It was Dr Subramanian Swamy who filed cases against Jayalalithaa: DMK

Underscoring that the DMK had not initiated any corruption case against Ms Jayalalithaa for her alleged acts of omission and commission during her first Chief Ministerial tenure 1991-1996, Mr. Stalin said on the contrary it was the AIADMK's Chief Minister, Mr. O. Paneerselvam, after resigning his post in the wake of the internal party tussle after Ms Jayalalithaa's death, who had first raised the issue of a 'mystery' surrounding the death of the former Chief Minister. Mr. Stalin denied Mr. Palaniswami's charge that the DMK had stalled the holding of Local Bodies elections in Tamil Nadu. 'We moved the court only to do de-limitation of wards and reservation of wards properly and urged that the polls be held after the rectifications; but even after the court had directed the government to hold the polls and announce a timeline for the elections, the ruling AIADMK had not done so, but was now blaming the DMK for it,' said Stalin. Reiterating his charge that the AIADMK was rolling out the red carpet for all the programmes of the BJP at the Centre, Mr. Stalin questioned his stability claims about the present AIADMK government. Only after the Supreme Court verdict on the 11 MLAs' disqualification case (Mr. OPS and ten others) came, the fate of the Palaniswami government will be known, Mr. Stalin said, adding, the party was hopeful of winning both the by-polls plus the Radhapuram seat under HC scanner. ... DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Deccan Chroniclehttps://issuu.com/veenkeenswik

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Decoding the world of 'Bard of Blood'

Was there a need to change things as much? Ribhu Dasgupta: There's so much material in the book and we have been true to the core of it. We've added and subtracted some things, but that's only been done to add to the narrative and the screenplay. Bilal Siddiqi: I knew that with Mayank Tewari heading the writing process, my book was in safe hands. I was very open to starting on a clean slate as long as some things that were immovable in the book were there in the show as well. And then you have the other side of the story - like Jannat, which is Kirti's (Kulhari) character, who really elevates the show and she's not present in the book.Ribhu: We were all doing a series for the first time - Emraan (who plays secret agent Kabir Anand), me, Red Chillies (Entertainment) - and we had to put our best foot forward. At the end of the day, we had to do what was best for the show. The book is very visual and that helped me in filming it. Writing in a series is key. Everything else starts after that. It was important for us to have Bilal on board to ensure we didn't deviate too much from the book.Bilal: The best thing about the digital platform is that it's content-driven and not star-centric. Yes, we've got a big star in Emraan, but the writing was done way before the star came into the picture. And when he came in, he only enhanced that. That might not be the case with a Bollywood film. Ribhu has a great visual sense that's elevated the show to another level.The way we have structured the show is very binge-worthy. every episode ends in a cliffhanger, and that makes you click to the next without much thought. It's not too heavy on the political side of things. It's fiction. it's about the characters' journeys. It's not a docudrama that requires 100 per cent of your concentration or even intelligence. You can watch it in a freer state of mind and space. We've constructed it like that, and that's how the book was also written. it's a lot in the pulp, fun zone. In the book, Kabir Anand was far more heroic than he is in the series. That makes him more human and relatable. I think we've cracked the right tone. we may not be heavy viewing, but we aren't a flippant watch either. And I think that's the right tone for an espionage show.What made you zero in on Emraan Hashmi to play the lead?Bilal: It was never a given he would be the lead. He did launch the book in 2015 when we had no idea it would be made into a series. In 2016, I co-wrote his book (The Kiss of Life, chronicling Emraan's son Ayaan's fight against cancer) with him. From an acquaintance, he's now family to me. We chat about the most banal things. he's like a brother. My natural preference was always Emraan because I knew he would only enhance the show. Ribhu and Gaurav (Verma of Red Chillies Entertainment) were on board with the idea. He's a bonafide Bolly star who is doing films actively and for him to take out time for the show would need him to be sold completely on the creative aspect of the show. It had to satisfy him as an actor. So it was as simple as, 'Listen Emi, three episodes are written. Read it and let me know if you want to do it. Even if you don't it's fine' (smiles). Ribhu: In our first interaction itself, I told Emraan that this series will not cater to the theatrical audience that he has. We wanted to make it the 'non-Emraan' way.What is the 'non-Emraan' way?Ribhu: Let me give you an example. When I worked with Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan (in the TV series Yudh and the film TE3N), I told him, 'Sir, I don't need Mr Bachchan!' It was a very tough thing to tell the biggest superstar in the country that I didn't want the persona that makes him the superstar that he is. The idea was to extract the actor and leave out the superstar. That's exactly what I wanted with Emraan in Bard of Blood. I wanted the actor and the character he's playing to shine through. Bilal: But we didn't want to really disconnect from the fact that he's Emraan. It's just that we didn't focus on the 'serial kisser' aspect and stuff like that (smiles). He is a great actor. Once we had him on board, we revisited the script. There's a certain vulnerability about him as an actor. he's not the conventional action hero.. Ribhu: Which is what actually helped the character. When the show starts, Emraan's agent is a teacher. he's a little out of shape. Bilal: When you play to a stereotype, then you have an agent who walks into an alley peppered with 10 bad guys and still comes out alive. In this case, he does come out alive but because someone else would have probably helped him. Ribhu: You shouldn't expect him to win. The grind that he's made to go through to win is what contributes to the show. And to top it, Emraan is a great guy. We were shooting in Ladakh in sub-zero temperatures where there is thin air and even locals come down to the plains below, and every time I was standing at a location like that which demanded so much out of me as a director and Emraan as an actor, I would invariably turn back and find him standing behind me. Such was the support from him. Did you have to tweak anything of the politics in the book to make it more 'acceptable' for a series?Bilal: When we were in the writers' room, we didn't think of the world outside. we were only immersed in the world of the story. Telling the story as dramatically engaging as we could was the primary focus. What was happening in the real world didn't really matter to us as much as it would have if our show was taking on the tonality of non-fiction or docudrama. We are in an out-and-out action-adventure kind of zone. We didn't require reality spilling into our characters' journeys. What matters to the character at that point of time is what drove our research. We worked backwards in terms of knowing what we needed to read up on and fictionalise it to tell our story. Politically, who knew what has happened will happen? (Smiles)Ribhu: We are here to tell a story. The first thing was to make it simple so that it caters to a larger audience. It's a simple story where the layering comes from its characters. The politics is not so much in focus. The book gives the characters substantial backstories, something which isn't, of course, possible in a seven-part series. Do you think that will limit the viewer from investing in the characters wholly?Ribhu: For something like this, one needs to know what the main story is. For me, the main story has to start within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. For that, I feel we need to use our characters wisely only to the extent that they are needed. We need to understand who the big players are and bind the story around them. Bilal: Every genre comes with its own trappings, conventions and tropes, and so does every medium. In the book, I had more space to play with and so I could show Kabir's world a lot more and could also delve into other characters. But that doesn't mean we haven't developed them in the series. it's just that we may have focused on certain other aspects a little more.Ribhu, do you naturally gravitate towards thrillers, given you have a TE3N behind you and have just wrapped up shooting for The Girl on the Train remake?Ribhu: Yes, I am inclined towards thrillers. But the story should connect with me first, irrespective of the genre. I personally think that if you bind the drama in a story with a little bit of thrill, it elevates the story. Bilal: I think it's the adrenaline rush that you get. that really excites me as a writer and a viewer. I don't think any other genre apart from a thriller gives you that. Pick a seminal spy thriller you keep revisiting. Bilal: The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva is one of my favourite spy fiction novels. And as escapist as it is, I am a big fan of the Mission: Impossible series. It's great fun. Ribhu: The genre excites me, it can be slow or fast. There are some slow-burn films that are bonafide thrillers. and I love them.Bilal: Like Captain Phillips (starring Tom Hanks). how do you classify that? It's a drama, biopic, thriller. all three. 1707518 DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://theseasonedcook.com/UserProfile/tabid/42/userId/1102785/Default.aspx

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War box office collection Day 19: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff film enters Rs 300 crore club

The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta gave the film 2 stars. She wrote in her review, 'The girls, Vaani Kapoor as a lissome dancer, and Anupriya Goel as an ace code-cracker, get some air-time, but it's the boys who have all the fun: falling off choppers, zooming about in fast cars, diving off bridges, getting in some bloody fisticuff-time. Shroff shouldn't ever team up with Roshan again though; on his own, Tiger is a dream dancer with jaw-dropping moves, and can take on five hundred armed desperadoes; when Hrithik is around, though, he recedes into the background.' 'The last time Hrithik looked as sexy, was in Dhoom 2 (2006), also a Yashraj film. The golden streaks have been replaced with a bit of grey at the temples, but the bronzed cheekbones decorated with a few fetching scars, the fighting-fit figure in fatigues-and-dark-glasses and the case-hardened look, is full eye-candy. I'm not revealing anything by telling you that War looks all set to be a franchise: next time maybe go complete comic-book silly? Now that's a spy I will buy,' she added. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://www.viki.com/users/zerod_al_mat_tw_oods_705/about

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IBPS PO recruitment 2019: JK Bank dismisses protest by unsuccessful aspirants, says recruitment process transparent

'Post declaration of the results of the bank's online recruitment test for the preliminary examination conducted by institute of banking personnel selection (IBPS), Mumbai for the selection of probationary officers in the bank, it has come to the notice of the bank that there is a parochial attempt by some vested interests to misguide the applicants with baseless misinformation on the selection process being skewed to a particular district on the basis of merit cut off,' the bank said in an advertisement to local dailies. It said the bank has a board approved policy for the recruitment of officers (probationary officers) and clerks (banking associates) wherein the process is kick-started by forecasting the vacancies district wise to quantify the number of posts, followed by issuing of notification for soliciting applications clearly notifying that the vacancies are as per district-wise requirement followed by declaration of district-wise merit list and putting it in public domain. 'The bank has religiously adhered to the board approved policy and process with absolute transparency. The cut off has been decided by the bank on the basis of merit list provided by the IBPS and as per the geographic distribution of vacancies in each district of the state which has been communicated ab initio by the bank at the time of issuance of first notification,' the bank said. It said the bank reiterates that its recruitment process is completely transparent and public in general and applicants in particular, should not fall prey to the misinformation campaign by some mischievous elements on social media by making assertions which are hypothetical, libellous and aimed at tarnishing the image of J&K bank branch. Reacting to the resentment by aspirants questioning the criteria followed and adopted by the bank, chief spokesperson of state Congress Ravinder Sharma urged the Governor Satya Pal Malik to immediately look into the matter. 'Apparently, there appears justification in their protests as why merit alone is not the criteria when the selected candidates are transferable to any branch of the bank in the country,' he said. BJP state spokesperson Anil Gupta said his party understands the disappointment of the candidates and stands solidly with them. 'The Governor and the concerned advisor have already been approached for their kind intervention to undo the injustice meted out to meritorious candidates of Jammu,' Gupta said. He said the bank earlier never resorted to making the selection list public and used to intimate the selected candidates directly. This time the bank was under pressure to maintain transparency. However, it resorted to a unique and arbitrary method of recruiting a state cadre post on district-basis without informing the district wise vacancies beforehand to the aspirant candidates along with the original notification for the written exam, Gupta claimed. 'If the district wise requirement was known, why was it kept hidden from the aspirants? Also the bank needs to justify as to how a state-cadre post can be managed through a district-wise cadre? 'If the selected candidates are required to serve anywhere in the State or the country, how can district wise selection be justified? The decision is not only arbitrary but smacks of bias and discrimination against a particular region of the state,' he alleged. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://issuu.com/neptunemaars

Maharashtra Assembly Election 2019 Voting Live Updates: Celebrities cast their vote, 30.89% turnout till 1 pm

Prominent personalities who voted include RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Several Bollywood celebrities, including Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit Nene and Lara Dutta, stepped out to vote for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Maharashtra goes to vote today with BJP-Shiv Sena locked in a direct contest with Congress-NCP. Follow LIVE Updates here 14:27 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Virar: Clashes erupt between Sena, BVA leaders In Virar, clashes between Sena and Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi (BVA) leaders brought the voting procedure to a halt for sometime. The BVA workers claimed that Sena leader Pradeep Sharma was trying to threaten the poll officials. 14:21 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar cast their vote in Mumbai Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar after casting their vote at a polling booth in Mumbai. Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar after casting their vote at a polling booth in Mumbai. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/JQXSL5sxUJ — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 14:18 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: 33.73% turnout in Ahmednagar At 1 pm, a voter turnout of 33.73 per cent was recorded at Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district. 14:16 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Actor John Abraham cast his vote Actor John Abraham also cast his vote. Cast your vote !!! pic.twitter.com/5e1x7zJZO2 — John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) October 21, 2019 14:13 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Deepika Padukone casts her vote Actor Deepika Padukone leaves after voting at St Anne's school in Bandra West. (Express photo/Mohamed Thaver) 14:10 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 'Start this Diwali season with a bang': Preity Zinta Actor Preity Zinta tweeted, "Start this Diwali season with a bang. Please go vote and make a difference." Start this Diwali season with a bang ?? Pls go vote and make a difference. #votekar #Maharashtraelections #responsiblecitizen #myright #ting pic.twitter.com/BdTa7T79T9 — Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) October 21, 2019 14:08 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019: Pune sees voter turnout of 28.80% A voter turnout of 28.80 % was recorded in Pune at 1 pm. Junnar-35.3Ambegaon-38.26Khed-32.21Shirur-29.92Daund-29.03Indapur-34.31Baramati-37.61Purandar-28.2Bhor-36.15Maval-35.4 13:59 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Mumbai BJP general secretary Sunil Rane casts his vote Mumbai BJP general secretary Sunil Rane with Mumbai North MP Gopal Shetty. (Express photo/Abha Goradia) 13:55 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 EVM glitches at Maharashtra polling booths, Congress complains to EC Faulty EVMs delayed polling at some booths in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri and Bhandara districts on Monday, an official said. Polling was also halted for sometime at a booth in Worli area of Mumbai due to a technical error, he added. The state Congress unit also sent 187 complaints to the Election Commission of malfunctioning of EVMs. 13:53 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Hema Malini casts her vote in Mumbai Actor and BJP MP Hema Malini also cast her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai's Andheri (West). #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Actor and BJP MP Hema Malini casts her vote at a polling booth in Mumbai's Andheri (West). pic.twitter.com/xkCxLAhq0r — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 13:35 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Tendulkar votes, urges people to vote for 'better tomorrow' Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar led the sports fraternity to vote for the Maharashtra Assembly elections and appealed to people to come out in large numbers to exercise their democratic right. Tendulkar cast his vote along with wife Anjali and son Arjun. "This morning, I read in a newspaper something which is not so common and talks about commitment. The article made a mention of three senior citizens, including one wheelchair-bound 94-year-old person, who was going to make an effort to come out and vote," Tendulkar said. ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ??????? ???. ???? ?? ?? ??????? ???, ??? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ??????????? ????????? ??? ????. Happy to have voted & fulfilled my responsibility. Let&dhapos;s turn out in large numbers to vote & be part of a vibrant democracy.#MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/S1zQXtqEQc — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 21, 2019 13:26 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 'Celebration of democracy': Sharad Pawar "I request everyone to come out and vote in large numbers, this is a celebration of democracy," NCP chief Sharad Pawar said after casting his vote in Mumbai. # Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar after casting his vote in Mumbai: I request everyone to come out and vote in large numbers, this is a celebration of democracy. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/V920UfLZr9 — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 13:24 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Swabhimani Paksha candidate shot at, thrashed Three motocycle-borne masked men fired at a candidate of pro-farmer outfit Swabhimani Paksha when he was going in a car, and also beat him up after pulling him out of the vehicle in Maharashtra's Amravati district, police said. The attackers later set the car ablaze, Shendurjana Ghat police station's inspector Maruti Gedam said. Devendra Bhuyar, the nominee of Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Paksha from Morshi seat, was taken to a hospital where his condition was reported to be normal. 13:15 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Names missing on voters list in Malad West constituency At Marve in Malad West constituency, several people who have old cards complained that they faced difficulty in finding their names on the voters voters list. A few names, especially those who had filled the forms in the last few months, were missing in the list. 12:58 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: 17.50% voter turnout at 11 am At 11 am, 17.50% voter turnout was registered across Maharashtra. 12:54 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Uddhav Thackeray casts his vote in Mumbai Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray after casting his vote in Mumbai on Monday. (Express photo/Pradip Das) 12:45 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Aaditya Thackeray casts his vote in Mumbai Shiv Sena candidate from Worli constituency Aaditya Thackeray after casting his vote. (Express photo/Pradip Das) 12:29 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Prakash Javadekar casts his vote in Pune Union minister Prakash Javadekar after casting his vote at Balshikshan mandir in Kothrud on Monday. (Express photo/Arun Horizon) 12:24 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Rural Pune see larger turnout, voting picking up in city The Baramati Assembly constituency of the 21 seats in Pune witnessed maximum turnout in the first four hours of polling while it is slowly picking up in the urban area of Pune city.As per the voting percentage registered till 11 am, a large number of people exercised their vote in the rural areas. The maximum was registered in Baramati constituency with 22.6 per cent turnout followed by 22 per cent turnout in Junnar, 21.7 per cent in Bhor, 20.9 per cent in Ambegaon, 18.5 per cent in Indapur.The urban area has registered a poor turnout with 9.17 per cent in Pune Cantonment seat and 9.67 per cent in Kasbapeth seat. 12:05 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 17.21% voter turnout at 11 am at Dahisar Assembly seat The voter turnout at Dahisar Assembly constituency was registered at 17.21 percent at 11 am. 11:53 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Prem Chopra, Gulzar cast their votes in Bandra Veteran actor Prem Chopra and director-lyricist Gulzar leave after casting their votes at a polling booth in Bandra (West). Mumbai: Veteran actor Prem Chopra and Director-lyricist Gulzar leave after casting their votes at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/Lj8zBms7EB — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 11:44 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 'Those who vote have the first right over expectations': Fadnavis "We elect a government which fulfills our dreams and aspirations. It is natural for us to have expectations from the government. But, those who vote have the first right to have such expectations," Fadnavis, who is seeking a fifth term as MLA from Nagpur South West Assembly constituency, told reporters after casting his vote. 11:31 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Man unable to find his name on voter list A voter from Jogeshwari, West, Shakeel Bhagwant, said he is unable to find his name on the voter list. He added that he did not receive voter slip. "During the Lok Sabha elections too, this problem had occured," he said. 11:21 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Aamir Khan casts his vote in Mumbai Aamir Khan outside a polling booth in Mumbai. (Express photo) 11:19 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: 5.77% voter turnout till 10 am The voter turnout in Maharashtra was recorded at 5.77% till 10 am, ANI reported. 11:14 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 MNS chief Raj Thackeray casts his vote at Shivaji Park MNS chief Raj Thackeray and his wife Sharmila Thackeray after casting their votes at Bal Mohan Vidyamandir school at Shivaji Park. (Express photo/Laxman Singh) 11:05 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Low turnout in Chinchwad constituency Voting in Chinchwad constituency was slow till 9am as polling booths registered a low turnout.Several polling centres in Chinchwadgaon areas wore a deserted look even as polling officials, seated under make-shift cloth pandals, were seen distributing slips.One of the main reasons, officials said, could be the overnight rains that continued till around 7.30 am today. Senior citizens, especially those on wheelchairs, faced difficulty due to mud and slush on the ground. 11:00 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Voting picks up at Ramtekdi Hadapsar school Voting picks up at technical training school for blind at Ramtekdi Hadapsar. Till 9 am, the turnout at eight booths were recorded at 4%. 10:49 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 CM Fadnavis, family vote in Nagpur Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wife Amruta amd mother Sarita after casting their vote at a polling booth in Nagpur. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections2019: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, wife Amruta & mother Sarita after casting their vote, at a polling booth in Nagpur. pic.twitter.com/iDb5YgE8bt — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:40 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Light rain, thunderstorm and lightning likely over Pune on polling day today Overcast skies and light rain throughout the day, accompanied by thunder and lightning, have been predicted over Pune and most parts of Madhya Maharashtra, Konkan and Marathwada regions today.'During Monday afternoon, there are chances of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning. The rainfall will be light throughout the day and intense in nature… during a short span of time… it will be accompanied by gusty winds,' said Anupam Kashyapi, head of the weather department at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune. 10:37 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Actors Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza arrive at Latur polling booth Actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza and their family cast their votes at a polling booth in Latur. #MaharashtraAssemblyElections: Ritesh Deshmukh, his wife Genelia D'Souza & family cast their votes at a polling booth in Latur. His brothers Amit Deshmukh & Dhiraj Deshmukh are contesting polls as Congress candidates from Latur city & Latur rural constituencies, respectively. pic.twitter.com/U9zA9ozZwp — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:35 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Madhuri Dixit casts her vote Actor Madhuri Dixit casts her vote in Bandra (West). Mumbai: Actor Madhuri Dixit leaves after casting her vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraElections2019 pic.twitter.com/BwiFmUsCin — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:34 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Fadnavis arrives in Nagpur to cast his vote Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrived in Nagpur to cast his vote. 10:30 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra: A high-stakes contest The Maharashtra Assembly Elections will be a crucial test for the Congress-NCP as both parties attempt to win back ground from the BJP-Shiv Sena, which has been successful in running an election campaign based on aggressive nationalism. The standout feature of the election campaigning, however, was how the BJP-Shiv Sena partnership was riven by rows. The Sena, which has fielded Aaditya Thackeray from Worli, is fearful that an aggressive and confrontational BJP is set on devouring it and claim sole leadership of the state. The BJP sees its alliance with the Sena as a tactical necessity to consolidate Hindutva supporters but in the long run it craves its own supremacy in Maharashtra over a complicated alliance. . 10:26 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Sushilkumar Shinde casts his vote in Solapur Former home minister and Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde with wife Ujwala and daughter Praniti Shinde cast their votes at a polling booth in Solapur. Praniti Shinde is contesting the elections as Congress candidate from Solapur Central. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls: Former Home Minister and Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde with wife Ujwala and daughter Praniti Shinde cast their votes at a polling booth in Solapur. Praniti Shinde is contesting elections as Congress candidate from Solapur Central. pic.twitter.com/WC917B298U — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:24 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Heavy rains lash Latur in Osmanabad Heavy rains lash Latur, Osmanabad, leading to slow voting in the first two hours. For the four constituencies of Osmanabad, less than 5% turnout was recorded till 9 am. 10:22 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Actor Aamir Khan arrives to cast his vote in Bandra Actor Aamir Khan arrives to cast his vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West). "I appeal to all citizens of Maharashtra to come out and vote in large numbers," he was quoted as saying by ANI. Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan arrives to cast his vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West), says 'I appeal to all citizens of Maharashtra to come out and vote in large numbers'. #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/3VwbrEm3LM — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:18 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Rain may play spoiler in some parts It was a wet and cloudy Monday morning in parts of Maharashtra. Some areas in south Konkan Maharashtra, western and south central parts, and Latur and Osmanabad districts in Marathwada region witnessed drizzle early morning, an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Mumbai and its suburbs saw overcast sky after drizzle for last two days. The IMD has predicted thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Beed and Osmanabad districts on Monday. 10:14 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Mahesh Bhupati, Lara Dutta outside a polling booth in Bandra Former tennis player Mahesh Bhupati and wife and actor Lara Dutta after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra (West). Mumbai: Former tennis player Mahesh Bhupati, wife and actor Lara Dutta after casting their vote at a polling booth in Bandra(West) #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls pic.twitter.com/IFy8jc5MNS — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2019 10:12 (IST) 21 Oct 2019 FIR against unidentified persons for 'editing' Munde's speech Meanwhile, a day after NCP leader Dhananjay Munde was booked over his alleged obscene remarks against cousin and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde, an FIR has been registered against unidentified persons for 'editing' his speech with criminal intent, police said on Monday. The FIR was lodged on Sunday evening following a police complaint filed by local NCP leader Walmik Karad, an official said. Both the cousins are locked in a battle from Parli segment in Beed district in the ongoing state Assembly polls. Maharashtra elections LIVE Updates: PM Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. (File) Maharashtra elections LIVE Updates: Out of the total 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly, BJP is contesting on 164 seats while Sena has fielded candidates on 126 seats. On the other hand, the Congress has fielded 147 candidates and ally NCP 121. In 2014 elections, BJP won 122 seats, Sena 63, Congress 42 and the NCP 41. If the scrapping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was the pivot of BJP's poll campaign, the Congress-NCP camp raised issues of economic slowdown and joblessness. The lacklustre canvassing by the Opposition was evident from the fact that Congress-NCP alliance — the principal opposition formation in the contest — not holding a single joint rally. function catchException() {try{ twitterJSDidLoad(); }catch(e){}} function getAndroidVersion(ua) {ua = (ua || navigator.userAgent).toLowerCase(); var match = ua.match(/android\\s([0-9\\.]*)/);return match ? match[1] : false;}; var versions='4.2.2'; var versionArray=versions.split(',');var currentAndroidVersion=getAndroidVersion();if(versionArray.indexOf(currentAndroidVersion)!=-1){var blocks = document.getElementsByTagName('blockquote'); for(var i = 0; i < blocks.length; i++){blocks[i].innerHTML = '';}}DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/users/veenkeenswik/

In a career of landmarks, Roger Federer set for 1500th match

Federer, who has made the Basel final on all of his last 12 visits, owns ATP titles this season in Dubai, Miami and Halle. Despite not adding to his tally of majors, he still stands at 47-8 for the year, a record bettered only by eternal rival Rafael Nadal, whose triumphs at Roland Garros and the US Open have taken the Spaniard to 19 Grand Slams. Federer made the final at Wimbledon in July where he had two match points before losing to Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic. He revealed on Sunday that his philosophy about those losses has become 'forget them and move on'. However, he added: 'I try to keep the highest possible level always. Sometimes it's the opponent, sometimes it's your own mind or game that goes off the boil. 'And, of course, you work with the right work ethic in practice, with the right concentration and everything. 'Only a few (matches this season) stand out to me that maybe I could have won that I didn't. 'If I look back at my whole career I've had a lot of matches that I could have won that I lost. But also I won much more than I should have or could have.'After Basel, Federer is likely to make his usual last-minute decision on whether to carry on for the Paris Masters, the concluding Masters 1000 event of the season which starts a week on Monday. He has already qualified for the ATP Finals in London from November 10 in what will be his 17th appearance at the money-spinning season finale. 'It's been a solid season. It started well for me. I hope to pick it up for the year-end,' he added. Meanwhile, Federer briefly paused his preparation for Basel to send best wishes to newly-married rival Nadal. Explaining that he was not part of the festivities, the father of four said: 'I was not invited by Rafa, but I had not expected to be. 'I congratulated him and hope he had the best day of his life.' Nadal and longtime girlfriend Xisca Perello were married on Saturday on their home island of Mallorca. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Hindustan Timeshttp://www.cruzroja.es/creforumvolint_en/user/profile/57769.page

We as a nation are practitioners of unspeakable things

Presently, the field was seeded with mustard and cauliflower. It was kites and vultures hovering overhead that caught the stench and blew the cover on the crime.We are the practitioners of unspeakable things.Returning home one evening last month - to a precinct of Gurgaon, the 'millennium city' - I heard the destitute wailing of a man. It came from the belly of a jagged circumference of folks, arranged as though riveted on a snake charmer's tricks. There was, instead, an auto-rickshaw with a shattered windshield. There were two youngsters in shorts and Ts, their limbs gym-toned to envy, their forearms and biceps copiously tattooed. They stood over a man sprawled in the dirt, bleeding. The wails came from him. They were taking turns to pummel him, a burst of fists, then a knock of the knee. One would retreat to a gleaming motorbike parked to one side, wipe his arms and watch. The other would take over. The auto-driver was a bag, a yowling, bleeding bag. Nobody said a word. Nobody moved. This was a spectacle unfolding, cold, focused violence. The boys looked nowhere but at their victim; this is how it is best done, a blood ritual, with singular attention. There was nothing to suggest they would heed or halt. But one of them I was able to persuade to tell me the reason for their gory enactment. He took me to his bike and motioned to a splash of mud. It had rained. There was slush on the roadsides. The auto-driver had driven past with a spray of muck. It had landed on the boys' bike; a few specks had also strayed onto the pillion's shins. Therefore. "Don't mess with these boys," one from the crowd cautioned me, pulling me by the arm, "They are known goondas, they have backing, they will come back and touch you later." Those words: they have backing. They will come back and touch you. The police, if it arrives or acts, will arrive and act later. By then, the boys will have "touched" you.We are the practitioners of unspeakable things.A girl complains of serial sexual abuse by a charlatan who is also a well-connected political thug masquerading as a sanyasi. The thug first takes ill and has himself wheeled into an air-conditioned hospital chamber. From there he manipulates power levers to have the girl arrested for extortion. Her father is warned of consequences if he speaks out. Another young victim of rape. Another thug from the same gang. The girl loses her father, then gets smashed by a truck on a highway, loses her aunt and ends up precariously injured in hospital.Videographed ceremonies are carried out by monsters of their primitive headhunting - fellow humans cursed, humiliated, kicked about, slapped, knived, killed. Those monsters are then either draped in the national flag or garlanded in the name of a Mata whose provenance is at best ambiguous and whose blessings for such savagery have nowhere been explicitly or implicitly cited.Photographs have floated up of a certain Ratan Biswas, his ribs pressed hard against the membranes of his flesh, his skeletal wrist chained to an iron bed, his expression drained of the last dregs of hope. He is in detention in Assam for the alleged crime of not belonging, a prisoner of our collective prejudice. We plan to put many more where we have dumped Ratan, in huge facilities we have designated camps but where our unwanted human beings will be penned like livestock, like cows that have ceased to bear milk or offspring. But we've already created the blueprint for such a human pen, have we not? It is the heaven called Kashmir, where we have driven the clamps on eight million people we call our own. For close to two months now, they have not been allowed the common courtesy of free communication with each other or the outside world. Their movements have been restricted, for the better part frozen. They live razor-wired and bayoneted. They have been stripped of political stature and personal dignity. They have been forbidden expression. They have been forbidden protest. They have been turned into an agency of dictation. They have been told it is bad manners to complain; you're alive, be thankful. They have been interned sans allegation, imprisoned at home or thrown into faraway cells. On occasion, their dare has been brutally pelleted. But nobody has been hit by a bullet above the chest, we have been assured on good authority; what would we do for the lack of such favour? We are told they are happy. The sense of siege is the figment of a "few minds". What is being done is for their best; this persecution will teach them a lesson they long deserved to learn, they will emerge better citizens from it. We love Kashmiris, we should hug each Kashmiri. Conditions apply. Abominable conditions.We are the practitioners of unspeakable things.Last week, two Dalit children were beaten to death by villagers for defecating in the open. Their family had been denied toilet facilities by the panchayat, and so they went out. And paid. We have been told we are already an open-defecation-free nation. But we are routinely told lies. Those kids were done to death. There is another way of looking at how this works. You die defecating, you may also die clearing defecation. Fifty people died trying to clear the waste excreted by our bodies in the first half of this year, consumed by noxious sewer gases, hydrogen sulphide in the main. In 'Swachh Bharat', 740078 households still require manual removal of human filth each day; 182505 families in rural India earn their livelihoods yoked to daily manual scavenging. This nation stinks.Someone just got awarded a high-voltage global honour for a slogan that our filthy reality daily mocks; it must by worn, if at all, as a badge in memory of those who are still dying trying to put away what we daily excrete. That same someone is also sought to be supplanted on this nation as paterfamilias, dislodging the noble one whose 150th anniversary it happens to be today.Happy Birthday Bapu, We remain, Yours ruefully, The Practitioners of Unspeakable Things DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttp://yarp.com/be70402782da