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Journalism of Courage
The saffron wave failed to make any dent in Gujarat and the Congress won the bypoll to the Jamalpur Assembly constituency with its candidate Shabbir Khedawala defeating his nearest BJP rival, Lalji Parmar. Khedawala, a businessman from Juhapura area, won by a margin of 17,698 votes when he polled 42,946 votes in his favour, official sources said.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony posted a morale-boosting win on Thursday when the ruling UDF retained the Tiruvalla seat in the crucial by-election to the State Assembly, beating stiff challenge from the Opposition LDF and the Karunakaran faction in the Congress.
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Another MiG crashes,
pilot survives |
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NEW DELHI: An Indian Air Force MiG-29M crashed near Hoshiarpur on Thursday less than a week after the crash of MiG-21 in Rajasthan. According to official sources, the pilot was injured after bailing out and rushed to a hospital. The aircraft was on a routine flight when it experienced a technical snag forcing the pilot, Sqn Ldr T.J. Mohammed, to bail out. Air Headquarters sources said the aircraft had been completely destroyed and would be written off. A court of inquiry has been set up to establish the cause of the accident. The MiG-29M has enjoyed a good safety record during its over decade-long service with the IAF. A MiG-29M crashed in Karnataka last year after the pilot passed out due to lack of oxygen while on a routine flight from Adampur to Ojhar. (ENS) |
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UDF candidate Elizabeth Mammen Mathai of the Kerala Congress (M) won the Tiruvalla by-election by a margin of 4,669 votes. While the Congress retained the Jamalpur seat for the second consecutive term, the BJP, which has never won this seat, failed to break tradition. With this victory, the Congress has retained its strength of 50 in the 182-member Gujarat State Assembly.
In the keenly-fought Tiruvalla by-election, Elizabeth, wife of the late Mammen Mathai, polled 41,453 votes. Her nearest rival, LDF candidate Varghese George of the Janata Dal (S), garnered 36,784 votes. Mammen Mathai had won the seat in the 2001 Assembly election.
The UDF victory assumes added significance as the two UDF partners, the Kerala Congress (Jacob) and the Kerala Congress (B), had not entered the campaign in the constituency.
IUML leader Panakkad Syed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal said that the Tiruvalla bypoll result was a strong rebuff to the LDF for having tried to capture power by scuttling the popular mandate in favour of the UDF in the state.
Karnataka minister quits over defeat
BANGALORE: Karnataka Minister of State for Infrastructure and Civil Aviation T. John, who was defeated by rebel Congress candidate Arun Machiah in polls to the Legislative Council, resigned from the ministry on Thursday, ‘‘owning moral responsibility’’.
John met Chief Minister S.M. Krishna in the Vidhana Soudha and submitted his resignation letter to him. The minister’s statement that he was ‘‘backstabbed’’ by his partymen has come as an embarrassment to the Congress.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the letter, John said no one had asked for his resignation and that he had taken the step on his own. ‘‘The Chief Minister said that he would look into the matter,’’ he added.
On his defeat, John alleged that his party colleagues, including some office-bearers, did not work sincerely during the election. When asked if any of the ministers in the district had worked against him, he said that had to be investigated.
But Kodagu district in-charge M.M. Nanaiah said John’s defeat was ‘‘totally unexpected’’ for the party.
Top PW leader held in Bengal
KOLKATA: People’s War (PW) leader Asit Sarkar was arrested from his hideout in a forest at Salboni in West Midnapore district on Thursday, police said. IGP (law and order) Chayan Mukherjee said that Sarkar alias Mangal Singh was one of the founders of the PW in West Bengal. ‘‘He was the most wanted PW leader in the state and it was a big catch for us,’’ he said.
