Hazaribag (Jharkhand) (PTI): The Hazaribag district administration of Jharkhand has lodged an FIR against nine named and over 200 unknown people for allegedly trying to create disturbance during a procession on March 14 against an order of the authorities, an official said on Friday.

Hundreds of people from Hazaribag took out a rally on Tuesday against the administration's order prohibiting the playing of recorded music and carrying traditional weapons including lathis in the coming Ram Navami procession in the district.

Violating the administrative order, the agitators played recorded music during the procession and threatened to create disturbance even during the Ram Navami procession, scheduled to commence on Mar 30 and end on April 1, an official said.

Circle Officer Rajesh Kumar lodged the FIR on Thursday at Hazaribag Sadar police station for action against the agitators in a bid to maintain law and order during the festival.

Hazaribag Superintendent of Police Manoj Ratan Chothe told PTI, "The administration decided to lodge an FIR in a bid to maintain law and order in the district. Nobody can be allowed to create disturbance during the festival."

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.

Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.

"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.

"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.

"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.

The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.

"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.

Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.