Mumbai, Feb 2: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dnyaneshwar Mhatre won polls to the Konkan division teachers constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Thursday, while the nominee backed by the saffron outfit faced defeat at the hands of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Nagpur division teachers seat, officials said.

Contestant Sudhakar Adbale, supported by the MVA, won the Nagpur teachers constituency defeating his closest rival Nagorao Ganar, a BJP-backed independent and the sitting MLC from the seat, they said.

Nagpur is the home district of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and also Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Counting of votes for three other seats - the Aurangabad division teachers constituency and Amravati and Nashik division graduates segments - was underway. Polling for biennial elections to all the five seats of the Upper House of the legislature was held on January 30 and counting began on Thursday morning.

Mhatre, the BJP candidate also backed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, won the Konkan teachers constituency trouncing MVA-supported nominee Balaram Patil.

Returning officer and divisional commissioner Mahendra Kalyankar, who announced the results of the Konkan teachers constituency after counting of votes in Navi Mumbai, said Mhatre polled 20,683 votes, while Patil bagged 10,997.

Although there were eight candidates in the fray, the main contest was between Mhatre and Patil. The Konkan teachers constituency covers Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. This segment had recorded the highest voter turnout at 91.02 per cent.

The MVA comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

In the Aurangabad teachers constituency, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Vikram Kale was leading after the first round of counting.

The six-year term of five Council members - three from teachers and two from graduates constituencies - is expiring on February 7 and polling was held to fill up the upcoming vacancies.

Teachers and graduates fulfilling certain criteria and enrolled as voters formed the electoral college for these elections.

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For the first time in history, a US-based organization has formally requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate a former US president for potential complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) has submitted a 172-page request to the ICC, urging an investigation into former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for allegedly aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

The filing, known as an Article 15 communication, outlines how US officials continued to provide military and diplomatic support to Israel despite being aware that their assistance was being used in the commission of alleged war crimes. The ICC has already issued warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their roles in Gaza, and DAWN argues that US officials meet the legal criteria for "aiding and abetting" such crimes.

War crimes prosecutor and DAWN board member Reed Brody highlighted the significance of this case, stating: "This case might face political pushback, but that doesn’t change the message it sends: impunity isn’t a given. If the rule of law is supposed to mean anything, it has to apply across the board – not just to our enemies, but to our friends, and yes, to ourselves."

The organization contends that US support to Israel included the transfer of at least $17.9 billion in weapons, intelligence sharing, and targeting assistance. The US also abstained from, voted against, and vetoed multiple United Nations resolutions that called for a ceasefire, a hostage deal, or increased humanitarian aid over the course of 15 months. Additionally, the Biden administration repeatedly bypassed congressional review to send weapons to Israel, including those allegedly used in war crimes, such as the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab.

The filing states: "By continuously and unconditionally providing Political Support and Military Support to Israel while being fully aware of the specific crimes committed by Netanyahu, Gallant and their subordinates, President Biden, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin contributed intentionally to the commission of those crimes while at least knowing the intention of the group to commit the Israeli Crimes, if not aiming of furthering such criminal activity."

Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director, condemned the actions of the Biden administration, stating: "Not only did Biden, Blinken, and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel’s grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities."

Despite mounting evidence and international criticism, the Biden administration has consistently defended its policy towards Israel, often reiterating that "Israel has a right to defend itself." While officials claimed that no civilian loss was acceptable and that they were urging Israel to improve its conduct, the administration took little tangible action to apply pressure. In May, the US State Department admitted that Israel had "likely" used American arms in violation of international law, but no policy changes were implemented. Instead, the administration argued that "a country’s overall commitment" to international law "is not necessarily disproven by individual violations, so long as that country is taking appropriate steps to investigate and, where appropriate, determine accountability."

In addition to Biden, Blinken, and Austin, DAWN's filing also names former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as officials who should be investigated for possible culpability in Israel's actions in Gaza. DAWN originally submitted the request last month on the same day a ceasefire took effect, but it was made public on Monday. The filing is backed by ICC-registered lawyers and war crimes experts.

While neither the US nor Israel is a member of the ICC, DAWN asserts that the court has jurisdiction, citing its ongoing investigation into alleged violations of the Rome Statute in Palestine.

DAWN’s submission is part of a growing wave of legal actions addressing the US-backed Israeli military campaign in Gaza. In December, Palestinians and Palestinian-Americans filed a federal lawsuit against Blinken, accusing him of failing to enforce the Leahy Law, which prohibits the US from providing military aid to foreign security forces engaged in gross human rights violations.

Internationally, several countries, including Spain, Ireland, and Belgium, have joined a South Africa-led case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of genocide. The ICJ has already issued an interim ruling ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide, though Israel has reportedly continued its military operations without significant restraint.

Additionally, last year, a coalition of human rights organizations, Gaza residents, and US citizens with family members affected by the Israeli assault filed a lawsuit against Biden, Blinken, and Austin for failing to "prevent an unfolding genocide." Though a federal judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, the judge was critical of the Biden administration, stating that it was "plausible" that Israel’s conduct amounted to genocide and calling on the White House "to examine the results of their unflagging support of the military siege against the Palestinians in Gaza."

In its filing, DAWN also raised concerns over potential future violations, particularly pointing to former President Donald Trump's past actions. It highlighted Trump's executive order imposing sanctions on ICC officials and his proposed plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that these moves could make Trump liable for "obstruction of justice" as well as "war crimes and the crime of aggression." DAWN asserts that these actions warrant an ICC investigation.

Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director, emphasized the importance of accountability, stating: "This filing is a message to our fellow Americans: our government has been complicit in genocide, and we all bear a responsibility to confront that reality and hold our officials accountable. This is about more than Palestine; this is about whether we, as Americans, accept a system where our leaders can facilitate mass atrocities without consequences."

As legal and political debates unfold, DAWN’s filing marks a historic attempt to hold US officials accountable for their role in supporting Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The ICC’s response to this request could set a precedent for international justice, determining whether powerful nations can be subjected to the same scrutiny as others when it comes to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This report was originally published by Zeteo.com and has been rewritten by Vartha Bharati.