To stave off People's Liberation Guerrilla Army fighters, Maharashtra commandos laid siege for 60 days to an area around a densely forested hillock in Maoist-hit Gadchiroli, waited for intelligence inputs for over a fortnight, and finally combed the place on Monday to unearth a mammoth explosive dump meant for blowing up poll parties and security forces, reports Soumitra Bose.

Political observers said while Jadhav is banking on her support base in Byculla and on the BJP in Colaba and Malabar Hill, the Sena (UBT) old face Sawant could have a slight edge because of the Marathi-Muslim combination pattern that is working for MVA in Sewri, Worli, Byculla and Mumbadevi. "Because of the last-minute declaration of candidates, there is also apathy among elite and upper middle-class voters.

Shah, who was in Durgapur to address a rally, said CBI begun its investigation after the case was handed over by Calcutta high court. «Sisters in Sandeshkhali were exploited and raped. The victims were chosen based on their religious identity. Police did not probe the complaints and the HC had to give the charge to CBI,» Shah said.

Manmeet has prepared for the day since his childhood. Just as three generations before him had when it all began in 1943. Ask him about the 2024 elections and he says, «I have traveled to various states in the country preaching environmental causes but none of my own members of Parliament have ever shown any interest in furthering the noble cause.»

The poll body also instructed parties to remove such content «within three hours of coming to their notice», uphold electoral integrity, and refrain from circulating misinformation or derogatory content. The directions were issued considering the rising number of manipulated or deepfake videos being circulated during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Monday witnessed 20 fresh fire incidents in Uttarakhand, ravaging some 52 hectares of forest land, with Garhwal, particularly Pauri district, bearing the brunt. In Pauri, the fire reached sports department's Indoor Stadium, damaging a building and documents. Students and staff were safe. IAF dispatched one of its MI-17 V5 choppers to aid efforts in Pauri Garhwal's Dob village. An IAF officer said the chopper conducted three sorties, dropping 14,600 litres of water.

Gauhati high court has directed Assam govt to specify in a week the «time by which compensation will be paid» to the six families whose houses were demolished in Nagaon district in 2022. The houses were demolished a day after a mob set Batadrava police station ablaze in protest against the custodial death of a fish vendor, Safiqul Islam, on May 21, 2022.

Mahayuti comprising the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar) alliance has dropped 12 sitting MPs across Maharashtra. While BJP has dropped 7 sitting MPs, the Eknath Shinde-led Sena has dropped 5. The NCP had only one sitting MP in Sunil Tatkare, who has been repeated from Raigad. The Congress had only one sitting MP, Suresh Dhanorkar, from Chandrapur, who passed away. One BJP MP Girish Bapat from Pune too passed away last year.

Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose returned to Kolkata on Monday and ignited a fresh confrontation with state govt, saying he will not tolerate CM Mamata Banerjee's «didigiri». His remarks prompted swift reactions from Trinamool, which said the «consequences will not be good». Bose has issued a gag order on Raj Bhavan staffers, instructing them not to speak to police and has «banned» cops and state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya from Raj Bhavan.

Two full-grown Rottweiler dogs - untethered and aggressive - mauled a five-year-old girl in a park in Chennai's Thousand Lights on Sunday. Her mother, who tried to rescue the child, also suffered bites. Locals claimed the dogs had a history of attacks on animals and people. Suraksha R, the daughter of the park's watchman, Ragu, is in ICU with severe injuries to the scalp, back and arm, and is scheduled to undergo plastic surgery on Thursday. Her mother Sonia is also receiving treatment for scrapes and bruises.

Kuppam's political battleground reflects loyalty shifts to YSR Congress Party amid welfare impacts. The clash symbolizes the struggle between populism and development, with TDP facing a crucial test in the upcoming elections.

The Congress criticized the BJP for the problem of examination paper leaks, stating that this issue has persisted for a decade, leading to unemployment and corruption in job opportunities being the primary concerns in this election. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the news of NEET exam paper leak is a "betrayal' of the dreams of more than 23 lakh students and their families.

ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute study reveals marine heatwaves causing coral bleaching in Lakshadweep Sea. DHW levels, NOAA warning, significant bleaching of hard coral species, and concerns about coral health and biodiversity.

Students at Ashoka University have joined the protests against the war in Gaza and have requested the vice-chancellor to terminate all academic and research partnerships with Tel Aviv University in Israel. The student government at Ashoka University, which is an elected student body, mentioned in a letter to the vice chancellor.

In India, it is not uncommon for a candidate to contest from two seats or constituencies in the Lok Sabha Election, albeit with certain legal provisions and historical precedents. Recently, the issue of running for multiple seats came up when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi submitted his candidacy from Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh after competing in Wayanad, Kerala during the second phase.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi issued a clarification on Monday over his alleged remarks on the recent terror attack incident in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and said that his statement was «distorted.»