Congress candidate Harish Janartha on Thursday won from Shimla constituency in Himachal Pradesh with a margin of 3037 votes. While Congress is leading on 39 seats out of 68 and BJP is leading on 18.

Janartha won with a total count of 15803 votes while the candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sanjay Sood trailed behind with 12766 votes. As per the latest trends, the Shimla seat is the first to be won by Congress in Himachal Pradesh, however, so far, the BJP has won 7 seats including Mandi, Nurpur, Paonta Sahib, and Sundernagar, by 1.25 pm.

As per the EC till 2:10 pm congress is leading on 35 seats and won 5 seats so far while the BJP has won 7 seats and leading on 18 seats.

Despite the Congress leading in the trends of the Election Commission of India, the BJP is still very hopeful of continuing to govern the hill state for the next five years. In contrast, Congress says it would be “too soon” to say anything in accordance with the trends.

“Though Congress is leading in many constituencies in Himachal, there is a neck-and-neck competition at many others. We should wait till the election results are announced as the counting is still underway,” Bhupesh Baghel said in his address to mediapersons in Raipur.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also said that it is too early to make comments and the party will respond when the final results are declared.

“It is too early to speak now. Our party will speak in the evening only after the final results are declared,” Kharge told reporters.
In Himachal Pradesh, as per the latest trends by the ECI, the BJP is currently leading in 21 seats after registering victory in four of the 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. The competition is tough as congress leads in 39 of them.

Counting votes for Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh began at 8 am on Thursday.

Dec 8: With the Bharatiya Janata Party taking a clear lead in the vote counting underway today for the Gujarat Assembly polls, BJP’s Viramgam candidate and Patidar leader, Hardik Patel, attributed the party’s success to work done so far.
He also highlighted the 2019 revocation of ‘Article 370’ from Jammu and Kashmir. “It’s a win of BJP’s work, the removal of ‘Article 370’,” said Patel, who had left Congress months ahead of the state polls and joined the BJP.
The Modi government had on August 5, 2019, scrapped the controversial ‘Article 370’ which provided special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We’ll focus on the work to be done in the next 20 years. There was no competition with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Viramgam ‘made’ Hardik Patel win for the further development of the constituency,” said Patel while hoping for his clear win from the seat.
Patel, who switched from Congress to the BJP this June, contested against Congress’ Lakha Bharwad and Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Amarsinh Thakore. The Patidar quota stir leader contested the polls from his hometown, Viramgam – one of the 182 assembly constituencies of Gujarat. (Agencies)

 Dec 8: In his first month in office, Justice D Y Chandrachud has taken several key judicial and administrative decisions having a far-reaching impact such as deciding to examine the right to marriage of gay couples and ordering protection of an area in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi complex where a ‘shivling’ was claimed to have been found.
Justice Chandrachud, who has been credited with taking steps for digitisation of the judiciary, gave a green signal for operationalising an online RTI portal and making available an updated android version 2.0 of SC mobile application.
The Chief Justice of India has also attempted to streamline the listing of cases by giving primacy to bail petitions and matrimonial transfer cases and decided that every apex court bench will hear 10 such pleas each before starting regular proceedings.
Besides, Justice Chandrachud has also decided to set up four special benches to hear criminal appeals, direct and indirect tax and land acquisition matters and motor accident claim cases respectively.
Justice Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th CJI by President Droupadi Murmu on November 9.
Born on November 11, 1959, Justice Chandrachud studied in St Stephen’s College and the Campus Law Centre before going to Harvard. He was elevated to the top court on May 13, 2016.
Justice Chandrachud has been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts like on the Ayodhya issue that paved the way for the construction of the Ram Temple at the disputed site in Uttar Pradesh and Right to Privacy.
He will have a tenure of two years as the CJI and during this period, as many as 19 posts of judges in the Supreme Court will have to be filled.
Presently, there are seven vacancies in the top court against the sanctioned strength of 34 judges including the CJI.
The last 30 days have been quite eventful as the CJI batted in favour of the collegium system of appointment of judges and also called for respect of the district judiciary while asking judges of the higher judiciary to get rid of the “colonial mindset”.
He also expressed his disapproval of the notion that only educated people are better decision-makers.
Over four years after a bench of which he was a part decriminalised consensual gay sex between adults, a CJI-led bench sought response from the central government to separate pleas by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to authorities to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.

 Dec 8: The government of the Union Territory of Ladakh has approached the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), a unit of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for developing “Spatial Data Infrastructure geoportal ‘Geo-Ladakh’ for UT-Ladakh, said Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Singh said, the project encompasses spatial database generation (water resources, vegetation and energy potential) using remote sensing, geospatial techniques and the development of a Geo-portal for hosting this database.
According to the Department of Space, Singh said that the project also aims towards training of UT-Ladakh officials on Geospatial techniques and applications. Portal provides geospatial data visualization and analytics for UT-Ladakh, consisting of Spatial viewer, Carbon Neutrality, Geospatial utility mapping and Geo-Tourism.
He further said that a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between IIRS (ISRO) and UT-Ladakh Administration on January 1, 2022, towards carrying out the above work.
“The potential of space technology could be used for generating the spatial database on time series snow cover, freshwater availability, sites for renewable energy potential (solar and wind), availability of alpine pastures/grazing lands for natural resource management and change assessment at a periodic interval,” he said.
Singh further said that presently, ISRO is setting up an optical telescope at Hanle for tracking spacecraft and space objects. (Agencies)

Trends emerging from the counting of votes Gujarat Assembly polls on 144 seats show the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading on 123 seats, while Congress is placed in the second spot with a lead on 22 seats.

Of the 182 seats in Gujarat, the majority mark stands at 92. The Aam Aadmi Party is leading on 9 seats and is in the third spot on the list. The independents are also leading on two seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has gained leads in 9 Assembly constituencies and is still making progress.

According to the Election Commission data shared till 9.45 am, the BJP continued to retain its first spot with 112 seats out of the 182-member Assembly.

According to the trends till 9.30 am, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who is contesting from Ghatlodiya against AAP’s Vijay Patel and Congress’ Amee Yajnik, is leading securing 15,032 votes so far.

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Godhra CK Raulji is leading on the seat with a total of 8,772 so far. BJP’s Rivaba Jadeja, who made her electoral debut in these elections, is trailing on the Jamnagar North seat. Congress’ Bipendrasinh Jadeja is leading on the seat securing 2,976 votes so far.

AAP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, who is in the fray from Khambhalia, is leading with a total 4,088 votes against BJP’s Ayar Mulubhai Hardasbhai Bera, and Congress’ Ahir Vikrambhai Arjanbhai Maadam.

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Godhra CK Raulji is leading on the seat with a total of 8,772 so far.

BJP’s Rivaba Jadeja, who made her electoral debut in these elections, is trailing on the Jamnagar North seat. Congress’ Bipendrasinh Jadeja is leading on the seat securing 2,976 votes so far.

The counting of votes for the Gujarat Assembly elections began on Thursday at 8 am.

The counting in Gujarat began at 37 centres in 33 districts.

Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi said that 182 counting observers, 182 election officers and 494 assistant election officers will be on duty for the counting process. There will be an additional 78 Assistant Election Officers for the counting of votes. In addition, 71 additional Assistant Election Officers have been assigned responsibility for the electronically transmitted postal ballot system in the previous polls

Earlier on December 1 and 5, Assembly elections in Gujarat were held in two phases.

The approximate voter turnout in Gujarat by the end of the second phase of the Gujarat elections was recorded at 59.11 per cent.

During the first phase of polling on December 1, Gujarat saw an overall turnout of 63.14 per cent. While polling for 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh was held on November 12.

Meanwhile, the exit polls have indicated a clear win for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat.

BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi remaining in the Chief Minister’s post for the longest time before becoming the Prime Minister. Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling BJP in the last assembly elections in 2017. However, AAP may spoil the game for Congress by taking away a significant vote share in their favour.

Dec 8: India logged 241 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases further declined to 4,244, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The total tally of Covid cases stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,74,190).
The death toll has climbed to 5,30,647 with nine fatalities which includes six deaths reconciled by Kerala. While two deaths were reported from Karnataka, one was from Kerala in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry website.
A decrease of 11 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,39,299, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
According to the ministry’s website, 219.95 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year. (Agencies)

Dec 8: Counting of votes for a new assembly in Gujarat got underway Thursday, with early trends pointing to a sweeping victory for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that has not lost an election in the state since 1995.
The BJP was leading in 42 seats, while Congress was ahead in six and the AAP was winning four seats, according to early trends reported by the Election Commission. Television channels, however, reported that BJP was ahead in more than 100 seats, the Congress in about 50 and the AAP was struggling to take its tally into double digits.
The results of the two-phase elections, held earlier this month, will be watched more for the performance of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that seem to be locked in a battle to grab the status of the main opposition party in the state.
While the Congress was not expected to replicate its creditable performance of the last Assembly elections in 2017, a good showing by AAP would have helped its leader Arvind Kejriwal cement his place as a key challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliamentary elections due in 2024.
The Modi government is struggling with rising inflation, slowing growth and joblessness, but economic troubles are unlikely to dent BJP’s popularity in Gujarat that has been a bastion of the party for decades and where Modi was chief minister from 2001 to 2014.
Gujarat has 182 Assembly seats and the majority mark is 92. Exit polls have predicted that the BJP will comfortably win a seventh straight term — an outcome that will equal the Left Front’s feat in West Bengal.
If the BJP wins big in Gujarat and gets a majority in Himachal Pradesh, where votes were to be counted for elections held on Nov 12, it will be a huge morale boost for the party, said Sanjay Kumar at the New Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. It will enthuse BJP’s rank and file, and reinforce the impression that the party will win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kumar said.
For the Congress, its role as the main challenger to the BJP is at stake. Thursday’s results will reveal if the party’s silent campaign has cut ice with people. The party’s campaign, mostly shouldered by local leaders, has leaned on door-to-door canvassing for votes as its leader Rahul Gandhi, who had aggressively campaign in the 2017 elections, chose to stay away to focus on the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
For the AAP, which carried out a high-decibel campaign, the elections in Gujarat are an opportunity to establish itself as a pan-national party and a challenger to BJP at the national level. Emboldened by the victory in the Delhi municipal elections, the AAP hopes its politics of welfarism will be accepted by the people in Gujarat.
That said, the BJP has had to battle anti-incumbency after being in power for 25 years. It is banking on Modi’s charisma and appeal to contain anti-incumbency. Modi addressed as many as 30 election rallies.
Unemployment, price rise, water not reaching certain pockets of the state, land acquisition for big projects and farmers not getting proper compensation for crop damage due to excess rains were among key issues that the campaign this time.
Voter turnout this time dropped 4 per cent compared to 2017, signalling fatigue and possible disillusionment among some supporters of BJP.
While the contest in Gujarat has traditionally been between the BJP and Congress, it turned three-cornered this time with the entry of the AAP.
The counting of votes will start at 8 am at 37 counting centres covering the 182 Assembly seats, Chief Electoral Officer P Bharathi said.
There will be three centres in Ahmedabad, two in Surat and Anand, and one in each of the remaining 30 districts. All necessary preparations for the counting have been done, Bharathi told reporters in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Altogether 182 counting observers and as many election officers along with 494 assistant election officers will be on duty for the entire counting process, the official said.
A three-tier security system has been ensured at all the counting centres with local police and personnel of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), the CEO said.
The fate of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, youth leaders Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor, among a total 1,621 candidates will be decided on Thursday.
A total of 70 political parties and 624 independents were in the fray.
Apart from the main rivals BJP, Congress and AAP, 101 candidates from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and 26 from Bharatiya Tribal party (BTP) also contested.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, BJP won 99 seats and Congress 77 seats, while two seats went to BTP, one to NCP, and three to independents.
Ahead of this month’s elections, the BJP’s number in the House stood at 110 and Congress at 60 after 20 MLAs who won on Congress seats switched over to the BJP in the last five years, three of them quitting just ahead of the elections. (Agencies)

 Dec 8: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, who inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistani side on Wednesday in the Punjab sector, has been captured by Pak Rangers and his handing back is awaited, officials said Thursday.
This is the second such incident in the Abohar sector of Punjab after a jawan crossed over to the other side while undertaking zero line checking along the India-Pakistan International Border (IB) last week on December 1.
The jawan was handed back by the Pakistan Rangers to the BSF the same day, after a flag meeting.
In the latest case, the officials said, the jawan crossed over to the other side accidentally due to dense fog and resulting “extremely poor visibilty” on Wednesday morning and was apprehended by the Pakistan Rangers.
“The BSF and Rangers are in touch and an update on the release is awaited,” a senior BSF officer said. (Agencies)