Week ahead: Assembly poll results, cabinet reshuffle on the cards
In other news, Narendra Modi is set to meet Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during his Tehran visit
Political developments are set to dominate the week. Results for the Assembly elections to four states and one Union Territory will be announced on Thursday, even as a Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards and the second anniversary of the National Democratic Alliance government win falls on Monday. News around the monsoon movement is also being keenly watched. Here’s what to look out for this week.
Polling begins in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry
The stage is set for the final round of the ongoing Assembly elections, as polling began for the single phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry at 7 am on Monday. The elections will decide the fate of chief ministers J. Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu and Oommen Chandy in Kerala.
Counting in the two states and the Union Territory, plus West Bengal and Assam, will take place on 19 May.
The current Assembly elections won’t just determine how the five states that participated in the exercise shape up over the next five years: they will also mould the remaining three years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure.
Cabinet reshuffle on assembly election result day?
The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle is likely to take place on or around 19 May. A minister told the Indian Express last week: “We have been told to remain in New Delhi on May 19." The Prime Minister, sources said, does not want to delay the reshuffle any longer and wants to move ahead with his new team irrespective of the poll results on 19 May. It is expected that a few new faces will be inducted and portfolios of some ministers will be reshuffled. It is also learnt that the reorganisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be carried out simultaneously with the Cabinet reshuffle.
Two years to BJP’s historic win
Two years ago, the results to the historic general elections of 2014 were declared on 16 May, placing the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in power.
However, the Narendra Modi government gets at best a C for its second year in office from surveys of businesses and the economy. Its report card would probably go like this: we have always had high hopes from this government, but it has not lived up to its potential. Mint analyzed the government’s performance in charts. Read more on two years of NDA here.
Bypolls in Sangma’s Lok Sabha seat, Mufti’s assembly constituency
The Tura Lok Sabha seat and the Anantnag assembly constituency which fell vacant following the demise of former Speaker P.A. Sangma and the then Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, respectively, will witness bypolls in May.
The Election Commission announced bypolls to one Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats to be held on 16 May.
National People’s Party chief Sangma had died in New Delhi on 4 March following a massive heart attack, while People’s Democratic Party leader Sayeed died in harness as the chief minister on 7 January.
Monsoon movement
Pre-monsoon showers remained absent from most parts of the country during the month of April, but May began on a rainy note for most parts, according to Skymet. Until 20 May, pre-monsoon showers will continue to lash most parts of the country. Rains will continue over parts of central and peninsular India owing to the wind discontinuity, which is currently running across the region.
Light rain or thunder showers are expected on 18 May in Goa, as per the meteorological centre, Altinho.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that monsoon will arrive over Andaman and Nicobar Islands between 18 and 20 May and is likely to reach Kerala between 28 and 30 May. Read more
Election of new BCCI president
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called for a special general meeting on 22 May in Mumbai to elect its new president following the resignation of Shashank Manohar. Goa Cricket Association General Secretary Vinod Phadke said that a meeting will be held in Mumbai on 22 May and the only agenda of the meeting would be election of a new president. Read more
Modi to meet Khamenei during Tehran visit
Hoping to raise India’s relations with Iran to a new level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Tehran on 21 May. Among the meetings scheduled, there is one with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Modi-Khamenei meeting will be closely watched, especially by Israel, Pakistan and the US. Khamenei is Iran’s most powerful leader who controls all policy matters.
Sebi decision on P-notes likely on 20 May
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi ) is now looking to make it mandatory to collect know your client (KYC) details of participatory note (P-Note) holders and is likely to take a decision to this effect at its board meeting scheduled for 20 May, Economic Times reported. Experts said the move is likely to help hasten the eventual phasing out of P-notes altogether. It is also believed that the Sebi is considering more stringent rules for P-notes as part of efforts to check the flow of black money into stock markets.
FIPB to take up 12 FDI proposals on 20 May
Inter-ministerial body Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will on 20 May take up 12 foreign investment proposals, including those of Mylan Laboratories, Holcim , Reckitt Benckiser and Vodafone. Pharma proposals, including from Aurobindo Pharma, will come up for consideration in the meeting to be chaired by economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das, a statement said. Other proposals pertain to companies like Veritas (India) Ltd and Wiska lndia. Read more
Google’s annual conference this week
Google is all set to host its annual developers conference—Google I/O 2016—this week. Scheduled to take place between 18 and 22 May, the event will showcase all the cool stuff that Google’s developers have been working on for the past 12 months as well as set the agenda for the rest of the year. I/O 2016 will kick off with the keynote by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. To read the major announcements Google is expected to make at this year’s I/O, click here.
JEE exam on 22 May
As many as 18,163 students registered with IIT-Kanpur zone, would appear in the JEE Advanced 2016 examination scheduled to be held on 22 May. This year, IIT-Guwahati is conducting JEE Advanced. It is supported by six other IITs, including IIT-K. The IIT-Kanpur zone comprises UP, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. The exam would be held in six cities of UP, three of Madhya Pradesh and one of Uttarakhand. It would be conducted at 45 examination centres. Read more
Case against Shashi Tharoor to be heard on 20 May
Hearing in a case against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor could not take place in the court of chief metropolitan magistrate, Kanpur, on 13 May. The court has now fixed 20 May as the next date of hearing. A local lawyer had claimed in his petition that Shashi Tharoor had compared Kanhaiya Kumar, president of Jawaharlal Nehru University student union, facing sedition charges, with martyr Bhagat Singh. It is a case of defamation and tarnishing the image of Bhagat Singh.
Jiah Khan death case
A sessions court started hearing the Jiah Khan death case last week after the Bombay high court lifted the stay on trial against actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was present in the court. Justice Anju Shende appointed additional public prosecutor Kalpana Hire to press charges against the actor as advocate Swapnil Ambure (Rabiya’s legal representative) and CBI were not ready to go ahead with it. Read more
Rare ‘bird race’ in Hyderabad
Bird watchers in Hyderabad are all set to gather at Ameenpur lake to take part in a unique ‘bird race’ being organised by the Telangana State Biodiversity Board in collaboration with the Telangana State Special Protection Force and Hyderabad Birding Pals, on 22 May. The bird race will see hundreds of photographers taking part in a race to document the various kinds and species of birds that flock the lake.
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