NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar asserted on Thursday that the results of the recent Haryana elections, where the BJP registered victory by defeating the Congress, will not influence the upcoming elections in Maharashtra.

Noting the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, where the NC-Congress coalition retained power by defeating the BJP, Pawar said: “We are studying Haryana, but at the same time, look at the results of Jammu and Kashmir polls. I do not think that Haryana’s results will have any bearing on Maharashtra’s elections. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, the world community gives more attention to it, and the results of Jammu and Kashmir are more important for the country.”

Elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly are scheduled for November 20, with results to be declared on November 23. In the Haryana polls held on 5 October, the BJP achieved an unprecedented third term in the state, winning 48 out of 90 seats, while Congress secured 37 seats. Nayab Singh Saini took oath as the new Chief Minister.

Pawar also addressed the unveiling of the new Lady of Justice statue at the Supreme Court, which features open eyes replacing the traditional blindfold and the Constitution in hand instead of a sword. He remarked, “A new direction has been shown by the CJI as this thought never occurred in this country.”

Responding to a question about the INDIA bloc’s strategy following the Congress’s defeat in Haryana, he acknowledged the BJP’s dominance in the state but emphasised the importance of Jammu and Kashmir’s political developments.

Responding to a query on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) not accepting the NCP (SP)’s request to freeze the trumpet symbol available in the free list of symbols, Pawar explained that the Election Commission of India had informed them the picture of their party symbol was not very clear.

However, he added, “So we can expect that it (the symbol) will not affect us,” as the image has now been enlarged for better visibility. The NCP (SP) had previously requested the poll body to freeze the trumpet symbol, as it bears resemblance to the “man blowing turha” symbol formally allocated to their party.

Moreover, Pawar mentioned that the decision on which seats in Satara district the NCP (SP) would demand as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s seat-sharing will be determined by the party’s state unit chief, Jayant Patil.

Regarding the projection of a chief ministerial candidate for the MVA, Pawar stated that the matter had been resolved among the three coalition constituents—Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP)—as clarified during a joint press conference with Uddhav Thackeray present. Concluding, he hinted at a more significant role for Jayant Patil, saying, “Patil has a big responsibility as he is the state president of the party.”

The Opposition on Thursday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government on the Bahraich encounter, saying the fake encounters have been conducted by the BJP government for a long time to cover up its failures.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government and the government is doing encounters to cover up their failure.

If encounters had been improving the law and order of the state, UP would have been way ahead of most states, Yadav said. He asked if permission had been taken for the procession, why wasn’t it carried out peacefully? “If they cannot handle such a small event, how can one expect them to safeguard law and order in the state,” he said.

He termed the incident unfortunate and said such incidents should not happen. Yadav said he stands with the families of the victims and will ensure they get justice.

The Samajwadi Party chief said the government is working on the policy of divide and rule, adding that he said the incident has not just happened, it was planned.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said law and order has collapsed in the state even the ADG of law and order has to walk carrying a weapon even 48 hours after riots, adding it means that law and order have collapsed in BJP-ruled state.

The Congress leader said, “We have been appealing to restore peace in UP.”

On the matter, Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar said: “When the Police were taking the five arrested accused for weapons recovery near the India-Nepal border, the two accused tried to run away. As they tried to run away, shots were fired. During this, Mohammed Sarfaraz and Mohammed Talib were injured. Abdul Hameed, Fahim, and Abdul Afzal were arrested. Total five accused arrested.”

Earlier today, the UP Police shot two accused while they were allegedly trying to escape to Nepal. The injured accused, identified as Sarfaraz and Talib.

In a statement, the UP government said: “When the police team went to recover the weapon used in the murder based on the information given by the first two, they opened fire on the police with the weapons kept there. Both of them got shot in the retaliatory fire.”

Violence erupted in Bahraich on October 13 when 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra was shot dead during a Durga idol immersion procession. Following Mishra’s death, angry mobs set fire to several shops and vehicles.

Today, internet services were restored in Bahraich as local authorities continued their efforts to restore normalcy in and around Maharajganj.

Amid an escalation stand off between India and Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that Canada failed to act on India’s request seeking extradition of Lawrence Bishnoi gang members.

Addressing in a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that similar extradition requests of syndicates linked to the Bishnoi gang were made recently as well, but Canada has not responded yet.

The Ministry also furnished names of Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Arshdeep Singh Gill, Lakhbir Singh Landa, Gurpreet Singh for extradition, stating that the members of the Bishnoi gang were among them.

Randhir Jaiswal said that the MEA had informed Canada about the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and its syndicates and requested their provisional arrest and extradition some years back, and also recently. Nonetheless, there has been no response from Canada so far, he continued.

The MEA spokesperson also reiterated that Canada did not share any evidence in connection with the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He stated that India has made their position very clear on this particular matter. He added that since September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared any shred of information with the MEA.

He said that Canada always brought forth freedom of speech as their argument whenever India sought action against anti-India and separatist elements.

Notably, the government’s statement came a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was earlier mentioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for being involved in the murder of Nijjar in September last year.

Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian diplomats were collecting information on Canadians and passing it to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. While testifying before the country’s foreign interference inquiry, Justin Trudeau claimed that the Canadian agencies tried to work behind the scenes with India before he came out with the allegation in NIjjar killings.

In the same testimony, Justin Trudeau also acknowledged that his government only provided intelligence and no proof to India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

India-Canada diplomatic relations worsened earlier this week when Canada announced that top Indian diplomats in Ottawa were persons of interest, as far as its investigation into Nijjar’s killing was concerned. In retaliation, India dismissed Canada’s stand, and recalled six of its top diplomats from Canada, including High Commissioner Sanjay Verma.