30042026-TTB-01.qxd 4/30/2026 12:11 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 118 | 20 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI RAHUL ACCUSES CENTRE OF ‘ECOLOGICAL THEFT’ IN NICOBAR NATION /thetribunechd VAISHNAW TO FLAG OFF JAMMU-SRINAGAR VANDE BHARAT TODAY J&K RECORD 8.31 CR CLAIMS PM INAUGURATES 594-KM SETTLED BY EPFO IN FY26: GANGA EXPRESSWAY IN MANDAVIYA BUSINESS UP’s HARDOI BACK PAGE thursday | 30 april 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Bengal too close to call, clear leads in 3 states, UT Exit polls give NDA the edge in Assam & Puducherry, DMK Tamil Nadu, UDF Kerala Shekhar Singh & C Gouridasan Nair PUDUCHERRY SEATS: 30 | MAJORITY: 16 NDA DMK-Cong+ TVK Others Axis My India 16-20 6-8 2-4 0 Peoples Pulse 16-19 10-12 0-1 1-2 Praja Polls 19-25 6-10 0 0 Tribune News Service NewDelhi/Thiruvananthapuram, April 29 Exit polls for the Assembly elections across West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry have delivered a sharply divided national picture, with West Bengal emerging as the most uncertain battleground and clearer mandates visible in the other four regions. The projections, released after the close of the final phase of polling in Bengal on Wednesday, point to a high-stakes verdict ahead of counting on May 4. West Bengal, with 294 seats and a majority mark of 148, has produced the most fractured exit poll verdict. Peoples Pulse has projected a clear win for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 177-187 seats, placing the BJP at 95110. In contrast, Matrize has given the BJP an edge with 146-161 seats against TMC’s 125-140. P-Marq has estimated 150-175 seats for the BJP and 118-138 for the TMC, while Poll Diary has projected BJP at 142-171 and TMC at 99-127. Prajapati Exit Polls continued on page 7 Elderly women show their inked fingers in Kolkata on Wednesday. PTI MAMATA, SUVENDU LAND IN SAME BOOTH People arrive to cast their vote at a polling booth during the West Bengal Assembly elections in Purba Bardhaman district on Wednesday. PTI WEST BENGAL ASSAM SEATS: 294 | MAJORITY: 148 BJP TMC+ Left+ Others Peoples Pulse 95-110 177-187 0-1 1-2 Matrize 146-161 125-140 0 6-10 P-Marq 150-175 118-138 2-6 2-6 Poll Diary 142-171 99-127 2-3 0-1 CM Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari landed in the same polling booth area in Bhabanipur’s Chakraberia on Wednesday, and took swipes at one another without any direct interaction, underlining the prestige battle unfolding in the CM’s bastion. TAMIL NADU SEATS: 126 | MAJORITY: 64 NDA Cong+ AIUDF Others Axis My India 88-100 24-36 0 0 Peoples Pulse 68-72 22-26 3-5 11-15 Matrize 85-95 25-32 0 6-12 Peoples Insight 88-96 30-34 0 2-4 SEATS: 234 | MAJORITY: 118 DMK-Cong+ AIADMK-BJP TVK Others Peoples Pulse 125-145 65-80 18-24 2-6 Matrize 122-132 87-100 10-12 0-6 Praja Polls 148-168 61-81 1-9 0 Peoples Insight 120-140 60-70 30-40 0-4 KERALA SEATS 140 | MAJORITY: 71 UDF LDF NDA Others Axis My India 78-90 49-62 0-3 0 Peoples Pulse 75-85 55-65 0-3 0 Matrize 70-75 60-65 3-5 2-4 Peoples Insight 66-76 58-68 10-14 0-1 Second phase sees 91% turnout in WB PranaySharma Kolkata, April 29 The West Bengal Assembly elections that generated much controversy and wide interest among observers ended after the second phase of polling was completed on Wednesday with over 91 per cent voter turnout. The polling was held amid sporadic violence, EVM malfunctioning and rising tension in Bhabanipur, where TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari were locked in a contest. However, the polling remained largely peaceful, especially in view of the violence-prone history of the Bengal elections. A strong contingent of a central police force and the state police manned the booths of the 142 constituencies that went to the polls on Wednesday. Mamata accused the central police force of excesses, pre-emptive arrest, harassment of TMC workers and creating panic among voters to disrupt peaceful polling. In some Muslim-dominated CBI chargesheets Hooda, Mann to meet Prez over switch by Grilling of Patiala rly track cites bribery, cheating in MPs on May 5, ready for floor test bomber’s brother leads to major cache of weapons P’kula plot allotment case SanjeevSingh Bariana Tribune News Service Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 29 The CBI has filed a chargesheet against former Haryana CM and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the Panchkula industrial plot allotment case. The charges included criminal conspiracy and cheating, along with criminal misconduct by a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act, alleging fraudulent misappropriation and obtaining pecuniary advantage for self or others. The CBI Special Court on Tuesday noted that prosecution sanction against Hooda and BB Taneja, former Deputy Superintendent of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (now Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran), had been received. Sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) against retired IAS officer DPS Nagal, then Bhupinder Hooda, former CM Chief Administrator of HUDA, has also been received. However, sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is still awaited. Similarly, prosecution sanction against former Chief Controller of Finance in HUDA, SC Kansal, is pending, the court observed. A writ petition titled SK Jain vs State of Haryana was filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2014, challenging the allotment of industrial plots. During the pendency of the petition, the State Vigilance Bureau, Haryana (now the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau), registered continued on page 7 Chandigarh, April 29 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said he would meet President Droupadi Murmu on May 5 in connection with the recent merger of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs with the BJP . Without providing further details, Mann said the meeting had been sought over the controversy surrounding the switching over of seven Rajya Sabha members to the BJP . The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been seeking the recall (removal from Parliament) of the MPs who switched over to the BJP . Sources said Mann had sought a brief meeting with the President to discuss the legal and constitutional aspects of MPs changing their party. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar termed the move nothing more than “desperate attempts by AAP to prevent its party from breaking apart”. “Besides trying to convince the President, the party Aman Sood Tribune News Service Patiala, April 29 The questioning of Satnam Singh, alias Satta, brother of Jagroop Singh, who died while planting an IED on a railway track near Shambhu in Patiala district, has helped avert another terror plot with the recovery of sophisticated arms, including a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), a hand grenade, explosives and highend pistols, from Panjwarh Khurd village in Tarn Taran. The police have been granted seven-day remand of the four accused, including Satta, arrested in connection with the blast on the railway track. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav confirmed that the recovered arms included an RPG, a metallic IED (sticky bomb), weighing 2.296 kg, three detonators with electric wire and a battery, two packs of RDX, weighing 1.456 kg, a P-86 hand grenade and three pistols — 9MM Glock-18 CX ‘ Austria’, .30 bore PX5 Storm AAP leaders and workers at a tug-of-war event in Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH 65 OF 94 MLAs MAKE IT TO JALANDHAR MEET Days after seven Rajya Sabha MPs defected to the BJP over 65 of , the total 94 MLAs made it to a meet organised in Jalandhar. Those present included party chief Aman Arora, Speaker Kultar Sandhwan, Deputy Speaker Jai Krishan Singh Rouri, ministers Gurmeet Khuddian, Mohinder Bhagat, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Dr Ravjot Singh and Brahm Shankar Jimpa, among others. Ministers Sanjeev Arora and Harjot Singh Bains didn’t make it to the event. has called a session here to save its already fragmenting ranks,” he said. Jakhar alleged, “The real intent behind this session is to pass a confidence motion so that the government can secure a six-month window, as no-confidence motion cannot be brought in the Assembly during that period once such a motion is passed.” Replying to a question during a press conference on whether the government intended to bring a confidence motion in Friday’s session, Mann said, “There is no need for any motion. We are absolutely comfortable. However, if needed, we are ready for the floor test.” RDX, high-end guns seized in Tarn Taran and .30 bore Star Mark — besides five magazines and 84 live cartridges, two wireless sets (Baofeng), a headphone and two timer switches. The arms were recovered on the basis of disclosures made during the investigation into the explosion on the railway track near Shambhu on Monday night, which resulted in the death of Jagroop Singh, alias Jupa, who was attempting to plant an IED that apparently detonated prematurely. In less than 12 hours, the police arrested four highly radicalised individuals of this module identified as Pardeep Singh Khalsa, Kulwinder Singh, alias Bagga, Satta and Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, and recovered a hand grenade, two .30 bore pistols, sophisticated communication continued on page 7 As AI eats into jobs, govt Probes into 88 tiger deaths face ‘burial’ by watchdog set to roll out new policy RTI info bares lapse, NTCA may force-close cases Aksheev Thakur Surya S Pillai Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 29 The Centre is formulating a new national employment policy to energise the job market in view of recent labour surveys painting a vulnerable picture of the employment situation, lack of pay parity and possible transition of roles due to the advent of technology. AI (artificial intelligence) is significantly disrupting the job market, with an estimated 12-18 million jobs potentially affected by 2025-2026, particularly targeting white- collar IT, BPO and retail sectors, say experts. They, however, point out that the disruption is driving massive demand for AI-skilled talent, with 1.25 million professionals needed by 2027. “The national employment policy is being designed to protect the interests of people working in all sectors. A need was felt to design a new employment policy to address the gaps and help people make informed choices regarding the jobs they take up. We will soon come out with draft guidelines and continued on page 7 New Delhi, April 29 Documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act have exposed a serious systemic lapse within the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Records reveal that investigations into 88 tiger deaths in 2020 and 2021 are either “pending” or “under scrutiny”, with the authority now signalling its intent to close these cases. A January letter from the NTCA stated that if the states concerned failed to provide post-mortem, forensic and histopathology reports, and colour photographs in tiger ISTOCK Tribune News Service mortality cases, investigations would be formally closed. The data highlights alarming gaps in Chhattisgarh, with unresolved cases in Bastar, Bhanupratappur and Kaward- ha. Several cases are marked as “seizures”, indicating that while tiger parts were recovered from suspected poachers, the legal and forensic closure required for prosecution has Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b been neglected for years. Madhya Pradesh leads the backlog, with 32 unresolved deaths in core breeding grounds such as Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Panna. Maharashtra has 20 pending cases, many of which have occurred outside tiger reserves, pointing to highrisk zones for poaching. Even Kaziranga in Assam, one of the world’s most strictly guarded tiger reserves, has eight unexplained deaths since 2020. Similarly, tiger reserves in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh such as Nagarhole, Dudhwa, Amangarh and Pilibhit show cases marked as “seizures” with no legal reso- lution. Uttarakhand, home to one of the densest tiger populations globally, has a disturbing backlog. Cases in the Corbett Tiger Reserve, including Dhela and Kalagarh ranges, Ramnagar and Shyampur (Haridwar), remain unresolved, despite recent concerns over rising human-animal conflicts. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey criticised the delays, saying these allow foresters to avoid scrutiny for patrol lapses or habitat mismanagement, as official records remain perpetually “under scrutiny”. “Without a finalised cause of death, criminal proceedings continued on page 7 Mamata Banerjee after casting vote in Kolkata on Wednesday. PTI constituencies, the central force went beyond its brief in imposing a dress code for voters by banning lungiclad men from entering the booth and forcing them to change into pyjamas or trousers before they could cast their vote. The BJP leadership praised the Election Commission and the central force for conducting an unprecedented peaceful election in West Bengal. The second phase of the elections was seen as a litmus continued on page 7 HC puts plea against sacrilegelawonhold,to check maintainability CHANDIGARH: About a week after a petition was filed for quashing the newly amended anti-sacrilege law, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday made clear its intent to first examine the maintainability of the petition. The state had raised objections to the petitioner’s locus and his background. INSIDE ThreeUSnationalsget ‘leave India’ notice for ‘propagating religion’ PUNE: The police in Pune city have issued a “leave India” notice to three American nationals after they were allegedly found engaging in religious propagation activities and violating tourist visa norms, officials said on Wednesday. They were recently found distributing pamphlets of religious nature in the city, they said. — PTI Nolegislativevacuum, existinglawadequate on hate speeches: SC NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the existing framework of criminal law adequately addresses the issue of hate speeches and no “legislative vacuum” exists warranting intervention. “The contention that the field of hate speech remains legislatively unoccupied, is misconceived,” a Bench said. BACK PAGE No glitch, CBSE says Class XII results likely in third week of May NEW DELHI: The CBSE on Wednesday refuted a media report on glitches and delays in the evaluation of Class XII answer sheets under its onscreen marking system, asserting that the process was working “perfectly”. Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj said the results were likely in the third week of May. — PTI