Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday accused the ruling BJP of trying to poach his party’s MLAs in Chhattisgarh by luring them with ministerial berths and tickets for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Talking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport, he claimed the BJP is resorting to such tactics as it anticipates defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, likely to be held in April-May.

Responding to a query, Mr Baghel said, “An MLA (of Congress) recently told me in Vidhan Sabha that they (BJP) approached him promising a Lok Sabha poll ticket and a ministerial berth if they retain power at the Centre. Such talks are going on continuously.” BJP leaders were not available for comment on Mr Baghel’s claim.

Recent political developments in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra clearly indicate the BJP is going to face defeat in the 2024 national elections. Therefore, it has been engineering divisions in other parties as it does not have confidence to face polls on its own strength, the former CM stated.

Mr Baghel, who was Chhattisgarh CM from 2018 to 2023, was ousted from office after the Congress lost the November Assembly polls to the BJP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Supreme Court will today examine the ballot papers of the Chandigarh mayoral poll and video recording of the counting process amid concerns over “horse-trading” and the contentious victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP’s Manoj Sonkar won the election with 16 votes, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar, who secured 12 votes. However, controversy erupted when the returning officer, Anil Masih, declared eight votes from the coalition partners as invalid, sparking accusations of ballot tampering. A video went viral showing Mr Masih – a member of the BJP’s minority cell – marking on ballots cast for AAP councilors. During a February 5 hearing, the Supreme Court denounced his actions as a blatant “mockery of democracy.”

A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed deep concern over the alleged “horse-trading” and decided to examine the ballot papers and video recording of the counting process. Rather than immediately ordering fresh polls, the court suggested considering the declaration of results based on the votes already cast.

The court also summoned the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to present the records in New Delhi today.

‘Serious Matter’

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Chandigarh administration, proposed the idea of holding a fresh election under the supervision of a judicial officer appointed by the High Court. However, the bench, after deliberation, leaned towards completing the electoral process from the stage before the declaration of results. The court suggested nominating a judicial officer to oversee the counting of the ballot papers and disregarding any defacement by the returning officer.

The focus then shifted to Anil Masih, who had been accused of defacing the ballot papers. The Chief Justice, for the first time in independent India’s history, cross-examined the returning officer, expressing displeasure over the way the election was conducted. The court sternly warned Masih about potential prosecution for his actions, calling it a serious violation of the democratic process.

“Mr Masih, I am asking you questions. If you don’t give truthful answers, you will be prosecuted. This is a serious matter. We have seen the video. What were you doing looking at the camera and putting cross marks on the ballot papers? Why were you putting the marks?” Chief Justice Chandrachud asked.

The AAP’s defeated mayoral candidate, Kuldeep Kumar, moved the Supreme Court challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s refusal to grant interim relief for a fresh poll. The Supreme Court then criticised the High Court for not passing any interim order.

New Returning Officer

Mr Masih, in a moment of admission, explained that the marks were intended to segregate defaced ballot papers. “Why did you deface the ballot papers? You only had to sign the papers. Where is it provided in the rules that you can put other marks on the ballot papers,” questioned Chief Justice Chandrachud.

Solicitor General Mehta found himself caught in the crossfire as the Chief Justice asserted, “Mr Solicitor, he (Mr Masih) has to be prosecuted. He is interfering with the election process.” 

“What we propose to do is this. We will direct the Deputy Commissioner to appoint a fresh returning officer, who is not aligned to any political party,” declared Chief Justice Chandrachud.

Solicitor General Mehta, drawing attention to allegedly torn or defaced ballot papers, sought the court’s intervention. However, Kuldeep Kumar’s lawyer contested this, claiming that only eight ballot papers required examination and were not torn. The Supreme Court then resolved to examine the contested papers today, demanding their presentation with adequate security.

“The process of horsetrading which is going on is a serious matter,” the Chief Justice said.

The Supreme Court reserved its judgment on whether to conduct fresh elections or validate the earlier votes. 

The crew of a commercial ship in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel following a Houthi attack – the first such evacuation since the militant group began menacing trade in the vital waterway late last year.

Two-anti ship ballistic missiles damaged the Belize-flagged Rubymar on Sunday evening local time, US Central Command said Monday on social media platform X. A coalition warship and another merchant ship responded to the distress call, and the Rubymar’s crew were transported to a nearby port, it added.

Since November, the Houthis have escalated their attacks off the coast of Yemen with missiles and drone strikes on the merchant fleet. The Iran-backed group says they are targeting ships with links to Israel, the US and UK – their response to the war in Gaza and western airstrikes that have sought to quell the attacks.

The Rubymar is a relatively small cargo ship. Its registered owner is in Southampton, England, according to the Equasis international maritime database.

A Houthi spokesman said in a statement that an attack on an unidentified British ship resulted in its “complete sinking” – a claim that could not be verified independently.

Centcom didn’t mention in its statement whether the Rubymar had sunk, and the vessel’s owner didn’t respond to an earlier request for comment. UK Maritime Trade Operations had no further updates on the incident.

Earlier, a company official at GMZ Ship Management Co. in Lebanon said the attacks on the vessel occurred in the engine room and the front of the ship. There were no reports of injuries to the crew, who were being taken to Djibouti, the official said.

About 12% of global trade – and as much as 30% of container traffic – passes through the Suez Canal, at the other end of the Red Sea, each year. In order to avoid the attacks, a significant percentage of the world’s oil and gas carriers, bulk commodity ships and container vessels are now sailing thousands of miles around Africa, adding to voyage times and boosting costs to world shipping.

Also on Monday, another ship reported two nearby explosions, with evidence of shrapnel and damage to paintwork, though it continued to its next port of call. Maritime intelligence company Ambrey described the ship as a Greece-flagged bulk commodity carrier.

The Houthis said in their statement that they had also targeted two other vessels, though specific details couldn’t immediately be verified.

The European Union formally launched a defensive naval operation Monday aimed at protecting commercial vessels from Houthi attacks. The mission, commanded by Greece, will accompany some ships and protect them against attacks from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the Persian Gulf.

Over the weekend, the US said it conducted five self-defense strikes against the Houthis, including one against an underwater vessel. Central Command said it was the first observed deployment of subsea attack capability since the attacks began.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)