Morning Digest: BJP meeting likely to choose Maharashtra Chief Minister on Dec. 4; Cyclone Fengal’s remnant expected to weaken further, cause heavy rain in 15 districts in Tamil Nadu; and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on December 3, 2024

With the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra two days away, the Shiv Sena is yet to decide on the Deputy Chief Minister. Caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde continues to recover from illness, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed two central observers and has called for its Legislature Party meeting on Wednesday (December 4, 2024) in Mumbai, likely paving the way for the appointment of Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister.

The remnant of Cyclone Fengal, which brought torrential rainfall in various districts, is expected to weaken further by Tuesday (December 3, 2024). It is expected to bring heavy rainfall to 15 districts in the State as it moves.

Expressing distrust over the functioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in their village during the recent Maharashtra State Assembly election, people from Markadwadi, a small village in the Malshiras tehsil of Solapur district, have decided to hold a “re-election” using ballot papers on Tuesday (December 3, 2024).

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of equipment and follow-on support for MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to India for an estimated cost of $1.17 billion, the Pentagon said on Monday (December 3, 2024).

The Union government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has removed data on reservations in Central government jobs and positions from its latest Annual Report (2023-24) released last month. A table — which contains details about all Central government positions across Ministries and Departments, and the number of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Classes employees across Groups A, B, C, and D — has been a part of the chapter on reservations in all of DoPT annual reports.

The Congress on Monday (December 2, 2024) sought a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the ₹6,000-crore ‘ponzi’ scam in Gujarat, allegedly carried out by a person associated with the BJP. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Gujarat Congress chief and Rajya Sabha member Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that Bhupendra Jhala used his BJP connections to lure unsuspecting people to invest in his “ponzi scheme” that promised to double one’s money within two years.

Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have deployed in Syria to back the government’s counteroffensive against a surprise advance by insurgents who seized the largest city of Aleppo last week, a militia official and a war monitor said on Monday (December 2, 2024).