Former BJP MLA contesting as Independent candidate spends night guarding EVM strong room

Vartha Bharati | 24-10-2019 | 09:44:00 IST

Mumbai, Oct 24: Former BJP MLA Anil Gote, the Independent candidate from Maharashtra's Dhule Assembly seat, spent the night outside the EVM strong room in his segment, claiming he was guarding the facility to avoid any misuse of the voting machines ahead of counting on Thursday.

Counting of votes for all 288 Assembly elections and Satara Lok Sabha bypoll began at 8 am on Thursday.

Gote in the morning said he chose to stay awake throughout the night outside the EVM strong rooms in Dhule along with some of his supporters.

He won the 2014 Assembly polls from Dhule city on BJP's ticket, but this time the constituency was given to ally Shiv Sena as part of the seat-sharing formula.

The opposition Congress, NCP and some other parties have been raising suspicion over the functioning of the electronic voting machines (EVMs), alleging that they were tampered at some places.

The Congress' demand of installing mobile phone jammers outside the strong rooms housing the EVMs in the state was earlier refused by the Election Commission.

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Jaishankar meets UAE Deputy PM, discusses regional situation

12-04-2026 ¦ 12-04-2026 IST

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar | PTI

Abu Dhabi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi and discussed the evolving regional situation and its implications.

Jaishankar is in Abu Dhabi in the concluding leg of his four-day two-nation visit to Mauritius and the UAE from April 9-12.

"A real pleasure to meet DPM & FM @ABZayed of UAE in Abu Dhabi this evening. Our conversation focused on the evolving regional situation and its implications," he said in a social media post on Saturday.

Jaishankar said he conveyed India’s deep appreciation for the efforts of the UAE leadership in ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in the Gulf nation.

The minister also expressed confidence that the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will continue to advance further.

Jaishankar arrived in the UAE on Saturday after concluding his visit to Mauritius, where he attended the 9th Indian Ocean Conference.