India News

Hyderabad civic polls: Lotus rises in another southern state

At the end of the BJP’s extremely polarised campaign, where it went after the AIMIM over Rohingyas, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Afghanis and what not, the people of Hyderabad seem to have fallen for the rhetoric.

Published

5 years ago

December 5, 2020

The BJP on Friday emerged as the second-largest party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. The party has grown from 4 wards in 2016 to 48 now. The party’s success comes at the cost of the regional Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which rules Telangana of which Hyderabad is the capital.

The TRS won 55 wards compared to the 99 wards won in 2016, the GHMC election is for 150 wards. The shock to the TRS comes just a week before the K. Chandrashekhar Rao government is set to complete two years in office in its second term. The TRS had grown in the state on the back of the statehood campaign for 31 districts in the erstwhile united state of Andhra Pradesh. Now, the sheen seems to be coming off if one goes by the BJP’s performance in this civic poll. Though municipal elections are no bellwether for the assembly, where larger issues are at play, the BJP has reasons to be happy at its performance.

Now, the TRS is short of the numbers to claim the Mayor’s seat on its own. It needed at least 67 divisions to have its own mayor without the support of any other party, as it already has 31 ex-officio votes made up of its MPs, MLAs and MLCs. But in all probability, it will ally with its Assembly poll partner, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) which won in 44 wards.

Though the BJP unleashed its gaggle of star campaigners, to much ridicule from Asaduddin Owaisi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seem to have turned the Hyderabadis to vote for their party.

The TRS seems to have been hit by its anti-incumbency and resentment among flood-affected families due to discrepancies in relief distribution.

With this win, the BJP emerged as the biggest gainer in GHMC elections. The BJP has also increased its vote share by making a meal of the TRS and the Congress. The BJP is treating this victory as its launchpad for the Telangana Assembly election 2023. The BJP is looking to fill the political vacuum of the Congress in Telangana and make inroads into TRS-AIMIM’s stronghold with strong Hindutva rhetoric.

The worst performer in the civic polls is the Congress which failed to improve its performance since the last polls. It had won two seats in 2016 and managed to win two this time.

TRS working president K. T. Rao had hoped for another 25 seats in GHMC elections. He said his party lost 12-13 seats by a slim margin of 200-300 votes, which were netted by the BJP. On the other hand, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM has emerged as the kingmaker by winning 44 wards with 10 ex-officio members in hand.

The BJP, however, has given a strong fight to AIMIM and much of its campaign was targeted at Owaisi and the party, the AIMIM has been able to maintain its seat share. Just like 2015, this time too AIMIM has won 44 seats in the civic polls.

By- Mohammad Javed Rasheedi

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Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

6 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

6 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.