Feature
BJP looks for strong face after tasting defeating in Yogi Adityanath home ground
Lucknow: After facing crucial defeat in last year’s by-election in parliamentary constituency seat in Gorakhpur that is considered as hub of Yogi Adityanath but Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking for strong face in upcoming elections coming closer for Achilles’ heel.
As we all know that Gorakhpur is considered as prestigious seat not only for UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who has won five terms an MP from there, but also for the BJP.
Now, what worries the party is that it lost to the Samajwadi Party even though it was a strong seat of Yogi Adityanath has showered spots to the tune of over Rs 25,000 crore.
The BJP leadership is of the view that only a powerful face should be fielded to regain the lost fort as, since 1989, a representative of the famous Gorakhpur Peeth has been winning from this constituency and it was first time since 1989, when the party lost. Many even attribute this to the fact that someone from outside the peeth fought the byelection.
Sources say that the BJP is in a dilemma whether to field Yogi Adityanath to redeem its fiefdom in the coming elections. But, the counterview in the party is that is if the Chief Minister contested an election, who would lead the campaign in the state.
Meanwhile, the BKJP dose not want to repeat the bypoll situation of loss in the general elections against the alliance.
After facing defeat in Yogi Adityanath constituency BJP now looks strong face in LS polls:
On other hand, the BJP is working and holding negotiations with a powerful leader of the Nishad community in damage control mode, who as of now owe allegiance to the opposition party as the Samajwadi Party candidate Pravin Nishad defeated his rival opposition contestant Upendra Dutt Shukla in the bypoll.
The Nishads community are the highest and dominant community, followed by Dalits, Brahmins and Muslims in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat which is considered as the main and prestigious region of Sfron Party.
The BJP has realised that with a formidable SP-BSP alliance, its victory maybe difficult if Nishads remain in the rival camp.
Now during Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi scheduled visit to Gorakhpur city on February 24th to launch a series of development projects, BJP managers are learnt to be working overtime to win over leraders from the Nishad Party headed by Sanjay Nishad and the family Vishambhar Nishad.
Vishambhar Nishad, a powerful Nishad leader and former minister, had died in a road accident and his wife Rajmati Devi is Samajwadi Party MLA.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.