Feature
Nitish, Lalu, Sushil Modi campaign, but not contest Bihar polls
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi have one thing in common — they are all star campaigners who are not contesting these staggered Bihar elections.
Star campaigners of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as well as the Grand Alliance of the ruling JD-U, RJD and Congress are not in fray in the assembly polls, which have turned into a major popularity test.
Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, senior BJP leader and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi are working hard to woo voters during the ongoing campaign and they are not contesting the polls.
There is only one exception.
Former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is contesting from two assembly constituencies – Makhdumpur in Jehananad and Imamganj in Gaya districts, where polls were held on Friday in the second phase of five phased Bihar assembly polls.
Manjhi’s HAM is partner of the BJP-led NDA but he has repeatedly expressed his eagerness to again become the chief minister.
BJP leaders have repeatedly said the name of the chief ministerial candidate would be decided after the polls if the NDA wins two-thirds majority.
Interestingly, both Nitish and Lalu are leading the campaign of the grand alliance. Similarly Sushil Modi, who is locally known as ‘Sumo’, is leading the BJP led NDA campaign and regarded as one of the main contenders for the chief minister’s post, if the NDA wins the polls.
The grand alliance has declared Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial candidate for the state assembly polls and he would take the top post again if the grand alliance wins.
Taking a swipe at BJP-led NDA alliance for not declaring any chief ministerial candidate ahead of the state assembly polls, Lalu Prasad earlier this month said: “We (the grand alliance) have dulha (bridegroom) Nitish Kumar. But BJP-led NDA has no dulha.”
Though Rabri Devi is not in the fray, she is busy campaigning for her two sons – Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejaswi Yadav, who are contesting from Mahua and Raghopur assembly constituencies.
“Rabri is working hard by knocking the doors of villagers and visiting as many villages as possible in these two assembly seats for the sake of her sons, who are facing a tough political battle,” an RJD leader said.
JD-U spokesperson Nawal Sharma said Nitish Kumar is the face of the grand alliance in all 243 constituencies.
According to JD-U leaders, Nitish Kumar has not contested elections since 2004. The last time Nitish contested polls were the Lok Sabha elections from Nalanda in 2004.
However, since the 2005 assembly elections, Nitish has not contested any election but has entered the state assembly through the Upper House by becoming Member of Legislative Council.
Sushil Kumar Modi has also not contested any elections since 2005. He is a legislator of the Bihar Legislative Council.
Lalu is not contesting the polls after he was convicted in the multi-crore fodder scam and debarred from contesting elections by the apex court.
State Congress president Ashok Choudhary, BJP state president Mangal Pandey and JD-U state president are also not in the fray this time.
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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