India News
Uttar Pradesh civic polls: BJP was ahead of rival parties, BUT…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the noise about BJP ‘sweeping’ the Uttar Pradesh civic body elections on Friday, some aspects got overlooked in the initial reports. Elections to local bodies seldom evoke such interest, but since the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and the party leadership right up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi attached such significance to them, a relook at the polls would be in order.
The first is about the questions raised about the genuineness of the results: the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and whether they had been tampered with. Notably, over 500 EVMs out of more than 30,000 deployed in UP civic polls had to be replaced.
While this issue has been raised by political opponents as well, their complaint cannot be dismissed simply as case of sour grapes, as the BJP alleges.
Mayawati has challenged the BJP and said her party would sweep the 2019 Lok Sabha polls if voting is done on ballot papers. “If BJP is honest and believes in democracy then discard EVMs and conduct voting on ballot papers. General Elections are due in 2019. If BJP believes people are with them, they must implement it. I can guarantee if ballot papers are used, BJP won’t come to power,” the BSP chief told mediapersons on Saturday.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also said that the BJP had performed well only on seats where EVMs were used for polling. “BJP has only won 15% seats in ballot paper areas and 46% in EVM areas,” Yadav said. He did not elaborate or provide data for his claim, though.
There were at least two specific instances which lend strength to doubts over EVMs.
Apoorva Verma, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Janakipuram alleged that EVMs were tampered with and, earlier, an independent candidate from Saharnapur, Shabana, had levelled the same charge.
Apoorva Verma said, “Har pratyashi, chahe wo BSP se ho ye Congress se ho ya SP se ho ya AAP se ho, ka ek hi mat hai ki ye chunaav radd kiya jaye aur phir se ho (Every candidate (non-BJP), wishes for cancellation of this election (UP civic polls) and everyone in unison is demading for a re-election).”
In a video doing rounds in the social media, she claims that even her vote wasn’t registered as she has got zero votes. “No impartial election is being conducted, all the elections are being orchestrated to help the BJP win,” she says.
Earlier, an independent candidate from Saharanpur, Shabana had protested: “At least my family had voted for me, how can I get zero votes?” Her husband had added, “Where did my vote vanish?”
“We at least had three votes from our family, but we must at least have had 900 votes,” claimed her husband in the video posted by an Aaj Tak journalist. “EVM me sarasar gadbadi hai,” he added.
BJP’s political rivals are not the only ones complaining. Voters, too, complained. A friend from Lucknow also said he voted Congress BJP but it went to BJP. “Same thing happened to votes cast by others in the family,” he added.
He said the EVMs had no VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) facility, although he had doubts about that, too. “It is only a matter of programming. The paper trail can be programmed to print the correct vote while the vote registered electronically can be different,” he said.
Besides, he pointed out, there were reports that the paper trail from EVMs in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections was such that the print tended to fade away after some days. That would render a recount later infructuous.
A report in thewire.in said the BJP won the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation seat where polling was conducted through EVM machines, but it suffered heavy losses in rural and semi urban seats where elections were conducted via ballot papers.
In seven districts adjoining Ayodhya, most BJP candidates lost the local elections, the report said. Out of 33 municipal board seats in rural and semi-urban areas of Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Basti, Gonda, Balrampur, Bahraich and Sultanpur districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won only 6 seats. The Samajwadi Party managed to win 12 seats, the BSP 5 seats, the Congress 3 seats while independents won 7 seats.
In Faizabad, Bahraich and Balrampur districts, the BJP could not manage to open its account.
“The popularity of the BJP government … could not help the party’s candidates in the rural and semi urban seats of Faizabad despite the presence of BJP MLAs from in those areas,” said the report.
In fact, APN had reported complaints about malfunctioning of EVMs from several places in the very first phase of polls on November 22. There were also complaints about entire localities missing from the voters’ list.
Complaints about such rigging part, there are certain aspects about the results that missed the eye. The easy, quick look figure was BJP winning 14 out of 16 mayor posts – in a four-way contest. Other statistics are not so rosy for the party:
- Of the 1,300 municipal corporation posts, the BJP won 596: less than half (45.85%).
- It won 70 out of 198 nagar palika parishad chairman posts – a little more than one-third. (35.35%).
- The BJP got less that one-fourth of nagar panchayat chairperson posts, winning 100 out of 438 (22.83%).
True, the BJP was ahead of all its rivals:
The SP won 202 corporation wards, 45 nagar palika parishad chairperson seats and 83 nagar panchayat chairperson posts.
The BSP won two mayor posts, 147 municipal corporation wards, 29 nagar palika parishad chairperson posts, and 45 nagar panchayat chairperson posts.
The Congress won 110 municipal corporation wards, 9 nagar palika parishad chairperson posts, 17 nagar panchayat chairperson posts.
Independents did well: The independent candidates combined won the highest number of Nagar Panchayat chairman seats, 184 and Nagar Panchayat members, 3875.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
India News
UP women fight over garage space; video goes viral | Watch
Over 47,000 people have seen the video since it has been uploaded. People are giving different reactions to the video.

With vehicles increasing on the road day by day, it is obvious that space to park them becomes scant. In a video which is going viral, two women from Uttar Pradesh can be seen arguing and attacking each other over what both claim as their garage space.
The woman, who made the video and posted it on social media, can be seen charging the other slightly elderly woman and her husband for using his position to grab the space paid for by the woman making the video.
The video begins with a handyman who is seen breaking the lock of a caged garage space and the woman shooting it can be heard saying she had it built herself. She then threatens the elderly woman that she will post the footage on social media, but the elder woman nor the handymen seem particularly alarmed by it.
When things turn violent, the elderly woman throws broken lock away. The other woman tries to prevent her from doing so and ends up grabbing the elder woman by her neck. The recording ends when the elder woman retaliates by slapping the younger woman several times, leading to her phone falling.
Over 47,000 people have seen the video since it has been uploaded. People are giving different reactions to the video. One user said these are common things in small towns and cities, another said the last slap on the phone was hilarious while others were dropping laughing emojis on it.
However, these days, such videos showing violence between women have become common on social media. A few days ago, a video from Delhi Metro went viral where two young women got into a heated argument which quickly turned into a fistfight.
The women can be seen preparing for the fight by setting aside their phones as the video begins with one of them taking off her sneaker and brandishing it like a weapon. Other passengers can be heard begging them not to fight.
Parking-related arguments and fights have snatched many lives in the Delhi National Capital Region. Luckily in this video, the violence did not reach such fatal ends.
India News
Bail too late: 62-year-old man gets relief on humanitarian grounds 2 days after he’s dead
A shocking case has emerged in Mumbai, Maharashtra. A Mumbai court granted bail to an accused two days after his death.

A Mumbai real estate agent, who had been in jail since December 2021 for selling property with fake documents, has been granted bail but unfortunately Suresh Pawar had died two days before the relief was granted.
The accused had been in jail since December 31, 2021 and had requested six-month temporary bail due to health concerns. Though the hearing on his bail application was completed on May 9 when he was alive, the bail order came two days after his death.
The court granted him temporary bail on humanitarian grounds, looking at his age, medical complications, and further need for medical care.
As per the bail application, he was severely diabetic and was experiencing several age-related ailments. In February, he suffered a toe injury and was taken to JJ Hospital, where he was discharged from. However, he had claimed he needed to have the toe amputated since it had turned gangrenous. His lawyer had moved the plea so that he could undergone treatment at a private hospital.
In March, the Bombay High Court gave directions to jail authorities to provide proper medical treatment, after which he withdrew his bail application from the High Court on April 19.
On the same day, Pawar’s health condition deteriorated, and he was again admitted to JJ Hospital, but due to inappropriate medical treatment, his injury became septic, and his leg below the knee necessarily required to be amputated.
Later, he developed a lung infection and sought temporary bail for a six-month period to avail himself of proper medical treatment.
The prosecution and opponent opposed his plea, arguing that he was being provided with enough medical care at JJ Hospital.
The death of Suresh Pawar will not provoke a thousand searing editorials but is scathing on the apathy and the callousness the State metes out to citizens, even if accused of crime.
India News
Boy buys sanitary pad for fellow student after she gets unexpected period in class, netizens praise boy
The act of goodwill by young boy indicates his bringing and parenting. It is reminder that empathy has no boundaries. This generation needs more people like him who break the myth and orthodox rooted in the society.

A girl’s tweet is going viral on the internet where she described how a boy in her institute went the extra mile to help her after she unexpectedly got her period in class. He offered help by breaking all traditional taboos, went to the shop with the girl and got her the pad and an ice cream for her. She showed her love for the city and its people. Many people praised this simple act of generosity, a small kind act that can bring positive impact on people at large in our society.
The post got many positive reactions. People were impressed with the young boy’s gesture and also they were glad to witness such change in the surroundings. Good people are everywhere, they need to be recognized. Another person stated, the good thing about social media is that more people are getting aware about the problem faces by women. Such people has always kept the society’s soul alive, they make it a safe place for women.
The act of goodwill by the boy indicates his bringing and parenting. It is a reminder that empathy has no boundaries. This generation needs more people like him who break the myth and orthodox roots embedded into them by society. To make society more healthy and inclusive for everyone, we need more courageous people to take steps forward to break the social stigma.
There have been several myths attached to the menstrual cycle in India. The concept of purity and impurity dates to Vedic times. Living in the 21st century, it is important for us to understand that there is nothing pure or impure about periods. It is the male-dominated society and institution that determines whether something is pure or impure and moulds it into an unquestionable and unchallenged object of belief. The so-called dirty menstrual flow which supposedly makes women impure is scientifically linked with procreation. The blood and tissue that a woman’s body evicts are not utilized by the body. Menstrual flow is as impure or pure as blood flowing through a non-menstruating man’s arteries and veins.
Given the immense impacts in a girl’s life that occurs with puberty, it is critical to invest in women’s education as a means of influencing young girls, shifting discriminatory norms and debunking these myths. As women don’t live in isolation, it is also crucial to educate men and boys as their silence legalizes and reinforces period myths. In short, to address the issue more holistically, multidimensional approaches are required to connect physical infrastructure, sanitation projects, health education and reproductive health programmes.
-
Bihar news21 hours ago
Bride gets kidnapped by her brother over inter-caste marriage in Bihar’s Araria, video viral
-
India News21 hours ago
Tollbooth staffer dies after being assaulted by four persons on Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway | Watch viral video
-
India News21 hours ago
2.5 year old girl falls into a 200 ft borewell in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, villagers in a state of shock
-
India News24 hours ago
Madhya Pradesh girl elopes with Muslim boyfriend before her wedding, BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya had earlier advised to maintain distance from lover and took her to watch The Kerala Story
-
India News21 hours ago
Coding Ninjas faces social media criticism over prohibiting staff from leaving office without permission
-
Cricket news21 hours ago
Virat set to break records as India takes on Australia in World Test Championship Final at the Oval
-
India News23 hours ago
Despite deal signed in Amit Shah’s presence, Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute returns, 2 people killed
-
India News7 hours ago
Union Minister Anurag Thakur invites protesting wrestlers for talks again, says government willing to have discussion