Politics
Bawankule: From autowallah to cabinet minister, BJP made my life. I’m not angry with party

“From an autorickshaw driver and a labour, BJP made me an MLA thrice and then a Cabinet Minister. I can’t get angry with my party,” said the sitting minister and MLA from Kamptee Chandrashekhar Bawankule, after having been denied a candidature by BJP in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
This is what Bawankule said, in a communique issued to the media: “It takes a great deal of luck for a farm worker and an ordinary grocery store labor to be able to get the things that I have got in my life. I am truly lucky and I will never forget the favour BJP has done to me.
I am not at all upset because the BJP did not give me the opportunity to contest elections from the Kamptee constituency this time. In the past, the party gave me the opportunity to contest from Kamptee three times. I was also selected as the Guardian Minister for two districts.
I accept the decision made by the party high command. The party wants me to work in Vidarbha and there’s no question of being upset at that. I was given the chance to contest the election from Katol this time, but if I had decided to fight the election from Katol, it would have been unfair to party members there.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is like my elder brother and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is like my father. I want to work under their leadership. I will keep working like every other party member to fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s National President Amit Shah. I will honestly carry out any responsibility that the party gives me.
The party did not allow me to contest assembly elections as it wants me to work for assembly elections in East Vidarbha. My wife did not fill the nomination form as an independent candidate, but because she did not have a B-form, she was going to be eliminated anyway.”
COVID-19
Thane Municipal Corporation adds 25 beds as COVID cases rise
Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) added 25 additional beds in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital Kalwa apart from arranging a special ward dedicated to COVID-19 patients. The total number of active patients in the city stood at 252 while five succumbed to the virus. Meanwhile, TMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said a ‘death audit’ of patients who died of COVID would be conducted. The TMC has ensured it has additional stock of oxygen concentrators, testing kits, medicines, to name a few. Bangar told HT, “Due to the increasing number of Covid patients, it is necessary for everyone to be alert.”
He added, The number of Covid tests should be increased to stay one step ahead of the disease. As a result, the number of patients is likely to increase due to increased testing. However, as per the ‘test, isolate, treat’ protocol for Covid, it becomes necessary to isolate and treat more and more patients. The testing centres will not remain closed even for a single day. At the same time, more arrangements for testing will be made immediately in public places, markets, railway stations, malls.”
India recorded 3,095 new COVID cases and five deaths in last 24 hours.
Also read: Nagpur records 22 COVID cases in 24 hours
Politics
After Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, his namesake who contested from Wayanad disqualified

Rahul Gandhi
An independent candidate for Lok Sabha elections named Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from contesting polls for failing to lodge account of election expenses. Gandhi, who’s name figures as ‘Rahul Gandhi K E S/o Valsamma’ in an Election Commission list of persons, had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an Independent and had received 2196 votes from the Wayanad seat in Kerala – a constituency from where ex-Congress MP Rahul Rajiv Gandhi had won with over seven lakh votes.
However, since it is mandatory for all contestants to submit their account of election expenses among other mandatory requirements under EC rules and the Representation of the People Act.
Rahul Gandhi K E S/o Valsamma stood disqualified to contest polls from September 13, 2021 till September 13, 2024. According to Section 10A, the Election Commission can disqualify a contestant for a period of three years from the date of the order if he/she has failed to lodge an account of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by law and has no good reason or justification for the failure.
Also read: ‘CBI under UPA govt. pressurised me to frame Modi,’ recalls Amit Shah
Nagpur News
Nagpur records 22 COVID cases in 24 hours
A total of 22 patients tested positive for COVID-19 in Nagpur in past 24 hours on Thursday. Almost 242 people were tested in the city, out of which 15 belonged to urban area while and 6 were from the rural areas, and one from outside Nagpur district.
At present, there are 72 active patients in the city. Three new cases of the new XBB.1.16 variant of COVID-19 were detected that took the total tally to five in the district.
India recorded 3,095 new COVID cases and five deaths in last 24 hours.
Also read: CELESTIAL! Unique alignment of Moon and 5 planets