FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 357 | INDORE | SUNDAY | JUNE 2, 2024 | PAGES 18 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 `4 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - POLL MANIA I DON’T TRY TO ‘OVER-TEACH’ EVM IN POND, VIOLENCE MARS FINAL PHASE IN WEST BENGAL SPORTS WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 40.60c. 25.60c Sunrise : 05.42 Sunset : 07.07 EAT, SLEEP, CRUISE, REPEAT CINEMA EVEN BETTER THAN 2019 FOR MODI Exit polls give a higher tally to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance than it won in the last elections. The BJP is expected to do even better in Uttar Pradesh, and will make significant gains in the South, Odisha and Bengal GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR / NEW DELHI With the polling for the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections coming to an end on Saturday a large number of , exit polls have predicted another clean sweep for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Most of the polls have given the alliance between 355 and 370 seats, a number higher than even its 2019 tally of 353. As for the BJP these exit , polls have predicted that the ruling party would get between 305 and 315 seats, topping its 303 of 2019, as the party has been able to overcome a spirited opposition from the INDIA bloc that is expected to poll less than 200 seats this time. The exit poll results demonstrate that the effort put in by senior BJP leaders – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who on the last day of voting was meditating at Vivekananda Rock Memorial near Kanyakumari -- in the five southern states and West Bengal and Odisha have helped the NDA repeat and probably even better its performance in the last Lok Sabha polls. As the dust settles on the nearly two-month campaign that tested the patience and stamina of the leaders in the searing heat, the picture that PREDICTIONS AT A GLANCE NDA Total Seats: 543 I.N.D.I.A Others 371 362-392 359 353-368 342-378 281-350 248-280 355-370 353-383 400 371-401 358 366 125 47 141-161 10-20 154 30 118-133 43-48 153-169 21-23 145-201 33-49 118-150 118-150 125-140 42-52 152-182 04-12 107 36 109-139 28-38 152 33 144 33 Election 2024 Agency INDIA NEWS – D Dynamics Jan Ki Baat Republic TV – PMARQ RB – Matrize News Nation Dainik Bhaskar India Today – Axis My India News 18 ABP CVoter News24-Chanakya India TV-CNX Times Now-ETG NDTV Poll emerges from the exit polls is that the BJP managed to do well by working closely with its old allies as with Janata Dal (United) in Bihar and Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP in Maharashtra while forging new alliances as with Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The ruling party also appears to be on the verge of sweeping some of the major states ruled by it –Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In Gujarat, the exit polls are predicting that it may lose one seat this time while there is a stiff contest on two others. Phase 7 turnout is 59.15% EXIT POLLS & REALITY CHECK P eople from across the political spectrum were glued to the television screens to see what the exit polls would predict for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, for which polling ended on Saturday. It is a no-brainer that exit polls can be very far off the mark as they have been in some instances. However, in the last two elections, the exit polls have largely been able to catch the pulse of the voters. An average of 13 exit polls for the 2019 elections put the tally for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party at 306 and that of the United Progressive Alliance at 120. However, the exit polls put out by six agencies for the same elections gave the NDA anything between a low of 300 seats to a high of 365 and the UPA 77 to 132 seats. CONTD. ON P7 PTI / NEW DELHI An approximate voter turnout of 59.15 per cent was recorded on Saturday in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha polls with incidents of violence between TMC and BJP supporters reported in Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, and complaints of EVM glitches and rigging at some booths being lodged. Polling was conducted in seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh for 57 constituencies, including Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha. Voting was held amid a severe heatwave in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three in Jharkhand, besides Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and bypolls to six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh also took place simultaneously . Saturday's voting marked the end of the marathon polling process that began on April 19. The assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and The picture that emerges is that the BJP managed to do well by working closely with its old allies as with Janata Dal (United) in Bihar and Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP in Maharashtra while forging new alliances as with Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Though the exit polls show it to be losing some seats in Haryana, owing to the anger of the farmers with it, and Delhi, where Congress and Aam Aadmi Party fought together against it for the first time and Arvind Kejriwal led a sharp campaign during his interim bail period, the party appears to be making up for it elsewhere. LOSSES CONTAINED: In Haryana, where BJP won all the 10 seats in 2019, the exit polls are giving it 6-8 this time with INDIA bloc getting the remaining 2-4. The farmers’ agitation had also impacted Punjab, but here BJP did not have much to lose. Though AAP had wrested the state from the Congress in 2022, the exit polls are only giving it one seat of the 13 at the most. They are predicting 8-10 for the Congress and 2-4 for the NDA. In Delhi, some exit polls are giving BJP another clean sweep on the seven seats while a few are giving AAP a couple of seats. BETTER IN UP: As per most polls, the BJP-led NDA would be gaining in the elections because in the key state of Uttar Pradesh it appears to have performed better than it did in 2019 when it won 64 of the 80 seats. CONTD. ON P7 SAFFRON PARTY HEADING FOR CLEAN SWEEP IN STATE Congress is fighting just for one seat OUR STAFF REPORTER Bhopal OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Seven people drowned after a boat capsized in river Seep in Sheopur on Saturday. There were 11 people in the boat and four of them were rescued. The incident occurred in Manpur, about 40 km from Sheopur district headquarters, around 4:45 pm. Locals claimed that strong wind was blowing at the time of the incident. Sheopur collector Lokesh Kumar Jangid told media "At least 11 people were on board the boat when it sank. Four were rescued, while seven others were rushed to a hospital". “We can't comment on their condition. Doctors will take a call,” he added. It was later informed that seven people had died in the incident. The dead include Parshuram Ram 25, his wife Parwanta and his son Shyam-10 and Ravindra, Arti-16, Lali-15 and her brother Bhupendra-4 years. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and instructed energy minister Pradummn Singh Tomar to reach the spot and take stock of the situation. He prayed for the well being of affected people. seas. According to all exit polls, it is going to be difficult for the Congress even to open its account. The party is giving a tough fight to the opposition only in one seat – Chhindwara. According to some exit polls, Nakul Nath may not win Chhindwara seat this time. Chief Mohan Yadav said that the BJP would win all the 29 seats this time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name and the hard work of the BJP workers will bring all the 29 seats to BJP’s pocket, he said. Yadav said that the BJP won 27 seats in 2014, 28 in 2019 and the party would get 29 in 2024. According to former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the BJP will win all the 29 seats. The Congress will not win a single seat, he said. KANYAKUMARI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday concluded his 45-hour long meditation at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial here and paid floral tributes to Tamil saint poet Thiruvalluvar. On conclusion of his dhyan session, Modi, clad in white, visited the 133ft statue of Thiruvalluvar, located next to the rock memorial and placed a huge garland there marking his tribute. Kejri’s ‘jail Porsche deaths: Teen’s mother arrested wapsi’ today AGENCIES / New Delhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has to return to Tihar jail here today as he failed to get any immediate relief from a court on Saturday on his plea for interim bail. As per the Supreme Court's order of May 10, Kejriwal was ordered to be released on interim bail for election campaign till June 1 and he was directed to surrender and go back to Tihar jail on June 2. The case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order, observing that the application was for grant of interim bail on medical grounds and not for the extension of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. CONTD. ON P7 ANKIT SHUKLA / PUNE The mother of the juvenile accused in the Porsche drunk and drive incident that saw two deaths was arrested on Saturday morning by Pune police on the charge of giving her blood sample to switch with that of the accused minor at the Sassoon General Hospital. Shivani Agarwal has been absconding for the last few days. She was finally arrested at her home and will be produced in the Special Court on Sunday . Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said it has been confirmed that blood samples of the juvenile had been replaced with that of his mother.On Friday police also interrogated minor accused for more than an hour in the observation home where he has been ordered to stay till June 5, as per the Juvenile Justice Board Act. Earlier, police had arrested Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the department of forensic medicine at Sassoon General Hospital, medical officer Dr Shrihari Halnor and fourth grade employee Atul Ghatkamble on charges of evidence tampering. According to the police, more than a dozen calls were exchanged between Dr Ajay Taware and Vishal Agrawal, father of teenager while the blood samples were being collected. Police have seized Rs 2.5lakh from Dr Halnor's home and rupees 50 thousand from Ghatkamble, the consideration for which they allegedly switched the blood samples. The teenager's father Vishal Agrawal and grandfather Surendra Agrawal have also been arrested for kidnapping and threatening the driver in order to coerce him to take the blames for the hit and run while under the influence of alcohol. Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, where Swami Vivekananda did meditation, in Kanyakumari on Saturday NURSING COLLEGE SCAM Retd judge to head inspection panel, says HC Registrar of respective district courts too to join the team OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in MP High Court, Jabalpur, on Saturday constituted a committee under chairmanship of retired Justice RK Shrivastava to access ground reality of nursing colleges and hospitals across the state. The panel would submit its report on July 15. The court also ordered inspection 169 colleges declared suitable by the CBI. Though the court hoped that ‘once bitten twice shy’ CBI would attentively re-inspect the colleges, it deemed apposite to induct a judicial officer in the team. Accordingly, the court directed that the CBI team would be accompanied by Registrar of District Court of respective district where inspection is to be conducted. Principal District Judge of that particular district where the colleges are situated, would accord permission for making Registrar of District Court a part of the CBI team. During inspection, videography would also be done so that if needed the court could ascertain veracity of report. Let the inspection be triggered immediately by the CBI and concluded within a period of three months, said the court. Apart from this, deficient colleges claiming to have removed deficiencies pointed out by the CBI would have to satisfy the three-member committee constituted earlier by placing sufficient material regarding overcoming of deficiencies. Simultaneously, the Court observed that nursing education was not possible without practical education and learning. It involves a wide range of hands-on skills such as administration of medicines, injections and IV lines, pre and post surgery management, assisting doctors, operating medical equipment, clinical judgment, empathy and interpersonal communication skills for compassionate care, dealing with emergencies, etc. LAST WORD Heat overwhelms Manikarnika Ghat: Over 700 cremations in 48 hrs BISWAJEET BANERJEE/ VARANASI As residents of Varanasi lined up to vote on Saturday another , sombre queue formed from Maidagin to Mokshdwar in the holy city where people brought , bodies for cremation at Manikarnika Ghat. For the second consecutive day the ancient cremation , ground witnessed an unprecedented surge in bodies arriving for last rites. Over the past 48 hours, more than 700 bodies have been cremated— three times the usual number for this ghat. Bodies from Varanasi and neighboring districts are regularly brought to Manikarnika Ghat for cremation, as it is believed that those cremated here attain salvation. Dom Raja Om Chaudhary , responsible for managing the last rites at the ghat, attributed the sudden increase in bodies to the severe heatwave gripping the region. Director of the Met Office, Manish Ranalkar, explained that the heatwave conditions across Uttar Pradesh are due to clear skies, westerly winds from Rajasthan, and increasing humidity from easterly winds. The combination of high temperatures and humid- Dom Raja Om Chaudhry asserted, "The stream of dead bodies being brought for cremation shows that fatalities have increased, and it is only because of the heat." The streets from Maidagin to Mokshdwar were lined with bodies, leaving little space for movement. The influx was so overwhelming that bodies had to be stacked one on top of the other due to the lack of space. Records show that on May 24, 147 bodies were cremated, followed by 161 on May 25, 159 on May 26, 88 on May 27, 133 on May 28, 169 on May 29, and over 400 on May 30. The bodies that had arrived MEDIA SOURCE 7 DROWN AS BOAT CAPSIZES IN SHEOPUR The BJP is heading for a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha election in MP as predicted by exit polls on Saturday. In 2019, the Congress got only one seat, Chhindwara. According to the current exit polls, the Congress is fighting even for a single seat in the state. According to News 24Today’s Chanakya, the BJP is going to win all the 29 seats. Likewise, Ajtak-Axis My India and TV-CNX predicted that the BJP might get 28-29 seats. According to ABP-CVoter, the BJP may win 2628 seats. It said that the Congress might get 1-3 PM concludes 45-hr-long meditation Punjab recorded a voter turnout of 55.69 per cent while Chandigarh registered a voting percentage of 62.80. Odisha recorded around 63.21 per cent voting. Bengal's polling was marred by violence. In Bengal's Sandeshkhali, clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters over allegations of electoral malpractices. BJP candidate Rekha Patra alleged that TMC goons stopped voters from casting their votes. The TMC made counter allegations and accused Patra and BJP goons of trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere. West Bengal CM Mamata As both the groups came to Banerjee shows victory sign blows on Basanti express highafter casting her vote in Kolkata way police resorted to baton , on Saturday. PTI charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the mob. Sikkim also went to polls. Basirhat SP Hossain Mehedi With the focus now on June Rahaman said three persons 4, the counting for the assembly were injured during the clash polls in Arunachal Pradesh and between TMC and BJP supSikkim will be held on June 2. porters at Bayramari in SanAccording to the EC's voter- deshkhali. turnout app at 8 pm, the estiProminent candidates mated polling percentage in the among the 904 in the fray are last phase was 59.15. Union minister Anurag ThaA voter turnout of nearly kur, West Bengal Chief Minis69.03 per cent was recorded in ter Mamata Banerjee's nephew Jharkhand. Uttar Pradesh Abhishek Banerjee, RJD sulogged a polling percentage of premo Lalu Prasad's daughter 55.60, West Bengal 69.89, Bihar Misa Bharti and actor Kangana 49.58 and Himachal Pradesh Ranaut. 67.39. CONTD. ON P7 ity has significantly raised discomfort levels. The heatwave has led to a spike in deaths. Five polling staff in Mirzapur collapsed and died due to the extreme heat. Government officials stated that only post-mortems can confirm whether deaths are heatwave-related. However, far exceeded the ghat’s capacity to handle cremations. Typically Manikarnika Ghat , can manage 25 to 30 cremations simultaneously . The sheer volume led to long waiting times, with some families waiting up to five hours for their turn to cremate. Mahendra Kumar Gupta, who brought a relative's body to the ghat, described the dire situation. "There is no wood available at the ghat. We never imagined it would be like this," he said. The wood shortage forced some families to consider burning two bodies on a single pyre. Others, unable to procure wood there, took their deceased to other ghats. Addressing the infrastructure and resource management aspects, SDM Sarthak Agarwal pointed out, "The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the ghat. If there is any problem, it will be fixed." Additional Municipal Commissioner Dushyant Maurya added, "When the number of dead bodies increased, additional employees have been deployed. It is the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation. Work will be done immediately to resolve the problems of the people."