UP bypolls: Early trends show BJP leading in four seats, trailing in two
Lucknow: The BJP was leading in four seats and trailing in two others as the counting of votes polled in seven Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats, where by-polls were held last week, progressed on Tuesday.
Of the seven seats, the BJP -- which held six -- is leading in four, while Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Independent candidates in one each by margins varying from 1,000 to 2,000 votes.
BJP's Usha Sirohi is leading in Bulandshahr, while Prem Pal Dhangar is leading from Tundla, Shrikant Katiyar from Bangarmau, and Satya Prakash Mani Tripathi from Deoria.
SP's Javed Abbas is leading from Naugawan Sadat and BSP's Kuldeep Shankhwar from Ghatampur.
Independent Dhananjay Singh is leading from Malhani's seat.
BJP was trailing in seats held by UP ministers Chetan Chauhan and Kamla Rani Varun, Navgawan Sadat, and Ghatampur respectively, while the SP was trailing in Malhani.
An average of over 53 percent of voters had exercised their franchise on November 3 to decide the electoral fortunes of 88 candidates in the Naugaon Sadat, Tundla, Bangarmau, Bulandshahr, Deoria, Ghatampur, and Malhani Assembly constituencies.
Barring Malhani, which was with the Samajwadi Party, the other seats were in the BJP's kitty.
The Naugaon Sadat seat fell vacant after the death of state minister and former cricketer Chauhan. The Ghatampur bypoll in Kanpur Nagar district was necessitated due to the death of state minister Varun. Both the ministers died of COVID-19.
The Tundla seat fell vacant after its MLA, S P Singh Baghel was elected to the Lok Sabha, while the Bangarmau seat in Unnao fell vacant after the conviction of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in a rape case.
The BJP had dumped Sengar soon after his involvement in the case was alleged.
The by-polls to the Bulandshahr, Deoria, and Malhani seats were necessitated due to the deaths of sitting MLAs Virendra Singh Sirohi, Janmejay Singh, and Parasnath Yadav (SP) respectively.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party has fielded Mohammad Yameen from Bulandshahr to test its electoral popularity.
The Bulandshahr seat has the highest number of 18 candidates while the Ghatampur seat has the lowest of six. Sixteen candidates are in the fray in Malhani, 14 each in Naugaon Sadat and Deoria, 10 each in Bangarmau and Tundla.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused the BJP of indulging in "rigging, fraud and whatever it could through the administration to win the elections".
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
