The residents of Dharavi-Sion Koliwada exuded pride on Saturday as Umesh Dillirao Keelu, a determined 26-year-old, achieved the distinction of being the first youth from the locality to be commissioned in the Indian Army. During Saturday’s passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai, nine members of Umesh’s family, including his mother and married sister, were present to witness this momentous occasion.

Shortly before the Election Commission was set to declare the Lok Sabha general elections, Arun Goel, an election commissioner, resigned, leaving the poll panel with only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. The resignation, which raised eyebrows due to the absence of an official reason, was approved by President Droupadi Murmu. There are hints that the government might swiftly act to fill the vacancies left by the resignations of the two election commissioners. Anoop Chandra Pandey, another election commissioner, had retired the previous month upon reaching the age of 65.

On Saturday, the BJP finalized a seat-sharing arrangement with Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) in Andhra Pradesh. This strategic alliance aims to secure significant gains for the BJP in the upcoming simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, especially in a state where the party currently has limited influence.