Highlight: Parties told us to announce Maha polls keeping in mind festivals, says CEC

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There will be 100,186 polling booths in Maharashtra assembly elections, CEC Rajiv Kumar said at media briefing in Mumbai. "We met all stakeholders including political parties and officials ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections," he added. Parties told us to announce Maharashtra assembly polls keeping in mind festivals like Diwali. There are some urban centres in Maharashtra which have been recording lowest voting percentage in the country, he said.

The BJP will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Jharkhand in alliance with its NDA partners, the AJSU Party and Janata Dal (United), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Saturday. Sarma, who is serving as the BJP's co-in-charge for the Jharkhand elections, stated that the seat-sharing agreement with the allies is nearly finalised."The BJP will participate in the Jharkhand elections alongside AJSU Party and JD(U). The seat-sharing arrangement has been completed for 99 percent of the seats, and discussions are ongoing for the remaining one or two seats, which will be finalized soon," he said while addressing reporters in Ranchi.

A fire broke out at a chemical godown within the electronics component factory of Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd in Tamil Nadu early Saturday, according to police. Seven fire tenders from Hosur and nearby districts were deployed, and the flames were extinguished after hours of effort. "The fire occurred at a chemical godown on the campus around 6 am. Seven fire tenders were called in. There have been no casualties or injuries," said a senior fire and rescue service official from the Hosur Fire Station. Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd confirmed that all employees are safe, and officials are actively working to determine the cause of the fire.

Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has summoned Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment, the parent company of BookMyShow, along with the company's technical head, in relation to an investigation into alleged black market sales of Coldplay concert tickets. The two executives have been asked to appear before the investigating officer on Saturday to provide statements as part of the ongoing probe. This summons follows a complaint filed by Advocate Amit Vyas, who accused the ticketing platform of enabling black market ticket sales for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert, set to take place from January 19 to 21, 2025, at DY Patil Stadium.

The Centre lifted the export ban on non-basmati white rice on Friday, effective immediately, as per an official notification. The ban was originally imposed in July 2023 to maintain domestic rice supplies and control prices. Exporters welcomed the move, calling it a "game-changer" for the industry. "India's bold decision to lift restrictions on non-basmati white rice exports is a game-changer for the agricultural sector," said Rice Villa CEO Suraj Agarwal. He added that this strategic move will increase exporter income and benefit farmers, who can expect higher returns with the upcoming kharif crop.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has carried out targeted strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, based on intelligence provided by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In a post on X, the IDF stated, "Following precise IDF intelligence, the IAF is currently striking strategic terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah in the Beirut area." The IDF elaborated that the strikes targeted weapons production facilities, advanced weapons storage sites, and key command centers of Hezbollah. Israel also warned residents in Dahieh neighborhoods to distance themselves from Hezbollah assets, emphasising that their conflict is with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese people.