Morning Digest: 65% final turnout in Maharashtra, over 67% in Jharkhand; U.S. charges Gautam Adani in alleged bribery scheme, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on November 21, 2024

The final voter turnout stood at 65.02% during the single-phase Maharashtra Assembly election on Wednesday, the State’s Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam told The Hindu. Polling concluded peacefully, barring minor skirmishes in Beed district. This marked an increase from the 61.6% recorded during the 2019 Assembly elections. Mumbai City saw a turnout of just 52.07%, while Mumbai Suburban fared slightly better at 55.77%

Polling in 38 constituencies (14,218 booths) in the second and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections concluded on Wednesday peacefully with a better turnout of voters compared to the first phase. Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Jharkhand, Neha Arora said, a turnout of 67.59% was recorded. In comparison to the first phase of polling, which witnessed 66.65% voting, the percentage of the second phase was higher.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. Mr. Adani (62) and his nephew Sagar Adani (30), executives of Adani Green Energy Limited, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Limited, were charged on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

India on Wednesday strongly trashed as “smear campaign” a Canadian media report that claimed that the Indian Prime Minister was aware of the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Referring to the report quoting an unnamed official, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such “ludicrous statements” should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.

Dominica has conferred its top award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his contributions to the Caribbean nation during the COVID-19 pandemic and his dedication to enhancing the bilateral partnership between India and Dominica .The Prime Minister, who is in Guyana on the last leg of his three-nation visit, was conferred the “Dominica Award of Honour” by President Sylvanie Burton of Dominica during the India-CARICOM Summit in Guyana on Wednesday. “Honoured to be conferred with the highest national award by Dominica. I dedicate it to the 140 crore people of India,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Five police officers were suspended in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav complained that they were using indecent behaviour and language with burqa-clad women to prevent them from casting their votes. He demanded a repoll in the Kundraki constituency. Apart from U.P., bypolls were also held in six Assembly seats in Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand. Stray incidents of violence were reported in at least two seats, one each in Punjab and U.P.

Several exit polls on Wednesday gave a clear edge to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliances in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, while some projected that the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition may emerge on top in Maharashtra. In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, 145 is the majority mark, while it is 41 in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. The BJP-Shiv-Sena-Nationalist Congress Party alliance is in power in Maharashtra, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress is ruling in Jharkhand.