Follow us on: facebook.com/dailypioneer RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2019-21 @TheDailyPioneer instagram.com/dailypioneer/ Established 1864 OPINION 8 WORLD 11 SPORT 15 Published From THE EASTER SUDAN'S BASHIR MOVED TO JUVENTUS CRASH OUT DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH QUESTION PRISON AS PROTESTERS RALLY OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DEHRADUN HYDERABAD VIJAYWADA Late City Vol. 155 Issue 104 LUCKNOW, THURSDAY APRIL 18, 2019; PAGES 16 `3 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable HORROR HAS POTENTIAL: EMRAAN} } 14 VIVACITY www.dailypioneer.com BJP pits Pragya against Digvijay ADMK, BJP Digvijay has been a bitter Bhopal battle critic of the Rashtriya stakes high Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological guide of the BJP, set to catch and had allegedly linked it to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack nation’s eye carried out by Pakistani ter- in 2nd phase rorists. PNS n NEW DELHI The BJP also decided to sented by the AIADMK, fol- field KP Yadav from Guna, a PNS n NEW DELHI lowing recovery of huge etting the stage for an epic seat held by senior Congress amount of cash allegedly from Sbattle in Bhopal, the BJP on leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who he second phase of Lok an associate of a DMK leader. Wednesday fielded Sadhvi is contesting from there. The TSabha polls for 95 seats will The EC also announced Pragya Singh Thakur, facing BJP has named Raj Bahadur decide the fate of several stal- postponement of polling in trial in Malegaon blast case, in Singh and Ramakant Bhargav warts, including Union Tripura (East) Lok Sabha seat Lok Sabha elections, against as its nominees from Sagar and Ministers Jitendra Singh, Jual to the third phase on April 23, Congress heavyweight and for- Vidisha respectively. Oram, Sadananda Gowda and saying the prevailing law and mer Madhya Pradesh Chief External Affairs Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, former order situation there is not con- Minister Digvijay Singh. Sushma Swaraj had won from Prime Minister HD Deve ducive for free and fair polls. Out on bail, Sadhvi joined Vidisha in 2014 but she is not Gowda and DMK’s Dayanidhi The stake is high for the the BJP only hours before the fighting polls this time due to Maran, A Raja and Kanimozhi. AIADMK which had swept party announced her name as health reasons. Altogether 1,600-odd contes- the polls in 2014 and has gone its candidate from Bhopal. This Born in Bhind district of tants are in the fray from 11 from one internal crisis to is being seen as a clear attempt Madhya Pradesh, Sadhvi has States and the Union Territory another after the death of its by the BJP to bring the had a long association with the of Puducherry. supreme leader J Jayalalithaa. Hindutva plank at the centre Sangh Parivar. A post-graduate Thirty eight of the 39 Lok The party has formed a strong stage of polls in the State, in history, she worked with the Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will alliance with PMK and DMDK where the BJP had won 27 out RSS student wing Akhil go to polls and bypolls will be to take on the might of DMK- of 29 seats in 2014 LS polls. Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad held in 18 Assembly con- Cong-Left alliance, which is “I will contest the election and Durga Vahini, women’s stituencies. The Election expected to win at least two from Bhopal and win. Former wing of the Vishwa Hindu Commission cancelled the third of the 39 seats, as per var- Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Parishad. polling in Vellore Lok Sabha ious opinion polls. Chouhan is with me,” Sadhvi Arrested in the 2008 seat, which is currently repre- Continued on Page 7 said after emerging out of the Malegaon blast case, she was BJP office at Bhopal. given a clean chit by the In a way, the face-off National Investigation Agency between Digvijay and Sadhvi (NIA), but the trial court will also be seen as a battle refused to discharge her from between the hardcore Hindutva the case. 5 represented by the likes of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur arrives at the Madhya Pradesh BJP headquarters in Digvijay Singh participates in a religious procession on the occasion of Mahavir The court dropped the Sadhvi and equally dyed-in- Bhopal on Wednesday PTI Jayanti in Bhopal on Wednesday PTI charges under the Maharashtra the-wool “secularism” propa- Control of Organised Crime gated by the likes of Digvijay. people’s court by fielding several accused, including A senior BJP leader said Hindutva” faces of the Act (MCOCA) against her, 11 At a rally in Odisha, BJP Sadhvi against Digvijay, he Swami Aseemanand, in the party decided to field Congress. and she is now being tried president Amit Shah on said, accusing the Congress of Samjhauta Express blast case, Sadhvi, who joined the party Also being a high-profile under the Unlawful Activities Wednesday described Digvijay defaming India by coining Shah attacked the Congress and hours before her candidature seat as the Madhya Pradesh Prevention Act. She was grant- as the “creator” of “saffron ter- terms like “Hindu terror” and said people of Bhopal will pun- was announced, against capital, it can help rally support ed bail by the Bombay High ror” phrase. The BJP has decid- “saffron terror”. ish Digvijay and Congress pres- Digvijay as the latter has been for the BJP across the State and Court in 2017. ed to take the matter to the Referring to the acquittal of ident Rahul Gandhi. one of the most visible “anti- even outside, he added. Continued on Page 7 50 killed as rain lashes Raj, MP, Guj Stage set for polls PNS n NEW DELHI Modi took to twitter in the morning to express anguish s many as 50 people died over the loss of lives in the rain and several others injured in Gujarat and announced on 8 UP seats A 8 due to unseasonal rain, dust relief. Soon afterwards Madhya storm and lightning in Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Nath hit out at the Prime Maharashtra and Gujarat. It has Minister, accusing him of being in round 2 today caused damage to property, concerned only about his home wheat crops, mango, and pota- State Gujarat. PNS n LUCKNOW in the poll fray in the second Former cine star and BJP Baghpat, Gautam Buddha toes and vegetables in north, The PMO in a tweet later phase, 19 have declared crim- candidate from Mathura, Nagar and Ghaziabad, in central parts of the country. said, “PM @narendramodi has midst tight security inal cases against them (about Hema Malini, is the richest 2014. In UP, Akhilesh Yadav’s It is estimated that proper- expressed grief at loss of lives Aarrangements, eight Lok 23 per cent) while 14 have candidate in the second phase SP is contesting on 37 seats ties and crops worth several due to unseasonal rain and Sabha constituencies in Uttar declared serious criminal with total assets of over Rs while Mayawati’s BSP has hundred crores have been dam- storms in MP, Rajasthan, Pradesh will go to polls in the cases, as per election watch- 250 crore. BJP candidate from fielded its candidates on 38 aged. Several cattle were also Manipur & various parts of the second phase of election on dog ADR. Out of all candi- Amroha, Kanwar Singh seats. Their ally Ajit Singh’s killed in rain-related incidents. country”. Thursday. The polling on dates contesting the polls, a Tanwar, has assets worth over RLD is fighting on three According to the India A woman tries to prevent rainwater from entering her house during heavy rain at “An ex gratia of `2 lakh Thursday will seal the fate of total of 34 (about 41 per Rs 182 crore. The candidate seats. The Congress is fight- Meteorological Department Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district on Wednesday PTI each for the next of kin of those 85 candidates contesting on cent) are crorepatis. with lowest assets is ing on its own. (IMD), unseasonal rain, thun- who lost their lives due to different symbols. The constituencies going Ambedkari Hansuram Some high-profile seats derstorm, lightning and high Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram unseasonal rain & storms in Chief Electoral Officer to poll in the second phase Ambedkari, who is fighting going to polls in this phase speed wind were caused by Haryana, Punjab and Bihar. An and Tripura, and Odisha are MP, Rajasthan, Manipur & of UP, L Venkateshwarlu said are witnessing triangular con- as an Independent candidate are Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, active Western Disturbance amber colour warning indicates likely to get rain and thunder- various parts of the country has in Lucknow on Wednesday tests between the Bharatiya from Agra. He has declared Mathura, Aligarh and (WD) over eastern Iran that is that authorities have to remain storm on Friday. been approved from the PM’s that all arrangements had Janata Party, Congress and total assets worth Rs 1,200. Nagina. moving towards east-north- alert for any weather-related Several parts of north and National Relief Fund. `50,000 been completed for the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Phase two polls in west- The UP Police have eastwards across Afghanistan, exigency. The situation is central India have been wit- each for the injured has also smooth conduct of polling in Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok ern UP are crucial for the deployed over one lakh secu- Pakistan and northwest India. expected to remain the same in nessing thunderstorms, dust been approved,” the PMO said. the second phase. Dal alliance. The constituen- Narendra Modi-led BJP, rity personnel in 10 commu- According to IMD, the next two-three days in storms, lightning and heavy Union Home Minister “We have asked the dis- cies going to polls in the sec- which won all these seats in nal sensitive districts.