06102024-TT-01.qxd 10/5/2024 11:30 PM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 277 | 22 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH AFTER ISRAELI STRIKES, NASRALLAH’S SUCCESSOR ‘UNREACHABLE’ WORLD /thetribunechd INFILTRATION ATTEMPT IN KUPWARA, TWO ULTRAS KILLED J&K SEPARATED 77 YRS AGO, CORRUPT CONG BEING MAN REUNITED WITH RUN BY URBAN NAXALS: KIN IN PAK SPECTRUM PM IN MAHA BACK PAGE sunday | 6 october 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Cong to sweep Haryana, advantage NC+ in hung J&K Assembly: Pollsters Grand old party can cross 60 mark in Haryana; PDP may play kingmaker in UT Animesh Singh HARYANA TOTAL SEATS 90 | MAGIC MARK 46 Tribune News Service Women queue up to cast their ballot for the Assembly elections in Sonepat on Saturday. PTI 61% turnout in Haryana; voting pattern shows urban-rural divide Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 5 Haryana recorded 61.19 per cent turnout (till 7 pm) in the Assembly elections on Saturday even as the polling passed off peacefully barring stray clashes and skirmishes. The voting pattern indicated a rural-urban divide across the 90 segments. The turnout was lower compared to 68.2 per cent recorded in the 2019 Assembly election. In fact, it was the second lowest turnout Technicalglitchhits IndiGo operations NEW DELHI: IndiGo operations were affected across the country on Saturday due to a technical glitch in its systems. The glitch led to slower check-ins and massive queues at airports. The airline said it was working to resolve the issue at the earliest. “We are currently experiencing a temporary system slowdown across our network, affecting our website and booking system. As a result, customers may face increased wait time, including slower check-ins and longer queues at airports,” the airline said. In another statement issued later, IndiGo said, “Our airport systems are up and running, and our airport services have eased out...” — TNS MEWAT DISTRICT SHOWS THE WAY 68.28% VOTING HIGHEST IN MEWAT DISTRICT 49.97% TURNOUT LOWEST IN GURUGRAM DISTRICT CLASHES IN NUH, CONG WORKERS BOOKED Clashes were witnessed between workers of Independent candidate Rahisha Khan and Congress’ Mohd Ilyas at Punhana, Nuh. These reportedly resulted in injury to five persons. A case has been registered against Congress workers in this regard. (57.26% in 1968) since Haryana was formed in 1966. According to the data provided by the Election Com- mission of India, Mewat, with three Assembly segments, recorded the highest turnout continued on page 6 Visiting Pak for SCO meet, not to discuss bilateral ties: Jaishankar Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 5 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today said he was not going to Islamabad to discuss “India-Pakistan relations” but for the multilateral event — the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The Ministry of External Affairs had yesterday announced that Jaishankar would lead an Indian delegation to the SCO Council of Heads of Government Summit in Islamabad on October 15 and 16. Responding to a query at an ‘Going there to be good member of organisation’ S Jaishankar, EAM event here, Jaishankar said, “The visit is for a multilateral summit. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan rela- Raze top 3 floors of Sanjauli mosque in 2 mths, Waqf told Tribune News Service The mosque in Sanjauli. FILE New Delhi, October 5 The Congress is likely to form the next government in Haryana while the NC in alliance with the grand old party may emerge as the single-largest grouping in a hung J&K Assembly, a majority of the exit polls have indicated. In Haryana, the pollsters say the Congress may end BJP’s 10-year rule by winning around 55 seats, way higher than the majority mark of 45 in the 90-seat Assembly. According to Republic Matrize, the Congress may win big in Haryana with 55 to 62 seats, with the Republic TV-P Marq poll also giving it 51 to 61 seats. The India Today-C Voter exit poll has predicted 50 to 58 seats for the Congress and 20 to 28 seats for the BJP . The NDTV poll of polls has also predicted 55 seats for the Congress and 26 for the BJP . Interestingly, some exit polls don’t see Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which formed the government in alliance with the BJP after bagging Shimla, October 5 The Municipal Commissioner’s Court here today directed the president of Muslim Welfare Committee and Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board to demolish the top three unauthorised floors of the mosque located at Sanjauli area in the state’s capi- tal within two months. During the hearing of the case, the Commissioner asked the Muslim Welfare Committee and Waqf Board to bear all the expenses of the demolition. The decision regarding the remaining two floors of the mosque will be taken on December 21. Bhoop Singh Thakur, the continued on page 6 tions. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO.” He added, “But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave accordingly.” Typically, the Prime Minister attends such highlevel meetings with heads of state, but “it changes” sometimes, the minister said. On what he was planning for the visit, he said, “In my business, you plan for everything, which you are going to do, and for a lot of things, which you are not going to do and which could also happen. I mean, you plan for continued on page 6 In Punjab, 8,000 ‘paddy cops’ out to check field fires Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 5 To put an end to stubble burning in Punjab, the Bhagwant Mann-led government has deployed around 8,000 “Paddy Police” personnel, besides senior officers, across the state. These police personnel, who are being referred to as “Paddy continued on page 6 Can use deceased’s sperm for reproduction: HC Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 5 In a landmark verdict, the Delhi High Court has ruled that a deceased man’s sperm can be used for posthumous reproduction, if his prior consent is there. “In the opinion of this court, under the prevailing Indian law, there is no prohibition against posthumous reproduction if the consent of the sperm owner or egg owner can be demonstrated,” Jus- ‘NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE’ The Delhi High Court, however, clarified that the semen sample mustn’t be used for any commercial purpose. tice Pratibha M Singh said, directing Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, to forthwith hand over the frozen semen sample of a 30-year-old unmarried man, who died of cancer in September 2020, to his parents for posthumous reproduction to preserve their son’s legacy. However, it clarified that the said semen sample shall not be used for any commercial or monetary purpose. “Given the settled position, as per the medical records produced by the (Sir Gangaram) hospital, the sperm constitutes property and the parents are the legal heirs of their deceased son. With no prohibition on posthumous Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including six-page Spectrum. reproduction, and consent having been given by the petitioner’s son prior to his death, the court is of the opinion that this is a suitable case for the release of the sperm sample to the petitioners,” she ordered yesterday. The court sought to emphasise that with the expansion of modern science, which enables infertile couples to have children, even the hope of grandparents to continue the legacy of their young continued on page 6 CONG+ Matrize ■ P-Marq ■ Dhruv Research ■ Peoples Pulse ■C Voter POLL OF POLLS ■ 55-62 51-61 50-64 49-61 50-58 55 BJP JJP+ INLD+ 18-24 0-3 27-35 0 22-32 0 20-32 0-1 20-28 0-2 26 0 JAMMU & KASHMIR TOTAL SEATS 90 | MAGIC MARK 46 OTH 3-6 2-5 3-6 0-0 0 2-8 2-3 3-5 0 10-14 2 7 WIND IS IN BJP’S FAVOUR Wind is in BJP’s favour. BJP will ❝the third time. Lotus will bloom inform govt for Ladwa NC+CONG Peoples Pulse ■ C Voter ■ Axis My India ■ Chanakaya ■ Gulistan News POLL OF POLLS ■ BJP PDP OTH 46-50 40-48 35-45 35-40 31-36 41 23-27 27-32 24-34 20-25 28-30 27 7-11 6-12 4-6 4-7 5-7 7 4-6 6-11 8-23 6-12 8-16 15 CONG GETTING COMFORTABLE MAJORITY ❝ with a big margin. Nayab Singh Saini, HARYANA CM We are forming the govt with a comfortable majority... I have been saying for long people want a Congress govt. Bhupinder Hooda, EX-CM 10 seats in the 2019 elections, even winning a single seat. While Republic TV-P Marq and NDTV poll of polls have said the JJP will not open its account, Republic-Matrize has predicted the regional outfit winning zero to three seats. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), out of which JJP had been formed after a split in the Chautala family, isn’t placed any better and is predicted to win only two seats. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam ty mark to stich up an alliance with smaller parties or Independents. The BJP’s erstwhile ally, Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is likely to win seven seats and is hoping to emerge as the kingmaker. The party has ruled out any possibility of a tie-up with the BJP talking only in , terms of a “secular alliance”. The BJP-PDP alliance, formed after yet another split verdict in 2014, fell Aadmi Party, exit polls indicate, may not be able to open its account, despite its rule in neighbouring Delhi and Punjab. The situation in the 90-member J&K Assembly, to which the elections were held after a decade, throws up interesting possibilities given the prediction of a hung House. The exit polls see the NCCongress alliance ending up with 41 seats. The BJP’s projected score of 27 may put it far behind the majori- through in 2018 after which the state was placed under the President’s rule. In 2019, J&K was split into two Union Territories — a situation the BJP has promised to reverse in its third term at the Centre. The ball may thus be in the court of the NC and Congress to send feelers to the PDP . But the hurdle here is the historic rivalry between the NC and PDP which have always , been competing for the votes in the Kashmir valley.