This is not the first time in the past two decades that such high numbers of Independents are contesting. The 2008 election, soon after the row over land distribution to the Amarnath Shrine Board, saw 468 of them; and the 2014 election as many as 274.
Among the 346 Independents this time are the 34 nominees of the as-yet-unregistered Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), the political outfit floated by former two-time Langate legislator Sheikh Abdul 'Engineer' Rashid. The AIP has also forged an alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, which, despite a ban since 2019, has fielded proxy candidates from 10 constituencies.
However, with the Independents making up 40 per cent of the total 873 candidates, many, including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, are accusing them of contesting in order to split the vote in the Muslim-majority Valley.
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Ways of Seeing
'INDIA'S MOST IMAGINATIVE ART HISTORIAN' B.N. GOSWAMY SHARES PITHY OBSERVATIONS ON ART AND RELATED MATTERS IN THIS POSTHUMOUS ANTHOLOGY OF ESSAYS
Modern Master
A major new exhibition at DAG Delhi sheds light on key moments in the artistic career of M.F. Husain
THE RATAN TATA YOU DID NOT KNOW
The face of India's oldest mega-corp for as long as most of us can remember, Ratan Tata, who died at the age of 86 last month, was both a well-known public figure and an enigma. As the first chairman to hand over the reins to a non-Tata, he seemed to be breaking the mould, and not for the first time. But he was also a steely guardian of corporate tradition. Thomas Mathew's newly-published biography is based on hundreds of hours of conversation with Tata as well as many of his confidants. Excerpts
The Chronicler of Dreams
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INDIA'S FDI SQUEEZE
THE ECONOMY SEEMS ROBUST, BUT FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE SHYING AWAY FROM PUTTING THEIR BIG, LONG-TERM BETS ON INDIA
THE MAJHI MAKEOVER
The Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government is establishing its 'people-first governance' by eliminating the perceived bureaucratic dominance of the Naveen Patnaik regime and blending accessibility, Odia pride and a development drive bolstered by central support
BEWARE THE NEW BIG CON
CYBER CRIMINAL NETWORKS, OFTEN BASED ABROAD, ARE NOW LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOLS TO WEAVE ELABORATE STINGS WITH FAKE COPS AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES TO DEPRIVE UNSUSPECTING VICTIMS OF THEIR ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS
TECH TWO: THE NEW FRONTIER
INDIA HOSTS NEARLY 50 PER CENT OF THE WORLD'S GCCs. MNCs AIM TO LEVERAGE THE COUNTRY'S ROBUST SERVICES INDUSTRY AND ABUNDANT TALENT POOL
JITU ON THE BACK FOOT
On December 16, 2023, the Congress had announced Jitendra 'Jitu' Patwari as their new Madhya Pradesh state president, signaling a generational change as he replaced veteran Kamal Nath.
THE MISSING COPS
THE STATE POLICE NOW OUTSOURCES ROUTINE TECH JOBS LIKE MOBILE PHONE TRACKING, BUT THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN, SAY, DRUG CONTROL