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Rajkot, Sep 19 (IANS) Two 'bahubali netas' (musclemen-turned-politicians) of the BJP from the Rajput community are fighting to get tickets for their sons from Gujarat's Gondal Assembly constituency.

However, this fight has made the politicians in the Rajkot district worry about the political tug of war between the two bahubalis that can disturb the social fabric which was settled after a long struggle.

BJP's former MLA Jayrajsinh Jadeja wishes the party nominates his son Ganeshsinh this time, instead of his wife Gayatriba, who is the sitting MLA from the Gondal seat. Whereas Anirudhsinh Jadeja, another bahubali wants the BJP to nominate either his son Rajdeepsinh or the candidate of his choice from the same seat.

Jayrajsinh Jadeja was convicted in Nilesh Rayani's murder case of 2004 and Anirudhsinh Jadeja was convicted in Congress party's sitting MLA Popatlal Sorathiya's murder case of 1998. Political sources say that both are considered big power brokers, and unofficial arbitrators in land disputes.

The political war between the two Jadeja families broke out after Jayrajsinh defeated Anirudhsinh's father Mahipatsinh Jadeja in the 1998 Assembly elections. Jayrajsinh had contested on a BJP ticket and Mahipatsinh was contesting as an independent candidate. Mahipatsinh was a two-term MLA from the constituency as an independent MLA in 1990 and 1995.

Jayrajsinh represented the seat from 1998, 2002 and 2012, in 2017 his wife Gayatriba got elected to the Assembly seat on the BJP symbol.

The Gondal Assembly constituency has a total 2,35,000 voters, one lakh Patidar voters, 10,000 Kshtriya Rajputs and the rest 1,20,000 of other communities.

"It becomes difficult for the local leaders, when two bahubalis are in race, but as a district BJP Committee, our job is simply to send a panel of aspiring candidates to the parliamentary board to finalise the candidate. But when a sensitive matter comes, then Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi take a call," said Mansukh Khachariya, president of the Rajkot District BJP Committee.

"Both families are trying for the ticket of the BJP, if either fails to get a ticket and if the candidate has a good track record, for such candidates gates of Congress are always open," said Arjun Khatariya, Rajkot District Congress Committee.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 (IANS) Starting October 1 for the next six months, the famed Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayoor and those who arrive for prayers are going to get a first of its kind 'Ayurvedic' touch as 34-year-old Kiran Anand Namboothiri becomes the new Chief Priest or 'Melsanthi' of the temple.

Namboothiri is an Ayurveda doctor and till four months ago, he and his wife Manasi, were in Moscow running a clinic there. It was then that he applied for the top post in the temple.

Of the 41 applicants who applied, 39 were cleared and when a draw of lots was done to find who should be the chief priest for a period of six months, the name of Namboothiri was selected.

"Am extremely delighted and happy that this is a great blessing for me. I am really delighted about this and this is now going to be a huge responsibility as well, and am confident that Lord Guruvayoor Appan will help me," said Namboothiri.

Incidentally, Namboothiri belongs to the Kakkad Othikkan family.

He will arrive here on September 30 to take over.

--IANS
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Bhopal, Sep 19 (IANS) Newly appointed in-charge for Madhya Pradesh Congress Jai Prakash Agarwal, during his three-day visit here, chaired a series of meetings with party leaders and workers to take stock of the preparedness for the upcoming Assembly elections in 2023.

Besides, the senior party leaders or MPCC members, Agarwal also met the members of different cells of the party, including youth and women wing.

"During the meeting, he (Agarwal) inquired about our preparations. After giving a patient hearing, he advised us on how to proceed and expand the party's base in the state. He shared different ideas for different age group people," said a senior member of the women wing of the Congress.

Known for making effective reconciliation among the warring section/faction, the veteran began his operation during his first visit to the state. As an in-charge of the party, Agarwal not only chaired meetings at Congress headquarters, he also reached out to senior party members at their residences in Bhopal. He visited the party leaders, who have expressed their disappointment on some issues within the party.

Meanwhile, in a major development in the state Congress, a proposal was passed at the meeting in which AICC president Sonia Gandhi was given responsibility to appoint Madhya Pradesh Congress president.

The meeting, held at the MP Congress Committee office on Saturday, was chaired by the newly appointed state in-charge Agarwal and organisational election in charge R.C. Khutia.

Notably, Agarwal who was appointment as in-charge of MP Congress, has replaced outgoing MP Congress in-charge Mukul Vasnik, who was given the role in 2020 after the Kamal Nath-led Congress government was dissolved due to shifting of over 20 Congress MLAs to the BJP, along with Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The development came just 15 months before the 2023 Assembly elections in the state and the Congress has started gearing up for its preparations.

He has been given a role in the party after a long gap and especially at the time when the Congress is struggling to revive the grand-old-party.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 19 (IANS) Actress Kate Winslet is ready to get back to work after a hospital visit post she slipped while filming an upcoming project in Croatia.

The actress was shooting her role in the historical drama film 'Lee' when an on-set accident led to her being taken to a nearby hospital to ensure that she was OK, her representatives confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Winslet will resume filming this week as scheduled.

"Kate slipped and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure required by the production," her team said.

"She is fine and will be filming, as planned, this week."

The 46-year-old Oscar winner will portray photographer Lee Miller in the film that focuses on her life, including her work as a war correspondent for Vogueduring World War II.

The cast for director Ellen Kuras' movie includes Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough and Josh O'Connor.

Winslet, who has a role in the upcoming aAvatar: The Way of Water', was most recently seen on the small screen with aMare of Easttown', which earned her an Emmy Award last year.

Recent film credits include 'Ammonite', 'Blackbird' and 'The Mountain Between Us'.

--IANS
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Ayodhya, Sep 19 (IANS) Even before the Ram temple reaches completion, Ayodhya now has a temple that is turning out to be a major tourist attraction.

A temple dedicated to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has come up about 25 kilometres from Ayodhya on the Ayodhya -Prayagraj highway in Bhadarsa village.

The temple is located near the Bharat Kund.

The idol of the chief minister shows him carrying a bow and arrow and an 'aarti' is performed at the temple every evening.

Prabhakar Maurya, who built the temple, said, "Yogi Adityanath has built the Ram temple for us and I have built this temple for him."

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) Rashes that do not itch, swollen eyes, burning sensation in lips and sore throat could be symptoms of severe adverse drug reaction (ADR).

Prof A.K. Sachan, head, pharmacology department, King George's Medical University (KGMU) said that 137 ADR cases had been reported at KGMU's different departments since February.

The highest 34 cases were reported from the skin department followed by radiotherapy (26) and pulmonary critical care (11).

In some cases, even cardiac issues and liver diseases were caused due to drug reactions.

"Drugs can cause serious implications, so patients should share all his clinical history, previous and current health issues. They should state allergy from any drug in the past," said Dr Sachan.

"Diabetes patients should not be given hypertensive drugs as they mask the symptoms that can be fatal. Often such cases get revealed when any patient faints due to low blood sugar," he added.

Coordinator, pharmacovigilance programme, KGMU, Prof Anuradha Nischal, said, "Patients must report any unintended reactions known or unknown, serious or non-serious, due to medicines as soon as they encounter them. There were various medications withdrawn from the market after notable side-effects were reported."

Citing the instance of a 65-year-old man who was brought to the trauma centre of King George's Medical University (KGMU) with progressive rashes that did not itch, the doctor said that the rashes started on his face and spread over other parts of body, affecting more than 30 per cent of total body surface area.

"He had swollen eyes and lips with a burning sensation. These symptoms lasted for two weeks with manifestations of fever, malaise and sore throat. Investigation revealed that he had been on medication for seizures for a month prior to developing rashes that had caused toxic epidermal necrolysis, which is a rare, life-threatening skin reaction," said Dr Swastika Superia, faculty at skin department, KGMU.

"Though the man was saved, cases of ADR are common because people ignore initial drug reactions due to lack of awareness," she added.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) The iconic Burlington Crossing in Lucknow has been named after Ashok Singhal, the former international working president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The executive committee of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has renamed six places, including roads, parks and a stadium after Hindu ideologues, freedom fighters, soldiers, late politicians, and social workers hailing from the city and outside.

According to official sources, the road leading to Meena Bakery Crossing in Rajajipuram has been renamed after noted Shia cleric Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar, who was the founder president of All India Shia Personal Law Board.

The trisection near the statue of Maharaja Suheldev Rajbhar at Lalbagh has been named after the Suheldev Rajbhar, the legendary king of the medieval India, who ruled in Shravasti and fought with the Muslim invaders.

Incidentally Suheldev Rajbhar is the ideologue of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), a former ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

It has also been decided to rename a park in Azad Nagar Colony after a freedom fighter, though the name has not been finalised yet. The mayor will choose from the names of 1857 revolt heroes Mangal Pandey, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Babu Kunwar Singh.

A road in Aliganj area will be named after freedom fighter Sohan Lal Saxena, street near the Amiruddaula Public Library after artist Prof Sukhvir Sanghal, Alambagh Teripulia Trisection as Khalsa Chowk, a park in Sanjay Gandhi Puram Colony after Chandra Shekhar Azad, the street near Ashiana Power House as Digambar Jain Temple Marg.

The decision to rename the streets comes barely weeks before the municipal polls are scheduled in Lucknow.

--IANS
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London, Sep 19 (IANS) More than 2,000 guests will gather in London's Westminster Abbey on Monday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8 at the age of 96.

Before the service commences at 11 a.m. (about 4 p.m. IST), a bell will toll for 96 consecutive minutes, marking the length of the Queen's life, reports the BBC.

Towards the end of the service, the Last Post will be played, followed by a two-minute silence and a lament from the Queen's piper.

With world leaders and dignitaries gathered in the 13th Century church for the service, King Charles III and the Queen Consort will lead the procession behind the Queen's coffin.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will walk ahead of their nine-year-old son George and seven-year-old daughter Charlotte, followed by their uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and other members of the Royal Family.

George and Charlotte's younger brother Louis, four, is not expected to attend.

After the funeral ends, a committal service will follow in the evening at St George's Chapel in Windsor, the BBC reported.

The bells of Westminster Abbey will later be rung, but muffled, as is tradition following the funeral of a sovereign.

Some of the European royal families who will attend Monday's funeral are Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde; King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife, Queen Maxima, along with his mother, former Dutch queen Princess Beatrix; and King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan will also attend the service, as well as the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk.

Other expected guests include Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah; Jordan's King Abdullah; Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah; King of Lesotho, Letsie III; and Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein.

Royal leaders from Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Tonga are expected.

Leaders from across the Commonwealth, of which the Queen served as head for the entirety of her reign, will also attend.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in the UK, as have New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian President Droupadi Murmu have also reached London and will attend the funeral.

The other world leaders to be in attendance are US President and First Lady Joe and Jill Biden; Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin and President Michael Higgins; German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Italian President Sergio Mattarella; and French President Emmanuel Macron.

--IANS
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Baghdad, Sep 19 (IANS) Seven Islamic State (IS) militants and a member of government-backed paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces were killed on Sunday in a clash in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the media office of Hashd Shaabi forces said in a statement.

Hashd Shaabi fighters clashed with IS militants hiding in a tunnel in the al-Hatra desert southwest of Mosul, capital of Nineveh Province, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.

The clash resulted in the killing of seven IS militants inside the tunnel, the statement said, adding a Hashd Shaabi member was also killed and eight others wounded after two suicide bombers blew up their explosive belts in an attempt to storm the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Yahia Rasoul, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said in a statement that the army's helicopter gunships destroyed a vehicle and killed three IS militants aboard during reconnaissance and search operations in Nineveh.

Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, its remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Sep 19 (IANS) Reacting over a flex that was put up in Telangana which reffered the BJP-led Karnataka government as "40 per cent commission government", Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday stated it would affect the relation between both the states.

The controversial flex was put up in Hyderabad city of Telangana. The flex reads - "Welcome to the 40 per cent government", and was put up on the road through which Union Home Minister Amit Shah travelled to participate in the 'Liberation Day'.

Chief Minister Bommai said, "How would it be, if something like this is published on Telangana in Karnataka. It is a systematic conspiracy. This would impact political relations between the two states. No one should do this."

"No one should allow this. It is unfair to make baseless allegations on one of the states," he added.

Opposition Congress and JD(S) have taken this opportunity to slam ruling BJP. Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has said that the commission allegations against the BJP are reaching every place.

The State Contractors' Association has alleged that the contractors will have to pay 40 per cent commission to every government project. The association had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard twice seeking action.

Opposition Congress had earlier demanded the implementation of the President's rule in the state in the backdrop of allegations.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has been talking to JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda regarding launching of a parallel forum against the BJP at the Centre. Rao's son Minister K.T. Rama Rao had asked the IT companies to shift to Hyderabad promising better infrastructure than Bengaluru.

--IANS
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