Today’s Big Stories
BJP loses in Jharkhand as JMM-Congress-RJD coalition win 47 seats, Hemant Soren to be Chief Minister
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raghubar Das conceded defeat in the Jharkhand assembly elections on Monday as he lost not just the chief minister's chair but also his MLA seat. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) coalition led by JMM's Hemant Soren cleared the majority mark of 41 in the 81-member assembly of the tribal-dominated state.
'Guruji's' son: JMM leader Hemant Soren has been the face of the opposition alliance in the state. Born to Jharkhand architect Shibu Soren, known as 'Guruji', Hemant had earlier served as the Chief Minister in 2013. Read about his rise to power in the state.
Diminishing presence: With another state slipping out of its hands, the footprint of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the political map of India shrank further. In March 2018, the BJP was in power in 13 states across the country on its own while it ruled six other states in alliance with other parties. A closer look at the results shows that a shift in the saffron party's urban vote-base was the driver of its drubbing in the state.
31 held in UP, 140 in Delhi: Oppn's mega Satyagraha against CAA as state govts continue to crack down on protesters
Led by top party leaders, the Congress sat on a five-hour 'Satyagraha for Unity' to express solidarity with youths agitating against the new Citizenship law, as state government cracked down on 'outsiders' inciting violence during protests. Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders read the Preamble to the Constitution as they vowed to protect it. Meanwhile, in the national capital, protests were held outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhawan, Rajghat, India Gate, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Assam Bhawan and Delhi University. As many as 46 students during the protests.
In Other News
SpiceJet row: A video of a SpiceJet passenger arguing with Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Thakur, who held up a Bhopal-bound flight over the allotment of seats, has won praise on social media, with Twitterati hailing the man as a ‘hero’. The Bhopal lawmaker reportedly held up the Delhi-Bhopal SG2489 flight for about 45 minutes after she was asked by the crew to move to a non-emergency row seat as she was on a wheelchair but she refused.
Jamal Khashoggi murder case: Five people have been sentenced to death over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but two top figures investigated over the killing have been exonerated. The move drew severe criticism from several rights groups and Turkey, who called the verdict a "failed delivery of justice".
Ad ban: The Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government to suspend all media campaigns related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court also sought a detailed response from the state government about the petitioners' claim that campaign against the CAA was carried out using public money.
'What was my fault': Mohammad Minhajuddin had come to Delhi last year with a dream of starting his law practice in the national capital, but on December 15 he lost vision in one eye allegedly in police action in the Jamia Millia Islamia library. Minhajuddin, an LLM student, now wants to go back to his hometown in Bihar after completing his studies as he says he doesn't even feel safe in his university campus anymore.
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Losing the battle to win the war: The main market in Patan bore a forlorn look. Ravi Chou-mein Centre on Daltonganj Road, however, was doing brisk business despite a power cut in the locality. Across the street, a small group of poll ticket aspirants, including one Ranjit Singh Chintu and audience, waited for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Hemant Soren. Soren was running behind schedule on the second day of his Palamu Yatra. That was exactly 11 months back to this day, when Soren kicked off his election campaign in Palamu division of Jharkhand bordering Bihar. Sumit Pande explains how JMM's Hemant Soren sunk BJP armada in an anti-incumbency wave.
CAA stir continues: A gold medallist in mass communication from Pondicherry University refused to accept her medal during the convocation after she was denied entry into the hall when President Ram Nath Kovind was giving away the awards and certificates. Rabeeha Abdurehim, who has been vocal about her opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act, said she was made to wait outside the convocation hall for over an hour. Poornima Murali reports how the student then refused to accept her gold medal after she was denied entry to meet the President.
On Reel
Team India ended 2019 on a high, by winning the ODI series 2-1 against West Indies. Watch to know more.
Curated and compiled by Karan Anand
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