
Bye-poll results: AAP leads in Punjab's Ludhiana West, Congress in Kerala's Nilambur
In Kerala's Nilambur constituency, the Congress' Aryadan Shoukath was leading against the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s M Swaraj by 11,077 votes.
The Aam Aadmi Party is leading in Punjab's Ludhiana West constituency and Gujarat's Visavadar seat. In Ludhiana West, the AAP's Sanjeev Arora is ahead of the Congress' Bharat Bhushan Ashu by 6,022 votes. In Visavadar, AAP candidate Gopal Italia was leading against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Kirit Patel by 17,554 votes.
In West Bengal's Kaliganj seat, the Trinamool Congress' Alifa Ahmed was ahead of the BJP's Ashish Ghosh by 26,494 votes. In Gujarat's Kadi constituency, the BJP's Rajendrakumar Chavda was leading against the Congress' Rameshbhai Chavda by 38,624 votes.
In Gujarat, the Visvadar seat fell vacant after sitting AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani joined the ruling BJP. The AAP's Gopal Italia, the BJP's Kirit Patel and the Congress' Nitin Ranpariya are contesting the elections from Visvadar.
The Kadi bye-poll was necessitated after the death of BJP MLA Karshan Solanki. AAP's Jagdish Chavda, Congress's Ramesh Chavda and BJP's Rajendra Chavda are contesting the elections from Kadi.
In Kerala, the Nilambur bye-poll was held after the resignation of Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed Independent legislator PV Anvar.
In West Bengal, the Kaliganj bye-poll was held after the death of Trinamool leader Nasiruddin Ahmed.
In Punjab, the Ludhiana West's bye-election followed the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. The constituency saw a four-cornered contest involving Sanjeev Arora from the AAP, Bharat Bhushan Ashu from the Congress, Jiwn Gupta from the BJP and Parupkar Singh Ghumman from the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
24 minutes ago
- First Post
Are homestays becoming trouble-spots for Goa? Minister blames ‘people from outside'
Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte announced tighter enforcement on illegal tourist accommodations and updated the state's Homestay Policy to support rural women read more Multiple second residences and residential structures in Goa are being utilised for tourist stays by people from outside the state without informing the Goan authorities, state tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said in the assembly on Monday. He also stated that the Goa government is regularly monitoring lodgings offered on online travel agency (OTA) platforms to ensure they are legally registered with authorities. His statement came when BJP MLA Michael Lobo raised the matter in the House, claiming that homestays functioning in residential communities are causing difficulty for locals by attracting disruptive tourists. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Responding to the Zero Hour mention, Khaunte stated, 'Regular watch is kept on accommodations listed on OTAs. They are actively monitored.' He said, 'The government has ensured all inventory of hotel rooms, guesthouses and other stays linked with OTA platforms are registered with the tourism department.' 'Many second homes and residential buildings are being misused for tourist stays without informing the authorities. The people who come to these second homes and operate as tourist accommodations often do so without proper registration,' he added. 'The Goa government will work towards finding a sustainable solution that protects the interests of both residents and the tourism sector,' he assured the assembly. Later, addressing the reporters, Khaunte stated that the Goa government has updated its Homestay Policy to address critical difficulties confronting local people working in the hospitality business in the coastal state's rural regions. A direct grant of Rs 2 lakh will now be provided to eligible applicants to establish homestays, replacing the previous reimbursement-based model that posed financial challenges for many rural households, he said. 'The original policy required beneficiaries to invest first and claim the amount later, which was not practical for women in rural households,' he told reporters on the margins of the state assembly's ongoing monsoon session. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Based on their feedback, we have made the necessary changes to ensure the policy is inclusive, accessible and truly empowering,' says Khaunte. The updated legislation would apply to homestays with one to six lettable rooms within the owner's property, particularly in rural regions, according to the ministry. 'While the registration is permitted across Goa, incentives will be limited to non-coastal, non-urban zones to ensure the policy's rural focus is preserved,' added the official. Khaunte stated that the project is profoundly founded in women's empowerment, since homestays would be administered mostly by household women. 'This is not just about adding inventory to our tourism ecosystem, it's about creating livelihood opportunities, preserving cultural heritage, and giving rural women a leadership role in community-based tourism,' he said. The tourist department will launch the application procedure for taking advantage of this program once the current assembly session ends on August 8, he added. 100 homestays will be supported under the scheme in the initial phase, the minister said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD


Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls crisis in Gaza ‘genocide,' first Republican lawmaker to do so
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said that a 'genocide' is taking place in Gaza, making her the first Republican in the US Congress to use the term to describe the humanitarian crisis unfolding there. In a social media post on Monday evening, Greene wrote: 'It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that October. 7 in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,'. Her comments reflect a growing shift in tone among some Republicans, and stand in contrast to the position of most of her party, which has consistently supported Israel since the conflict began. Over the past several weeks, Greene has gradually increased her criticism of how the war is being handled. Earlier this month, she said Israel had bombed a Catholic church in Gaza and that the area's population was being wiped out. She had also tried to remove $500 million in US military aid to Israel from the annual defence spending bill. That proposal failed, with only six members of Congress supporting it two Republicans and four Democrats, including Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian American in Congress. Greene had previously clashed with Tlaib over Gaza. Two years ago, she led a failed effort to censure the Democrat for comments made at a pro-Palestinian rally, accusing her of antisemitism and support for terrorism. Greene's comments this week were also a direct response to remarks made by Florida Republican Randy Fine. In a social media post last week, Fine dismissed images of starving children in Gaza as 'Muslim terror propaganda' and wrote: 'Release the hostages… until then, starve away.' Fine, a first-term lawmaker and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has defended Israel's military actions and framed criticism of its operations as unfair. Greene rejected that position. On Sunday, she said in a post that she could 'unequivocally say' that the killings in Israel on 7 October were horrific 'just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific.' I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct 7th was horrific. Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific. This war and humanitarian crisis must end! — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 27, 2025 President Donald Trump, who was in Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course, also spoke about the crisis. He said he believed there was real starvation in Gaza and called for more aid. 'That's real starvation stuff I see it, and you can't fake that,' Trump said after meetings with European leaders. 'We have to get the kids fed,'. Though Greene made her recent comments before Trump's remarks, others in the pro-Trump faction of the Republican Party have since echoed similar concerns about the need to protect civilians. (With inputs from The New York Times)


New Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
7,418 SC, ST women allegedly raped, 558 murdered in MP between 2022–2024
BHOPAL: A total of 7,418 Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women were allegedly raped, 558 murdered, and 338 gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh between 2022 and 2024, according to information shared by the state government in the Vidhan Sabha. The data, presented in response to a question raised by Congress MLA Arif Masood, indicates that on average, at least seven SC/ST women were allegedly raped every day in the state over the past three years. Importantly, around 38% of the central Indian state's population belongs to these two marginalised sections, with SCs comprising approximately 16% and STs 22% of the total population. As many as 558 SC/ST women were allegedly murdered in Madhya Pradesh between 2022 and 2024. Of these, 411 were tribal women and 147 were from scheduled castes. The same period also saw 338 cases of gang rape against women from the two communities, 186 victims were from ST groups, while 152 were from SC communities.