Daily Briefing: Dubious allotment of BMC funds; Chandigarh mayoral poll results; test tube rhinos; and more

Consider this: Over the last two years, with Mumbai’s civil elections on hold, of the city’s 36 MLAs — 21 from the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance sought and got funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for civic works till December 2023. In stark contrast, not one of the Opposition MLAs got any money, despite 11 seeking funds for various development works — from repairing a drain in Dharavi, to beautifying a park in Sewri.

The Indian Express spoke to each of the 15 Opposition MLAs to independently verify if they applied for funds, and if the Guardian Ministers approved it. Read our investigation.

Big Story

BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar was declared the winner of the keenly contested Chandigarh mayoral polls yesterday. However, the AAP-Congress alliance has alleged fraud and boycotted the electoral process for the remaining posts.

From the Front Page

👉🏽 On the eve of the Parliament’s Budget Session, the suspension of 14 Opposition MPs — 11 from Rajya Sabha and three from Lok Sabha — was revoked.

👉🏽 Three CRPF personnel were killed in an encounter with Maoists on the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region.

👉🏽 Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who could not be traced by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday, appeared in Ranchi the next day for a meeting with his MLAs. By then, however, the BJP had already started circulating missing posters with the CM’s face plastered across them.

Must Read

In his weekly column, C Raja Mohan writes on how China’s economic slowdown is an opportunity for India: “If it can stay calm, build on its strengths, and avoid the kind of nationalist hubris that has undermined China’s fortunes, India could thrive amid the unfolding power shift.”

The extinction of the northern white rhino is an inevitability. The last of its male died in 2018. In 2015, however, a group of 20 scientists had launched an audacious and expensive project to rebuild the subspecies through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). But here’s why this may be a desperate race against time.

India’s imports of crude oil from Russia have remained uninterrupted despite troubles in the Red Sea — with cargo ships coming under attack from Iran-backed Houthi rebels. However, its exports to Europe have taken a hit.

And Finally…

In Haryana’s Bhagwanpur, an entire village is grieving the death of Vivek Saini. The 25-year-old was supposed to fly home from the US on January 25. Though Vivek did make it home that day, it was in a body bag. Saini, a management graduate, was hammered to death, allegedly by a homeless drug addict, at a department store in Georgia. The Indian Express speaks to his family.

Delhi Confidential: Actor-turned-politician and BJP’s Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan found himself in a tricky situation on Sunday. Commenting on the actor at a public gathering, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that when Kishan was well-dressed on screen “he looked like a hero to the people, but what will happen if he acts in tattered clothes?”

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we break down Nitish Kumar’s return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. We also discuss the Divya Pahuja murder case, and the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.

Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta and Rahel Philipose

Business As Usual by EP Unny