21012022 first india lucknow

Mulayam’s brother-in-law, Cong’s poster girl join BJP
Lucknow: Former Sa-
majwadi Party MLA
Pramod Gupta, relative
of party patriarch Mu-
layam Singh Yadav, and
Priyanka Maurya, the
face of Congress’ ‘Lad-
ki Hoon, Lad Sakti
Hoon’ poster in Uttar
Pradesh, joined the
BJP here on Thursday.
The duo joined the
party in the presence of
former state unit presi-
dent and head of the
BJP Joining Commit-
tee, Laxmikant Bajpai.
“An important politi-
cal name and a member
of Samajwadi Party
family and former
MLA of Auraiya,
Pramod Guptaji is join-
ing the BJP family to-
day,” Bajpai said wel-
coming Gupta.
“I want to remind
that from the family of
Mulayam Singhji who
is respected by all of
us... after his ‘samdhi’
Hariom Yadavji, daugh-
ter-in-law Aparna Ya-
dav and today his ‘saad-
ho’ (brother-in-law)
Pramod Guptaji is join-
ing the BJP family and
you all know the value
of ‘saadho’ in a family,”
Bajpai said.
Along with Gupta
and Maurya, Ayodhya’s
folk singer Vandana
Mishra also joined the
BJP. Gupta was the SP
MLA from Auraiya’s
Bidhuna constituency
in 2012. He is related to
Sadhna Gupta, the sec-
ond wife of Samajwadi
Party patriarch Mulay-
am Singh Yadav. —PTI
CROSSOVER POLITICS
AKHILESH YADAV TO CONTEST FROM
SP STRONGHOLD MAINPURI
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party
chief Akhilesh Yadav will con-
test the Uttar Pradesh election
from Karhal constituency in
Mainpuri district, his first as-
sembly poll as a candidate.
‘The party president will con-
test from Karhal seat of Main-
puri,’ SP national spokesperson
Ashutosh Verma told PTI on
Thursday
. Yadav, who is an MP
from Azamgarh seat, had said on
Wednesday that he would decide
on contesting the UP polls after
talking to the people of his par-
liamentary constituency
.
The Samajwadi Party's Main-
puri district unit on Thurs-
day gave a written re-
quest to the party chief
to contest from the
Karhal seat and he
agreed, sources said.
Mainpuri has tradi-
tionally been a Sa-
majwadi Par-
ty strong-
hold. SP
f o u n d e r
MulayamSinghYadavrepresents
the Mainpuri constituency in
Parliament. In 2017 assembly
polls, SP candidate Sobran Yadav
had secured 1.04 lakh votes from
Karhal, defeating the BJP's Prem
Shakya by 38,405 votes. Reacting
to the development, the BJP said
it's a ‘misconception’ of the SP
chief that Mainpuri is a ‘safe
seat’ for him. ‘And we will clear
it,’ BJP spokesperson Rakesh
Tripathi said.
‘In Lok Sabha polls, his father
Mulayam Singh Yadav could
somehow win after the appeal of
BSP chief Mayawati. This time,
the BJP will puncture his cycle
in Karhal (Mainpuri) so that
he could not take expressway
to reach Lucknow, Tripathi
said. The Karhal seat goes
to polls on February 20, the
third phase of voting. —PTI
Akhilesh Yadav
address a press
conference at party
office in Lucknow
on Thursday.
Priyanka Maurya and Pramod Gupta join BJP in presence of Laxmi Kant Bajpai, chairman of UP
BJP’s joining committee, at BJP office in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
UTTAR PRADESH
18,554
NEW CASES
3,643
NEW CASES
IN LUCKNOW
10
NEW
DEATHS
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
IT’S YOGI v/s AZAD IN GORAKHPUR
Announcing its decision to field party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad in Gorakhpur Sadar
constituency for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) on
Thursday made it clear that it was ready to take on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the latter’s bastion
Gorakhpur Sadar is the seat
from where the BJP has
fielded CM Adityanath this time
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 71
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
Sensex ended at 59,464.62 points, which is 634.20 points or 1.06 per cent
lower from its previous day’s close. Nifty ended at 17,757.00 points, which
is 1.01 per cent or 181.40 points down from its previous day’s close. The
Nifty slumped to a low of 17,648.45 points after opening in the positive at
17,921.00 points. IT witnessed heavy selling pressure for third straight day.
The Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile was test-fired from Integrated Test
Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha on Thursday morning validating several
new indigenous systems, the Defence Research and Development Organi-
sation (DRDO) said. The agency further said, “The highly maneuverable
missile cruised at supersonic speed and all mission objectives were met”.
FROM DALAL STREET:
SENSEX ENDS 630
PTS DOWN, NIFTY
SETTLES AT 17,757
BRAHMOS MISSILE
TEST-FIRED VALIDATING
SEVERAL INDIGENOUS
SYSTEMS: DRDO
1 2
Mohd Fahad
Meerut: For Uttar
Pradesh CM Yogi Adity-
anath’s first-ever state
election next month,
the first rival was de-
clared on Thursday -
Bhim Army chief
Chandrashekhar Azad,
also a debutant. Unlike
Yogi Adityanath, who is
a five-time MP, Chan-
drashekharAzadhasn’t
fought polls before.
The Dalit leader had
declared back in No-
vember that he would
challenge Yogi Adity-
anath. Today, his Azad
Samaj Party formally
announced it, just days
after the BJP revealed
Yogi Adityanath would
contest from Gorakh-
pur Sadar.
Yogi Adityanath’s
main rival will be the
Samajwadi Party can-
didate, not announced
yet. Azad said he wants
to fight the Chief
Minister anyway, no
matter how many op-
position candi-
dates there are.
‘Need a system with no
place for discrimination’
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Thursday kicked off the
“
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahot-
sav” commemorating 75
years of India’s Inde-
pendence by stressing
the need for “a system in
which there is no place
for discrimination and a
society that stands firm-
ly on the foundation of
equality and social jus-
tice”.
He added that in last
75 years, the conversa-
tion has revolved
around “rights, fighting
for rights, fighting,
wasting time”. “Speak-
ing of rights, to some
extent, , maybe true in
any one circumstance
but forgetting one’s du-
ties completely has
played a huge role in
keeping India weak,”
he said.
Light a lamp
in the heart of
every citizen
of the country - the
lamp of duty. Togeth-
er, we will take the
country forward
—Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister
Delhi riots: In
first sentencing,
man gets five
years for arson
New Delhi: In the first
conviction in the north-
east Delhi riots case,
25-year-old Dinesh Ya-
dav on Thursday was
sentenced to five years
in jail.
Yadav was the first
person convicted in
connection with the
February 2020 violence.
Yadav was convicted
on December 7 for being
part of an unlawful as-
sembly that set a house
on fire during the vio-
lence in northeast Delhi
in February 2020.
YATI NARSINGHANAND
DENIED BAIL BY COURT
COURT REFUSES BAIL
IN BULLI BAI CASE
Haridwar: Arrested for making
derogatory remarks against
women of a particular com-
munity, Juna Akhara Maha-
mandleshwar and controversial
priest Yati Narsinghanand was
denied bail by a CJM court in
Haridwar on Thursday.
Mumbai: A Mumbai court
on Thursday rejected the bail
applications of Vishal Kumar
Jha, Shweta Singh, and Mayank
Rawat – all three of who were
accused in the controversial
‘Bulli Bai’ case and arrested by
the Mumbai Police.
3 KILLED, 25 HURT IN LAHORE
l A powerful blast on
Thursday ripped through
a crowded market where
Indian commodities are
sold in Pakistan’s cultural
capital here, killing at
least three persons and
wounding 25 others,
police said.
l According to police,
the blast took place near
the Paan Mandi in the
famous Anarkali market,
where Indian commodities
are sold. No group or
organisation has claimed
responsibility for the
blast so far.
l Lahore Deputy
Commissioner Umer
Sher Chattha said that the
explosive material was
planted in a motorcycle
which was parked outside
a bank in the area. Prime
Minister Imran Khan
condemned the blast.
Assam, Meghalaya
CMs meet Shah over
volatile border dispute
Absolute Shocker: 5 Covid
genome testing labs shut
due to paucity of funds
New Delhi: Amid the
interstate border dis-
pute between Assam
and Meghalaya, the
Chief Ministers of the
two northeastern states
met Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah in the
national capital in a bid
to resolve the long-
pending issue.
After the cabinet
meetings, the two CMs
had told the media sepa-
rately that they would
apprise the Union Home
Minister about the rec-
ommendations of the
ministerial committees
and their perspectives
abouttheinter-statebor-
derdisputesbetweenthe
two northeastern states.
A roadmap for amica-
ble settlement has also
been prepared.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar
Azad (centre) addresses a press
conference in Meerut on Thursday.
SOCIAL ACTIVISTS IN CONGRESS’S SECOND LIST
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candi-
dates, including 16 women. The list includes Poonam Pandit, who actively
participated in the farmers’ agitation against new farm laws, and Sikander
Valmiki, who quit his job at Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to dedicate himself to
the cause of Valmiki community. He had organised a protest march after
the custodial killing of Arun Valmiki, a 31-year-old Dalit sanitation
worker. More on P2
Police officials examine the site of bomb explosion in Lahore on Thursday.
New Delhi: Delays in
genome sequencing
samples from Covid pa-
tients, to identify the
strain of virus in each
case, is due to a lack of
funds for chemical rea-
gents (which is a sub-
stance added to the sam-
ple to cause a chemical
reaction), top Health
Ministry sources said.
Five labs across the
country - part of INSA-
COG, or the Indian
SARS-CoV-2 Genetics
Consortium, a network
of 38 tasked with ge-
nome sequencing - have
closed because of this,
sources said.
‘VACCINATION REDUCED DEATHS’
Deaths are significantly less in the third wave of
the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to the sec-
ond wave, and the current surge is not witnessing
increase in severe illness or death following high
vaccination uptake, the Centre said on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad
Sangma, during their meeting in New Delhi.
I am the only politician in the last five years who has spent half that time in jail because
of this government. I will not let the Chief Minister of this government go to the assembly.
That is why I am fighting against him. The opposition is welcome to fight, but I am
going to fight against him anyway —Azad told reporters

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2022
02
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First India Correspondent
Agra: Buzz was wit-
nessed at the collector-
ate in Agra on the eve
of last day for filing
nominations for the up-
coming assembly elec-
tions in Uttar Pradesh.
While the candidates
were seen visiting the
premises to fill their
nominations, each of
them seemed to claim-
ing his own victory
. The
process of filing the
nominations started
sharp at 11:30 am in the
morning and lasted till
3pm in the afternoon.
SP candidate from
North Vidhan Sabha,
Gyanendra Gautam
said that he will go to
the public and would
promise to resolve the
issue of unemploy-
ment, and is sure to win
the polls. On the other
hand, BJP’s candidate
Yogendra Upadhyay,
who is a two-time MLA
from South Vidhan Sab-
ha, said that he won his
first election by a mar-
gin of 24000 votes, the
second by 54000 and
will win by a greater
margin in the 2022
polls. He said that SP
not able to field candi-
dates because they do
not have any
.
Mukesh Rajput, a
BSP candidate from
Fatehpur Sikri, while
filing the nomination
said that he will go to
the public and seek
votes in the name of
providing education
and employment and is
sure to win.
Thakur Rautan Sin-
gh, SP RLD coalition’s
candidate from Khaira-
garh assembly, says
that after being voted
as an MLA, he will first
solve the problem of
stray animals and wa-
ter shortage in his area.
Contestants eye victory on second-last day of filing nominations

Candidates
enumerate
problems
faced by the
public, and
promise that
they would
resolve them
when voted
to power
Ratan Singh (RLD)
Gyanendra Gautam (SP) Yogendra Upadhyay (BJP) Rakesh Baghel (BSP)
READY STEADY
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader
Dhirendra Singh on
Thursday filed his
nomination for the
Uttar Pradesh assem-
bly polls from Jewar
constituency, which he
had won in the 2017
elections. The 55-year-
old Singh is known,
among others, for
his key role in getting
through the negotia-
tions with farmers for
the Greenfield Noida
International Airport
in the Gautam Buddh
Nagar district in west-
ern Uttar Pradesh. On
Thursday, he filed the
nomination as a candi-
date for Jewar Vidhan
Sabha constituency.
DHIRENDRA SINGH FILES NOMINATION
FROM JEWAR VIDHAN SABHA SEAT
Dhirendra Singh
NIRBHAYA, HATHRAS CASE LAWYER JOINS BSP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Seema
Kushwaha, a Supreme
Court lawyer and who
fought for the victim in
the ‘2012 Nirbhaya gan-
grape case in Delhi,
joined Bahujan Samaj
Party on Thursday
.
Kushwaha joined the
BSP in the presence of
the party’s national
general secretary Sat-
ish Chandra Misra here
on Thursday
.
Earlier on Thursday,
lawyer Seema Kushwa-
ha said that she is join-
ing the party to ensure
justice to the weaker
section of the society
.
Kushwahaalsofought
for justice in the rape
case in Hathras too.
She is also the found-
er of Nirbhaya Jyoti
Trust and has launched
a campaign to ensure
justice for rape victims.
The Nirbhaya rape
case had shaken the
country in 2012 when a
23-year-old paramedic
student, referred to as
Nirbhaya, was brutal-
ly gang-raped and as-
saulted by six men in a
moving bus in Delhi in
December 2012 and
was thrown out on the
road. She succumbed
to her injuries at a Sin-
gapore hospital on De-
cember 29, 2012. It took
seven years to deliver
justice to the victim.
The four convicts in
the Nirbhaya case
were hanged to death
at 5:30 a.m. in Delhi’s
Tihar jail on March 20,
2020, after a three-
judge Supreme Court
bench rejected the fi-
nal plea by the con-
victs’ lawyer. —ANI
THE LADY LAWYER JOINED THE BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY TO ENSURE JUSTICE TO THE WEAKER SECTIONS OF THE SOCIETY
Seema Kushwaha seeks blessings of BSP Supremo Mayawati
after joining BSP.
BSP RELEASES NAMES FOR THE FIRST PHASE
Miffed over denial of ticket, BJP
leader quits party, joins BSP
Lucknow: Pained
over the denial of
ticket for the upcom-
ing Assembly polls,
senior BJP leader S K
Sharma resigned
from the primary
membership of the
party and joined the
Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) on Wednesday
.
His close aide Niraj
Rawat also followed
suit.
Sharma had con-
tested the 2017 Assem-
bly elections on the
BJP ticket from Mant
constituency
.
“The BJP has de-
ceived me twice and
the party has lost its
earlier character”,
Sharma added.
Sharma said
though he wanted to
contest from Mathura
in 2017, the BJP lead-
ership compelled him
to enter the fray from
Mant and assured
him a berth in the leg-
islative council in
case he lost, this too
did not happen.
Sharma said, he
was instructed to
work in Mant and the
leadership assured
him a ticket but that
was not to be.
Sharma said he did
not seek a “single pen-
ny” from the BJP but
mentioned that he
had given enough to
the party. Now, I will
contest as the BSP
candidate from Ma-
thura, he said.
Meanwhile, alli-
ance partners Sama-
jwadi Party (SP) and
Rashtriya Lok Dal
(RLD) seem to have
locked horns over the
Mant Assembly seat.
SP’s national
spokesperson Sanjai
Lathar claimed that
the party has given
him a go ahead to con-
test from the constitu-
ency while RLD can-
didate Yogesh Nauhar
has already filed his
nomination papers
claiming that he is the
official candidate of
the alliance. —PTI
SK Sharma
Cong ditched me, Ladki Hoon
campaign is eyewash: Maurya
Vishal Srivastav
Lucknow: DrPriyanka
Maurya’slittledaughter
is still in awe of Con-
gress General Secretary
PriyankaGandhiVadra.
She often chants the
‘Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti
Hoon’ slogan. Dr Mau-
rya has shared her
daughter’s playful
chanting of the slogan
on social media, but
with a word of caution.
She has accused the
Congress of undue
haste in the proper
ticket distribution pro-
cess and of giving tick-
ets at whim, not on
merit.
Maurya, who hails
from the Sarojini Na-
gar constituency of
Lucknow, was the vice-
president of the Con-
gress women’s wing.
She shot to fame na-
tionally when she fea-
tured on banners and
posters of the party’s
Ladki Hoon Ladki Sak-
ti Hoon campaign.
Just days after that
shot at limelight, Mau-
rya joined BJP ranks
on Thursday. She says
she did so because the
Congress is “fooling
people”.
“Congress is fooling
people in the name of
women-centric ap-
proach. They are just
using it as election
gimmick and nothing
more. If they really
cared about women,
women should have
been given preference
in ticket distribution. I
am a deserving candi-
date, even the party
high command agreed
to that, but still some-
one else has been
handed the ticket in
my constituency Saro-
jini Nagar. The party is
against OBCs as well,”
she said.
Asked why she
chose to go with the
BJP, she said, “They’re
taking some good
steps for development
and I will have more to
do in the BJP.”
Accusing the Con-
gress of ditching her,
she said, “I was their
face on posters and
videos of the cam-
paign, but I didn’t get
the due I deserved. I
was used by the party
for its benefits. Rest
everything in the
name of women is eye-
wash.”
While the BJP is
hailing the new en-
trant, political pundits
are calling it a master-
stroke as Maurya has
been a popular figure
of late and if she
stands against her
own party, it gives the
BJP greater credibili-
ty at the expense of the
Congress.
UP BJP Joining Committee chairman Laxmikant Bajpai greets
former Congress leader Priyanka Maurya as she joins the
party, in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CONG WORKER
MELTS DOWN
FOR NOT BEING
GIVEN TICKET
Failing to get a Con-
gress ticket, a party
worker who came to file
her nomination as an
independent candidate
from Bulandshahr
Sadar seat couldn’t
hide her disappoint-
ment and broke down
in tears.Geeta Rani
Sharma shared her
grief with media and
said her father, who
was associated with
Congress for 30 years,
gave his all to the party.
She said she took a
large number of women
to the Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra’s rally in Anoop-
shahr but her work was
not recognized. Sharma
suggested that party
tickets should be given
on the basis of a survey
of who’s done what.
She also named another
party worker in Sikan-
darabad, who too, she
said, did not get a ticket
despite his diligence
towards the party.
Ex-minister
Uma Kiran
expelled from
SP for 6 years
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party on Thursday ex-
pelled former minister
in the state cabinet Uma
Kiran for six years for
anti-party activities.
The development was
announced by SP dis-
trict president Pramod
Tyagi.
Uma Kiran was al-
legedly demanding par-
ty ticket from Purkazi
seat and was miffed at
not being given it.
She was given a ticket
from the seat by Azad
Samaj Party (K) led by
Chandra Shekhar
Aazad and was also
seen in a press confer-
ence with him.
Uma Kiran became a
MLA in 2002 from
Charthawal reserved
seat from BSP ticket,
later she joined Sama-
jwadi Party and became
a minister, she also lost
polls in 2007 from
Charthawal seat. —PTI
Uma Kiran
Social workers get prominence in
Cong’s 2nd list of poll contestants
Lucknow: The Con-
gress on Thursday re-
leased its second list of
41 candidates, includ-
ing 16 women. The list
includes the name of
former international
shooter Poonam Pandit,
who has been fielded
from Syana.
Pandit rose to promi-
nence during the farm-
ers’ agitation against
three agriculture laws.
She actively participat-
ed in the stir.
From the Sahibabad
seat, the party has field-
ed Sangeeta Tyagi, the
wife of late Congress
leader Rajiv Tyagi who
passed away due to a
heart attack soon after
participating in a tele-
vision debate.
Sangeeta Tyagi had
filed an intervention ap-
plication in the Su-
preme Court in connec-
tion with the Sudar-
shan TV case, seeking
to assist the court on
the larger issue of “hate
speeches” by television
anchors.
From Nawabganj, the
Congress has fielded
Usha Gangwar, a for-
mer president of the
zila parishad and a
known Kurmi leader.
She had quit the Bahu-
jan Samaj Party (BSP)
and joined the Congress
after Priyanka Gandhi
launched the pary’s
“Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti
Hoon” campaign.
The list also includes
Sikander Valmiki from
the Agra Cantonment
(SC) seat. Valmiki is the
district president of the
Akhil Bharatiya Val-
miki Mahasabha and
the president of the
Karamchari Sangh of
the UP Jal Nigam.
He quit his job to ded-
icate himself to the
cause of his communi-
ty. During the Hathras
rape episode, he had led
a candlelight march
and was suspended sub-
sequently
. —PTI
VIKRAM SAINI FACES IRE OF PEOPLE DURING
ELECTION CAMPAIGN, FORCED TO RETURN
BJP MLA Vikram
Saini faced the ire of
people in Munwarpur
village here who forced
him to return to his car
and leave the venue.
The villagers over there
raised slogans against
Saini, who had visited
the village on Wednes-
day as part of election
campaigning.
In a video of the inci-
dent which has gone
viral on social media
platforms, the Khatauli
MLA can be seen get-
ting back to his car in
anger after the protest.
The Khatauli MLA
later told reporters that
those who opposed
his visit were under
the influence of alcohol
during his visit.
Uttar Pradesh goes to
polls in seven phases
beginning Feb 10. —PTI
Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi and father Badrinath Singh, and
their lawyer Seema Kushwaha show the victory sign after the
convicts were hanged till death after a 7-year-long legal battle,
in New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI
Poonam Pandit
Geeta Rani Sharma
Vikram Saini

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
Lucknow: The state capital saw a huge number of
fresh Covid cases on Thursday — 3,643 — which
was more than double the next-highest number
reported in any UP district, 1,684 in Gautam Budh
Nagar. Two deaths were also reported in Lucknow in
the last 24 hours. Overall, UP recorded 18,554 fresh
cases and 10 deaths. Two of the deaths were report-
ed from Ghaziabad district. Lucknow now has 17,829
active cases while UP has 97,329 active cases.
LUCKNOW REPORTS 3,643 NEW COVID
CASES, 2 DEATHS
CS MISHRA: NEED
BETTER PLAN FOR
BETTER RESULTS
NO TICKET FROM SP IN SIGHT, IMRAN
MASOOD TO STILL STAY WITH SP
Lucknow:Chief Sec-
retary Durga Shankar
Mishra on Thursday
during his review of the
Dept of Medical Health
and Family Welfare said
that there was a need
to prepare a roadmap
in order to get better
results of the schemes
being run by various
dept in the state.He
said that programs like
registration of births
deaths linking of Aad-
har, awareness about
Black fever, should be
run in mission mode.
Lucknow: Imran Masood, former Cong general
secretary who quit the Cong to seek election ticket
from the Samajwadi
Party, will stay with SP
even after being denied
a ticket. Masood on
Thursday met Akhilesh
Yadav, who assured
him of addressing all
his grievances. Imran
Masood had been hoping to get ticket but it was
not to be, following which speculations were rife
of him switching to BSP.
EC NOTIFICATION
FOR UP PHASE 2
POLLS
Lucknow: UP Chief
Electoral Officer Ajay
Kumar Shukla has in-
formed that notification
for the second phase of
Assembly polls will be
issued on Jan 21, with
which the process of fil-
ing nomination papers
for 55 assembly seats
of 9 districts including
Saharanpur, Bijnor,
Moradabad, Sambhal,
Rampur, Amroha,
Badaun, Bareilly and
Shahjahanpur will com-
mence. 9 of these seats
are reserved for SC.
MP Sanjay Singh while addressing the media in Lucknow.
PV Sindhu, Prannoy
enter Syed Modi
quarterfinals
All the old loans of the farmers of UP will be forgiven: AAP
FREE ELECTRICITY TO
FARMERS:AAPPROMISE
PV Sindhu at Syed Modi int’l tournament in Lucknow.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Two-time
Olympic medallist
PV Sindhu hardly
broke any sweat but
HS Prannoy had to
toil hard as the two
Indian shuttlers pro-
gressed to the wom-
en’s and men’s sin-
gles quarterfinals of
the Syed Modi Inter-
national Super 300
tournament on
Thursday
.
Top seed Sindhu
took just 33 minutes
to get the better of
American Lauren
Lam 21-16 21-13 in
her second-round
match, while fifth
seed Prannoy staved
off a stiff challenge
from compatriot Pri-
yanshu Rajawat be-
fore prevailing 21-11
16-21 21-18 at the BBD
indoor stadium.
Sindhu, a former
world champion, will
take on sixth-seeded
Thai shuttler Supa-
nida Katethong in
the last-eight stage
in a repeat of the In-
dia Open Super 500
semifinals.
Prannoy, a former
top 10 player, will
clash with France’s
Arnaud Merkle, who
ended India’s Kar-
tikey Gulshan Ku-
mar’s campaign with
a 21-8 21-12 win in
another second-
round match.
In other results,
Aakarshi Kashyap
and Malvika Bansod
have set up an excit-
ing quarterfinal
clash against each
other after notching
up straight game
wins over Sai Utteji-
tha Rao Chukka and
Prerana Neeluri re-
spectively
. While Aa-
karshi beat Sai 21-9
21-6, Malvika defeat-
ed Prerana 21-10 21-8
in two lop-sided con-
tests. —PTI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A war of
words broke out be-
tween Samajwadi Party
chief Akhilesh Yadav
and former party MLA
Pramod Gupta who
jumped ship to the saf-
fron camp on Thursday
.
Brother-in-law of ex-
Uttar Pradesh chief
minister Mulayam Sin-
gh Yadav, Gupta joined
the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) in the after-
noon and accused Akh-
ilesh Yadav of hating
“Samajwadis” and in-
ducting criminals to
the party
.
Speaking to media
Gupta said, “Akhilesh
Ji hates ‘Samajwadis’
in SP. One by one, he
has cornered everyone
and kept only flatterers
around in the party. He
does not like people
who work on the
ground. No one has
ever won with a margin
of over 18,000 votes
from the Bidhuna seat
except me. I was denied
ticket first up.”
Akhilesh had later
reacted to the statement
with a taunt, saying he
was “grateful” to the
BJP for ending SP’s
“parivaarwaad”. Talk-
ing about the reason
behind joining the BJP
ahead of the Assembly
elections, he said that
he liked the honest im-
age of CM Yogi. I liked
the policies of the govt.
This is why I joined the
BJP,” Gupta said. Apart
from Gupta, former
Cong leader Priyanka
Maurya on Thursday
joined the BJP ahead of
UP polls. —ANI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a grue-
some accident, three
people were killed
while one got grievous-
ly injured when an
overspeeding sedan
rammed into a man
standing by the road-
side. Those dead have
been identified as Man-
ish Dubey, Ram Nivas
Mohommad Wahid,
residents of Lucknow
and Kannauj.
The intensity of the
accident can be gauged
by the fact that the po-
lice had to bring in cut-
ters to retrieve the driv-
er from the wagon.
Akhilesh Singh, ACP
Hazratganj said that at
around 11 am on Thurs-
day, a speeding car be-
longing to Puneet Mo-
tors, carrying three
employees of the show-
room was going to a
customer’s place for a
test drive.
It rammed into a di-
vider at 1090 crossing.
In the accident, Wa-
heed, a resident of Kan-
nauj district, who was
waiting to meet up with
his friend at the inter-
section was fatally hit.
He added that soon after
receiving information
about the crash, police
reached the spot and
with the help of locals,
removed two occupants
of the car, Manish
Dubey and Arun Pan-
dey who work as cus-
tomer advisors in
Puneet Motors and sent
them to civil hospital.
The body have been
sent for post-mortem.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Aam Aadmi
Party’s Rajya Sabha MP
Sanjay Singh made a
big announcement of
waiving all the loans of
farmers while announc-
ing Arvind Kejriwal’s
guarantee for farmers
in UP.
He said that no other
political party can give
the guarantee of Kejri-
wal given to the farm-
ers. Free electricity to
farmers, waived all old
bills, guarantee of mini-
mum support price,
waived all old loans of
farmers, payment of
sugarcane within 24
hours,paymentof grain
produce within 24
hours, Kejriwal to pay
arrears of sugarcane
within 24 hours . He also
announced the guaran-
tee on Thursday, MP
Sanjay Singh made this
important announce-
ment in a press confer-
ence with Aam Aadmi
Party’s state president
Sabhajit Singh.
PROMISES BY AAP
The 2022 edition of
the marquee badmin-
ton tournament is
being sponsored by
companies like Adani
Group, Dream 11 and
Balrampur Chini Mills.
Navneet Sehgal, IAS
and president of UP
Badminton Asso-
ciation appreciated
the patronage of big
corporate names to
the tournament.
SPONSORED BY
BIG CORPORATES
Varanasi: The Banaras
Hindu University has
started a postgraduate
programme in ‘Hindu
Dharma’ and according
to the varsity
, the course
is the first of its kind in
the country
.
Professor V K Shukla,
who is the varsity’s rec-
tor, said that this pro-
gramme will help in
making the world aware
of many unknown as-
pectsof ‘HinduDharma’
and take its teachings to
more and more people.
He said that this would
be the first such course
in the country
.
The course will be
conducted in collabora-
tion with the depart-
mentsof philosophyand
religion, Sanskrit and
ancient Indian history
,
culture and archaeology
of the faculty of arts of
the ‘Bharat Adhyayan
Kendra’.
Forty-five students,
including a foreign stu-
dent, have taken admis-
sion in the first session
of the course, Shukla
said after inaugurating
the postgraduate pro-
gramme on Tuesday
.
“Hinduism Brah-
manism,” “Hindu of
Foreign Origin” and
“The antiquity and the
meaning of the term
Hindu.” These are sub-
jects of some of the lec-
tures due to be attended
by students in the inau-
gural week of the
launch of a new course,
M. A Hindu Studies, by
the Banaras Hindu Uni-
versity (BHU).
Sadashiv Kumar
Divedi, the coordinator
of the ‘Bharat Ad-
hyayan Kendra’, said
that this two-year
course will have
four semesters and 16
papers. —PTI
Banaras Hindu University starts postgraduate course on ‘Hindu Dharma’
NEW EDUCATION POLICY

45 students,
including a
foreign student,
have taken ad-
mission in
the course,
Shukla said
BHU students celebrate the central government’s announcement
of the New Education Policy. —FILE PHOTO
Akhilesh hates Samajwadis,
likes criminals: Pramod Gupta
Three killed, one injured as car
rams into footpath at 1090
BJP Joining Committee chairman Laxmikant Bajpai welcomes
former SP MLA Pramod Gupta to the BJP in Lucknow on Thursday.
Police rescue in progress after the road accident at 1090 crossing
in Lucknow on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
People standing in a queue for Covid19 test at Ram
Manohar Lohiya Hospital in Lucknow on Thursday.
—PHOTO
BY
SUMIT
KUMAR
PENSION OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT: AKHILESH
Lucknow: Samajwadi
Party (SP) president
Akhilesh Yadav on
Thursday said that if
his party comes to pow-
er in Uttar Pradesh, it
will restore the old pen-
sion scheme, benefitting
lakhs of state govern-
ment employees who
have been agitating for
the same for long.
“On coming to power,
the Samajwadi Party
will restore the old pen-
sion scheme, which will
benefit the teachers, em-
ployees and officers of
the state government. I
have already held dis-
cussions with the em-
ployees and economic
experts and have found
out that we will be able
to arrange funds for it
by creating a corpus,”
he told reporters here.
“We will seek the sup-
port of the state govern-
ment employees in the
upcoming Assembly
election on the issue of
pension,” the SP chief
said. The leaders of the
employees’ union have
met several times and
made a demand to this
effect. The BJP govern-
ment had brought a new
manual through which
the employees appoint-
ed after April 2005 were
denied this support and
security on retirement,
Yadav said, adding that
restoring the pension
scheme will be part
of his party’s poll
manifesto.
The employees have
held agitations demand-
ing the restoration of
the old pension scheme.
They have alleged that
thenewpensionscheme
depends on the share
market and therefore,
has uncertainty at-
tached to it.
According to Rajya
Karamchari Sanyukt
Parishad president J N
Tiwari, the number of
employees appointed
after 2005 is around 10
lakh and most of them
are teachers. The SP
president also said his
party is against privati-
sation and termed out-
sourcing a wrong prac-
tice that denies the
poor and the deprived
sections of the society
their rights. “The
rights given by the
Constitution of B R
Ambedkar are being
snatched by outsourc-
ing. The SP is thinking
about this as well, wait
for the manifesto,” he
said, adding that the
party will release its
manifesto after the BJP,
“which had been work-
ing with a double en-
gine for the last over
four years and practis-
ing discrimination”.
When his views were
sought on Pramod Gup-
ta, another relative of
Mulayam Singh Yadav
who joined the BJP on
Thursday after Aparna
Yadav, the SP chief took
a swipe at the ruling
party, saying it should
be happy now. “The BJP
should be happy about
this. The allegation of
parivarvaad that it lev-
elled against us, at least
it is ending our pari-
varvaad and I thank the
BJP for this,” he said.
The saffron party
,
which has been opposed
todynasticpolitics,wants
tomoveforwardbyhatch-
ing conspiracies, the for-
mer Uttar Pradesh chief
minister alleged. —PTI
Akhilesh Yadav making the poll promise at a presser in Lucknow
on Thursday. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
According to Rajya
Karamchari Sanyukt
Parishad president Hari
Kishor Tiwari, the number
of employees appointed
after 2005 is around 10
lakh and most of them are
teachers.The employ-
ees have been holding
agitations demanding
the restoration of the old
pension scheme. They
have alleged that the new
pension scheme depends
on the share market and
therefore, has uncertainty
attached to it.
EMPLOYEES ELATED

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 71
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
If with a pure mind a
person speaks or acts,
happiness follows them like
a never-departing shadow.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Hon’ble SC’s decision to uphold the
constitutionality of 27% 10%
reservations for OBCs and EWS
respectively in #NEET under the
AIQ quota is a welcome decision.
It vindicates the vision of PM @
narendramodi’s govt. of creating a new
paradigm of social justice in the country.
Smriti Z Irani
@smritiirani
Hearty congratulations to world’s
biggest party @BJP4India successful
national president of @JPNadda ji
on completing a successful two-year
tenure. Your role is exemplary in
motivating the workers for service and
in the excellence of the organization. I
wish that the organization continues to
flourish under your leadership.
TOP TWEETS
ONE JINX BROKEN,
YOGI SET TO BREAK
ANOTHER IN UP
ASSEMBLY ELECTION
ational Capital Re-
gion’sNoidawasano-
go place for any sit-
ting Chief Minister
of Uttar Pradesh as it
was believed to be jinxed. The su-
perstition was that any chief
minister visiting Noida will
bring bad luck and make his/her
re-electiondoubtful.Oversucces-
sive yearsthe jinx gained cre-
dence asVeer Bahadur Singh
in1998andNDTiwariin1989lost
the CM’s post. Subsequent chief
ministers, including Kalyan Sin-
gh, Rajnath Singh and Mulayam
Singh, avoided visiting Noida.
During his tenure as CM, Akh-
ilesh Yadav visited Ghaziabad
but did not go to Noida. Only
Mayawatidismissedthesupersti-
tion and became the first CM in
13 years to visit Noida as CM in
2007. After her it is Yogi Adity-
anath who has visited Noida
without any fear.
The other superstition which
Yogi Adityanath is set to break
is about the re-election of a
chief minister for a second
term. In the past, no UP chief
minister has achieved that feat.
N
t times technolo-
gy can be a nui-
sance too. Like the
5G technology
which was to be
deployed in the US from
Wednesday without taking
some key stakeholders into
confidence. Or, should we say
without alerting them about
the chaos the technology may
cause to the aviation sector.
5G is the fifth generation mo-
bile technology (after 1G, 2G,
3G and 4G) that “is designed
to connect everyone and eve-
rything” with the capacity to
“enable next generation user
experiences” with high
speeds and superior reliabil-
ity
. That’s really good for mo-
bile services but for the avia-
tion industry it is a bane as
experienced by Delta Airlines
and American Airlines. The
US Federal Aviation Admin-
istration warned on January
14 that the new technology
could interfere with radar al-
timeters which measure an
airplane’s height above the
ground, especially during
low visibility landings.
The US auctioned the C-
band radio spectrum band for
5G technology in 2021 and this
has caused worry in the avia-
tionsectorasitmaywithradar
altimeter range. The frequen-
cy range auctioned by the US--
-3.7 GHz to 3.98 GHz---comes
close to the 4.2 GHz-4.4 GHz
range used by the air planes.
The US case is different from
that of most European coun-
tries and South Korea which
useaslightlydifferentairwave
for their 5G technology
.
The US spectrum has now
spooked airlines, including
Air India, which cancelled
their flights between the US
and India. A temporary relief
has come in the form of some
“robust” altimeters installed
which are installed in large-
bodied Boeing 777 and 787. In
others, altimeters have to be
retrofitted or replaced.
THE 5G SPECTRUM GLITCH
WHICH HAS HIT AVIATION
US Federal Aviation
Administration
warned on January 14
that new technology could
interfere with radar
altimeters which measure
an airplane’s height
above the ground,
especially during low
visibility landings
A
THE SEASON OF
‘AAYA RAM GAYA RAM’
POLITICS IS BACK!
ver watched Anwar
Maqsood’s Loose Talk? His
was one of the most popular
Pakistani TV political satire
across the subcontinent, im-
mortalized by Moin Akhtar,
who appeared in over 350 epi-
sodes playing as many char-
acters in mock interviews
taken by Anwar. In one of the
most acerbic, stinging com-
ments, Akhtar distorts
Shakespeare: “Whoever
stands in an election has
nothing to do with quom (na-
tion).” With due apologies to
the ardent admirers of our
democracy and the thick-
skinned paramours of the
“will of the people,” let’s
learn to get our head around
the latest ‘Aaya Rams and
Gaya Rams.’
More than a dozen BJP
MLAs, including three sen-
ior ministers -- Swami Pras-
ad Maurya, Dara Singh
Chauhan, Dharam Pal Saini
– have resigned the Yogi Adi-
tyanath-led BJP dispensation
in Uttar Pradesh. Many ana-
lysts have interpreted their
exit as a sad commentary on
Yogi’s five-year governance.
That could be partly true.
These ‘gentlemen of nerve’
said goodbye to BJP after en-
joying five years in power
and landed in Akhilesh Ya-
dav-led Samajwadi Party
.
Maurya was gross and
grandiose: “ab dekhta hu kya
hota hai….ham jis party me
hote hain vohi Sarkar banati
hai.”Maurya comes from east
UP, Poorvanchal, a region
known to be the expressway
to power in Lucknow. His
companions had more or less
the same attitude. Most of
these leaders had joined BJP
after leaving Mayawati’s BSP
in the previous polls in 2017.
The other example came
from Punjab. Congress MLA
Balwinder Singh Laddi
joined the BJP and days later
joined back Congress and
was quoted as saying, “I have
come back to Congress as my
workers compelled me not to
go with the BJP. I have ac-
cepted their wish and joined
back my old party
.” His party
projected Laddi’s revelation
as an achievement while de-
nying him the ticket. In Goa,
the goings and comings con-
tinue as a shining mascot of
the state’s political scenario.
What do you make out of
these instances? Would peo-
ple, being represented by
those leaders trying to make
a complete circle of their po-
litical tour through all major
parties, embrace them? One
wouldn’t be surprised if they
are back in the reckoning
when the results are out. Be-
cause people love their
castes, sub-castes and reli-
gions, we could see a repeat
of “the more things change,
the more they stay the same.”
The rage of the moralistic
debate on turncoats began in
1967 a year after Haryana was
born. Gaya Lal, a member of
the Assembly from Hodal in
Haryana, won elections as an
independent and joined the
Indian National Congress. He
changed his political loyal-
ties thrice in a fortnight, first
by defecting from the Con-
gress to the United Front,
then defecting back to INC,
and then going back all over
again to United Front. When
Gaya Lal quit the United
Front and join the INC, then
INC leader Rao Birender Sin-
gh, who had orchestrated
Gaya Lal’s defection to INC,
brought him to a press confer-
ence and declared “Gaya Ram
is now Aya Ram.” The debate
has remained inconclusive as
elections have come and gone
with the law on defections
making little sense for the
fair-weather friends turning
foes in elections.
A flipside of political deser-
tionsisthestateof theparties
– ruling as well as in the op-
position – that tend to rely
more on the migrant leaders.
In Punjab AAP, for example,
at least 56 nominees out of 104
already announced by the
party are ‘imports’ with 13 of
them having joined the party
only a few days ago. Grass-
roots AAP workers have ac-
cused the party of ignoring
their claims for the ticket.
Then, in Uttar Pradesh,
SP’s Akhilesh Yadav is said
to be facing the problem of
plenty following ‘migrations’
into the party
. With each one
of them expecting a ticket,
the grassroots workers ac-
tively involved with the party
for years feel let down at the
time of ticket distribution.
Democracy is the voice of
thepeople,whoarelikelytobe
influenced by those who aim
at petty short-term and re-
gional gains. In numerous in-
stances, parties with almost
impossible goals to achieve
havepromisedtheearth.Loan
waivers, freebies and caste
quotas are some of them. The
migrations from one party to
another,daysbeforeelections,
seem to justify politics’ “ulti-
mate” aim of usurping power.
Such “imports” may be no-
gainer for parties that seek to
thrive on them and could re-
sult in a conspiracy-driven
battle where settling personal
scores would overtake the
contestof democraticideas.It
couldalsomeansubversionof
theentiredemocraticprocess.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
E
PRASHANT SAXENA
The writer is a political analyst
and freelance journalist
A flipside of political
desertions is the state of the
parties – ruling as well as in
the opposition – that tend to
rely more on the migrant
leaders. In Punjab AAP, for
example, at least 56
nominees out of 104 already
announced by the party are
‘imports’ with 13 of them
having joined the party only
a few days ago. Grassroots
AAP workers have accused
the party of ignoring their
claims for the ticket
In Uttar Pradesh, SP’s
Akhilesh Yadav is said
to be facing the problem
of plenty following
‘migrations’ into the party.
With each one of them
expecting a ticket, the
grassroots workers
actively involved with
the party for years
feel let down at the
time of ticket
distribution

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INDIA
06
New Delhi: Amid the
surge in Covid-19 cases
in India, the Central
government on Thurs-
day said Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Delhi and
poll-bound UP are
among the 'States of
Concern'. Central
health teams have been
sent to these states and
situation was reviewed,
Union Health Secretary
Rajesh Bhushan said.
In terms of active
Covid-19 cases, Maha-
rashtra, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
West Bengal, UP,
Gujarat, Odisha, Delhi
Rajasthan are the
top ten states. Asia is
witnessing a sharp
surge in global contri-
bution from 7.9 % to
around 18.4 % in just
four weeks, Bhushan
said. —PTI
POLL-BOUNDUP,MAHA,DELHI,AMONG
COVID-19‘STATESOFCONCERN’:CENTRE
A healthcare worker inoculates a senior citizen with precautionary
dose of COVID-19 vaccine, in Chennai. —PHOTO BY ANI
MAHA SCHOOLS
TO REOPEN
FROM JAN 24
Mumbai: Maha
School Edu Min Var-
sha Gaikwad said that
schools for Classes
1 to 9 in state can be
reopened for offline
classroom sessions
from January 24.CM
Uddhav Thackeray
has approved a re-
lated proposal sent to
him by school educa-
tion department.
HIGHLIGHTS
l PM Modi speaks to
Parkash Singh Badal,
enquires about his health
l COVID-19 jab for
children below 15 yrs
to begin after scientific
evidence: Centre
l Vaccination in India
surpasses 160 cr mark’
WILL REVIEW COVID-19 CURBS IN
K’TAKA WITH EXPERTS: CM BOMMAI
Bengaluru:Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said
that he would review restrictions imposed in the
state on Friday.“On Friday I will hold a meeting with
experts. We will review all restrictions. The number
of Covid infections is going up but there is no load
on hospitals and no admissions. We have to pay
more attention towards OPD (outpatient depart-
ment),” Bommai said in Bengaluru. —ANI
Chandigarh: The AAP
has announced that its
chief ministerial face,
Bhagwant Mann, will
contest the
Punjab As-
s e m b l y
elections
from the
Dhuri con-
stituency in Sangrur
district.
“We are quite sure
that the people of Dhuri
will shower their love
on him this time too,”
AAP co-in-charge Ra-
ghav Chadha said on
Thursday, adding that
Mann, currently the
MP from Sangrur, had
won most of the votes
in Dhuri, which falls
under the constituency
that he won in the 2014
and 2019 Lok Sabha
elections.
When asked if Mann
would fight from a sec-
ond Assembly seat also,
Chadha said he would
win from any seat in
Punjab. Chadha said
AAP was the only party
to contest the polls with
a chief ministerial face
as the Congress, SAD,
BJP and Sanyukt Samaj
Morcha “were not in po-
sition” to declare their
chief ministerial candi-
dates.
Mann, who was not
present at the time of
the announcement, was
busy campaigning in
the field, according to
the AAP co-in-charge.
Dhuri is among nine
Assembly segments
that constitute Sangrur
LS constituency which
Mann is representing
for the second time.
Lehra, Sunam, Dirba,
Barnala, Malerkotla,
Sangrur, Bhadaur
Mehal Kalan are other
segments. —ANI
AAP’sCMfaceBhagwant
ManntocontestfromDhuri
Dhuriisamongthe9AssemblysegmentsthatformSangrurLSseat
New Delhi: The
BJPon Thursday an-
nounced that Goa
Chief Minister
P r a m o d
S a w a n t
will con-
test the
state As-
sembly polls
from Sanquelim con-
stituency while Depu-
ty CM Manohar Aj-
gaonkar will be pitted
from Margao seat.
BJP Gen SecyArun
Singh Goa poll in-
charge Devendra Fad-
navis released a list of
34 candidates. —ANI
CM Pramod Sawant to contest
from SANQUELIM IN GOA
‘CONCRETE OFFER
MADE TO CONG’
SENA’s RAUT
SUPPORTS UTPAL
New Delhi: The TMC
rebutted Cong leader
P Chidambaram on
his comment on “no
concrete offer for an
alliance” for Goa polls.
“I met him in Delhi in
December, Varma said.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
leader Sanjay Raut
came out in support of
Utpal Parrikar after BJP
refused him an election
ticket. Utpal is Ex-CM
Manohar Parrikar’s son.
New Delhi: BJP on
Thursday announced
names of can-
didates for
59 out of 70
seats in Ut-
tarakhand for upcom-
ing assembly polls.
CM Pushkar Singh
Dhami will contest the
upcoming elections
from Khatima. Dhami
is two-time MLA
from Khatima con-
stituency. In the
first list issued by
the party
, there
are six women
candidates.
—ANI
U’khand polls: BJP declares 59
candidates, drops 10 Sitting MLAs
ASSEMBLY POLLS 2022
contest the
Punjab As-
s e m b l y
elections
from the
Dhuri con-
PUNJAB
We do not want to tie
Mann saheb down to
any one place, so we
have carefully chosen
his constituency. We
want to make the
maximum utilisation
of the capabilities of
Bhagwant Mann in the
Assembly polls.
—Raghav Chadha,
AAP co-in-charge
P r a m o d
S a w a n t
will con-
test the
state As-
sembly polls
GOA
GOA
HIGHLIGHTS
l Chhattisgarh: Nearly
70% voter turnout in
general, by-elections
for panchayat bodies
l Last date of
registration for
‘Pariksha pe Charcha
2022’ extended till
January 27
l Amar Jawan Jyoti flame
to be merged with
National War Memorial
flame on Friday
l VVIP Chopper Scam:
Michel at ‘flight risk’:
CBI to Delhi HC
names of can-
didates for
59 out of 70
U’KHAND
U’KHAND
EX CM TRIVENDRA
RAWAT OFFERS
NOT TO CONTEST
Dehradun: In a letter to
BJP President JP Nadda,
Former Uttarakhand CM
Trivendra Singh Rawat
asked him to accept his
request for not contesting
the polls so he could de-
vote all his time towards
working to ensure the
party’s victory.
We have always
believed in a good
and stable govern-
ment. From Par-
rikar ji to Sawant
ji, we can see the
journey of Goa.
—Devendra Fadnavis,
Senior BJP leader
Pushkar Singh Dhami
Pramod Sawant
Bhagwant Mann
Anita Hada
New Delhi: The Con-
gress party has given a
very clear message that
CM Charanjit Singh
Channi is the face of
the party in the elec-
tions and if the Con-
gress govt is formed
then he will become the
CM. Despite this, Sidhu
is not understanding or
is pretending not to un-
derstand. Sunil Jakhar,
the second contender
for the chief minister’s
post, has understood
this, and that is why he
did not contest from
Abohar seat this time.
On his behest, his
nephew Sandeep
Jakhar has been given
a ticket from that seat.
Deputy CM Sukhjinder
Randhawa is contest-
ing the election, but he
knows that he is out of
the race for the post of
CM.
It is Sidhu alone, who
is stubborn. He along
with Sunil Jakhar and
Sukhjinder Randhawa,
put pressure on the par-
ty high command, after
which the party did not
announce Channi’s
name. As such, Con-
gress never contests
elections by declaring
its chief ministerial
candidate. This has
been the tradition of
the BJP and other re-
gional parties. Then in
an informal conversa-
tion with reporters af-
ter a recently held TV
channel’s programme,
Congress’s media in-
charge Randeep Sur-
jewala said that there
are two faces from the
Congress side, one who
is the CM and the other
of the State President.
In this sense, there are
two faces in Punjab,
Channi and Sidhu.
But now Congress
has ‘expelled’ Sidhu
through a video. In this
video released from the
Twitter handle of Con-
gress, film actor Sonu
Sood is telling people
that such a person can-
not be the CM, who him-
self says that he should
be made the CM. “In-
stead of that, such a
person should be made
the CM, who is a back-
bencher. It is better if
the one who is behind is
brought and made CM,”
Sood said. In this entire
video, Channi is being
shown alone. He has
also been a backbench-
er and suddenly he has
been brought from be-
hind and made to sit on
the CM’s chair. So the
message is clear.
But Sidhu repeatedly
fails to understand such
a clear message and is
trying to stop that de-
velopment from hap-
pening. He also does not
understand that the
party high command is
proceeding on the basis
of vote arithmetic and
that Sidhu’s ambition
has no meaning in that.
Channi is the only hope
of Congress in Punjab.
Secondly, Congress
leaders also understand
that once the AAP’s feet
are established in Pun-
jab, then Congress will
be wiped clean from
Punjab like Delhi.
That’s why Congress is
not coming under pres-
sure from Sidhu or any
other Jat or Jat Sikh
leader. The sooner Sid-
hu understands this,
the better it will be for
his political future.
Why does Sidhu not understand the message of the party?
BEING LOUD CLEAR
Charanjit Singh Channi Navjot Singh Sidhu
New Delhi: Union Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on
Thursday, authorised
the release of Rs 47,541
crore advance instal-
ment of tax devolution
to states, which is in
addition to regular de-
volution for January
this year.
“This is in line with
the commitment of
Government of India
to strengthen the
hands of states to ac-
celerate their capital
and developmental ex-
penditure to amelio-
rate the deleterious ef-
fects of Covid-19 pan-
demic,” a finance min-
istry statement said.
Thus, states would re-
ceive a total of Rs
95,082 crore or double
their respective enti-
tlement during the
month of January
2022, it said. —ANI
CENTRE RELEASES `95,082 CR TO
STATES AS JAN TAX DEVOLUTION
Nirmala Sitharaman
'MERIT SHOULD BE SOCIALLY CONTEXTUALISED':
SC UPHOLDS 27% OBC QUOTA IN NEET
AVANTHA GROUP
LOAN CASE: COURT
DENIES BAIL TO
RANA KAPOOR
MURDER CASE:
INTERIMPROTECTION
TOWBCMMAMATA’S
POLL AGENT
New Delhi: A Delhi
court dismissed bail
application
of former
MD CEO
of YES
Bank, Rana
Kapoor,
in a money laundering
case related to wrongful
loss of Rs 466.51 crore
to the bank. Special
Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal
denied relief to Kapoor,
noting that allegations
against him were most
grave in nature. —PTI
New Delhi: SC granted
interim protection from
arrest to TMC leader
SK Supiyan, who was
the election agent of
CM Mamata Banerjee in
Nandigram, in connec-
tion with a murder case
being probed by CBI.
A bench of Justices L
Nageswara Rao and B
R Gavai was hearing an
appeal filed by Supiyan
challenging an order of
the Calcutta HC which
rejected his anticipatory
bail plea. —PTI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said
that reservation for backward classes is not at
odds with merit but furthers
its distributive impact while
upholding the 27% quota for
OBC in NEET UG/PG medical
admissions (all-India quota). In
order pronounced, the bench said that merit should
be socially contextualised.” —ANI
IN THE COURTYARD
MONEY LAUNDERING CASE: DESHMUKH'S
JUDICIAL CUSTODY EXTENDED
Mumbai: Maharashtra's ex-Home Minister Anil
Deshmukh's judicial custody extended by another
14 days. He was arrested by ED on November
2, 2021 in connection with extortion and money
laundering allegations against him. He is currently
lodged at Arthur road jail in Mumbai, reported ANI
Earlier on Tuesday, a special court here rejected a
plea filed by Anil Deshmukh seeking default bail in
an alleged money laundering case. —ANI
‘BRIDGE AT PANGONG TSO BUILT 25 KM
INSIDE CHINESE CONTROLLED AREA’
13 DELHI-BOUND TRAINS CANCELLED DUE
TO THICK FOG, FLIGHT OPS UNAFFECTED
BAJRANG DAL
LEADER, 4 OTHERS
HELD FOR
STABBING YOUTH
DIDI WRITES TO
PM OVER
AMENDMENT TO
IAS CADRE RULES
Bengaluru: Two days
after a group of men
stabbed two youths,
leading to death of one,
in Nargund taluk of Gad-
ag district, Karnataka
Police arrested four of
the accused, including a
Bajrang Dal leader. The
accused were identified
as Bajrang Dal leader
Sanju Nalvade mem-
bers of the outfit Gundya
Muttappa Hiremath,
Channu Chandrashekar
Akki and Sakrappa Ha-
numanthappa Kakanur.
Kolkata: WB CM
Mamata Banerjee wrote
to PM Modi, asking him
to withdraw proposed
changes to rules for IAS
cadre. Calling Centre's
draft amendment more
“draconian” than the
former, she said it will
create a “fear psychosis”
among officers. —ANI
New Delhi: The bridge at Pangong Tso, pictures
of which were shared by a news channel and then
tweeted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to ques-
tion Centre’s silence over its construction, is built
by Chinese Army, around 25 km inside the territory
controlled by them. The disputed area was captured
by People’s Liberation Army even before the 1962
war. The bridge is around 25 km inside the Chinese-
occupied territory near Khurnak Fort, sources said.
New Delhi: The Northern Railway cancelled more
than a dozen Delhi-bound trains as thick fog en-
gulfed the national capital on Thursday. The visibility
was drastically reduced due to the fog, said North-
ern Railway.About 13 trains running late for today,
including Howrah-New Delhi Express, Puri-New
Delhi Express, Gorakhpur-New Delhi Express, Mum-
bai-New Delhi Express, Kanpur -New Delhi Express,
The 'Gorakhpur-New Delhi Express was delayed by
2 hours and 30 minutes, said chief public relations
officer (CPRO) of Northern Railways. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ

NEWS
07
AZAD
CONTESTING ON
GORAKHPUR
SEAT INCREASES
POLITICAL TEMP
In severe cold wave, the entry of
Chandrashekhar Azad (Rawan)
for contesting on Gorakhpur
Urban seat suddenly increased
the political temperature in the
city on Thursday. Founder of
Azad Samaj Party made his
formal announcement of
contesting his first assembly
elections against Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur
Urban Assembly seat on
Thursday. Interestingly Yogi
Adityanath is also contesting his
first assembly election.
Gorakhpur Urban seat has
become a hot seat. But it is
considered a much safer seat for
BJP as this seat has been in
possession of the party since
1989. Ahead of UP Assembly
elections 2022, denying the
ticket to its four time Member of
Legislative Assembly Dr. Radha
Mohan Aggarwal BJP had
decided to field Yogi Adityanath
on this seat. Since the
announcement of the BJP, the
mysterious silence maintained
by Dr. Aggarwal has given wings
to speculations. Though he has
welcomed the party decision but
sources said he has adopted wait
and watch politics.It is notable
that in 2017 Assembly elections
Dr. Aggarwal had registered
victory by 61000 votes. As per
record there are 70000 Brahmins
55000 Muslims and 35000
Rajput voters on this seat. The
share of the vote of Backward
class and Dalit is almost 50%.
If other political parties do not
field any candidate and there is
direct contest between Yogi and
Azad, the election will be
interesting and highly sensitive.
Divisional coordinator of Bhim
Army Satyendra Bharti claimed
that his organisation will register
victory as fake cases have been
lodged against many OBC and
backward class people. They
have been betrayed by the BJP
and are annoyed with the ruling
party. —Qazi Abdur Rahman
PANIC AMONG
CANDIDATES AS
COVID CASES ON
THE RISE AGAIN
Candidates for the upcoming
UP Assembly gearing up to
fight the election on two fronts,
the election itself and battling
against Corona. The candidates
are finding it hard to maintain
their high spirit ahead of the
election amidst the pandemic. A
large number of leaders are
taking help of the dieticians in
order to keep themselves healthy
ahead of the elections. The city’s
7 dieticians are involved in giving
tips to 65 leaders in order to keep
them healthy ahead of the
election season in the state. A
ticket hopeful candidate said that
he had lost many of his loved
ones during the second wave of
Covid and his family members are
worried sick that he too might
contract the virus as the cases in
the country are on the rise again.
He added that, elections cannot
be fought from home as it could
lead to giving a wrong message
to the party and the
workers. Another candidate said
that there has been a dearth of
grassroots workers compared to
earlier elections and some
become a digital warrior when
tasked with work. He added that
older experienced workers are
afraid to handle public relations
and in order to allure these
workers of their fear, it becomes a
necessity for the candidate to go
into the field themselves. The
pandemic has posed such a
difficult situation for the
candidates as if they don’t
connected to the public, they may
lose the elections. The public are
also keeping their social distance
from the candidates fearing
Covid.
—Sumit Awasthi
AZAD’S DARING FORAY LIKE
KEJRIWAL’S AGAINST MODI
Lucknow: Failing to
enter into electoral alli-
ance with Samajwadi
Party
, Azad Samaj Party
(ASP) president Chan-
drashekhar Azad on
Thursday announced
that he will fight against
none other than Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath in Gorakhpur Sa-
dar seat. Even as Yogi is
comfortably placed in
his time-tested bastion,
Azad has pitchforked
himself into the lime-
light by taking on the
chief minister.
Azad’s move is remi-
niscent of Arvind Kejri-
wal contesting against
Narendra Modi in 2014
Lok Sabha elections
from Varanasi. Azad
had been holding talks
with the SP for a pact to
field its candidates on
some of the 403 seats in
the state. However,
Azad’s demand for 15
seats in the Saharanpur-
Muzaffarnagar region
proved a major hurdle
in the alliance with the
SP
. Akhilesh Yadav was
not willing to give more
than two seats, as there
is a feeling in the SP that
the BSP still has wider
reach among Dalits es-
pecially Jatavs than
Chandrashekhar in
west UP
.
Azad, who had
launched his own Azad
Samaj Party in 2020,
has been seeking to es-
tablish himself as the
sole defender of Dalits,
backward classes and
minorities in western
UP
. He started his move-
ment from the platform
of Bhim Army nearly a
decade ago but in 2020
he floated a political
party with the aim of
joining the 2022 elec-
toral fray. After hob-
nobbing with the Con-
gress for quite some
time, Azad shifted his
attention to Samajwadi
Party after Akhilesh
Yadav entered into alli-
ance with the Rashtri-
ya Lok Dal (RLD) head-
ed by Jayant Chaud-
hury
. In order to widen
the Jat-Muslim coali-
tion and take Dalits on
board, Yadav also held
several rounds of talks
with Azad. The fight for
Dalit votes has always
been intense in west UP
with BSP chief
Mayawati keeping firm
control over it. Azad
has been making ef-
forts to make a dent
into the BSP’s base and
has succeeded in estab-
lishing his organisa-
tion in Saharanpur and
adjoining regions.
Azad’s demand for 15 seats in Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar region came between alliance with the SP
Chandrashekhar Azad visits Tikunia area where eight people were killed in violence allegedly
triggered by BJP leaders in Lakhimpur Kheri. —PHOTO BY ANI
STRONG IN ALLIANCE
Shopkeeper throws
acid on customer
over five rupees
First India Bureau
Agra: The was a dis-
pute between the
shopkeeper and the
girlwhowasacustom-
er over five rupees in
Kheria Mor of Shah-
ganj police station
area of Agra. In the
rage, the shopkeeper
threw a bottle full of
acid on the girl in
which she sustained
serious injuries. The
news of acid being
thrownonthegirlcre-
ated a ruckus as
soon as the informa-
tion received, the po-
lice station also
reached the spot. It is
being told that some
part of the girl’s hand
and one eye of the
young man who was
also there got injuries
due to the acid.
Fakhruddin’s wife
Bano runsagroceries
shop in the house it-
self. Sanu, the son of
Ali Hasan, who lives
in the neighborhood,
hadgonetotheshopto
get toothpaste. There
was an altercation on
this matter the situ-
ation turned ugly in
which the shopkeeper
picked up the acid bot-
tle attacked the cus-
tomer in which Ali
Hussein’s daughter
Rani Bano’s son
Sanu were injured.
The injured girl and
the youth were taken
to the district hospital
for treatment. Action
is being taken against
the accused.
TICKETS OF FOUR BJP MLAs CONFIRMED
First India Bureau
Kanpur: The race for
a ticket to contest 2022
assembly polls is gain-
ing momentum with
heavyweight contend-
ers expressing their
confidence. But as of
now, it is yet to be clear
who all are in the race.
However, this time,
tickets of four MLAs
from the ruling party
are confirmed and they
have also started claim-
ing the same openly
.
These include Satish
Mahana from Mahara-
jpur, Mahesh Trivedi
from Kidwai Nagar, and
SurendraMaithanifrom
Govind Nagar. At the
same time, the political
discussion was on and
this time, the party
could reshuffle in Kaly-
anpur Bithoor, but the
candidates rejected it.
By noon, the tickets of
Bithoor MLA Sanga and
Nilima Katiyar from
Kalyanpur were also
considered to be almost
confirmed. On the other
hand, Congress is still
stuck in the Govind Na-
gar seat, where three
contenders are claiming
the candidature. Con-
gress’s Karishma has
been working hard here
for a long time and her
identity has been set as
a young leader, while Vi-
kas Awasthi Shailen-
dra Dixit are also mak-
ing claims for the seat.
The SP can field Sam-
rat Vikas on the seat.
However the count-
down for the candidates
has also started because
now there is not much
time left and in such a
situation all the parties
can declare their candi-
dates soon, but the fear
of their names being
struck out is also wor-
rying the candidates.
Congress’s Karishma Thakur
Unaccounted cash hidden in washing
powder boxes seized in Noida
Noida: The Noida Po-
lice seized Rs 4.72 lakh
in cash from two people
who were transporting
the “unaccounted mon-
ey” in an SUV on
Wednesday, days ahead
of the Assembly polls in
Uttar Pradesh. The inci-
dent comes a day after
police briefly detained
two persons and recov-
ered Rs 99 lakh unac-
countedcashfromthem.
According to officials,
security has been
heightenedacrossNoida
and Greater Noida in
Gautam Buddh Nagar,
whichbordersDelhiand
parts of Haryana, in
view of the Assembly
polls beginning Febru-
ary 10. Police have also
increased security
checks at border points
and started a thorough
checkingof vehicles,the
officials said. “In this se-
quence, a joint action
was taken by the Sector
58 police station and the
static surveillance team
(SST),whichintercepted
a Tata Harrier near Sec-
tor 61,” a police spokes-
person said.
“Two people were on
board the SUV and
when checked, boxes
containing washing
powder were found in
the car. When checked
further wads of cash
which were laminated
were found stuffed in-
side those boxes,” the
spokesperson said.
The occupants, identi-
fied as Arun Saxena
SanjeevKumar,wereun-
able to provide satisfac-
tory response as to
whomthecashbelonged,
the official said. —PTI
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
Taj Mahal shrouded in fog on Thursday morning. — PHOTO BY PTI
VEILED BEAUTY
Man gets life term for killing
2 priests in Bulandshahr
Bulandshahr: The
Additional District and
Sessions Court here on
Wednesday awarded
life imprisonment to a
man for killing two
priests over a trivial is-
sue. Jagdish Das and
Sher Singh aka Sewa
Das, the two priests,
lived in the premises
of a Shiva temple in
Pagona village under
Anoopshahr police sta-
tion limits here. Mu-
rari, a local, used to
frequent the temple.
However, the priests
had once yelled at him
for stealing tongs
which they used. This
infuriated Murari, who
on April 28, 2020,
hacked them to death
at the temple’s plinth.
As Murari was try-
ing to flee, the locals
caught hold of him and
thrashed him before
handing him over to
the police. Judge Gyan
Prakash Tiwari also
slapped a fine of Rs
20,000 on Murari. —PTI
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
BJP will win more than 300 seats
in UP, claims Dy CM KP Maurya
Lucknow: UP Deputy
Chief Minister Keshav
Prasad Maurya on
Thursday claimed that
BJP would win more
than 300 seats in the up-
coming election in the
state. He further in-
formed that he would be
contesting from Sirathu
(Kaushambi) of UP
.
Regarding political
rival Congress, Maurya
stated the fact that Con-
gress opposes action
against corrupt people
indicates it favours cor-
ruption. He claimed
that Samajwadi Party
would soon become a
‘Samapt Party’ after Sa-
majwadi Party mem-
bers joined BJP
.
When speaking about
AkhileshYadav,Maurya
said, “He speaks about
development. I dare him
to contest from any con-
stituency where he has
contributed towards de-
velopment. We have
heard that he would be
contesting from the Ma-
nipur Karhal seat. He
didn’t even have the guts
to fight from an impor-
tant constituency
.” Mau-
rya added that BJP
would give him a tough
fight.
“Akhileshji will for-
get to ride bicycle after
that”, stated the deputy
CM of Uttar Pradesh.
On Congress’ face for
the ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad
Sakti Hoon’ campaign
Priyanka Maurya join-
ingBJP
,Mauryaopined,
“No other political par-
ty works for develop-
ment like BJP does, be
it Congress, BSP or Sa-
majwadi Party
.” —ANI
Dy CM KP Maurya
Police officials at the spot.

COVID-19
UPDATE
WORLD
55,85,843
TOTAL DEATHS
27,33,49,113
TOTAL RECOVERED
6,09,64,358
ACTIVE CASES
33,98,99,314
TOTAL CASES
INDIA
4,87,719
TOTAL DEATHS
3,58,07,029
TOTAL RECOVERED
19,24,025
ACTIVE CASES
3,82,18,773
TOTAL CASES
08
2NDFRONT
Reason and logic are the roots of life
but belief and faith are the flowers
which bring joy to us and others.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Gyanendra Kumar Shukla
Lucknow: It is evident
from the demographic
datathattheroleof Mus-
lim voters is decisive in
theelectionstobeheldin
western UP
, but due to
the fear of religious po-
larization, the SP-RLD
alliance refrained from
giving tickets to many
prominent Muslim lead-
ers.Becauseof this,BSP
and AIMIM are trying to
seize political space
through minority voters
in the western part.
By considering the
Jat-Muslim vote chunk
as his share, SP chief
Akhilesh Yadav has tak-
enthecalculativeriskof
denying ticket to Imran
Masood. Masood, who
recently switched from
Congress to SP
, became
entangled in a political
crisis after being denied
a ticket from Behat seat
of Saharanpur. Not only
this,theSP-RLDalliance
avoided giving tickets to
many other strong Mus-
limleaders,especiallyin
Muzaffarnagar, which
was the centre of com-
munal riots of 2013.
SincethentheBJP'shold
in western UP has been
gaining strength.
In 2017, Liaquat Ali
of SP was defeated by
Avtar Singh Bhadana
of BJP from Meerapur.
In the hope of getting a
ticket from this seat,
Qadir Rana switched
over from BSP to SP.
But Chandan Chauhan
was made the candi-
date. Due to which there
is tremendous resent-
ment in the camps of
Liaquat and Qadir
Rana. Noor Salim Rana,
a former MLA from
Charthawal seat, had
recently joined RLD,
hoping to get a ticket,
but Pankaj Malik was
made the alliance can-
didate from here.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The RLD-SP
alliance in west UP has
landed in a piquant seat-
sharing row as some SP
candidates have been
given symbols of RLD.
The RLD leaders have
come out strongly
againstthisseat-sharing
formula.
The distribution of
tickets between the two
parties has indicated
that so far at least eight
SP candidates would be
joining the fray on RLD
symbol.Thealliancehas
announced names of 33
candidates so far. On
Maant seat in Mathura
both the SP and RLD
havefieldedtheirrespec-
tive candidates. While
Yogesh Nauhwar is RLD
nominee, SP has given
ticket to Sanjay Lathar.
Even though the RLD
chief JayantChaudhury
,
making amend in the
list, asked Nauhwar to
withdraw from the con-
test but he has refused to
do so. Maant is Jat-dom-
inatedseatandbothcan-
didates are expecting to
sail through.
The RLD spokesman
of west UP Abhishek
Chaudhury said Muzaf-
farnagar has six assem-
bly constituencies and
five have gone to RLD
but in fact four out of
these five candidates are
from SP contesting on
RLD symbol. Similarly
in Meerut’s Siwalkhas
andMeerutCantonment
SP’s Ghulam Moham-
mad and Manisha Ahla-
wat respectively have
been fielded on RLD
symbol.
As per the agreement
between both parties
RLD is to contest on
around three dozen
seats. However, it was
not made clear at the lo-
cal level that some of the
SP leaders would be con-
testing on RLD symbol.
New Delhi: The
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) on Thursday an-
nounced that Uttara-
khand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami
will contest the upcom-
ing assembly elections
from Khatima.
Dhami is two-time
MLAfromKhatimacon-
stituency
. The son of an
ex-serviceman,Pushkar
Singh Dhami was born
in 1975 in Kanalichhina
village in Pithoragarh
district.
He holds a law degree
and served as a RSS vol-
unteer. He also had
been a member of the
ABVP. Dhami served as
the president of BJP
Yuva Morcha, Uttara-
khand twice between
2002 and 2008.
He is believed to be a
protege of former Utta-
rakhand CM Bhagat
Singh Koshyari.
Dhami belongs to the
Kumaun region. Nota-
bly, the last two chief
ministers were from the
Garhwal region. The
polling for Uttarakhand
Assembly Election will
take place in a single
phase on February 14.
The counting of votes
will take place on
March 10. —ANI
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The BJP on
Thursday announced
that Uttarakhand BJP
president Madan Kau-
shik will contest from
Haridwar. Kaushik is
fourtimesMLAfromthe
Haridwar constituency
.
The party has an-
nounced 59 out of 70
seats for the polls.
CM Pushkar Singh
Dhami said those who
were not given tickets
should not be disheart-
ened as it was not a re-
flection on their compe-
tence but that others
were found more suita-
ble for the particular
seat. The party has
dropped 10 sitting MLAs
whileretaining40sitting
MLAs. “Those who
couldn’t get tickets will
support party candidate
andthepartywilldecide
about them in future,”
Dhami added. On speak-
ing about him winning
the polls, he said, “It is a
big responsibility
, I
would wish that the peo-
ple of Uttarakhand will
alsogivetheirblessingto
me”. “BJP will win with
majority and form gov-
ernment again.” —ANI
New Delhi: Senior
Congress leader and
former Deputy CM of
Rajasthan Sachin Pilot,
who hails from Saha-
ranpur in UP, on Thurs-
day asserted that voting
for Congress is the only
alternative left for the
people of UP in view of
the upcoming elections.
Pilot said, “I believe
that BJP has already
lost the elections in UP.
Just think about it. Con-
gress party is the only
party that is going to
give 40 per cent candida-
ture to women. Con-
gress talks about the in-
terests of farmers in its
manifesto. So, voting for
Congress is the only op-
tion left for the people of
UP
.” The Congress in its
first list released a list
of 125 candidates, in
which 50 were women
candidates. The second
list of 41 candidates has
16 women candidates.
Attacking SP and
BSP, the Congress lead-
er said, “Akhilesh Yadav
and Mayawati are no-
where seen as opposi-
tion in UP
. Akhilesh Ya-
dav has started appear-
ing on the streets as
soon as the elections are
approaching. But for the
last three years, Akh-
ilesh chose to remain
silent on issues like
Hathras rape, Lakhim-
pur Kheri farmers’ inci-
dent.....the issues of
farmers or the issues of
atrocities on the exploit-
ed and deprived people,
Akhilesh kept silent on
all these issues.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad High Court
quashed the trial court’s
order against the Man-
aging Director of KT
Chemicals Pvt Ltd along
with two others for forci-
blygettingsignatureson
plain papers in Kasaya
area of Kushinagar.
The court passed this
order while hearing an
application under Sec-
tion 482 CrPC filed by
Bhupinder Singh And
Others. The application
under Section 482 CrPC
has been filed seeking
quashing of the pro-
ceedings of Criminal
Complaint Case (Deep-
chand Vs. Bhupendra
and others) under Sec-
tions 506, 386 IPC, P.S
Turkpatti, District
Kushinagar, instituted
by the Opposite Party
No 2 (Deepchand)
against the applicants
and pending before the
court of the 2nd Addi-
tional Civil Judge (Jr.
Division)/Judicial
Magistrate, Kasaya,
Kushinagar.
THE MUSLIM PUZZLE
TO AVOID POLARISATION, MOST PARTIES
RELUCTANT TO FIELD MINORITY CANDIDATES
Shahnawaz Rana, ex-
RLD MLA, is miffed as
Rajpal Saini got a ticket
from Khatauli. In 2012,
Nawazish Alam of SP
won Budhana seat. But
this time Rajpal Baliyan
has been made the
candidate. Anil Kumar
has got ticket from
Muslim-dominated
Purkaji seat. Saurabh
Swarup is declared the
alliance candidate from
Muzaffarnagar seat.
UNHAPPY LOT
Supporters of RLD and SP
gather to attend the joint rally,
in Aligarh — PHOTO BY ANI
Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami
Madan Kaushik
Congress leader Sachin Pilot speaks to the media in Varanasi.
SP candidates’ intrusion in RLD
list creates dissension in West UP
MISSION 2022
The electoral equation
of the alliance of Akh-
ilesh Yadav and Jayant
Chaudhary in western
UP rests on the base of
20 pc Jat and around 30
to 40 pc Muslim voters.
The Jat-Muslim com-
bination has a decisive
impact on 55 seats.
Uttrakhand CM Pushkar
Dhami to fight from Khatima
BJP president Madan Kaushik
will contest polls from Haridwar
Allahabad HC quashes trial court
order against MD of chemical firm
Cong only alternative for
people in UP polls: Pilot
IN THE COURTYARD
Six lawyers of the Allahabad HC on Wednesday have filed
a PIL demanding a CBI inquiry into the death of former
Senior Vice President of the High Court Bar Association,
Mangala Prasad Tripathi.In the petition, the lawyers have
called the action of Prayagraj police suspicious. Along with
this, there has also been a demand for suspension of the
DM and the SSP for doing illegal acts. The petition has
been filed on behalf of HC advocates Gaurav Dwivedi, Ra-
jnish Singh, O.P. Singh and three other lawyers. It is said
that after Tripathi was not traced by the family members
themselves on January 5, 2022, they lodged a missing
report at Colonel Ganj police station, Prayagraj.
LAWYERS FILE PIL FOR CBI PROBE
MORNING GLORY
Golden sunrise on Chaukhamba mountain massif as seen from Chopta, in Rudraprayag on
Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: Ghanshy-
am Singh, Special Sec-
retary to Government
of Uttar Pradesh Pro-
gramme Implementa-
tion Department, has
been promoted to IAS
by DOPT.
Singh, the 1997-batch
PCS officer, is a resi-
dent of Farukhabad
district of Uttar
Pradesh . While all the
PCS officers of his
batch were promoted
to IAS cadre 1999, his
promotion was de-
layed due to suspen-
sion and departmental
inquiry, but he got
clean chit in all charg-
es levelled against him
which paved way for
his promotion.
PCS Ghanshyam
Singh began his career
as Deputy Collector
Ghazipur and has pre-
viously held the posi-
tion of SDM Nainital,
Agra, Tehri Garhwal,
Hardoi, Noida, Ali-
garh, Muzaffarnagar,
City Magistrate Agra,
Deputy Director Mandi
Parishad Lucknow,
ADM LA Ghaziabad,
OSD Metro Rail Noida
and ADM FR Noida.
He was suspended in
October 2017 following
report of current
Meerut commissioner
Prabhat Kumar and at-
tached to the Meerut’s
commissioner office
but after several years
of investigation, he
was reinstated without
any punishment and
made Special Secre-
tary Programme Im-
plementation in June
2020. He has since been
holding the same post
and after long battle,
he has finally been pro-
moted to IAS.
Finally, Ghanshyam Singh promoted as IAS officer
WAIT ENDS!
Ghanshyam Singh being congratulated on his promotion.
—PHOTO BY PTI

ur lives seemed to
be turning tire-
some in our previ-
ous fields of medi-
cine and interior
design, when we
both made up our
minds to follow our hearts
against all odds, and turn
to fashion as a way of ex-
pressing ourselves and our
talent,” said owners of
Shivayu, the designers,
Shivani and Ayush.
They further added, “We
started our business online,
in a small room without
much equipment or infra-
structure. Within a quick
span of time, our business
grew into the fancy fashion
studio we run together to-
day
.Ourdesignscarryparts
of both of our personali-
ties, and so does our brand
name – Shivani and Ayush
are in fact, ‘Shivayu’. Our
first international fashion
show at the Colombo Fash-
ion Week 2017 paved the
way for more to come. “
“Shivayu Fashion Studio
has brought us much suc-
cess and many accolades,
with the recent feather in
our cap being the prestig-
ious ‘The Fashion Connect
Season 11: Dubai Edition’,
where we will be showcas-
ing traditional Indian wed-
ding attires with a touch of
the indigenous Dubai fash-
ion style, “ they added. The
duo is ecstatic to be a part
of this new venture which
will allow them to work
with a fresh range of de-
signs.
Ayush said, “Even
though being twins, we
have always had completely
different natures and inter-
ests, with the exception be-
ing our professional life.
At Shivayu, we coordi-
nate as if we can read
each other’s minds and
create beauty in our
kinship in the form
of our art. If our ex-
perience together
has taught us any-
thing, it is the
sheer value of
being commit-
ted to our
work and be-
lieving in
ourselves
and our
l o v e d
ones.”
Leavingnostoneunturned
LUCKNOW, FRIDAY
JANUARY 21, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Shivani and Ayush from Shivayu productions, who
will be showcasing traditional Indian wedding attires
with a touch of the indigenous Dubai fashion style, at
FC Season 11, got candid with City First and talked
about their journey so far!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
O
Shivani and Ayush

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
PREETI SINGH, Model
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Satisfaction is
foreseen for the
image conscious
people trying to
achieve perfect
figure and
physique. Your
efforts on the
academic front
will keep you in contention. You are likely
to spend an enjoyable time with a close
relation today. Your helping hand to
someone in need will be appreciated.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You will have an
awesome day.
Continue to put
in efforts at work
and you will
see promising
opportunities.
Matrimonial
match for siblings
will bring happiness for entire family. You
will get a good price for your property.
You may receive invaluable guidance
from a spiritual leader.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Implementation
of new ideas
and projects
would add to
your prestige on
the professional
front. A sound
monetary
position would
enable you to keep pace with changing
times. Avoid raising controversial issues
at home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day to build new connections.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Paying special
attention to plan
your career would
give immense joy
and happiness.
You are likely
to get clearance
or approval for
your construction
plans. You find things moving in the
way you want them. Gifting something
to your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Some of you
are going to
experience
emotional
fulfillment on
romantic front.
Yoga would help
in raising energy
levels. Place
emphasis on domestic affairs to enhance
the domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with humanitarian
group on social front would benefit you.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
A sound
financial health
of businessmen
would enable to
give monetary
benefits to
employees. Your
sole dependency
on friends may
fail to bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your love
as stars appear favourable for positive
reply.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Those suffering
from chronic
ailments may
find remarkable
improvement in
their health with
home remedies.
Today you will
enjoy the trust
of senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may snowball into a major row,
so give attention to the family. Rewards
and recognition will come your way.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering
from chronic
ailments may
find remarkable
improvement
in their healt.
Minor domestic
disputes may
snowball into a
major row, so give attention to the family.
Rewards and recognition will come your
way for your involvement in a social
endeavour.
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will succeed
in resolving
misunderstanding
with family
members,
normalizing ties.
Seek proper
valuation of the
property you are
planning to buy. Keep a close tab on what
you eat if you want to remain healthy.
Your colleagues may not like your upfront
nature.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Paying special
attention to plan
your career would
give immense
joy. You are likely
to get clearance
or approval for
your construction
plans. You find
things moving in the way you want them.
Gifting something to your beloved is likely
to make the day memorable. Love comes
your way.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation
of new ideas and
projects would
add to your
prestige. A sound
monetary posi-
tion would enable
you to keep pace
with changing
times. It is a wonderful day to build new
connections. Your relationship requires
you to be tactful. It is time to get going on
the fitness front to improve health.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
A sound financial
health of busi-
nessmen would
enable to give
monetary benefits
to employees.
Your sole
dependency on
friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness today.
It is good day to confess your love as
stars appear favourable for positive reply.
Health remains satisfactory.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
RICH
RICH
TRADITIONAL
TRADITIONAL
INDIAN
INDIAN
CULTURE
CULTURE
IN FOOD!
IN FOOD!
7 INTERESTING FOOD SUPERSTITIONS
IN INDIA AND POSSIBLE REASONS
BEHIND THEM!
ave you ever
seen lemon
and chillies
hanging on
the entrances
of shops and
stores and
wondered why they
are up there and not in
a kitchen? We bet you
have!
Indian culture is
rich in traditions, ritu-
als, and superstitions
that our forefathers
passed down to future
generations as a warn-
ing or to instil a habit
for the welfare of the
community. Whether
you believe in them or
not, you cannot deny
that superstitions have
found a place in our
daily lives in some way
or the other. In fact,
knowingly or unknow-
ingly you might be fol-
lowing or believing a
few of them.
Below we give you 7
fascinating food super-
stitions in India and
the possible logic be-
hind them.
EK SPOON LUCK
WITH DAHI AUR
CHEENI
Remember how our
mothers would run
after us with a small
bowl of ‘dahi shakar’
(curd with sugar) be-
fore any exam, test,
or interview? This
popular superstition
actually has a logical
explanation. Accord-
ing to the Vedas,
when you are anx-
ious, your stomach
tenses, making you
feel nauseated. Since
yoghurt contains pro-
biotics, it keeps your
stomach cool, and the
glucose present in
sugar provides you
with the energy you
need to get through
the day without feel-
ing tired or uneasy.
EK SE BHALE DO
ANDE!
If you’ve got a two-
yolked egg on your
plate, you’re in for
some major life
changes. According to
an ancient Indian su-
perstition, you may
soon hear wedding
bells in your family or
be gifted with adora-
ble twins!
NIMBU, MIRCHI,
AUR DARWAZA!
You must have spotted
a cluster of lemons and
chillies strung to-
gether on a cotton
thread at the en-
trance of numer-
ous stores. Ac-
cording to our
grandparents,
lemon and chil-
lies ward off the
‘evil eye.’ If this
explanation does
not convince you, we
also have scientific
logic. The mix of lem-
on and chillies produc-
es a pungent smell that
repels insects and
keeps your environ-
ment pest-free.
DOODH KE TOTKE
There are many super-
stitions attached to
milk. The most com-
mon is that spilled
milk is a bad omen, as
it may be a sign that
you may lose some of
your hard-earned
wealth. Another myth
holds that lending
milk after sunset is in-
auspicious. This su-
perstition derives
from the pastoral and
farming community’s
belief that lending
milk after sunset re-
duces the milk pro-
duced by cattle.
NAMAK BHARE
JAZBAAT
Just like spilled milk
is considered inauspi-
cious, spilling of salt
is also believed to
bring misfortune. If
you do spill some salt
on the floor, don’t
sweep it with a broom,
as another su-
perstition
holds that
y o u
s h o u l d
not dis-
card salt directly. In-
stead, dissolve it in a
bowl of water. The
bowl will absorb all
the negative energies
and protect you from
evil.
GHEE KE DIYE
Every Diwali, we light
up our houses with
several diyas. While
you can always burn
diyas with oil, a com-
mon Indian supersti-
tion advises against it.
In place of oil, use
ghee even if it is more
expensive. This is be-
cause Hindus believe
that lighting diyas
with ghee attracts pos-
itive energy and re-
pels evil forces.
SABSE PEHLE BHOG
LAGAO PHIR KHUD
KHAAO
You’ve probably seen
several Indians serve
the first bite of every
meal to the almighty.
This is their way of
showing reverence to
God and expressing
gratitude for food. The
superstition stems
from the concept that
making an offering to
God can dispel nega-
tive energy that may
attract evil spirits.
Some believe that
sharing a bite with
God brings good for-
tune into the home.
CONCLUSION
While some Indian su-
perstitions have sci-
entific reasoning hid-
den beneath layers of
interpretation, others
have emerged as a re-
sult of our ancestors’
habits, fears and con-
victions. Let’s not he-
sistate with dishes,
let the mouth water-
ing savouries not stop
us from listening to
our hearts and well,
stomach!
ABOUT CAULDRON
SISTERS
Ratika Richa
Khetan, two sisters,
started Cauldron
Sisters in 2015.
It started as an
exotic food gift
hamper business,
but their love for
food encouraged
them to start
culinary workshops,
food deliveries,
and slowly and
gradually it turned
huge as restaurants
and cafes started
approaching them
for consultancy.
H

ETC
11
MANSI AGARWAL
s the pan-
demic tak-
ing a toll on
your fashion
mood? 2022
has got some
a m a z i n g
trends awaiting to
get into the closet.
It’s 2022 and the
new trends can’t
wait to get imbibed
into our so frosty
wardrobes.
Although the cov-
id 19 has weathered
the enthusiasm of
the entire world. So
at this point, who do
the shoppers want?
Don’t worry! The
trendsetters are all
set to get the chic to
your doorsteps. Pep
up !! Make them
your own with a
pinch of your
clever person-
alisation.
So blow
away the
cobwebs
and set
foot into
the latest
fashion
trends of 2022….
The two years of
sluggishness with
this pandemic has
madeusdiveintoour
relaxed and over-
sized closet. Let that
oversized closet
make you appear su-
per stylish in 2022.
The loose-fitting
jeans with a well-tai-
lored oversize coat
will do it all !!
If straight-leg
jeans are more your
vibe, slipping into a
morevoluminoussil-
houette can be a
somewhat scary
idea.
Is your creativity
hoping to get out of
your zone? Relax!
And let it sink on a
white tee with col-
ours of your imagi-
nation.
Yes, you guessed it
right. Tie-dye is the
newtrendmakingits
way in 2022. Go
trendy with just a kit
of colours of your
choice from your
nearest craft stores
with a white old T-
shirt. What a low-
cost fashionable
piece.
So don’t let this
pandemic ruin your
style mode and be-
come the go-to fash-
ion choice. Get
these trends into
your closet and
match the walk of
2022…
I
THE 022
VOGUE
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
THE 022
VOGUE
VOGUE

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
POWER
POWER IN PURE VOLUME
IN PURE VOLUME
MONICA PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
THE TOP TIER
VOGUE TREND OF
2022 HAS TO BE
THE RETURN OF
80S INSPIRED
SHOULDER PAD
STUDDED
BLAZERS.
he year 2020 might have started
lousy due to the new strain of the
Covid-19 pandemic but, the fash-
ion industry has leashed a pletho-
ra of trends. Trends that are bold,
vivacious, and borderline classic.
T h e top tier vogue
trend of
2022 has to
be the re-
turn of
80s in-
s p i r e d
shoulder
pad stud-
ded blazers
or over-
sized jack-
ets. This
classic
twist-
ed trend
into the
20s with
styles like
cropped cuts,
silky silhou-
ettes and room
to ruminate in
blazers.
To feel the fash-
ion forecast on
this trend, City
First asked fashion
influencers and mod-
els to share their
thoughts on it becoming a
raging trend.
•
• Tanya Gupta, fashion
influencer, said “I have
never in my life met a blaz-
er I did not like. Anything that
includes a blazer is essentially
a uniform for me and if it’s
oversized then it is just a
cherry on top. Blazers make you feel some
type of way
, they exude power like I am all
ready to take on the day. Also, what is it
that blazers don’t look good with? Abso-
lutely nothing! My current favourite way
of wearing blazers right now is with
sweats and heels or with a feminine dress.
In both ways, it’s something extraordinary
paired with the blazer.”
•
•Mansi Joshi, a fashion mod-
el said, “I love styling blazers
or jackets. Denim, trench
coat, leather jacket, blazer I
think that’s something every
woman should have in her
wardrobe. They go with
everything
are the per-
fect state-
m e n t
piece that
you need
during the
c h i l l y
season. I
t h i n k
it’s a never-ending trend.”
•
•Srishti Arora, celebrity stylist and fash-
ion influencer said, “I think big jackets/
blazers are staples that should be in eve-
ryone’s wardrobe. Pair them up with just
a dress, jeans - top combo, or wear them
as is as a blazer dress, they lift your look
instantly. You can even experiment with
bright-coloured blazers and use them to
colour block your outfits. It has to be the
biggest trend of 2022 that’ll last all year.”
•
• Priya Singh, a fashion model said,
“Even though big blazers remained a
wardrobe classic throughout
the decades, blazers go
through a trend cycle, too. If
youareboldenoughyoucan
styleanoversizedblazerfor
everything from the office
to a Friday night out.”
T
ALWAYS A HERO
Ashwini Kumar Mehta, an ex-serviceman from the Indian Navy is an energetic go-getter and
after his retirement from the defence services continues to encourage and motivate other
ex-servicemen n his current job as President of Bhoot Poorv Sainik Organization. At the same
time, ee is actively assisting the masses through numerous NGOs,.
—PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
T
he three day In-
ternational e-con-
ference on ‘Re-
cent trends in Health
and Diseases’ (19th to
21st Jan 2022) organized
by Institute of Ad-
vanced Molecular Ge-
netics and Infectious
Diseases (IAMGID),
ONGC Centre for Ad-
vance Studies (OCAS)
in collaboration with
Molecular and Human
Genetics Laboratory,
Department of Zoology,
University of Lucknow,
commenced their sec-
ond day on Thursday.
The second day of the
conference, started
with two eminent
speakers Prof MM
Chaturvedi and Prof SC
Lakhotia who spoke on
association between
metabolism and epige-
netics and Drosophila
as a model human dis-
eases. Later Dr M Ar-
shad and Dr Suchit
Swaroop gave presenta-
tions on medicinal
plants in osteoporosis
and liver cirrhosis.
The international
speaker, Prof Naim
Khan spoke about sixth
sense of taste and obe-
sity
. His group has come
up with a device (spray)
which can take care of
the taste buds and help
to prevent obesity. The
afternoon session kick
started with the talk on
Personalized Medicine
by Hon’ble, Prof Farza-
na Ali Mahdi. Another
renowned national
speaker at the confer-
ence was Dr S K Rath,
who spoke about the
drug development per-
spective in making our-
selves atmanirvar in
health management.
There were two inter-
national speakers who
excel in their respec-
tive fields of re-
search. Dr Manisha
Pandey, who spoke
about vaccine design
against Streptococcal
skin infection. Dr Sha-
ron Glynn spoke about
breast cancer tumour
progression. The 2nd
day of the International
e-conference saw tre-
mendous response from
students and all the ses-
sions were very interac-
tive speakers.
HEALTH IS WEALTH
RENEWING NAWABI ERA ARCHITECTURE
Standing as a tribute to Lucknow’s Nawabi
heritage, the Asafi Imambara at the Bara
Imambara is one of the finest specimens of
Nawabi-era architecture in the city. The 18th
Century mosque is revered as one of the oldest
ibadatgarhs of Lucknow and is now all set to
undergo a facelift, under the supervision of the
Archaeological Survey of India. As per reports,
the ASI has allocated a budget of Rs. 75 lakh to
refurbish and renew the monument, covering
the area occupied by the mosque and the 163ft
balcony of its Persian Hall.
SHINE OF GLORY
YASHASVI SHRIVASTAVA
I
ndia’s Navdeep Kaur
won the Best Nation-
al Costume at Mrs
World 2022. Every
beauty pageant has a
National Costume
round, with partici-
pants promoting the
cultural/spiritual as-
pects of their home
country through their
costumes. This year, In-
dia’s Navdeep Kaur
won the award for
the Best National
Costume at the pres-
tigious Mrs World 2022
pageant in Nevada, Las
Vegas. She is the win-
ner of Mrs India World
2021, and represented
the country at Mrs
World 2022. The “avant-
garde” outfit was in-
spired by Kundalini
Chakra, which “sym-
bolises the movement
of energy in chakras of
the body from the base
to the spine up through
the crown”.
Cobra embellish-
ments on the shoulder
were added to repre-
sent the “mystical ser-
pent native to India”,
while the golden col-
our was chosen as it
represents novelty,
power and glory. Ac-
cording to Eggie Jas-
min, who is the design-
er of the costume, the
extravagant costume
was sprinkled with
over 50,000 diamond
rhinestones. Brocade,
tulle and Korean se-
quin fabric were used
to craft the costume,
while pearls and crys-
tals were a final touch
for a super regal look
which awoved the jury.
A GOOD DEED
Young rangers of Swapna
Foundation celebrated
a 10-day happiness
festival from 10th to 20th
January under which
the rangers distributed
ration kits, warm clothes,
caps, blankets, sanitary
napkins, slippers and
food packets to the
underprivileged people
in different areas
across Lucknow. These
essentials were also
provided to rickshaw
pullers, vendors and
other needy people on
the streets. The team
also made shelters
for stray animals and
provided reflective collars
for the safety of these
animals.
Mansi Joshi Tanya Gupta
Priya Singh
Winning Costume
University of Lucknow
Navdeep Kaur
LUCKNOW AESTHETICS
Unique, Lucknow special chickankari and Dardoji prints drying in
sunlight on Gomti riverbank. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
Srishti Arora

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