Feature
Former JNU students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar to contest 2019 LS elections
Patna: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar is likely to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Begusarai constituency in Bihar as a CPI candidate.
He is likely to have the support of grand alliance partners RJD, Congress, NCP and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM(S).
“If the party (CPI) decides to nominate me as its candidate from Begusarai and other grand alliance partners also extend their support, then I don’t have any objection to it,” Kumar told media persons.
He, however, said no formal talks have taken place either at party or alliance partners’ level with regard to sharing of seats.
A resident of Barauni block in Begusarai district, Kumar’s mother is an anganwadi worker and his father is a farmer.
Asked if he will still contest the election if CPI decides to go alone in 2019 general elections, Kumar said, “Alliance is a certainty and party will not go it alone in elections. CPI’s party congress has passed a resolution under which it would work and coordinate in forming a grand alliance of which CPI will certainly be a part,” he said.
Sources said Kumar, 31, will be CPI nominee from Begusarai and all other partners of grand alliance such as RJD, Congress, NCP, HAM(S) and Left parties would extend support to him.
CPI officials said RJD chief Lalu Prasad has given his consent in this regard.
With backing from Lalu Yadav former JNU leader Kanhaiya Kumar to contest LS polls:
“Left parties, including the CPI want him to contest the Lok Sabha election from Begusarai in 2019 and other parties such as Congress and RJD also want him to contest the election,” CPI state secretary Satya Narayan Singh said.
Stating that Prasad has given his consent for leaving a seat for Kumar, Singh said, “During our talks held on earlier occasions, Prasad had agreed to leave a seat for him.”
Singh also said his party has decided to contest six Lok Sabha seats in Bihar but a final decision would be taken after talks over seat-sharing with all like-minded parties.
The six seats on which the party intends to field its candidates are Begusarai, Madhubani, Motihari, Khagaria, Gaya and Banka.
The CPI leader said Kumar has agreed to contest election from Begusarai.
Begusarai, once considered a Left bastion, is currently represented by senior BJP leader Bhola Singh, who defeated RJD’s Tanveer Hassan in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
CPI candidate Rajendra Prasad Singh, who was also CPI state secretary then, contested from Begusarai in 2014 in alliance with JD(U) and secured third position.
An RJD leader, preferring anonymity, said there is a broad consensus among grand alliance partners and Left parties that there should be a joint candidate to defeat BJP and its allies in 2019 polls, but discussions have not started on seat sharing so far.
“Parties will name their candidates once seats are allocated to them but that has not taken place so far,” he said.
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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