MONDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Fog/Mist in the morning later mainly clear sky Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25 °C and 16 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 95 % Fourth nominee Nadimul Haque is only sitting MP to be renominated Min. 43 % Max: 25.5°C (+1) SUN RISES 06:11 hrs MOON RISES 07:17 hrs TMC names 3 women for Rajya Sabha polls Min: 17.1°C (+3) SUN SETS 17:30 hrs MOON SETS 19:6 hrs TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 24 February THUMBNAILS Sagarika Ghose Md Nadimul Haque Sushmita Dev Mamata Thakur STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 11 FEBRUARY Sagarika Ghose is a journalist and the wife of journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. It will be her debut in party politics, while Nadimul Haque was already a member of the Rajya Sabha. Mr Haque is the only sitting Rajya Sabha member of the party to get renomination. Mamata Thakur has earlier been elected to the Lok Sabha by winning the Bangaon by-polls in 2015. This will be her debut in the Rajya Sabha. Sushmita Dev, daughter of the late Congress stalwart Santosh Mohan Dev, is an erstwhile Congress leader from Assam. She joined the TMC in 2021 and became a Rajya Sabha member for a span of two years after TMC leader Manas Bhunia passed away after completing only four years of his six-year term. Dev will now be selected for full-term as Rajya Sabha MP while Haque is , set to start his third term as a Rajya Sabha MP after having been a member of the Upper House since 2012. The three sitting Rajya Sabha members of Trinamul Congress who did not get re-nomination are Dr Santanu Sen, Subhasish Chakraborty and Abir Ranjan Biswas. Elections will be held for five seats in Bengal which are to fall vacant in April, along with 51 others in the rest of the country. Going by the current numerical distribution of MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly, the victory of four Trinamul Congress candidates and one BJP candidate is assured. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, has renominated its Rajya Sabha member, Samik Bhattacharya. The announcement was made late tonight, with the party naming 14 candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in seven states. he Trinamul Congress on Sunday announced the candidature of journalist Sagarika Ghose and former MP Sushmita Dev in addition to two others for the Rajya Sabha election from West Bengal while benching three sitting parliamentarians. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress (TMC) announced the candidature of Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Dev, Mohammed Nadimul Haque and Mamata Thakur for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections on Sunday. T Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar interacts with Sainik School cadets, at the Gondia Education Society on Sunday. ANI Deja vu for India as Australia lift fourth U-19 1 World Cup title: Australia replicated another World Cup final heartbreak for defending champions India following their 79-run victory to lift their fourth Under-19 World Cup title on Sunday. In a span of three months, India twice went unbeaten to the final of a World Cup, to face Australia in the final and on both occasions, they ended up on the (Earlier report on Page 12) losing side. 1st time: CAPFs constable Pakistan: Imran -backed exam to be conducted independents lead with in 13 regional languages 93 seats in final poll count STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 FEBRUARY For the first time, the Constable (General Duty) examination for recruitment of constables in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be conducted in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. The examination will be conducted from 20 February to 7 March for around 48 lakh candidates in 128 cities across the country. This historic decision has been taken on the initiative of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah to increase the participation of local youth in the Central Armed Police Forces and to promote regional lan- The examination will be conducted from 20 February to 7 March for around 48 lakh candidates in 128 cities across the country. guages. Question papers will now be prepared in the following 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani. The Constable GD Examination is one of the flagship examinations conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) attracting lakhs of youths from across the country. AGENCIES ISLAMABAD, 11 FEBRUARY The final results of Pakistan’s national election put Independents, backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in the lead with 93 of 264 seats as voters returned a hung Parliament. The party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was second with 75 seats after Thursday's vote, lacking a clear majority but it was the largest single party in parliament as Khan's independents ran as individuals. The three main political parties in Pakistan on Sunday intensified their efforts for the formation of a coalition government, but it was not clear who would form a government. The final tally of votes was published by the election commission more than 60 hours after voting ended, raising questions over the delay. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday published the results of 264 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly. The result of one constituency was withheld by the ECP due to complaints of fraud. Election to one seat was postponed after the death of a candidate. Independent candidates, a vast majority of them backed by jailed former PM Imran Khan's PTI, won 101 seats in the National Assembly. Union minister Puri flags off 57th Edition of The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally NIKHIL VYAS/ SANTU DAS NEW DELHI, 11 FEBRUARY Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday fagged off the much-awaited 57th Edition of The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally in the national capital. “The Maharanis of Yesteryears” were flagged off from The Statesman House at Barakhamba Road in Delhi at a glittering ceremony, in the presence of Chairman of The Statesman Group, Mr R P Gupta, Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon, British Deputy High Commissioner to India Christina Scott, Director (Planning and Business Development/HR) of Indian Oil Sujoy Choudhury and CMD of NBCC KP Mahadevaswamy. The other dignitaries present on the occasion included officials from the SBI, LIC of India, BHEL, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), and KairaliThe Ayurvedic Healing Village. Before flagging off the car rally, Mr Puri, accompanied by Mr Gupta, had a look at the classic beauties and also posed for photographs with their proud owners. Later, in a post on X, the minister said: “Vintage marvels of automobile engineering bring the Sunday morning alive with their vibrant colours, whirring engines and the passion of their proud owners! Delighted to flag off the 57th edition of the StatesmanVintage & Classic Car Rally today morning.” Noting that these cars were like history books rolling on four wheels, Mr Puri said, “I suggested to the owner of a hundred year old Rolls Royce to convert the engine to run on ethanol! Once this is done it’ll be a glowing example of a marvel from the past running on the fuel of the future.” He further said: “It will become a perfect tribute to India’s quest for energy selfsufficiency and green energy transition under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi.” Soon after the flag-off ceremony, the participating vintage and classic cars headed to JP Hospital, Greater Noida via Mahamaya Underbridge before taking a U-turn to reach the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium near India Gate. More than 150 vehicles participated in the rally. The cars were assessed for originality and performance on the road section.Several Rolls Royce and Bentleys, an iconic 1914 John Morris fire engine owned by the Rail Museum, smaller vintage and classic cars, and outstation cars were among the key highlights of this year’s event. Prior to the prize distribution ceremony, a live music programme enthralled the participants as well as those who were present to catch the glimpse of the old cars. People who attended the event along with their families clicked photos of the rare cars. The prize distribution ceremony was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Meanwhile, in a post on X, Director (Planning and Business Development/HR) of Indian Oil Choudhury termed the rally as an “unforgettable experience”. CMYK Modi sounds poll bugle in MP, says NDA will cross 400 mark GAURAV CHANDRA BHOPAL, 11 FEBRUARY Asserting that the BJP alone would win more than 370 seats and the NDA would cross the 400 figure in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the Congress would be completely wiped out in 2024. Sounding the bugle for Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh while addressing a huge gathering at the ‘Janjatiya Mahasammelan’ near the Gopalpura airstrip in tribaldominated Jhabua, Mr Modi said he had not come to campaign for elections but to express his gratitude and thank the people for showering so much love and blessings on him and the BJP . The PM was presented with a blue waistcoat with tribal prints and a white traditional turban at the venue. Donning the tribal waistcoat throughout his speech, the PM said: “The development and respect of tribals and poor sections is Modi’s guarantee, and fulfilling the dreams of tribals and their children is Modi’s commitment.” Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Mr Modi said: “Loot aur phoot Congress ke oxygen hain,” (corruption and politics of division are oxygen for Congress). Warning the people about the Congress's tactics, the PM said the Congress would try to divide people on the lines of caste, language, religion, and areas in its lastditch effort to come back to power in the Lok Sabha polls. “But I know that the people of the country have realised the truth about the Congress and they will never let the Congress succeed in its motives,” Mr Modi said. Commenting on the present condition of the Opposition, especially the Congress, the PM said that no one is ready to take any responsibility there. “The Congress has sunk in its own marsh of sins and is sinking deeper with each attempt to come out of the quagmire,” the PM said. The Prime Minister asserted: "Currently, the Congress and other opposition leaders merely abuse me because I am diligently working for the welfare of the tribals and poor.” “The Congress never did anything for the welfare and respect of tribals during its rule and only treated them as a vote bank,” the PM said. He said that the reality is that “the Congress always hated and still hates villagers, poor and tribals and did nothing for their development”. “The Congress even tried to prevent a tribal woman (Droupadi Murmu) from becoming the President of the country,” the PM said.