DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE Election results today, Mahayuti & MVA dial independents, rebels Five factors that may seal the fate of six parties Hotels, choppers booked for winning candidates, virtual meetings underway ALOK DESHPANDE ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 22 At a counting centre in Thane on Friday, on the eve of the results. Counting of votes for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections as well as bypolls across several states will take place on Saturday. Deepak Joshi DECISION 2024 ● Women come out in large numbers, 6 percentage point jump in turnout P4 ● Why coalition politics is here to stay P4 AN ICIJ-THE INDIAN EXPRESS INVESTIGATION 23/11/2024 85 113 FROM AGRARIAN distress to government sops favouring women,casteequationstocommunal appeals, several issues dominated the discourse during the poll campaign. These are the five things to watch out Saturday: Impact of sops and schemes The Mahayuti government’s flagship Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, which deposited Rs 1500 a month in the accounts of women below the poverty line, has been hailed as a gamechanger by the ruling alliance, recovering from the losses in the state in the Lok Sabha polls. The Mahayuti is pointing to the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 80 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 22 Inflated budgets, rigged bids, lucrative contracts: trail of dodgy transactions marked oil flows through 1500-km Caspian Pipeline Consortium, used by Russia, Kazakhstan NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 22 PAGE 6 FORALLthecurrentdiscourseon globalsanctionsandcensure,before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western oil giants, including affiliates of Chevron, Shell and Exxon Mobil, signed off on allegedly inflated budgets,riggedbids,andgavelucrative contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kazakhstan elite. This is one of the key revelationsof CaspianCabals,aninvestigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, of which The Indian Express is a partner, into the 1500-km Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), one of the world’slargestcrudeoilpipeline systemsusedbybothRussiaand Kazakhstan. The CPC takes crude from large oil fields in western Kazakhstan and also from Russian producers to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, from where it is transported to buyers globally through tankers. In2023,CPCcarried63.5million tons of oil to international markets — around 10 per cent of CPC crude is Russian, the rest is fromKazakhstan’slargeoilfields Kashagan and Karachaganak. Since the start of the Ukraine CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN A significant move indicating anattempttodialdowntensions between Ottawa and Delhi, Canadian National Security Advisor Nathalie G Drouin, contradicting a report in The Globe and Mail daily, has said the government of Canada “has not stated,norisitawareof evidence THE WORLD TRUMP PICKS PAM BONDI AS ATTORNEY GENERAL PAGE 14 Captain Bumrah’s dream spell cracks open series on Day One EXPRESS INAUSTRALIA SRIRAM VEERA PERTH, NOVEMBER 22 ON A mind-boggling opening day of the first Test of the series in Australia, where three-quar- ters of the day was filled with chants from Australian fans before the Indian Tricolour and voices filled the Perth air, the Indian bowlers answered the burning question that faced them ahead of the game: What would happen once Jasprit Bumrah’s first spell ends? Who would keep up the pressure? A question that hung in the air even more ominously after India were shot out for 150 by Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Steve Smith in Perth on Friday. AP tea, and Bumrah had done what Bumrah does, a triple strike that left Australia gasping. The answer came in the final session in anutterlystunningfashion,even as the shadows slowly crept across the arena, as India responded by an audacious counterpunch that left Australia reeling at 67 for 7 at stumps. It was a bowling performance that cracked open the entire series and shredded the dread that it might turn out to be a one-sided affair. Harshit Rana was the first to stepup,beforeMohammadSiraj too perked up after Bumrah’s triplestrikeasAustraliawereleft wobbling like intoxicated men by stumps. It, of course, needed Bumrahtostrikefirst,butthathe did wasn’t a surprise. When he finished his opening spell with three wickets, that included the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bengal’s rural housing scheme runs into fresh trouble, discontent over ‘missing names’ on lists PAGE 1 ANCHOR RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA SOUTH 24 PARGANAS, PURBA BARDHAMAN, NOVEMBER 22 STANDINGINfrontof herkutcha house in Konkon Dighi village of WestBengal’sSouth24Parganas district, Jahanara Mir, 30, points to the roof — stacks of hay atop plastic sheets to keep the cold and water out. She says her fisherman husband Fakir Mir had applied for a pucca house under Adani aware of probe a year ago... told markets news false: Indictment In US, FBI seized nephew Sagar Adani’s electronic devices in March 2023 SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 22 ON MARCH 18 this year, three days after news agency Bloomberg reported that the US was “probing Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his group over potential bribery”, Adani Enterprises told Indian stock exchanges that the report was “false”. But almost exactly a year ago “on or around March 17, 2023”, Gautam Adani’s nephew Sagar Adani, Executive Director of Adani Green Energy, was approachedintheUSbyFBIspecial agents who took custody of his electronic devices, according to the November 20 US indictment of Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and six others. The FBI had also handed Sagar Adani a search warrant and served him with a grand jury subpoena. If not Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani definitely knew about the bribery probe, the indictment suggests. It said the “search warrant further described certain evidence subject to seizure, in- E Under the scanner in ● the US THE US indictment and SEC charges claim that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani were aware of the bribery probe by the US authorities at least since March 2023, but continued to withhold such information as they went about raising funds in the US. Adani has denied all allegations. cluding evidence ‘related to the payment of or an offer to pay, bribes, kickbacks or provide or offer to provide any other thing of value to Indian government officials in order to obtain or retain business advantages’”. The indictment alleged that the very next day, “on or around March 18, 2023,” Gautam Adani emailed himself photographs of each page of the search warrant and grand jury subpoena served CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Naidu assures action, BJD says charges are baseless SREENIVAS JANYALA, SUJIT BISOYI & JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU HYDERABAD, BHUBANESWAR, RAIPUR, NOVEMBER 22 REACTING FOR the first time to the indictment of Gautam Adani in the United States, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Friday said in the Legislative Assembly that the state government is in possession of the indictment reports, and assured that action would be taken if irregularities are found. Naidu said that ever since his Telugu Desam Party-led NDA government came to power, it has been discussing alleged corruptionduringtheYSRCongress Party regime from 2019 to 2024. “I have all the reports of the indictment filed in the US. We will study them and take action accordingly. We will inform CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Before Russia-Ukraine war, After MEA rebuff, Canada rejects report: Western oil firms ‘cut deals’ ‘no evidence linking PM, Jaishankar, NSA’ to favour Moscow’s allies SUKALP SHARMA & RITU SARIN 10 MAOISTS KILLED IN SUKMA ENCOUNTER ALLEGATIONS OF BRIBERY FOR POWER DEALS OTTAWA DIALS DOWN ON ALLEGED NIJJAR PLOT SHUBHAJIT ROY & DIVYA A 139 `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 RISE IN VOTER TURNOUT, INCREASE IN WOMEN VOTERS KEY FACTORS only after collecting certificates from returning officers and to MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 22 reachMumbaiSaturdaynightitself. AHEAD OF the Maharashtra The Assembly elections this Assembly election results timesawanincreaseof overfour Saturday, the ruling Mahayuti per cent in voter turnout, its and the Opposition Maha Vikas highest since 1995. Both the rulAghadi have begun reaching out ing and Opposition alliances to independent and rebel candi- havecitedthisasasignof victory. dates should their need arise to Other than the rise in the cross the halfway mark in the voterturnout,theincreaseinthe 288-member House. number of women votHotels have been ersisalsosettoplayakey booked and helicopters role in the outcome of a kept ready in case wincontestthatiswidelybening independents need lieved to have been a to be transported – the number DECISION close one who cast their quickly. of people 2024 On Friday, parties votes this election has MAHARASHTRA held online meetings to jumped by 71 lakh or issue final directions to candi- 12.5% since the Lok Sabha polls. dates. NCP (SP) state unit chief Of the 288 Assembly conJayant Patil told candidates not stituencies, 262 witnessed a rise toleavethecountingcentresun- in voter turnout. Only 26 saw a til the last vote is counted. decline. While 18 seats witTheCongresstooaskedcandi- nessedmorethan10percentage datesandpollingagentstomatch points increase in turnout – numbersonForm17Chandedto Palgharledwitha24percentage polling agents before the start of point jump in voting over that in counting of votes. 2019. At least 104 seats saw a Allcandidateshavebeentold voterturnoutrisebetween5and to leave the counting centres 10 percentage points. REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 EXPLAINED SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ● the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in 2017 but in vain. Whentheyheardthatthelist of final beneficiaries from amongthe2017-2018applicants wasout,thecouplerushedtothe local Raidighi block office. Fakir Mir's NREGA ID number was on the list — but against a beneficiary named ‘Dholapada Haldar’. “No one here has heard of Dholapada Haldar. I’m sure his name is the reason why my husband’s name did not appear in the awas yojana (housing scheme) list. Look at our house — it is falling apart,” says Jahanara, who shares the Jahanara Mir, flanked by her in-laws, in Konkon Dighi village of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. Ravik Bhattacharya cramped quarters with her aged in-laws. The implementation of the flagship rural housing scheme, consistently dogged by allegationsof irregularitiesinthestate, has run into fresh trouble. With the state government announcing that the 2017-2018 list of beneficiaries — the last such list tobedrawnup— wouldgettheir firstinstallmentbyDecember,in October, a statewide survey was startedtoupdateandfinalisethe list. But the Block Development Officers (BDOs), who are carrying out the survey, were met with protests across the state — CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 linking” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval to “the serious criminal activity” in Canada — a reference to the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year. The Canadian NSA’s statement came two days after India rejected the report in The Globe and Mail. “We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous state- Canadian National Security Advisor Nathalie G Drouin ments made to a newspaper, purportedly by a Canadian government source, should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokespersonfortheMinistryof External Affairs, had said. On November 19, The Globe andMailreportstated,“Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbiaandother violentplots, accordingtoaseniornational-securityofficialwhoworkedonthe intelligence assessment of New Delhi’s foreign-interference operations in Canada.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2