eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT When the Wallflower Blooms MUMBAI,LATECITY MAY12,2024 14+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAY AFTER RELEASE ON INTERIM BAIL, CITES PM ‘RULE’ OF RETIREMENT AT 75 12/05/2024 112 140 174 76 Complaint on turnout ‘our EVM moment’, had to respond, says EC official ASAD REHMAN & RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, MAY 11 RESPONDING TO the scathing rejoinder from the Election Commission (EC) regarding his allegations about voter turnout data, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote back to the poll watchdog Saturday, stating that although he has “misgivings” about thelanguage If you vote for BJP, you are voting for Amit Shah (as PM), not Modi: Kejriwal NIRMALA, NADDA, YOGI ALSO HIT BACK ‘PM on 1-nation, 1-leader mission, Opp leaders will be held, those in BJP sidelined’ BJP top brass counters: Modi to complete 3rd term, remain leader No age bar, no confusion, says Shah; Opp in panic, aim to mislead: Nadda MALLICA JOSHI NEW DELHI, MAY 11 OPENING A new front in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday “warned” that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi turning 75 next September, DECISION 2024 those voting for the BJP would be voting for Amit Shah (as PM). Kejriwal also launched an all-out attack on Modi, accusing him of carry- VIKAS PATHAK & SREENIVAS JANYALA Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann in Mehrauli on Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal. ing out a “one-nation, oneleader” mission at “two-levels” — by arresting Opposition leaders, and sidelining those within the BJP. Addressingagatheringatthe party headquarters here, a day CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, MAY 11 THE TOP brass of the BJP rushed inSaturdaytorallyaroundPrime Minister Narendra Modi after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Home Minister Amit Shah in Hyderabad Saturday. PTI CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Cong spreading fear As Patnaik, his schemes put BJD on course, BJP over Pak, tally will banks on promise of change to close Odisha gap fall below 50: Modi LIZ MATHEW & SUJIT BISOYI SAMBALPUR, HINJILI, MAY 11 SUJIT BISOYI BHUBANESWAR, MAY 11 PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi onSaturdaysaid“thecountryhas decided that the Congress will notevenbetheOppositionparty as its numbers will fall to below 50”, pointing out that the party needsatleastone-tenthofthetotalLokSabhaseatstobethemain Opposition party. Addressinga rallyat Odisha’s Phulbani under Kandhamal Lok Sabhaconstituency,Modireiterated that the NDA would cross the 400-mark while the BJP wouldbreakitspastrecord.“You takemywordonrecord,”hesaid. Modi also accused the “WE HAVE good schemes for women, elderly people and youngsters. Naveen (Patnaik) babu has taken care of us very well,”saidSharatKanar,aresident Modi during a public meeting in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Saturday. PTI Congressof spreadingfearbyrepeatedly stating that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Speaking CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Today we can look Brij Bhushan in the eye, and tell him: We are not going anywhere’ Vinesh Phogat SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS RIGHT FROM the morning of Friday, May 10, my fellow wrestlers and I were waiting to know what happens in court. We had logged in online but the connection had snapped for a while. Later in the afternoon, it was someone from our team of lawyers who informed Sakshi (Malik) that charges have been framed. I was at training when I got the news. The framing of charges (sexual harassment and outraging modesty of women) against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a win for us but our battle will continue in court. Today we can Vinesh Phogat after beating Kyrgyzstan’s Laura Ganikyzy last month at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek to win a Paris Olympics quota. United World Wrestling/Kadir Caliskan standwithoutfear,ourheadheld high, look him in the eye, the man we were afraid of for so manyyears.BrijBhushanhasgot the message that we are not going anywhere until women wrestlers get justice. The framing of charges also sends a strong message that womencantakeonpowerfulmen and they don’t have to be afraid. Protesting against someone so CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 of KadligarhvillageinSambalpur district,afirst-timevoterinthesimultaneous Odisha Assembly (147 seats) and Lok Sabha (21 seats)electionsbeginningMay13. “It’s true that more needs to bedonetoprovidejobstoyouths because many of us have to migratefrom Odisha.So we have to give one more chance to Modi at the Centre, but Naveen babu is just fine for Odisha,” he said, making his choices clear. At Charichhak in Boudh district,DuryodhanSahu,whoruns a small eatery, praised Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik for providing free rice and ensuring healthcare facilities under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY). “We are ‘sankha’ people (supporters of conch, BJD's symbol),” he said, smiling. Krishnachandra Sahu, who runs acommonservicecentrenearby, agreed with him, saying, “Sankha has become a habit for Odias.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As a new season of Bridgerton arrives, a look at the perks of being a wallflower MAHARASHTRA Farmer pain, few jobs, Maratha quota are issues, but Modi rises above these SANDEEP SINGH & P VAIDYANATHAN IYER MAVAL, SHIRUR, AHMEDNAGAR, AURANGABAD, MAY 11 IN THE HEART of Ahmednagar, 250 km east of Mumbai, businessmanMachhindraDarkunde, 42, whoproduces edibleoils, acknowledges that farmers are in pain and the Maratha community is upset over reservation. “My people are angry that Modiji didn’t refer at all to reservation during his rally here four days ago,” he says and then promptlyrisestoexplain.“Butthe peoplehavetounderstandthatif he makes a promise here, he will have to promise in other states too. How can he do that?” says Darkunde, a Maratha himself. In Maharashtra, the most industrialised state in India, which accounts for almost 10 per cent (9.23 crore) of the country’s total electorate, rozgar or employment,quotasisanissuebuttheir impact on voting choices isn’t clear-cut. No wonder in a state where political lines blur and sharpen only to get blurred again — so much so that this is thefirst time thevoterisn’tsure whoiswho.If she voted for the Sena in 2019, she now has to choose between two Senas; if she voted for the NCP, she has to choose between two NCPs. How this will play out only June 4 will tell but, in this confusion, one thing is a little more clear. Machhindra Darkunde, a small businessman in Ahmednagar district In this swirl of shifting politicalallegiances,theblameforjoblessness,Marathareservationand farmerlosseshasalsogotdiffused. It falls at a series of doorsteps, of the BJP-Sena (Shinde)-NCP (Ajit Pawar)stategovernment,thepreviousstategovernment,andinter andintra-partypolitics—notsingularly on Modi. “Modichipkelahailogonkedimaag mein. Woh hi aayega (Modi is stuck in people’s mind, he will return to power),” says Tanaji, a MarathafromSholapurinhis50s, working as a driver in Mumbai. From Darakunde, the entrepreneur, to driver Tanaji, and from a young upper-caste engineerintohisfirstjobinKaregaon to a tea stall owner for 10 years in Ahmednagar; from a salaried individual in his 30s in Maval to a farmer in Shirur who supports Sharad Pawar, The Indian Express spoke to several voters and the refrain was tellingly similar: They all have many complaints, but few for which they blame CONTINUED ON PAGE 2