Odisha MLA Surendra Singh Bhoi quits Cong after 38 years; two leaders leave BJP too
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Three-time Congress MLA and former minister Surendra Singh Bhoi resigned from the primary membership of the party after 38 years and joined the ruling BJD on Friday.
Two BJP leaders Nilgiri MLA Sukant Nayak and the party's Cuttack district president Prakash Chandra Behera - also resigned from their party and are likely to join the BJD.
In a letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Surendra Singh Bhoi said he has resigned from the post of Bolangir district Congress committee (DCC) president as well as the party.
"I beg to say here that due to personal reasons I would like to resign from the primary membership, and the post of president DCC, Bolangir as well as AICC membership. With great honour, I thank you for giving me an opportunity to serve the party and my state for 38 years with passion, dedication and discipline," he said in the letter.
He joined the BJD at Sankha Bhawan, the headquarters of the ruling party.
BJP MLA Sukant Nayak also resigned from the party.
In a letter to Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, the Nilgiri MLA said, "I do hereby tender my resignation on today (i.e 29.03.2024) from the primary membership of Bharatiya Janata Party. The same may please be accepted."
Nayak was elected to the assembly in 2014 on BJD ticket from Nilgiri. He, however, switched over to BJP in 2019 and also won the seat. He has now decided to return to the party from where he started his electoral journey, BJD sources said.
Former Chitrakonda MLA & BJD leader Dambaru Sisa also resigned from the primary membership of the party on Thursday.
In his letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Sisa said, "My aim and purpose remain the same as it has always been from the very beginning to serve the people of the state and the constituency. I believe I am unable to do this anymore in this party. So to meet the aspirations of my people and my workers, I believe it is best to look forward to a fresh start."
The development came a day after Cuttack MP Bhatruhari Mahtab and ex-MP Siddharth Mohapatra joined BJP in Delhi on Thursday. Mahtab had resigned from BJD on March 22.
Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases between May 13 and June 1.
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Sensex, Nifty surge nearly 2 pc as US suspends additional 26 pc tariffs on India till July 9
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark Sensex surged by 1,310 points while Nifty closed above 22,900 level on Friday on gains in banking, oil and metal shares as investors rejoiced the 90-day suspension of additional import duties by the US.
Defying a bearish trend in world markets, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,310.11 points or 1.77 per cent to settle at 75,157.26. During the day, it soared 1,620.18 points or 2.19 per cent to 75,467.33.
The NSE Nifty surged 429.40 points or 1.92 per cent to 22,828.55. In intra-day trade, the benchmark rallied 524.75 points or 2.34 per cent to 22,923.90.
The US announced suspension of additional tariffs on India for 90 days until July 9 this year, according to the White House executive orders. On April 2, US President Donald Trump slapped universal duties on about 60 countries exporting goods to America and additional steep levies on countries like India, potentially impacting sales of products from shrimp to steel in the world's biggest economy.
Tata Steel was the lead gainer among Sensex shares, rising by 4.91 per cent after the company announced a transformation plan, including job cuts, for its Netherlands steel plant to improve efficiency and margins.
HDFC Bank rose by 2.33 per cent, emerging as the biggest contributor to the Sensex's rise. Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Adani Ports were among the gainers.
IT behemoth TCS dropped 0.43 per cent after the company reported a 1.7 per cent decline in the March quarter net profit due to lower margins. Asian Paints declined 0.76 per cent.
"An unexpected pause on reciprocal tariffs by the US provided relief in the midst of the uncertainty. Though the IT major’s (TCS) result missed the street estimates, it opines optimism in the latter half of FY26 owing to growth in the order book," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 3.04 per cent and midcap index rallied 1.84 per cent.
All BSE sectoral indices ended higher. Commodities surged the most by 3.40 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.92 per cent), utilities (2.76 per cent), power (2.64 per cent), energy (2.51 per cent), industrials (2.34 per cent) and consumer discretionary (2.25 per cent).
As many as 3,115 stocks advanced while 846 declined and 118 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Equity markets would remain closed on Monday for Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
World markets largely slumped amid growing concerns due to a tit-for-tat tariff war between China and the US.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index and South Korea's Kospi settled lower while Shanghai SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped nearly 3 per cent. European markets were trading lower.
US markets ended significantly lower on Thursday a day after a sharp rally. The Nasdaq composite tanked 4.31 per cent, S&P 500 slumped 3.46 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.50 per cent.
China on Friday raised its additional tariffs on imports from the US to 125 per cent in retaliation to the Trump administration's 145 per cent levies on Chinese exports.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,358.02 crore on Wednesday.
Indian stock markets were closed on Thursday for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.32 per cent to USD 63.53 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark dropped 379.93 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 73,847.15. The Nifty declined 136.70 points or 0.61 per cent to 22,399.15.
