the Assam Assembly elections for the third time in a row, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday advised the state BJP brass to fight on twin planks: development and a secure state.
Shah, who wound up a two-day visit to Assam, held a nearly two-hour-long meeting with senior leaders of the BJP state unit at the party headquarters here, with a focus on discussing strategy for the state elections, expected in March-April.
Briefing reporters after the closed-door meeting, BJP Assam president Dilip Saikia said, "Development and a secure Assam will be our twin electoral planks."
He also said that Shah, known for his expertise in electoral politics, has offered valuable suggestions, and based on it, an action plan to retain power in the state will be formulated soon.
“Discussions were held in detail on our organisational and political calendars. Shah ji offered some very valuable suggestions, and we will implement those at the earliest…We will share more details on the action plan soon,” Saikia said.
He further said that the Union minister exhorted the state party leadership to ensure that not only do they secure a ‘massive landslide victory’ but also bag more seats than in the previous election.
The BJP currently leads a coalition government in Assam with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL), while the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) has also extended support.
In the 126-member Assembly, the BJP now has 64 legislators, while its allies AGP, UPPL and BPF have nine, seven and three memnbers, respectively. In the opposition camp, the Congress’ strength is 26, while AIUDF has 15 members and CPI(M) one. There is an Independent legislator also, belonging to Raijor Dal.
Saikia said that the party will continue to contest the state polls in coalition with its NDA allies, which was also favoured by Shah.
Dismissing reports of chinks in the ruling coalition, the Lok Sabha MP said, “As far as the NDA is concerned, we are united in Assam. There could be discussions about some issues on individual party forums.”
The saffron party has maintained that its alliance with the regional parties will continue, and formalities like seat-sharing arrangements are being worked out.
Shah, who was on his second visit to the state within a month, attended two other events in Dibrugarh and Dheamji earlier in the day. He left for West Bengal after the meeting at the Guwahati state party headquarters.
