DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA 01/06/2024 BY UNNY 135 163 204 73 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ENTIRE PUNJAB, HIMACHAL AMONG 57 SEATS It’s a wrap PMseatVaranasi, TMCAbhishek’s DiamondHarbour amongPhase7 LSconstituencies ANJISHNU DAS NEW DELHI, MAY 31 Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari on Friday. ANI PAGE6 Firm that designed Ghatkopar hoarding also gave structural stability certificate VIJAY KUMAR YADAV MUMBAI, MAY 31 BHAVESH BHINDE, the owner of Ego Media Pvt Ltd that constructedthehoardingwhichcollapsed in Ghatkopar claiming 17 lives,hadobtainedthestructural stability report of the hoarding from the same agency that he had hired to design and construct it. The Mumbai Crime Branch onThursdayarrestedoneManoj Ramkrishna Sangu, an engineer of City Engineering Services (CES), alleging that he had given thestructuralstabilitycertificate for the hoarding that collapsed in Ghatkopar on May 13, killing 17 people and injuring over 70. During their investigation, the Crime Branch found that the same firm had been previously CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GDP crosses 8% in FY24 as services, manufacturing power Q4 growth to 7.8% Election officials reach Tashigang, the world’s highest polling station, in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Friday, the day before the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections. PTI RELATEDREPORTS,PAGE10 In key state UP, close contests shape up in over two dozen constituencies BHUPENDRA PANDEY & MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, MAY 31 AS VOTING concludes in the Lok Sabha elections Saturday, one of the crucial states in focus will be Uttar Pradesh. The outcome in UP will be key to the target the BJP has set for the NDA’s return. But the ruling alliance appears to be in a close fight in at least27constituencies—inwest, central, and east UP — of which 20 are among the 64 seats that the NDA won in 2019. The reasons for this vary from local sentiments against sitting MPs, caste equations, and the choice of candidates of the Opposition INDIA bloc. The 20 constituencies which theNDAcurrentlyholdsandand where it faces a tough fight from DECISION PHASE7 Totalseats 57 Candidates 904 Electors in Phase 7 10.06 cr (10.39%) Share ( %) of voters in total VOTESHARE (Phase7) NDA INDIA Others 39.03% 37.52% 23.45% 2019 2024 Seatsgoingtopollsand 2019turnout(%) Overall 57 65.29% Statecompletingpolling Punjab 13 65.94% UttarPradesh 13 58.46% WestBengal 9 78.8% Bihar 8 51.34% Odisha 6 74.61% HP 4 72.42% Jharkhand 3 71.54% Chandigarh 1 70.61% Election Commission data compiled by Anjishnu Das the INDIA bloc are: Ayodhya, Chandauli, Bansgaon, Kheri, Pratapgarh, Kairana, Aligarh, FatehpurSikri,Firozabad,Pilibhit, Mohanlalganj,Amethi,Kannauj, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Robust economic growth, says FM; third year of 7%-plus growth rate AANCHAL MAGAZINE & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, MAY 31 INDIA’S REAL Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by a surprise 7.8 per cent in JanuaryMarch, taking the full-year growth rate to 8.2 per cent in financial year 2023-24, the third consecutive year of 7 per centplus growth, data released by National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday showed. Boosted by manufacturing, construction, publicadministration, defence and other services, theQ4growthrateof 7.8percent turnedouttobewayhigherthan the highest estimate of 7.3-7.4 per cent by economists. And the full-year growth rate of 8.2 per cent is higher than the RBI-projected 7 per cent and the NSO second advance estimate of 7.6 per cent for 2023-24. Earlier this month, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran had said there was a “high possibility” of GDP growth touching 8 per cent in FY24. Commenting on the latest E E X P L A I NE D KANYAKUMARI, DAY 2 VOTES WILL be cast Saturday in 57parliamentaryconstituencies spread across eight states and a Union Territory in the seventh and last phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, bringing to an end polling in what hasbeen the second-longest elections after the first in 1951-52. As the polls close, all eyes will be on the exit polls Saturday evening and the results on June 4. The last phase will see voting for all 13 seats in Punjab and all four seats in Himachal Pradesh. Theotherstatesthatwillvoteare Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal — polling spans all seven phases — and Jharkhand and Odisha. The Union Territory of Chandigarh too will vote Saturday. Voting for Assembly polls in Odisha will be completed Saturday — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, which are also electing new Assemblies, have already completed the polling process. The 57 seats include Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Diamond Harbour, the seat of TMC general secretary and sitting MP Abhishek Banerjee; Bathinda, represented by former Union Minister and SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal; Patna Sahib, the constituency of former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad; and, Mandi where Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress is up against actor Kangana Ranaut who is contesting on a BJP ticket. In2019,thepartiesconstituting the Opposition INDIA bloc Buoyant startfor ● new govt COMING AS IT does three days ahead of election results, the high growth rate of 8.2% in FY24 together with the Rs 2.11 lakh crore RBI dividend to the Centre, will allow the new government to keep its deficit under check as investment by the private sector hopefully picks up during the current year. GDP numbers, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it reflects “robust economic growth”. “It is worthwhile to note that the manufacturing sector witnessedasignificantgrowthof 9.9 percentin2023-24,highlighting the success of the Modi government’s efforts for the sector. Manyhigh-frequencyindicators CONTINUED ON PAGE 2