Feature
Bihar polls: RJD, JDU want to repeat success in 3rd phase, BJP to make new gains
On November 7, elections will be held on 78 seats for the third and final phase of assembly elections in Bihar. Although the election in this phase is important for every political party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal United face the challenge of retaining their old seats. For the BJP, the challenge is to repeat the success of the 2010 elections.
In this phase, for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJP is contesting on 35 seats while its ally the JD (U) has fielded 37 candidates. In addition, five candidates of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and one of the Hindustani Awam Morcha are in the fray.
On the other hand, for the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), the RJD is contesting on 46 seats and its ally the Congress on 25 assembly seats.
In the last election, the Mahagathbandhan had won 54 seats out of 78 in these areas, but the situation has changed this time round. After the coming together of the JD(U) and the BJP, the RJD may find it tough to replicate its success. The party had won 20 seats in the region in the last election. The same is case for the JD(U) that had won 23 seats from the region in the last election.
In the third phase of elections, the RJD and JD (U) are facing each other in a direct contest on 23 seats while the RJD has a prickly battle with the BJP on 20 seats. In this phase, the Congress faces the BJP on 14 seats and is contesting against the JD(U)on nine seats.
In 2010, 27 of the 91 seats that the BJP won came from this region. No wonder the BJP is working hard to replicate its success in the region.
However, the election in Seemanchal has never been easy for any party. The math here is fairly complicated. Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is already preparing to field its candidate in this Muslim-dominated region and make a dent in RJD’s vote bank.
The election for this phase is no less challenging for the Congress that is part of the Grand Alliance. In the last election, the party had won on 27 seats, but its four sitting seats have gone to the account of its allies.
Meanwhile, all parties are working hard to improve their position, but who would the voters favour will only be revealed on November 10 when the results are declared after the counting of votes.
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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