Feature
BJP sets for straight win in Himachal Pardesh, ousted ruling Congress
Shimla: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was set to wrest power in Himachal Pradesh with its candidates on a victory lap in 36 of the 68 seats in the Assembly elections on Monday. The party has won four of the seven declared seats as counting of ballots progressed.
The ruling Congress managed to won only one seat, while one each went to an Independent and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM).
The saffron party won its first seat by defeating Congress cabinet Minister Prakash Chaudhary from Balh in Mandi district with a big margin. BJP’s Inder Singh Gandhi won this seat.
Likewise, BJP’s Ravindra Dhiman defeated Congress’ sitting legislator Yadvinder Goma from Jaisinghpur, Kishori Lal of the BJP defeated Bansi Lal of the Congress from the Anni seat.
BJP’s sitting legislator Suresh Bhardwaj retained his Shimla seat. He defeated Congress’ Harbhajan Bhajji.
BJP and Congress veterans Ravinder Ravi and Viplove Thakur, respectively, faced humiliating defeat from Independent Hoshiar Singh from Dehra.
Congress’ sitting legislator Anirudh Singh retained his Kasumpti seat by defeating BJP’s Vijay Jyoti Sain. Both belong to the royal families.
CPI-M’s Rakesh Singha defeated his near rival Rakesh Verma of the BJP from Theog.
BJP poised to take power in Himachal, as Saffron party ousted ruling Congress:
Trends from the other counting centres across the hill state showed the Congress was ahead in 20 constituencies, while the BJP was leading in 40 seats and smaller parties and independents had inched ahead in all others seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party needs 35 seats to control the Himachal Assembly.
State BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt told media persons: “We have crossed the half-way mark. This clearly indicates we are going to form the government in the state.”
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh (Arki) and his son Vikramaditya Singh (Shimla Rural) were, however, ahead of their BJP rivals.
State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti trailed behind the Congress from Una seat.
However, BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was trailing in the first four rounds, is now leading his close rival Rajinder Rana of the Congress.
A total of 337 candidates contested the November 9 election. A total of 37,83,580 people voted in the hill state-a record 75.28 per cent polling.
The Congress and the BJP contested in all the 68 constituencies. Most exit polls had predicted the BJP’s return to power with a majority.
The state has alternately elected Congress and BJP since 1985. In 2012, the Congress won 36 seats and the BJP 26. Independents bagged six seats.
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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