Around 40 Shiv Sena candidates are contesting the UP assembly elections. Maharashtra-based party fielded 57 candidates in the state in 2017, but none won.
With 164 assembly seats — out of UP's total 403 — the Purvanchal region plays a crucial role in state elections. BJP won by a landslide in the region in 2017.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray declared a lockdown to contain the second Covid wave, triggering a second round of migrant exodus. But response could be hamstrung by lack of data.
Giving rural migrants an incentive to return to cities is crucial to restoring economic activity to pre-Covid levels. Low-cost housing is a good starting point.
Existing vacant houses under UPA-era schemes to be utilised. About 3 lakh migrants to benefit initially, with monthly rent varying between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000.
Migrant workers aren’t expected to return to the cities as long as the virus is spreading and work is uncertain. But there aren’t enough jobs in the villages.
DRDO calls flight a significant step towards self-reliance in defence technologies; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lauds achievement, says ‘it paves way for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in critical military systems’.
What is Shiv Sena’s ideology? We might say it’s been a convenient mix of extreme ethnic chauvinism & unforgiving Hindutva. Within the second, the party retained space to manoeuvre.