Feature
Akhilesh checkmates Mulayam, SP bank accounts frozen
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav appears isolated with son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav coming on top in the ugly battle for political supremacy. Having anointed himself the party’s National President, in a dramatic coup against his wrestler-turned-politician father, the 43-year-old Akhilesh Yadav is in full control of the party, party insiders say. Barring a few family members from his village Saifai in Etawah and not more than two dozen legislators, Mulayam Singh, the family patriarch, seems to be isolated, party leaders admit.
Cornered through a Akhilesh-backed resolution that left him with the mere tag of ‘marg darshak’ (mentor), Mulayam Singh is now left with very little leg room to manoeuvre his way back as the party’s unquestioned boss. Egged on by uncle and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav has been making the right moves since raising the banner of revolt against his ageing father.
And Yadav junior has since gone on an offensive. The Chief Minister enjoys the backing of 209 legislators and 51 MLCs, all of whom signed affidavits on Thursday swearing their support to his leadership. On Friday, Shivpal Yadav, Mulayam Singh’s brother, met Akhilesh Yadav at the latter’s residence, apparently to discuss possible rapprochement. “The Chief Minister is clear. There is no going back now. He is not averse to his father but cannot stake his political career on the palace intrigues in the family,” a close aide said. Sunil Singh Sajan, an Akhilesh protege, says their faction was unfazed by reports that the party symbol ‘cycle’ may be frozen by the Election Commission.
“A lot of development has taken place under Akhilesh Yadav. People see him as a harbinger of good and prosperity, we will work on it,” said Udayveer Singh, another MLC close to the Chief Minister. In another move, aided by legal eagles, the Akhilesh camp has told banks to freeze the Samajwadi Party accounts. As a result, more than Rs 500 crore belonging to the party, which till now was operational with the signature of Shivpal Yadav, the estranged uncle of the Chief Minister, have been put on hold.
Most of the old guard and Mulayam loyalists like Reoti Raman Singh, Balram Yadav, Rajendra Chowdhary and Ahmad Hasan have turned their back on the party supremo who once dreamt of becoming the Prime Minister. Even the new generation with its roots in the Yadav clan – Tej Pratap Yadav (Mainpuri MP), Budayun MP Dharmendra Yadav, Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav and many second-rung politicians – have accepted Akhilesh Yadav as their leader.
Family elders too feel that Mulayam Singh should reconcile to the rise of the son. The other two brothers of Mulayam Singh – Abhay Ram Yadav and Rajpal Yadav – have come to Lucknow, in a rare appearance, to douse the family fire and thrash a respectable way out for the father and son. Mulayam Singh is left with only a handful of diehard loyalists like brother Shivpal Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh and actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada.
All eyes are on the Election Commission to see to who it will allot the ‘cycle’ symbol — the Mulayam or Akhilesh faction. With staggered Uttar Pradesh assembly polls set to start on February 11, the decision will have a major bearing on the electoral battle.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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