04062024-TTC-01.qxd 6/4/2024 12:39 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 154 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 MEXICO ELECTS CLAUDIA AS ITS FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT WORLD /thetribunechd TWO ULTRAS GUNNED DOWN IN PULWAMA ENCOUNTER J&K BAN ON DUTEE CHAND AHEAD OF RESULTS, NITISH UPHELD, CAN’T RUN ARRIVES IN DELHI TO TILL 2027 SPORT MEET PM BACK PAGE tuesday | 4 june 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com D-Day today: BJP eyes record 3rd win; INDIA bloc hopes to halt Modi PM to equal Nehru’s tally of three consecutive terms if NDA emerges victorious Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 3 Hours to go for the declaration of the 18th Lok Sabha election results, the ruling BJP exuded confidence of a third straight win at the hustings while the Congressled opposition alliance clutched on to hope despite exit polls painting a gloomy Tuesday for them. An upbeat BJP pressed the forward mode on Monday with party chief JP Nadda holding a high-level strategy meeting at his residence, where former Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar’s presence was the most talked about. A central role for the former CM — either in the government or the party — is not being ruled out. The meeting was attended by top government and BJP brass, including ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Mansukh Mandaviya and Ashwini Vaishnaw, and BJP general secretaries Tarun Chugh and Vinod Tawde. The leaders discussed the strategy for the After Mother Dairy &Amul, Verkahikes milk price by ~2 Chandigarh, June 3 After Amul and Mother Dairy, Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (Milkfed) that markets its product under the brand name Verka hiked milk price by Rs 2 per litre across all variants from Tuesday. The price had been hiked in the wake of a rise in the overall cost of operation and production, Milkfed said. “We increased the milk price by Rs 2 per litre in some Punjab markets from Monday. In the remaining markets, including Chandigarh and Mohali, the hike will be effective from Tuesday,” said Kamal Kumar Garg, Managing Director, Milkfed. Meanwhile, Left parties condemned the government for allowing the hike in milk price and highway toll immediately after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha poll. — TNS Another Indian student reported missing in US Houston, June 3 A 23-year-old Indian student is missing in the US state of California since last week and the police have sought the help of the public in finding her, the latest case in the country as the community grapples with a string of such incidents involving students. Nitheesha Kandula, a student of California State University, San Bernardino, went missing on May 28, according to the police. She was last seen in Los Angeles and was reported missing on May 30, John Guttierez, chief of police at the university, said in a post on X on Sunday. Kandula was possibly driving a 2021 Toyota Corolla with a California licence plate, the colour of continued on page 9 In anticipation of the BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections, laddoos being prepared at a shop in Mumbai on Monday. ANI counting day, BJP’s internal assessment of its own and the NDA’s performance, voter thanksgiving events in the national capital on Tuesday and across India and the broad outline for the government’s swearing-in. Sources said June 8 or 9 were under discussion as the tentative dates for the government’s oath-taking. In 2019, the government took oath on May 30, a week after the results came. Officially, the BJP today denied having talked anything about the new government formation. “This matter will be discussed after June 4,” said Tawde. He said the party leaders decided on the counting continued on page 9 Edit: Mixed bag for BJP Exit polls drive Sensex up 3%, investors richer by ~13.7L cr Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 3 In the first reaction of the bourses to the exit polls predicting a landslide win for the BJP-led NDA, benchmark Sensex and Nifty zoomed more than 3 per cent on Monday, their biggest single-day gain in three years, making investors richer by Rs 13.78 lakh crore. The 30-share BSE Sensex soared by 2,507.47 points to settle at a new closing peak of 76,468.78 points with 25 of its constituents ending in the green. The NSE Nifty climbed 733.20 points to finish at 23,263.90. Among the Sensex companies, NTPC, State Bank of India and Power Grid jumped over 9 per cent each. Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel were the other big gainers. The combined market capitalisation of all BSE Sensex firms crossed $5 trillion to touch Rs 424 lakh crore ($5.1 trillion). The market capitalisation of the State Bank of India crossed the Rs 8 lakh crore mark after the bank’s shares surged to a record BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY GAIN IN 3 YEARS ■ Benchmark indices Sensex & Nifty close at new all-time highs of 76,468.78 and 23,263.90 high of Rs 907. The State Bank of India is now the third-largest bank in India by market cap, very close to ICICI Bank, which is the second largest. The shares of all Adani Group companies continued their rally, taking their combined market valuation to Rs 19.42 lakh crore. Adani Power surged nearly 16 per cent, Adani Ports by 10 per cent and flagship Adani Enterprises by over 6 per cent. The steady exit of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) from the stock market in recent past made no difference to the bullish senti- ■ Investors richer by ~13.78 lakh crore as markets record biggest single-day gain in three years ■ Combined market cap of Sensex companies touches ~424L crore ■ Market cap of Adani Group companies rises to ~19.42 lakh cr ■ PSUs, power, utilities, oil, energy indices soar up to 8 per cent ment. The sentiment was also boosted after the Centre reporting FY23-24 GDP growth at a rapid 8.2 per cent. “Dalal Street rejoiced as exit poll results drove Nifty and Sensex to new all-time highs. This period of bullish market sentiment fosters growth opportunities and rewards patient investors,” said Arvind Kothari, founder of scrip analysts Niveshaay. The exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for the third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha elections. Banking on own assessment, all ‘Fake narratives, there’s a pattern’: CEC Punjab parties sure of good show slams those questioning turnout data Tribune News Service Animesh Singh & Neeraj Mohan Chandigarh, June 3 On the eve of the Lok Sabha poll results, the main political parties in Punjab were busy making an assessment of their likely performance. Though chiefs of all four major parties — the Congress, AAP BJP and SAD — , claimed victory on all 13 seats, an internal assessment by each party gave a more realistic picture. Sources in the ruling AAP say they are confident of winning between five to seven seats. The Congress too analysed the polling trend at the party’s war room. Its strategists are expecting to win at least six seats. Unlike others, the strategists shared the party’s likely victory in Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib. Only the saffron party, which faced farmers’ ire during campaigning in the state, is upbeat after the exit poll results. It is hoping to win two to five seats and is looking at a steep increase in its vote share. Tribune News Service Farmers at Shambhu border eagerly await poll results. TRIBUNE PHOTO ALL CONFIDENT OF SECURING 5-7 SEATS ■ AAP sources say the party is confident of winning 5 to 7 seats ■ Hoping to get 2-5 seats, the BJP is looking at surge in vote share ■ Shiromani Akali Dal’s internal assessment gives party 5-6 seats ■ Congress strategists expect the party will win at least 6 seats Though on record, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal too said they would win all 13 seats, an internal assessment by the party gives it five or six seats. The most prestigious seat for the SAD is Bathinda, where sitting MP Harsimrat Badal is seeking a re-election. She is hoping to ride on anti-incumbency against AAP in key areas. Another important seat is Ferozepur, which has remained the Shi- romani Akali Dal citadel for the last six elections. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said the counting of votes would commence at 8 am on Tuesday. A total of 64 counting observers would oversee the process. He said officials had been tasked with ensuring that the counting was conducted transparently, efficiently and in strict adherence to the EC guidelines. New Delhi, June 3 Without naming the Opposition, the Election Commission of India today attacked it over “peddling fake narratives on the voter list and electronic voting machines (EVMs)”, saying though the poll body was well prepared to combat the menace of four Ms (money, muscle power, misinformation and model code of conduct violation), it could not curb what he called “mischievous narratives” against EVMs. Addressing a press conference on the eve of the counting of votes, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, with election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu in tow, said, “Apart from the four Ms, there was a fifth M — mischievous narratives — which we could not curb as we did not know about it... Everybody got carried away by it and it began with doubts being cast over the voter list, stating that it is wrong. Later, it was found to Dares opposition parties to give proof of attempts to influence elections CONG BID TO UNLEASH MOB, ALLEGES BJP As the Congress asked its workers to gather at district and state headquarters on Tuesday, the BJP asked if the party was preparing to ‘unleash mobs on roads’. “There is no merit in asking people to come at offices as counting takes place at designated zones, unless the idea is to unleash mobs and disrupt the process,” Amit Malviya said. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL REFUSES TO GIVE MORE TIME TO JAIRAM ■ The EC has rejected Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s plea for a week’s time to prove charges against Home Minister Amit Shah ■ Ramesh had alleged that Shah had contacted 150 district magistrates in the country after the conclusion of the LS poll ■ The election body asked Ramesh to provide concrete evidence regarding his charges against the minister by 7 pm on Monday be okay. Then came the EVM issue... It could have created anarchy. It cropped up just days after the first phase of polling… There is a pattern and design. Neither did we delay the publication of the voter turnout data, nor did we alter it. Still there is talk of irregularities in the voter list or calls being made to 150 district magistrates and collec- BE FAIR, KHARGE TELLS OFFICIALS ON RESULT EVE In an appeal to civil servants and officials, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said they must abide by the Constitution and perform duties without any fear or favour or ill-will. “Fear no one. Do not succumb to any unconstitutional methods and discharge your duties on merit on this counting day,” he said. tors. We need to fight the false narrative better,” he said. He dared the Opposition to share evidence of the allegations that returning officers continued on page 9 Cong keeps hope, Sukhu says 2022 exit polls were off mark In Haryana, identity of Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, June 3 Even as both the ruling Congress and the BJP have claimed that they will win all four Lok Sabha seats and six Assembly byelections, the silence of the voters is keeping the party leadership and candidates on tenterhooks ahead of the counting day. Most candidates, including Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, former minister Anand Sharma, Vikramaditya Singh and Kangana Ranaut, relaxed at their homes after taking the polling feedback yesterday. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today attended to urgent matters like forest fires raging across the state and the water scarcity situation in the state. The BJP camp is upbeat with the exit polls giving it a clean sweep on all four seats, a repeat of the 2019 and 2014 parliamentary polls. Prior to the polling and exit polls, issues like the Agnipath scheme and the restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS) were causing some amount of discomfiture to PREDICTED 25 FOR US, WE GOT 40 ❝ In 2022 Assembly poll, exit polls gave us 25 seats after the polling, whereas we won 40 seats. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, HIMACHAL CM the BJP which appears to be , more relaxed now. On the other hand, the Congress still hasn’t lost hope and is optimistic of performing well. It has directed party workers to be vigilant during counting. Party leaders on condition of anonymity said winning even a single Lok Sabha seat would be considered an achievement, while its performance in the Assembly bypolls would be exceptional. The Congress believes that it will get sympathy due to the failed ‘Operation Lotus’ by the BJP which tried to topple a democratically elected government. “In the 2022 Assembly poll, exit polls gave us 25 seats after the polling, whereas we c m y b won 40. Though there is a tough fight on all four Lok Sabha seats, the Congress has an edge on two. We will win at least five Assembly seats, while there is a tough fight on one seat,” said CM Sukhu. Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur too sounded upbeat as he said the BJP would register victory in all four Lok Sabha elections and six Assembly bypolls. “The country has rejected the Congress and the lotus will bloom all across the country as people want to see Narendra Modi as PM again,” Thakur said. regional parties at stake Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 3 The BJP and the Congress, which are locked in a direct contest in nearly all 10 LS seats in Haryana, are upbeat ahead of tomorrow’s results. While the BJP is counting on the “performance” of the state government and PM Modi’s public welfare policies in the past 10 years to see it through, the Congress is banking on anti-incumbency against the BJP and the adverse impact of the saffron party’s “anti- farmer policies” to swing the election in its favour. While the exit polls give the BJP a clear edge, the Congress is hoping to make a comeback in this poll after losing all 10 seats in the 2019 LS elections, which saw a clean sweep by the BJP . For the regional parties such as the Jannayak Janta Party and the INLD, this poll is about retaining their identity, even as the AAP is hoping to open its account in Haryana ahead of the Assembly poll, to be held in October.