India

Kolkata, May 2 (PTI) The ruling Trinamool Congress looks set to retain power in West Bengal with its candidates leading in 202 of the state's 292 seats that went to poll against the BJP's 79, as trends were available for 286 seats.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was, however, trailing her former protege-turned-BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram by over 8,000 votes.

Bhubaneswar, May 2 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday declared working journalists of the state as frontline Covid warriors.

While approving a proposal to this effect, the chief minister said, journalists are doing a great service to the state by providing seamless news feed and making people aware of coronavirus-related issues.

"They are a great support for our war against COVID- 19," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said.

The decision would benefit over 6,500 journalists.

Kanpur: The state government has removed Chief Medical Officer Dr Anil Mishra due to his failure in controlling the coronavirus cases. Dr Nepal Singh, deputy CMO, Gautam Budh Nagar, has been made the new CMO of Kanpur.

Arrangements on the part of the health department in wake of the second wave of Covid-19 proved to be inadequate. So his removal was said to have taken place.

There will be no vaccination on Sunday owing to the paucity of the vaccine supply. The shortage maintains on account of insufficient stock. It will continue on Monday, as was reported.

Chennai, May 2 (PTI) Early trends indicated an edge for the DMK with the ruling AIADMK following behind and key leaders of both the fronts were leading in their respective segments.

About an hour following commencement of counting of votes for the April 6 Assembly elections, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami was leading in his home segment of Edappadi in Salem district and leader of opposition and DMK president M K Stalin was ahead in Kolathur constituency here.

Lucknow, May 2 (PTI) Counting of votes for the panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh began on Sunday morning, an official said.

"The counting of votes will continue till all the ballots are counted. The entire process may take two days," a senior SEC official told PTI.

The State Election Commission (SEC) had said the candidates and their agents will be allowed to enter the counting centres only if they have tested negative for COVID-19 in the 48 hours prior to the commencement of the counting process or taken both doses of the vaccine.

Bhubaneswar, May 2 (PTI) The Odisha government on Sunday declared a 14-day lockdown in the state from May 5 to contain the spread of COVID-19, an official order said.

Barring weekends, essential commodities would be available on all other days during the two-week-long lockdown, the order issued by Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.

"There shall be lockdown throughout the state with effect from May 5, 2021 (Wednesday) till 5 am of May 19, 2021 (Wednesday)," the order stated.

Guwahati, May 2 (PTI) Elated over the initial trends of Assam poll results, which showed that the BJP has an edge over its rivals, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday exuded confidence that the saffron party-led alliance will retain power in the state.

The ruling BJP-led NDA is surging ahead of the Grand Alliance spearheaded by the Congress in Assam, leading in 77 of the 119 seats, trends available on the Election Commission website at 12.15 pm showed.

Kolkata, May 2 (PTI) The ruling TMC looks set to retain power in West Bengal with its candidates leading in 187 of the state's 292 seats that went to poll against BJP's 85, as trends were available for 275 seats.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was, however, trailing her former protege-turned-BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram by over 8,000 votes.

NEW DELHI (AP) — With Indian hospitals struggling to secure a steady supply of oxygen, and more COVID-19 patients dying amid the shortages, a court in New Delhi said it would start punishing government officials for failing to deliver the life-saving items.

On Sunday, India recorded a slight drop in new infections with 392,488 from a high of 401,993 in the previous 24 hours. It also reported 3,689 additional deaths, bringing the total to 215,542. Experts believe both figures are an undercount.

Delhi; 02 May 2021 (UMMN): Kesar Singh Gangwar has died due to Covid-19 on Wednesday. Gangwar was a sitting BJP MLA from Bareilly's Nawabganj constituency.