14 MAY 2023 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WHY BETTER TOKYO-SEOUL TIES ARE SUCH A BIG DEAL ‘INDIA’S GOVERNANCE MODEL ENVY OF WORLD’ P7 P5 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. POSSIBILITY OF DUST STORM/ THUNDERSTORM TOWARDS AFTERNOON/ EVENING. STRONG SURFACE WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WOULD BE AROUND 42 AND 23 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 72% TEMPERATURE Max: 41.8°C (+2) SUN RISES 05:31 hrs MOON RISES 02:47 hrs Min. 26% Min: 22.0°C (-3) SUN SETS 19:04 hrs MOON SETS 13:49 hrs THUMBNAILS Actor Salman Khan meets West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence ahead of his DA-BANGG concert on Saturday.  SNS AAP wins Jalandhar bypoll: In a boost to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of 2024 general elections, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party on Saturday wrested the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat from the Congress with the party candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku winning by a margin of 58,691 votes. By polling over 34 per cent of the total votes, Rinku ~a former Congress legislator who joined AAP days ahead of the election ~ maintained lead over his nearest rival and the Congress candidate Karamjit Kaur Chaud hary from the very first round of counting. Pg3 P10 Congress wins Karnataka Party returns to power in southern state after five years; secured 43 per cent vote share DEEPAK RAZDAN 2018 Cong+ 136 +56 BJP 65 -39 JDS T he Congress swept back to power in Karnataka after five years, gaining a clear majority in the 224seat state Assembly, and inflicting a clear defeat to the ruling BJP, which had claimed credit for development, and targeted the Congress for following policies of appeasement. The Congress was headed towards winning 136 seats on its own, while the BJP had a tally of 65 seats, as the Election Commission was close to giving a final picture of the results on Saturday. The Janata Dal (S), the third major party in the State, has won 19 seats. Ahead of the Assembly election, which took place on 10 May, the BJP campaign reached an unprecedented high-pitch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frequent rallies and road-shows. The results however showed there was a wave in favour of the Congress. The Congress has secured a 43 per cent vote share, the BJP 35.9 per cent, and the Janata Dal (S) secured 13.30 per cent vote share. Analysts said the Congress vote share had increased at the cost of the JD (S). The results can influence the 2024 general elections, observers also say. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was prompt to accept his party’s defeat, as trends Results 19 -18 OTH 4 0 Alliance NEW DELHI, 13 MAY OTH KARNATAKA I thank all those who have supported us in the Karnataka elections. I appreciate the hard work of BJP Karyakartas. We shall serve Karnataka with even more vigour in the times to come Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed the Congress maintaining an unassailable lead, and the BJP trailing behind. Speaking to newspersons, the chief minister said: “We have not been able to make the mark. The Congress is able to make the mark. We will do a detailed analysis. As a national political party, we will analyse and see what the gaps are and improve upon it. We will take this result in our stride, and will re-organise the party for the 2024 elections.” In the last Assembly polls in the State in 2018, the BJP had secured 104 seats, the Congress 80 and the JD (S) 37. The Congress and the Janata Dal (S) formed an alliance and Mr Kumaraswamy of the JD (S) became Chief Minister. His government fell about 14 months later as MLAs defected, and the BJP assumed power. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the Karnataka voters and congratulated them on the poll results. He said on one side, there was crony capitalists’ strength, and on the other the strength of the poor, and this strength of the poor emerged victorious. This is going to happen in all States, he said. Mr Gandhi said the party stood with the poor in Karnataka. “We fought on the issues of the poor, and we did not use hatred and bad language to fight this battle, and the people of Karnataka proved the language of love was needed to keep the country in good shape.” In Karnataka, he said, the game of hatred is over and love is flourishing. “We made five promises and we will fulfill them in the first Cabinet meeting of the new State Government,” he said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was collective work, Congress leaders Rahul, Priyanka Vadra and Mrs Sonia Gandhi contributed to the victory, along with the AICC general secretaries. It was a collective show, he said. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, reacting to the trends, said the results were on expected lines, he said. “Our assessment has come true. It is a big victory for the Congress. People of Karnataka wanted change because they were fed up with the BJP. There was strong antiincumbency against the BJP.” He said “tomorrow we will try to have a CLP meeting. We will think over it. The meeting is called. All of the winning candidates may not be able to come.” He said in 2008 or 2018 too, there was no mandate for the BJP. They spent a lot of money on Operation Lotus each time and MLAs defected from the JD (S) etc, and many of them were taught a lesson in this election. A contender for the Chief Minister’s post, Mr Siddaramaiah said the BJP tried to win this election by using money power, they could not succeed. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanaka Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge had campaigned aggressively, while Bharat Jodo padyatra helped and enthused the workers and the cadres. We will come back during 2024 LS polls: BJP STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 MAY AAP MP Raghav Chaddha tweeted the picture with actress Parineeti Chopra on their engagement ceremony, in New Delhi on Saturday.  ANI UKRAINE CLAIMS RETAKING TERRITORY NEAR BAKHMUT As Congress dislodged the ruling BJP from power in Karnataka, the saffron party on Saturday said it will introspect the setback and will come back during 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After Bharatiya Janata Party's poor show in the southern state, Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai said the party will take the verdict in its ‘stride’. Taking to Twitter, Mr Bommai said, "We accept the verdict of the people of Karnataka with due respect. We will take this verdict in our stride. We will analyse and correct our fault lines and rebuild the party and come back during parliamentary elections."BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the onus of the party's defeat is on him and that the BJP would work meticulously as a good opposition party in the state. Mr Kateel expressed gratitude to the voters of the state and especially to workers who have worked round the clock for the party. "YeddyurappaBasavaraja Bommai ji worked for the overall development. We will however analyze the reason for Misleading ads: Sachin Tendulkar files police complaint BJP rule roost in UP municipal polls, grabs all 17 mayor seats MUMBAI , 13 MAY the setback," said Mr Kateel. BJP leader BS Yediyurappa said victory and defeat are not new for the party and it will introspect the setback.“Victory and defeat aren't new to BJP. Party workers need not be panicked by these results. We will introspect about the party's setback. I respectfully accept this verdict,” said BJP leader Yediyurappa on the party's defeat in Karnataka. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai speaks to the media on Karnataka Assembly elections, in Bengaluru. ANI LSG END WINLESS RUN WITH 7-WICKET WIN OVER HYDERABAD P12 Karnataka victory a morale-booster for Cong ahead of LS polls A supporter holds the Congress flag, during the counting of the Karnataka Assembly elections result, on Saturday.  ANI ASHOK TUTEJA NEW DELHI, 13 MAY The outcome of the Assembly elections in Karnataka is on expected lines. The Congress party's handsome victory has come as a morale booster for the rank and file of the grand old party. Senior Congress leaders were quick to credit Rahul Gandhi for the party's victory, saying his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” reinvigorated the party. But no one can deny that it was the local Congress leadership, led by old war horse and former chief minister Siddaramaiah and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, who tirelessly worked for its victory, pitted as they were against a welloiled BJP election machinery. The two, who were always at loggerheads, made common cause against the ruling saffron outfit in the state and succeeded in dislodging the Basavaraj Bommai government. Now that the dust has settled on the electoral battle, will they cross swords when the new leader of the Congress legislature party is elected? Since both are contenders for the coveted chief minister's post, it won't be easy for the central Congress leadership or the new Congress legislators to choose the new leader. Poll analysts say the Congress victory has again demonstrated the party's ability to field a strong cadre and leadership capable of challenging the BJP, notwithstanding the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are many who claim the BJP's tally would have been much lesser had the PM not undertaken a high-decibel campaign by addressing as many as 19 rallies and holding six road shows in Karnataka. Chief minister Bommai conceded defeat saying: “Despite best efforts by the PM and party cadres, we were not up to mark.” But everyone knows what has led to his party's defeat in the elections.There were expectations that Mr Bommai would boost the image of the party and the government when he replaced veteran B S Yediyurappa as the chief minister. But his tenure too was marked by charges of corruption and nepotism. On top of it, the powerful Lingayat community also gradually started moving away from the BJP and the result is there for all to see. At the last minute during the electioneering, the BJP sought to strike an emotional chord with the Hindus by highlighting the Congress proposal in its manifesto to ban organisations like the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI), if voted to power. Top Congress leaders privately admitted that the mention of the Bajrang Dal could have been avoided. But the party decided not to back down, which might have even led to Muslims' consolidation in favour of the grand old party. As far as the Janata Dal (Secular) is concerned, it was perhaps punching above its weight during the noholds-barred campaign. It was apparently under the impression that neither Congress nor the BJP would get an absolute majority and it would play the role of a kingmaker again. However, the party's performance has left much to be desired. All eyes will now be on the Assembly elections in some of the other key states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana later this year which will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CENTURION LUCKNOW, 13 MAY Legendary former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Friday lodged a complaint with Mumbai Police against the "unauthorized" use of his name, photo and voice in “misleading advertisements”, an official statement said. The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell has registered a case against an unidentified person under Sec 426, 465 and 500 of the IPC. In the complaint, Sachin alleged that the advertisements have been used unauthorisedly to mislead citizens to buy products and services online. “At SRT Sports Management Pvt. Ltd. (SRTSM), we have noticed that there have been attempts to impersonate Tendulkar's attributes in an unauthorized manner, for selling products and services not associated with him. These are being done with a deliberate and malicious intention of misleading gullible citizens to buy unauthorised products and services online," SRTSM said in a statement. “We have lodged an official complaint with the Cyber Cell department and have highlighted these to social media platforms where such misleading advertisements are being broadcast,” the AGENCIES statement read. Ruling BJP led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath swept the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh, grabbing all the 17 mayor seats and getting majority in most of the 760 local bodies. The principal opposition Samajwadi Party performed badly, as in several mayor seat, the party candidates were in third or fourth position. However, if compared to the 2022 Assembly elections in UP, BSP and Congress candidates did better. In the Assembly polls BSP won just one seat and Congress got 2 seats. This civic elections has given something of a boost to political parties like AAP and AIMIM, whose candidates won in some wards and Nagar Palika and nagar Panchayat seats. AAP won the prestigious Rampur Nagar Palika chairperson seat where a newly wedded Sana Khan got elected. AIMIM candidates were elected in the wards in Meerut and Ghaziabad. In the 2017 civic polls, BJP had won 14 out of the 16 mayor seats, losing to BSP in Meerut and Aligarh. But this time, they won all the 17 mayor seats with comfortable margins, including the new Shahjahanpur mayor’s seat. Similarly the BJP won a Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath celebrates the BJP’s victory in civic body polls with Deputy Chief Minister KP Maurya and others, at state BJP headquarters in Lucknow.  ANI majority in nearly all the 17 corporations. Independents too won a handful of seats. In the 17 corporations, the BJP candidates won 705 corporation seats, followed by SP with 160, BSP with 80 and other political parties or independents winning a total of 282. The BJP’s winning candidates for mayor are: Lucknow ~ Sushma Kharwal, Gorakhpur ~ Dr. Manglesh Srivastava, Varanasi ~ Ashok Tiwari, Prayagraj ~ Ganesh Chandra Umesh Kesarwani, Ayodhya ~ Girish Pati Tripathi, Kanpur ~ Pramila Pandey, Aligarh ~ Prashant Singhal, Meerut ~ Harikant Ahluwalia, Jhansi ~ Bihari Lal Arya, Shahjahanpur ~ Archana Verma, Saharanpur ~ Ajay Singh, Moradabad ~Vinod Agarwal, Mathura- Vrindavan ~Vinod Agarwal,Ghaziabad ~ Sunita Dayal, Bareilly ~ Umesh Gautam, Firozabad ~ Kamini Rathore and Agra ~Hemlata Diwakar. Meanwhile, in the election for 199 Nagar Palika Parishad chairperson posts, BJP has won 88, SP 37, BSP 19 and the remaining 55 went to Independents or other political parties. Similarly in 544 Nagar Pandhayat chairperson seats, 202 were won by BJP, 87 by SP, 39 by BSP and 212 by others. In the Nagar Palika parishad members seats, BJP won in 754 places, SP in 533, BSP in 188 and others in 857 places.In the election for Nagar Panchayat members, BJP won in 849 places, SP in 294, BSP in 121 and others in 2,949 seats. Punjab Kings' Prabhsimran Singh plays a shot in a match against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League 2023, at Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi on Saturday. Singh scored 103 off 65 balls to help his side score 167 for 7 in 20 overs.  ANI Portal to track, recover lost cell phones to be unveiled on 17 May SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 13 MAY In a move that would help millions of people track their lost or stolen mobile phones, the government is launching a new portal ~ www.sancharsaathi.gov.in~ on May 17, which is also the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. 17 May is also the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day This new portal will help people track and find their lost mobile phones. The Sanchar Saathi portal will be officially unveiled by Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on 17 May. The portal will be available throughout the country and cater to lost or stolen mobile phones connected to all telecom circles. As of now, this portal caters only to Delhi and Mumbai circles. Till date with the help of this portal, 4,70,000 lost or stolen mobile phones have been blocked. Also, more than 2,40,000 mobile phones have been tracked through this portal, official sources informed. Around 8,000 phones have also been recovered through the portal. With the help of this portal, users can also access their SIM card number and block it if anybody is found using the SIM through the owner's ID.