DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BY UNNY AAP’s Maliwal alleges assault at CM house, no complaint yet: Delhi cops RS member Swati Maliwal; NCW seeks report EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 13 AAM AADMI Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal made a call to the Police Control Room Monday morning, alleging assault at the Chief Minister’sresidenceinCivil Lines, Delhi Police said. Maliwal, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in January, has not filed an official complaint yet. DCP (North) Manoj Meena said, “Swati Maliwal called the PCR at 9.34 am stating that she has been attacked at CM's residence.ShecametotheCivilLines Police Station and left without giving a complaint. She said she would file a complaint later.” Maliwal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. TheNationalCommissionfor Women, meanwhile, wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner SanjayAroraaskingforadetailed action taken report in the matter within three days. “The Commission has taken seriousnoteoftheallegationslevelledbyMsSwatiMaliwalagainst thePSofShriArvindKejriwaland condemns the reported incident in strongest possible words. Therefore, considering the gravityof thematteryouarerequired 96 LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCIES IN 10 STATES, UTS Dip in Phase 4 too, but gap closes: 67.25% turnout BesidesJ&K,slight jumpinpollingin Odisha, Telangana Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the roadshow in Varanasi on Monday. PTI PM holds roadshow in Varanasi, to file nomination today EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 13 CONTINUING THE trend of a dip in voter turnout this Lok Sabha elections, the 96 constituencies across 10 states and Union territories which voted in the fourth phase on Monday saw 67.25 per cent polling, as per the Election Commission'sestimates at 11.45 pm. The turnout in these seats was 68.8 per cent in 2019. However, the final turnout, which the EC said would be releasedonFriday,mayincreaseas reports from all polling stations are taken into account. The turnout gap has narrowedascomparedtotheearlier phases. In the first phase, when 102 constituencies went to polls, the final turnout was 66.14 per cent,downfrom69.89percentin 2019. In the second phase, in which 88 seats voted, the final turnoutwas66.71percent,down from69.64percentin2019.Inthe thirdphase,across93constituencies, the final turnout was 65.68 per cent as compared to 67.3 per cent in 2019. In Jammu and Kashmir, which had one constituency (Srinagar) in the fourth phase, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Outside a polling booth in Pulwama district of J&K during the fourth phase of elections on Monday. Shuaib Masoodi PHASE 4 TURNOUT (IN %) Overall turnout 2019 (96 seats) 2024 Phase 5 68.8 67.25 States where polling is complete after Phase 4 2019 MAY20 (in %) 2024 Andhra Pradesh (25seats) 79.64 76.5 Telangana (17seats) 62.69 64.74 Madhya Pradesh (8seats) 75.59 70.98 Source: EC, Note: Figures till 11:45 pm BJP’s Hyderabad nominee asks women in burqa to lift veil at booth; FIR filed SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD, MAY 13 POLICE ON Monday filed an FIR against the BJP candidate from Hyderabad constituency, K Madhavi Latha, after a video emerged of her at a polling booth,checkingtheidentitydocuments of women in burqa and asking them to lift their veil. “Kashi is special... The warmthandaffectionof thepeoVARANASI, MAY 13 ple here is unbelievable,” Modi posted on X. PRIME MINISTER Narendra While he was first accompaModi held a roadshow in nied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Varanasi on Monday, on the eve Minister Yogi Adityanath, state of filing his nomination BJP president Bhupendra papers from the Lok Singh Chaudhary joined Sabha constituency. them later. The roadshow, Seekingathirdconsecwhich lasted for about utive term from Varanasi, two-and-a-half hours, which will go to polls in startedfromtheMadan DECISION the last phase on June 1, Mohan Malaviya statue Modi will file his nomina2024 outsidethemaingateof tion papers on Tuesday. Banaras Hindu TheOppositionINDIAbloc University (BHU) at 5 pm, and has fielded Uttar Pradesh passed through Ravidas Gate, Congress president Ajay Rai. Pushkar Lake, Assi Ghat, Shivala, On Monday, as BJP supportSonarpura, Madanpura and ers raised slogans of “Jai Shri Jangamwadi Math, before reach- Ram”,“HarHarMahadev”,“Humar ingtheKashiVishwanathTemple, Kashi, Humar Modi”, and “Phir ek where Modi offered prayers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ASAD REHMAN A video grab of K Madhavi Latha, BJP candidate from Hyderabad, at the booth District electoral officer RonaldRossinstructedthepolice to lodge a complaint, following which a case was registered under IPC sections 171C (undue influence at an election), 186 (obstructing public servant), 505(1)(c) (intent to incite) and section132of theRepresentation of the People Act (misconduct at the polling station). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In highest turnout since 1996, Srinagar records nearly 38 per cent voting NAVEED IQBAL & BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, MAY 13 VOTERS LOOKING for “umeed (hope)” and for political representationqueueduponMonday atpollingboothsacrossSrinagar, which saw a turnout of 37.98% (estimates till 11.45 pm) — the highest since 1996. National Conference candidate Aga Ruhulla Mehdi is taking on Peoples Democratic Party’s Waheed ur Rehman Para and J&K Apni Party’s Ashraf Mir for the seat, where a total of 24 candidates are in the fray. “This is not a vote in protest against our past, it is a vote of umeed, of the hope of a better future,” said 62-year-old Ghulam Qadir Wani, who cast E E X P L A I NE D BUSINESS AS USUAL `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Behind jump in ● turnout WHILE OFFICIALS attributed confidence-building measures for candidates and voter outreach programmes, voters cited the “political vacuum” and absence of a political structure where they can “register their grievances” as reasons for the turnout. his vote at Dara. He said that for the last 10 years, people have been “bystanders” to the changing political landscape of Jammu and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI DUST STORM: EIGHT KILLED AS BILLBOARD FALLS Eight people were killed and 74 injured when a billboard collapsed due to a storm in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area on Monday. Deepak Joshi PAGE12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Modiji said don’t be 2010 AMIT JETHWA MURDER CASE overconfident, get up Days after BJP ex-MP, six others and vote first: Shinde acquitted, RTI activist’s father dies P 11 SANDEEP SINGH & P VAIDYANATHAN IYER MUMBAI, MAY 13 MAHARASHTRA CHIEF Minister Eknath Shinde has said the Shiv Senaledbyhimwastheonetakingforwardtheideologyof party founder Balasaheb Thackeray. In an interview to The Indian Express, Shinde said the Sena wouldhave remainedintact had Uddhav Thackeray worked and stood behind workers when he was the CM. Fighting his first electoral battle against rival Uddhav since the split in June 2022, and against whom he is pitched di- THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW EKNATH SHINDE MAHARASHTRA CHIEF MINISTER rectly in 13 out of the 15 constituencies his party is contesting, Shinde exuded confidence that the Mahayuti alliance (with BJP and NCP-Ajit Pawar) would CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, MAY 13 SIX DAYS after the Gujarat High Court acquitted former BJP MP Dinu Solanki and six others in the 2010 Amit Jethwa murder case,theslainRTIactivist’sfather Bhikhabhai died at a Bhavnagar hospital on Sunday night due to a cardiac arrest. He was 69. At the forefront of pursuing justice for his slain son, Bhikhabhaiwasplanningtomove the Supreme Court on May 16 against the high court’s acquittal verdict, said Mahesh Makwana, who worked with him. However, Jignesh, Bhikhabhai’s eldest son after Amit Jethwa, Bhikhabhai Amit, said his health deteriorated rapidly in less than a week. “He was discouraged by the Gujarat High Court verdict and started keeping unwell from Tuesday (May 7, a day after the verdict was pronounced). On Saturday (May 11), he couldn’t move and was first taken to a treatment centre at Mahuva but they did not have the advanced facilities of MRI machines. So he wasthentakentotheBhavnagar Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhavnagar city. The test results were normal and he was on drips and the doctors were positive that he will be discharged in two days or so." However, his pulse and heart rate dropped around 8.30 pm Sunday. "He was also admitted to the ICU but was ultimately pronounced dead due to a suddencardiacarrest.Hewantedhis body to be donated to the Jamnagar government hospital but it was not possible. Hence, we donated the body to the government hospital in Bhavnagar," Jignesh said, adding, Bhikhabhai CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Former Deputy CM Sushil Modi, force behind BJP’s rise in Bihar, dies at 72 PAGE 1 ANCHOR SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, MAY 13 SENIOR BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi died Monday night at AIIMS, New Delhi. He was 72. The veteran leader was battling cancer for the past eight months.Hospitalsourcessaidhe died at 9.45 pm. In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sushil Modi played an invaluable role in the rise and success of the BJP in Bihar. “Strongly opposing the Emergency, he made a name for himself in student politics. He was known as a very hardworking and sociable MLA. He had a deepunderstandingof theissues related to politics. He also did a lot of commendable work as an administrator. His active role in the passage of GST will always be remembered,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X. One of the three famous products of the JP Movement SUSHIL KUMAR MODI 1952-2024 along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad andChief MinisterNitishKumar, Sushil Modi was considered the tallest BJP leader in Bihar after Kailashpati Mishra. He is often credited with transforming the BJP into a formidable force in the state in the 1990s, with it emerging as the principal Opposition party in 1995. He was instrumental in building strong ties with NDA ally and JD(U) chief Nitish, who would often give him the credit of bringing in economic turnaround in the state. In July 2011, Sushil Modi was appointed chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers for the implementation of GST. He served as Deputy Chief Minister for over 11 years in two stints — the first fromNovember 2005 to June 2013, and then from July 2017 to December 2020 — stitching up a formidable combination with Nitish. Nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, his tenure came to an end recently. In a statement, Nitish expressed grief over the demise of his former deputy. “It's a personal loss for me. We were together during the JP Movement. His death has created a vacuum inthepoliticalarenaof thecountry as well as in Bihar,” he said. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad