Rutuja Latke of Uddhav's Sena faction wins Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll; NOTA at 2nd place
Mumbai (PTI): Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), on Sunday won the bypoll to Andheri (East) Assembly seat, bagging more than 66,000 votes, followed by the None Of The Above (NOTA) option.
The NOTA gives an option to electors not to vote in favour of any of the candidates in an election.
Latke got 66,530 votes out of the total 86,570 votes, while 12,806 votes were polled in favour of NOTA, an official said.
Latke was pitted against six independent candidates.
The November 3 byelection was necessitated due to the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA and Rutuja Latke's Ramesh Latke in May this year. It was, however, a mere formality after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew its candidate from the race.
This was the first electoral contest in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed in June following a revolt by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.
After the bypoll result was declared, Thackeray said Rutuja Latke's victory showed that people were supporting Shiv Sena. "This is just the beginning of a fight. The (party) symbol is important but people look for the character too. The bypoll results show people support us," Thackeray told reporters after Rutuja Latke called on him at his residence 'Matoshree' following the victory.
Sena's Ramesh Latke had represented the Andheri (East) Assembly seat twice.
The Shiv Sena had won 56 seats in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls. Ramesh Latke's death in May brought its tally down to 55.
In June, 40 Sena legislators led by Eknath Shinde revolted against the party leadership, resulting in the collapse of the MVA government.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, both constituents of the MVA, supported Rutuja Latke's candidature.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Over 75 percent of Karnataka’s population obese, overweight: Report
Bengaluru: A new health report has revealed that over 75% of Karnataka's population screened in 2024 is either obese or overweight, highlighting an alarming rise in lifestyle-related health issues.
According to the Health of the Nation 2025 report by Apollo Hospitals, as cited by The New Indian Express on Tuesday, 56% of those screened were diagnosed as obese, while another 21% were classified as overweight.
The report underscores a growing public health crisis, driven by sedentary lifestyles, poor nutrition, and undiagnosed chronic conditions that often do not show visible symptoms. The annual report, which examined health data from over 2.5 million preventive screenings conducted across the Apollo ecosystem in India, reveals that symptom-based healthcare is increasingly insufficient to address these hidden health risks.
In Karnataka, the report found that 28% of the individuals screened were hypertensive, with half of them classified as pre-hypertensive. Diabetes was found in 20% of the population, with an additional 25% falling into the pre-diabetic category. These figures reflect the rising metabolic stress among asymptomatic individuals, many of whom are unaware of their conditions.
Additionally, the report noted that 84% of the screened individuals in the state had low vitamin D levels, which can negatively impact bone health and immunity. Furthermore, 64% exhibited reduced flexibility, affecting musculoskeletal wellness.
Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals, emphasised the need for India to shift towards a preventive health culture. "Early screening, personalised interventions, and health education should become integral to our homes, schools, and workplaces," TNIE quoted him as saying.
The report also highlighted several other health threats, including fatty liver disease, post-menopause health risks, and childhood obesity. Of the 2.5 million people screened nationally, 65% had fatty liver with 85% of those cases being non-alcoholic. Heart disease signs were present in 46% of asymptomatic individuals, while post-menopausal women saw a sharp increase in both obesity (from 76% to 86%) and diabetes (from 14% to 40%).
Childhood obesity is also becoming a significant concern, with the report revealing that 28% of college students were either overweight or obese, and 19% showed signs of prehypertension.
Mental health issues, often under-reported, emerged as another area of concern, with 7% of women and 5% of men screened nationwide showing symptoms of clinical depression, particularly among the middle-aged population.
