The upcoming aerial action movie Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, is generating much anticipation for its release in 2024. Unsurprisingly, the first poster showcasing Hrithik Roshan in the role of the stylish squadron leader Shamsher Pathania, also known as Patty, has created a buzz across the internet.

On Monday, Hrithik Roshan posted the movie poster on social media, revealing his appearance in a sharp Air Force uniform, fully equipped and prepared for his upcoming flight. Sharing the poster, he wrote, “Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania; Call Sign: Patty; Designation: Squadron Pilot; Unit: Air Dragons; Fighter Forever.”

As per reports, Fighter narrates the compelling journey of Hrithik Roshan’s character, Patty, as he transforms into India’s best fighter pilot.

Kamal Nath — former Chief Minister-turned-Madhya Pradesh Congress chief — has been asked to step down from the post, sources said a day after the party got decimated in a state they were sure of winning. The results yesterday showed the BJP had won 163 of the state’s 230 seats — more than double the Congress tally of 66.

The figures made it clear that the situation could not be further from the Congress reading of it.

The party, led by Mr Nath, was convinced that there was huge anti-incumbency against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

So convinced of victory was the party that on the morning of the counting day, posters came up congratulating Mr Nath on his victory. By noon, they had to be pulled down as the BJP established a comfortable lead.

With the party being convinced that anti-incumbency against the BJP would push the election in their direction, the Congress campaign strategy lacked an edge.

The party did not hold massive protests against the BJP to register its presence. The number of public meetings and rallies they held was almost half that of the BJP. This affected communication with the voters and made the party unable to carry its message across, leaders confided in private.

Mr Nath’s other move — denying the promised five to seven seats to INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party — has earned it the wrath of the alliance partners.

Sharing of seats at the state level was expected to be the blueprint for the bloc’s one-on-one strategy for next year’s general elections — dubbed a do-or-die battle with the BJP.

“The Congress has not been able to understand the ground situation in Madhya Pradesh. What harm could have happened if they had given 5-7 seats to Akhilesh Yadav? What have they won now?” National Conference chief Omar Abdullah was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. 

“Judging the results of INDIA alliance in the state elections, if the situation is like this in the future, we cannot win,” he told reporters yesterday.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Congress could have won Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, but “some votes were cut by INDIA parties”.

“This is the truth. We had suggested a seat-sharing arrangement. They lost because of division of votes,” she told the state assembly today.

Senior Congress leader Manickam Tagore underscored the importance of alliances and said it is the state-level leaders in the Hindi heartland “who need to understand it”.

“It is tough for the Congress to understand the importance of alliances because in states like MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan there is no alliance politics,” Manickam Tagore told NDTV.

A section of party workers also confided that the party needs a new face and fresh energy in the state, where it has been led for decades by Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh, both in their late ’70s. They pointed to Telangana where a new young leader, Revanth Reddy, has crafted a massive victory.

A storm surge, or tidal wave, of 1-1.5 metres is expected to inundate the low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh and the peak storm surge will be over the Bapatla and Krishna districts. The cyclone is expected to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 km per hour, gusting to 110 km per hour.
The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an alert for eight districts – Tirupati, Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema and Kakinada. In Puducherry, Section 144 has been imposed in the coastal areas, restricting movement there, until 6 pm.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to treat the storm as a major challenge to avoid loss of life and property as the winds are expected to blow gales reaching speeds of up to 110 kilometres per hour.
Mr Reddy said that special officers have been appointed for all cyclone-affected districts, besides releasing Rs 2 crore each for rescue and relief work. People from low-lying areas have been evacuated and over 300 relief camps have been set up to accommodate them.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry on Monday and assured them of all necessary help from the Centre. The minister said adequate deployment of National Disaster Response Force personnel has already been made and additional teams are ready for further assistance.
The Director General of the India Meteorological Department, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra warned that cities and towns along coastal Andhra Pradesh will see extremely heavy, and even exceptionally heavy (30-40 cm), rainfall.
A severe cyclonic storm has the potential to cause uprooting of small and medium trees, large-scale damage to hutments and mud houses, and partial damage to telephone and electric poles
Rain has stopped in Chennai, but most parts of the city remains submerged, with heavy inundation in low-lying areas. The weather office said that Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are expected to experience light to moderate rainfall in most places today.
The Chennai airport will remain closed till 9 am today. Schools, colleges, and government offices remain shut and the government has appealed to private companies to let employees work from home. Videos shows flights grounded as rainwater entered the airport runway, prompting authorities to order its closure till 11 pm tonight.
The Odisha government has also deployed rescue teams in the southern districts as a precautionary measure. All the coastal and southern district collectors have been out on alert and fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea as sea conditions remain tough.