UDF's Chandy Oommen wins Puthuppally bypoll in Kerala
Kottayam (Kerala) (PTI): Opposition Congress-UDF on Friday retained the Puthuppally Assembly constituency in Kerala as its candidate Chandy Oommen won by a margin of over 36,000 votes in the bypoll, Election Commission sources said.
The outcome of the election was a victory against LDF misrule and 100 per cent political victory for Congress, the party said in its response to Oommen's win.
While Oommen, son of late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy, gained a clear edge since the initial round, his nearest rival and ruling LDF candidate Jaick C Thomas could never gain a lead in any rounds.
The CPI(M)-led LDF lost ground even in its stronghold areas, and BJP candidate Lijin Lal was nowhere in the picture when the counting was over.
Chandy Oommen (37), currently chairman of the Youth Congress's national outreach cell, could well surpass his father's record of margin of 33,255 votes in the constituency, which the late Congress leader represented Puthuppally in the state assembly for over five decades.
The bypoll result, which came a few months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is seen as a huge setback for the ruling CPI(M), which has been facing allegations of corruption and nepotism from the opposition Congress-led UDF and the BJP.
The bypoll was held following the death of Oommen Chandy. The election was conducted on September 5.
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.
Three arrested for running fake Aadhaar racket in UP's Badaun
Budaun (UP), Apr 30 (PTI): The Budaun Police on Thursday busted a gang allegedly involved in preparing fake Aadhaar cards and forged documents, and arrested three of its members, officials said.
The action was carried out in the Hazratpur area, where the accused were found operating an illegal setup to generate fake identity documents, they said.
The accused have been identified as Farman Ali, a resident of Munshi Nagla, Anuj Kumar of Uprela, and Brajnandan of Sirsauli.
The police said a fingerprint scanner, three laptops, a hard disk, a scanner, a large number of Aadhaar cards and several suspicious documents were recovered from their possession.
ALSO READ: Hit by car, delivery agent dies after falling from flyover in Delhi
During interrogation, it was revealed that the gang had been involved in preparing fake identity documents for a long time, misleading people and earning money through illegal means, officials said.
Station House Officer Pushpendra Singh said the accused have been produced before a court, and efforts are underway to identify and arrest other members of the gang.
He added that further revelations are likely as the investigation progresses.
