JAIPUR l SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. RAJENG/2019/77764 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 262 THE INDIAN ECONOMY HAS EXITED RECESSION AFTER TWO CONSECUTIVE SIX PEOPLE ARE REPORTED TO HAVE CHARRED TO DEATH AS TWO TRUCKS QUARTERS OF DE-GROWTH AS THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) COLLIDED HEAD ON NEAR SIRSALA VILLAGE IN CHURU DISTRICT ON LATE EXPANDED BY 0.4 PER CENT IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 2020 FRIDAY. FLAMMABLE CHEMICAL WAS FILLED INSIDE ONE OF THE TRUCKS AS AGAINST A CONTRACTION OF 7.3 PER CENT IN THE SEPTEMBER QUARTER. THAT LED TO FIERCE FIRE. LOCAL POLICE WAS ON SPOT TILL LAST REPORTS. OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia ASSAM BJP fights to retain power, Cong NUMBER COUNTING ON to clinch it back, once again The ruling BJP led by CM Sarbananda Sonowal OF SEATS MAY 2 in Assam will try to retain power in the state while the Con- 126 gress will try PHASES to win Assam back. Both POLL parties and 3 MAJORITY even the state’s MARK people wanted the polls to take place before Rongali Bihu that happens 64 in mid-April. Region wise, the fi rst phase’s 47 seats are in BE UL Upper Assam, where in the 2016 assembly polls CEC SUNIL ARORA ANNOUNCES POLL DATES MORE TIME the BJP swept the elections. This is also the region that saw massive FOR VOTING anti-Citizenship law protests in the last two years and has majority of the FOR 5 ASSEMBLY POLLS; RESULTS ON MAY 2 indigenous communities as well as the tea garden vote bank.In second CEC Sunil Arora empha- phase, the 39 seats going to polls would be from the Bengali-dominated sised the need to strictly Barak valley region. Lower Assam will go for polls In the third phase. follow Covid-19 guidelines amidst the pandemic. Vot- DATE OF POLLING: March 27, April 1 and April 6 ing will be allowed for an extra hour. All poll offi cials will be vaccinated against Covid before the elections. WEST BENGAL Mamata accuses Centre of NUMBER PM’S JAM-PACKED CALENDER influencing Commission Prime Minister Narendra West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee OF SEATS Modi has a packed schedule on Friday raised questions on the Election for two weeks as he plans to Commission’s tour states that are going to 294 decision to PHASES polls. Trademark speeches, hold Assembly multimedia campaigns, mega Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora (C) with Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra (L) and elections in the rallies, inaugurations — all Rajiv Kumar addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Friday. state in eight 8 MAJORITY of these will be held as Modi phases. “I have reaches out to voters. MARK New Delhi: Voting for To be held till April 29 saffron party has been information from five assembly elections amid the coronavirus pushing hard in recent my sources that the poll will begin on March 27, pandemic, the elections years. SHAH BATTLE-READY FOR STATES dates are similar to the ones 148 BJP wanted,” she alleged. the Chief Election Com- are expected to witness As many as 18.68 Union Home Minister Amit “Have the dates been announced missioner Sunil Arora a determined attempt crore voters will be eli- Shah has been doing back-to- as per the suggestions of PM Narendra Modi and announced on Friday by the BJP to put a gible to cast their votes back campaigning trips to sev- Home Minister Amit Shah?” She said that the poll body has decided to with West Bengal set to strong show, including at 2.7 lakh polling sta- eral poll-bound states and now hold elections in constituencies of the same district in separate phases, hold eight-phase polls in Assam where it is al- tions for 824 assembly with poll dates announced, the which she claimed was done to disadvantage her party. “South 24 Parga- and Assam three. ready in power, as well seats across Assam, campaign will be fast-tracked nas is our stronghold, voting there will be held in three different phases,” Counting for all the as in West Bengal, Ker- West Bengal, Kerala, keeping in mind the various she said. “Has this been done as per Modi and Shah’s convenience?” seats will be held on ala, Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu and Pu- phases of voting, especially the May 2. Puducherry where the ducherry. tough fi ght in West Bengal. DATE OF POLLING: March 27, April 1, 6, 10, 17, 22, 26 and 29 KERALA TAMIL NADU PUDUCHERRY Left Front looks to create history NUMBER AIADMK aims for a hat-trick of NUMBER Wounded Cong ready to fight NUMBER with second innings in power wins; Sasikala returns to fray back as BJP eyes win in South Amid the cloud of COVID, the number of polling OF SEATS For the AIADMK, 2016 brought a second straight OF SEATS For the Union Territory, March 19 will be the last OF SEATS stations in Kerala has increased. In 2016, victory. The late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, date for nominations, March 20 for scrutiny there were 21,65 140 however, took 234 and March 22 for 30 polling stations PHASES ill a little over PHASES the withdrawal PHASES in the state. Af- a year after of candida- ter winning the occupying ture. Earlier December local 1 MAJORITY the chair for 1 MAJORITY this month, V 1 MAJORITY body polls, the MARK the fi fth time MARK Narayanasamy’s MARK ruling Communist and passed away four-and-a-half- Party of India (Marxist)-led shortly after. Following a year-old government col- Left Front with CM Pinarayi 71 brief period of uncertainty, 118 lapsed following six resigna- 16 Vijayan is having high hopes the AIADMK chose Edappady tions - fi ve Congress MLAs of creating an electoral history by K Palaniswami as Chief Minister. and an ally quit the party. The becoming the fi rst government in Kerala to retain Aside from the tumult created by Jayalalithaa’s Union Territory has been placed under President’s power. Meanwhile, former defence minister and three-time Kerala chief death, the imprisonment of her aide VK Sasikala in a disproportionate rule after the BJP and its allies did not stake claim to form government. minister AK Antony exuded confi dence in forming the United Democratic assets case, also added to the crisis in the AIADMK. She was convicted Narayanasamy resigned soon after making a speech in the assembly to Front (UDF) government in May 2021. Congress leader and MP from in the case along with the late leader herself. However, she returned to start off the Trust Vote debate. He accused the opposition BJP and NR Kerala’s Wayanad Rahul Gandhi has also been aggressively campaigning active politics and has already voiced her backing for the AIADMK. The Congress - the biggest opposition party - of bringing down his govern- to bring his party a slice of fortune in the assembly polls. government also made couple of last-minute poll-related announcements. ment. This was the Congress’s only government in the south. DATE OF POLLING: April 6 DATE OF POLLING: April 6 DATE OF POLLING: April 6 Sensex crashes 1,939 pts, PRIYANKA PRAISES PROACTIVE GEHLOT FOR SWIFTLY Nifty ends below 14,600 CRACKING THE WHIP IN BHARATPUR RAPE CASE Mumbai: The Indian Naresh Sharma equity benchmarks COMMITTED TO TAKING continue to witness in- Jaipur: Congress lead- ACTION WITH PROMPTNESS tense selling pressure er Priyanka Gandhi AND SENSITIVITY, CM REPLIES mirroring losses in Vadra on Friday fter Priyanka’s tweet made it mandatory to other global markets as thanked Chief Minister Alauding Gehlot’s register an FIR in police a rout in global bond Ashok Gehlot for taking swiftness in the matter, stations. In order to markets sent yields fly- swift action in a rape the Chief Minister also curb crimes against ing and spooked inves- case, after Priyanka took to twitter and said, women, women crime tors amid fears the brought the matter to “Our government is research units have heavy losses suffered bled 3.3 per cent or 502 notice of CM Gehlot. committed to taking been set up in every could trigger distressed points to 14,595. Thanking Gehlot action with prompt- district. Moreover, selling in other assets. In a sign the gloomy through social media, ness and sensitivity in DySP level offi cer has The Sensex fell as much mood will reverberate she said, “No political cases of crimes against been appointed as as 1,939 points or 3.6 per across markets, Euro- system can progress women and girls and nodal offi cer, reducing cent and Nifty 50 index pean and U.S. stock fu- without being sensitive weaker sections of so- the average research plunged 3.6 per cent to tures were a sea of red. towards women. Many File Photo of CM Ashok Gehlot with Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. ciety. Our government time in heinous crimes hit an intraday low of Eurostoxx 50 futures thanks to Ashok Gehlot is ensuring justice in like rape to 126 days, 14,554. lost 1.7 per cent while ji for taking prompt ac- rape victim, who ap- Uttar Pradesh to meet ing in her matter. all cases by conduct- which was 274 days As of 12:57 pm, the futures for Germany’s tion in Bharatpur case proached Jurhura po- Congress General Sec- In the application ing a fair, detailed and in the year 2017-18.” Sensex was down 1,619 DAX and those for Lon- by taking cognizance.” lice for action, failed to retary Priyanka Gan- filed by the victim’s fa- speedy investigation.