Feature
Ram, Krishna, Shakuni, Subhash Chandra Bose — all in Bihar polls
Patna: What do Ram, Krishna, Shayam, Shiv, Shatrughan, Arjun, Shakuni, Subhash Chandra Bose and Prahlad have in common — all are candidates contesting the Bihar assembly election.
There are many candidates named after Hindu god Ram, while in many places Shayam and Krishna are contesting against Shiv.
Candidates with names of other mythological icons like Arjun, Shatrughan, Shakuni and Prahlad are also in the fray.
“Many parties have fielded candidates named after Ram. There is hardly one among the 243 assembly constituencies without a candidate named after Ram. In some constituency, candidates named after Ram are fighting against each other,” said Ranjeev, a political activist.
It is not only the NDA — comprising the BJP and its allies LJP, RLSP and HAM — but the grand alliance of the JD-U, the RJD and the Congress also has a number of Rams as candidates. Even the Left parties have fielded a number of Rams.
“The large number of candidates named after Ram reflect the respect, devotion and popularity of him more than other god,” said RLSP’s media in-charge Chandrabhusan Kumar.
The BJP has nearly two dozen candidates named after Ram — Ramji in Raniganj constituency, Ram Sunder Yadav in Phulparas, Ram Lakhan Singh in Teghda, Ramanand Ram in Bakhri, Ram Devi Mahto in Madhubani, Ram Janam Sharma in Paliganj and Ram Preet Paswan in Rajnagar.
Candidates in BJP’s allies LJP, RLSP and HAM also have candidates named after Ram, including former chief minister and HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is contesting from two assembly seats — Makhdumpur in Jehanabad district and Imamganj in Gaya district.
HAM state president Shakuni Choudhari is contesting from Tarapur and LJP candidate Prince Raj — the son of party chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s younger brother Ram Chander Paswan — is contesting from Kalyanpur.
The LJP has fielded a candidate from Sikandara named after national icon Subhash Chandra Bose.
The grand alliance is also not behind as far as candidates with mythological names are concerned.
The JD-U has fielded Ramanand Singh from Parbatta, Ram Chandra Prasad from Gurua, Ramai Ram from Bochahan and Ram Sevak Singh from Hathua.
It has fielded Shayam Razak from Phulwarisharif, Krishna Nandan Verma from Ghosi, Krishna Kumar from Amnour, Shatrughan Mandal from Sikti and Prabhunath Ram from Agiaon.
Lalu Prasad’s RJD also has candidates with mythological names.
The party has fielded Prahlad Yadav from Suryagarha, Kunti Devi from Atri, Ramanuj Prasad from Sonepur, Ramanand Yadav from Fatuha, Ram Vishnu Singh from Jagdishpur, Laxmi Narayan Yadav from Chiraia and Sita Ram Yadav from Khajauli seat.
The Congress has Ramdeo Rai in Bachwahara, Mangal Ram in Chenari, Purnmasi Ram in Ramnagar and Surendra Ram in Bathnaha.
Around 66.8 million people are eligible to vote in the five-phase assembly polls from October 12 to November 5. Votes will be counted on November 8.
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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