PM Modi To Hold Two Rallies In UP, Roadshow In Ayodhya Today

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Campaigning will touch a crescendo in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Etawah -- a Samajwadi Party (SP) bastion.

Lucknow, May 5: Campaigning will touch a crescendo in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Etawah -- a Samajwadi Party (SP) bastion.

The BJP campaign has been targeting the main opposition party's bastions, especially those from where members of the SP's first family are contesting.

In almost all their rallies, BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, have raked up how five members of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's family are contesting the Lok Sabha election.

Also, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has held two rallies and a roadshow in Mainpuri, an SP citadel that the BJP has never won.

After Etawah, Prime Minister Modi will also address a rally in Sitapur on Sunday afternoon. Thereafter, he will go to Ayodhya to offer prayers at the Ram temple and then hold a roadshow in the holy city.

(IANS)

People Decided To Make Narendra Modi PM For Third Time, Says Ashwini Vaishnaw In Sundargarh

by Hemanta Pande

Sundargarh, May 18: Union Minister of Railways, Communications, and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday campaigned for Jual Oram, the candidate from Bonai parliamentary constituency of Odisha. After addressing the public rally in Odisha's Sundargarh, Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that the people have decided to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for a third time.

While speaking to the media, Vaishnaw said, "The people have made up their minds to make PM Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for the third time with a thumping majority. All the party workers, leaders and people will work hard to fulfil the dream of Viksit Bharat."

Jual Oram also expressed confidence in winning the elections and said, "The campaign response was very good and we will win all the seven seats in the state."

Meanwhile, the Railway Minister on this occasion received immense support from thousands of people. A crowd of thousands of people welcomed Vaishnav.

It is noteworthy that Vaishnaw has worked as a District Magistrate in this parliamentary constituency. At that time, Jual Oram was the MLA of Bonai. As District Magistrate, Vaishnaw had done work in the fields of public distribution systems, road infrastructure etc.

The assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the BJD-ruled state are being held across four phases--from May 13 to June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Polling for the first phase was conducted in 28 Assembly seats and four Lok Sabha constituencies on May 13. In the fifth phase, 35 Assembly seats and five Lok Sabha constituencies will vote on May 20, 42 Assembly segments and six Lok Sabha seats on May 25 and the remaining 42 Assembly seats and six Lok Sabha constituencies in the last phase on June 1.

IPL 2024: CSK Elect To Bowl In Winner-Takes-The-Playoffs-Spot Clash Against RCB

by Hemanta Pande

Bengaluru, May 18: Mitchell Santner replaces Moeen Ali in Chennai Super Kings’ playing eleven as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.

The winner of Saturday’s clash will book a spot in the playoffs, joining Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next round of IPL 2024. If RCB are to enter the playoffs, they need to beat CSK by at least 18 runs.

If CSK win, irrespective of the margin, they enter the knockouts. A washout due to a huge rain threat would mean RCB, who are on a five-match winning streak, would be out of the competition and CSK would book their spot in the playoffs.

Santner, the left-arm spin all-rounder, comes into the playing eleven as Moeen, the off-spin all-rounder, has returned to his home in England for international duty.

“The wicket looks good, conditions are overcast and we will look to make the most of the movement in the first 2-3 overs,” said Gaikwad.

“It looks a bit damp, but we'll go with great intent. Every game in the IPL is must must-win, nothing changes for us, we'll take it ball-by-ball, and try and win the small processes. We've won some crucial games to go ahead of the pack in the middle,” said Gaikwad.

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis said he would have bowled as well and added his playing eleven is unchanged. Faf didn’t mention though that Will Jacks is back in England and is replaced by Glenn Maxwell in the playing eleven.

“But we put up a good score when we batted first last (at the home venue). Losing the toss isn't ideal, but we'll take a lot of confidence from the last five games. The set-up is great, the last match before the knock-out stage, the scenario is nicely set up and we're happy to play our last league game in front of our fans. Not thinking a lot, we'll take it as it comes and do our best,” he said.

Playing XIs:

Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh and Maheesh Theekshana

Impact Substitutes: Shivam Dube, Sameer Rizvi, Prashant Solanki, Shaik Rasheed, Mukesh Choudhary

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Siraj

Impact Substitutes: Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Himanshu Sharma
(IANS)

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Shikhar Dhawan Put All His 'Heart And Soul' Into Acting Classes For His Chat Show 'Dhawan Karenge'

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

New Delhi, May 18: Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, who is all set to debut as a host with 'Dhawan Karenge', shared about the nervousness he felt while shooting for the chat show, saying that he took acting classes.

Talking to IANS, Shikhar shared that how his heart skipped a beat when he was going for the show for the first time.

“Mera dil zaroor dhak dhak kia jab mai pehli baar show ke liye jaa raha tha. Jab maine Akshay paaji ke saath shoot kia to mera dil dhak dhak kar raha tha, I could feel ki jaise match me hota tha na, wo nervousness aati hain... which is very good, very normal. Then it happened, I was smiling, I didn't expect that it will happen,” the left-handed batsman told IANS.

Calling himself a very confident man, Shikhar, who is fondly known as the 'Gabbar' of the Indian cricket team, said: “I was like I will pull it off and I like to prepare. So, before going to the show, I took some acting classes. Usme padhai karai gayi. Maine kaha acting to ho nahi rahi hai, isme padha rahe hain zyada. So, I did all the preparation in one to two months. And then I just jumped in. I had put in my all heart and soul.”

On the USP of the show, Shikhar, who plays for 'Punjab Kings' in the Indian Premier League commented: “There are many talk shows already, so I asked my team that if I do talk show then how will it be different. Mera bhi yahi sawal tha ki mai kya alag karunga? So my team made me realise that like my personality is different, all of you know me as a cricketer, you might not know me as a person.”

“My sense of humour, spontaneity, cheekiness, energy and vibe -- there are many aspects to every individual. All those things will come in my show. There will be soulful, funny talks and some games, so it will be a mix blend of everything,” he said.

During the shoot of the show, Shikhar even realised the value of a scriptwriter.

“When the scriptwriter wrote the show synchronising my personality with it, then I thought yes it's a different thing. I said 'ab maza aa raha hai mujhe',” he said.

Shikhar, who is poised to bring forth his A-game, said the idea of the show came from his team.

“Of course as a cricketer, I am ageing, I have played for so many years, and since I am not there in the Indian team for a long time... I have shown my entertainment side and lived it through Reels, so I felt that I had that thing that I can start something in the entertainment field,| he said.