NEW DELHI 16 JANUARY 2022 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  twitter.com/TheMornStandard Conquest of Carnatic Sisters Meet the Pawrents 2018 https://epaper.morningstandard.in The Cannabis Renaissance PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES TJS George Shankkar Aiyar K Srinath Reddy Ganesh Saili PUNJAB PROMINENT CANDIDATES Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu from Amritsar (East) Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Chamkaur Sahib Anand Neelakantan RohtashMal Anuja Chandramouli Sathya Saran NOW FOR THE BIG FIGHT F IRST P HAS E With BJP, Congress naming close to 200 candidates in UP and Punjab, stage is set for them to hit the road for campaigning whenever ban on rallies is lifted S ECON D P HASE Malavika Sood, Rajya Sabha MP sister of actor Sonu Partap Singh Sood, from Moga Bajwa from Qadian Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala from Mansa Former CM Rajinder Bhattal from Lehra KIN OF SENIORS GIVEN TICKETS Mohit Mohindra, son of minister Brahm Mohindra from Patiala Rural Sandeep Jakhar, nephew of Congress Punjab campaign committee chief Sunil Jakhar, from Abohar Kamil Amar Singh, son of Fatehgarh Saheb MP Amar Singh, from Rajkot Candidates named for 57 of 58 seats Candidates named for 38 of 55 seats 44 19 OBC Scheduled Castes UTTAR PRADESH 10 Women 0 Muslim 4 CANDIDATES FINALISED, OVER TO CAMPAIGN Sitting MLAs Harjot Kamal (Moga), Ajay Singh Bhatti (Malout), Balwinder Singh Laddi (Shri Hargobindpur) Nathu Ram (Balluana) denied tickets BJP gives 59% tickets to OBCs & SCs for first two phases in UP, 20 MLAs dropped M A N I S H A N A N D @ New Delhi charge for UP, Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP would conTHE Bharatiya Janata Party’s test the elections in alliance first list of 107 candidates, in- partners, the Apna Dal and the cluding Chief Minister Yogi Nishad Party . Adityanath from his traditionThe party has withheld the al Gorakhpur constituency un- name of one candidate for the , veiled the saffron outfits mega first phase polls in 58 constituoutreach to other backward encies and 17 out of the 55 seats castes and Scheduled Castes in the second phase. with nearly 59 per cent of the Sticking with the strategy to nominees for the initial two give the BJP a big OBC makeophases of polls hailing from the ver, the party fielded 44 canditwo categories. dates from the caste groups in The BJP also sent the first list, besides out a loud message 19 from the that the party is unScheduled Caste fazed by the desertion category. Prime Minof big names from the BJP is committed to ister Narendra Modi the development Other Backward Class and welfare of every had, incidentally, (OBC) ranks, denying section of UP. I have packed his Council of elections tickets to 20 full faith that with Ministers with 27 sitting MLAs, or one- blessings, support OBC leaders in the of the people, all fourth of the first list. last expansion carSixty-three sitting the BJP candidates ried out by him. will win with a MLAs have been fieldTen women candithumping majority ed again. dates also a found By nominating the place in the first list, J P NADDA, chief minister from which included BJP chief Gorakhpur, not Ayodformer Uttarakhand hya as was widely speculated, governor Baby Rani Mourya the BJP top brass also put its from a constituency in Agra, stamp on the leadership of the where she had previously been Uttar Pradesh elections clear, a mayor. tasking Adityanath to defend The first list also included the eastern front for the party deputy chief minister Keshav and reserving the temple pivot Prasad Maurya from Sirathu exclusively for Prime Minister Assembly constituency in the Narendra Modi. The Gora- Prayagraj district. khpur Assembly seat is a safThe BJP has affirmed its fron bastion, the party having trust in Adityanath’s ministers, won from there for decades. making it clear that the saffron While announcing the first outfit will be seeking a positive list on Saturday, union minis- m a n d a t e f o r t h e T e a m ter and the BJP’s election in- Uttar Pradesh. EXPRESS READ Vikram Choudhury, son of MP Santokh Choudhary, from Phillaur 83 20 MLAs given tickets MLAs dropped Channi, Sidhu named as Punjab Cong first list has stamp of state party president H A R P R E E T BA J WA @ Chandigarh sitting MLA Gurpreet Singh has been retained from there. THE Punjab Congress stuck to Channi was also pushing for the one family one ticket rule Nimisha Mehta from Garhby dropping four sitting MLAs shankar but that too was deand fielding 15 new faces in the nied as Punjab Youth Congress first list of 86 candidates an- leader Amarpreet Lally has nounced on Saturday . been picked for that seat. Among the prominent names The party has given tickets to making it to the list are CM relatives of senior leaders. Charanjit Singh Channi from Among them are Sandeep JaChamkaur Sahib and state Con- khar, the nephew of former gress president Navjot Singh state unit president Sunil JaSidhu from Amritsar (East). khar, and Mohit Mohindra, the The list has the son of cabinet minisstamp of Sidhu as ter Brahm Mohindra. Malavika Sood, the Two members of sister of actor Sonu parliament managed Sood, and Punjabi I wish success to all seats for their sons. singer Sidhu Moose- the 86 candidates. I While Kamil Amar also appeal to all wala, were fielded Singh, the son of Fateparty workers to from Moga and Manhgarh Saheb MP Amar whole heartedly sa respectively. Both Singh was fielded from ensure victory for had joined the party the sake of Punjab Rajkot, Vikram Choudrecently following hury, the son of Jaand for Punjab di Sidhu’s lobbying. landhar MP Santokh Chrardi Kala Member of parliaChoudhary will conSUNIL JAKHAR, ment Partap Singh test from Phillaur. former PCC chief Bajwa was fielded A senior party leadfrom Qadian while er said the first list rethe party has also retained all flected the formula prepared by state cabinet ministers. The Sidhu of one family one ticket first list has nine women candi- while keeping the MPs out of it. dates, representing around 10.4 As a result a dozen leaders who per cent so far. wanted tickets for their relaSources said there was disa- tives, including Channi and a greement on eight assembly few sitting cabinet ministers, seats between Sidhu and chief were denied the privilege. minister Chanranjit Singh “The four MLAs who were deChanni as both lobbied for their nied tickets are because of Sidsupporters. But Sidhu appears hu as he never wanted to give to have prevailed. Channi was them tickets. Also the young seeking a poll ticket for his leaders who have been named is younger brother, Manohar also because of the formula Singh, from Bassi Pathana but adopted by Sidhu,” he said. SHEKHAR YADAV JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT Cops to provide security to Kerala nuns if needed Kottayam: A day after Bishop Franco Mulakkal was acquitted in a rape case, Kerala Police said it will conduct a threat assessment if necessary and provide protection to the nuns and their convent if required. Kottayam SP D Shilpa said the police have approached the Special Public Prosecutor to assess the scope for appeal in the case. “If there is (any scope), we will approach the government with necessary documents and seek permission for the appeal,” the SP said. Mulakkal was accused of raping the nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016. Nirvana in the Neighbourhood Jan 14 49,33,612 doses Jan 15 57,29,760 doses TOTAL DOSES: 1,56,63,10,110 NATIONWIDE JAN 14 JAN 15 Fewer cases, positivity rate stagnant The national capital witnessed a decline in Covid cases on Saturday while the positivity rate and hospitalization were stagnant. The city also saw fewer deaths. Delhi logged 20,718 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 30.64% and 30 fatalities. It was the second consecutive day when the city recorded a decline in fresh Covid cases. As many as 28,867 cases were reported on January 13, which came down to 24,383 cases on January 14. Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths DELHI Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,64,202 2,68,833 1,09,345 1,22,684 315 402 JAN 14 JAN 15 24,383 26,236 34 20,718 19,554 30 SEE MORE COVERAGE ON P4,7 Gentlemen Prefer Aplomb EC extends rally ban as Covid surge continues The Homemade Vaccine Story ‘When Something Riles Me, Nothing can Hold Me Down’ AMMA SPEAKS Change Yourself with New Year TEST CAPTAINCY DID TIFF WITH BCCI PROMPT KOHLI TO QUIT? K U M A R V I K R A M @ New Delhi V E N K ATA K R I S H N A B @ Chennai WITH the country reporting over 2.68 lakh new Covid-19 cases and 402 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Election Commission on Saturday extended the ban on physical rallies of political parties, road shows, padyatras, cycle and bike rallies in the five poll-bound states till January 22. But the commission granted relaxation to political parties allowing to conduct indoor meetings with a maximum 300 persons, or 50 per cent of the capacity of the hall. The decisions were taken following virtual meetings with the union health ministry, chief secretaries and health secretaries of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. It also met chief electoral officers of these five poll-going states. “No road show, padyatra, cycle/bike/vehicle rally and procession shall be allowed till 22 January. The commission shall subsequently review the situation and issue further instructions accordingly No physical rally of po. litical parties or candidates or any other group related to election shall be allowed till 22 January, 2022,” it said. “However, the commission has granted relaxation for the political parties to extend indoor meetings to a maximum of 300 persons or 50% of the capacity of the hall or the prescribed limit set by SDMA.” The EC directed all political parties to adhere to the provisions of code of conduct and the broad guidelines of Covid. THE mood in the Indian dressing room was already sombre in Cape Town on Friday Even as the squad were . coming to terms with the unexpected series defeat, Virat Kohli broke the news that he would no longer continue as Test captain. Twenty-four hours later, came the confir mation. “Seven years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance to take the team in the right direction. I have done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it is now,” Kohli, who will walk away as India’s greatest Test captain in terms of wins (40), tweeted. Only four months after relinquishing the T20 captaincy in order to ‘give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket’ Kohli has had enough. Within the team, the reaction was one of shock, even if it is not something that came out of the blue. In fact, ever since a few senior players expressed reservations over his authoritative style of functioning, those in the dressing room have revealed how the 33-year-old has seldom been his usual self. The tussle with board officials too contributed. Apart from disagreeing with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly for the manner in I have always believed in giving my 120 per cent in everything I do, and if I can’t do that, I know it’s not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team VIRAT KOHLI which he was sacked as captain of the ODI team, it is learnt that the board officials have stopped communicating with Kohli. In simple terms, the team’s premier batsman no longer enjoys the backing of the BCCI. That said, Kohli stepped down on his own terms. That he no longer had his mentor, Ravi Shastri, also made the decision a lot easier. He leaves a huge void to fill as the Test team, unlike the limited-over side, does not have a ready-made captain in waiting. One of KL Rahul or Rohit Sharma is likely to be the new captain. India’s next Test series is against Sri Lanka. It will be played in India in FebruaryMarch. The series will have two Test matches. Farmers cry betrayal on MSP and FIRs, plan protest on Jan 31 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chandigarh THE Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) decided to observe a nationwide ‘Day of Betrayal’ protest on January 31 against the Centre’s alleged reneging on its assurances to farmers. It also announced to stay away from fellow unions who would be participating in the Punjab elections. After a meeting at Singhu border on Saturday evening, the Morcha expressed its dismay and anger over the Union Government has not fulfilling any of the promises mentioned in the December 9 letter on the basis of which it was decided to withdraw the protest. “No action has been taken by the Union, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal governments on the promise of immediate withdrawal of the cases SKM leaders announce their decision to the media on Saturday | EXPRESS during the agitation. The Haryana government has done some paperwork only The rest . have not even received a letter from the Centre, it said. Uttar Pradesh has not initiated any action on giving compensation for the martyred farmers, it said, adding that no announcement was made by Haryana regarding the amount and nature of compensation. Regarding MSP, it said the government has neither announced the formation of the committee nor given any information about the nature of the panel and its mandate. ‘‘To protest against this betrayal, the Morcha has decided that Day of Betrayal will be observed on January 31 across the country . Large demonstrations will be organisd at the district and block levels,’’ said senior SKM leader Darshan Pal. ROLE REVERSAL Covid-time: Gujarat school teaches parents, who turn teachers at home DILIP SINGH KSHATRIYA @ Ahmedabad GREEN MP COP TURNS ECO WARRIOR Indore DCP has been on a mission to spread greenery and cheer in people’s lives for the past 25 years PAGE 5 IN the midst of Covid’s third wave, a school in Rajkot has done a bit of role reversal. It calls parents of the students to teach them how they can curb mobile addiction among children and protect them from the Omicron variant. While there is no option other than online education, many parents and teachers don’t like online education. So, the Rajkot school found a solution: teach parents rather than children online or offline. More than 100 students are studying in Nursery HKG, and , LKG in this school in Rajkot. The parents are called to the school and the teachers are told to organize study sessions with the parents while maintaining all Covid protocols. The parents then teach their children. Principal Varshaben Popat said the school currently has Teachers in a Rajkot school give study lessons to parents | EXPRESS more than 100 students, all of them in the age group of three to six years. “Since the beginning of Corona and the lockdown, children have not been called. To keep the children away from online education so that they are not addicted to mobile phones at an early age, their parents are called who turn teachers at home.” “We call parents every 15th day and teach a fortnight-long course. Parents go home and teach their children. Videos of the children are sent to the teacher. If there is any mistake, the teacher guides the parents and teaches them to read, write and speak,” said Popat. Unnati Vasavada, a parent, said, “My daughter studies at Sky Kids School. I go to school and learn her homework, later I go home and teach. Parents are required to observe their kids more closely They have to . keep an eye on their kids.”