NCP, BJP announce candidates for Pandharpur Assembly by-election
The Hindu
Shiv Sena denies meeting between Sharad Pawar and Amit Shah
The stage is set for the first direct electoral battle for a Maharashtra Assembly seat between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday announced Bhagirath Bhalke, son of former MLA late Bharat Bhalke, as its candidate for the Pandharpur Assembly bypoll to be conducted on April 17. The BJP declared the candidature of Samadhan Awatade. NCP State president Jayant Patil said that the party had decided to field Mr. Bhalke after party president Sharad Pawar approved the name. Bharat Bhalke, NCP MLA from Pandharpur, succumbed to COVID-19 two months ago leading to the by-election.A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.