Feature
Millions vote in Bihar, Rajnath says Modi still popular
Patna: Millions voted on Monday in the first round of staggered assembly polls in Bihar where the BJP-led alliance is determined to oust the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and its allies.
More than 53 percent of the 13.5 million voters in the first of the five-phase polling trooped to polling booths in 49 of the 243 constituencies spread over 10 districts, officials said.
Barring stray incidents of violence, the balloting was largely peaceful.
The Bihar battle, which ends on November 5 and whose outcome will be known on November 8, is the biggest popularity test in the country after the Delhi election in February in which the AAP routed the BJP.
Braving Maoist threats and a humid hot afternoon, hundreds of thousands voted. While the polling started slowly at 7 a.m., it picked up rapidly as the day progressed.
Unidentified men fired at LJP candidate Vijay Kumar Singh in Jamui constituency but he escaped unhurt. Police arrested one of the criminals involved in the attack.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer R. Lakshaman told that women voters outnumbered males in many polling centres.
As the voting progressed, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told IANS that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity had not waned, at least in Bihar.
“I am campaigning in the whole of Bihar. I see no dent in the prime minister’s image. The people of Bihar still have confidence in him,” the former BJP president said, adding he was confident of the BJP’s win.
Maoists called for a boycott of the election but the message was ignored except in a few polling booths in Nawada, Jamui and Banka districts.
“There are reports of some violence in Banka, Jamui and Bhagalpur districts. Supporters of rival parties attacked each other in Jamui and clashed in Banka,” a senior police official said.
The BJP-led NDA alliance, also including three other parties including the LJP, is trying to dislodge the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), which has the RJD and the Congress as allies. The BJP alliance also includes the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP).
Voters in most polling booths said they would vote for development. “It is the only agenda that has attracted me,” said Suman Kumar, a voter in Bhagalpur district.
Another voter, Giridhari Yadav in Khagaria, said he would vote for the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“Why should I vote for the BJP when we have tested Nitish Kumar? He has constructed roads, provided electricity, and set up schools and hospitals in rural areas,” he said.
Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Jamui districts voted in the first phase.
The second round of polling will be held on October 16.
Officials said that voters in over a dozen villages in Samastipur, Bhagalpur, Jamui and Banka boycotted the polls and shouted slogans against what they said was lack of development.
In areas of Maoist influence, the voting ended at 3 p.m.
The heavyweights in the fray on Monday included state LJP president Pashupati Kumar Paras, BJP ally HAM state president Shakuni Choudhary and Congress leader and former Speaker Sadanand Singh.
The JD-U and the Rashtriya Janata Dal came together for this election after years of hostility.
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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