DailyBrief: Criminals and Crorepatis fighting Lok Sabha Phase 1; Tesla's India entry on the horizon? And, the Supreme Court's dire warning to Patanjali
How many candidates with criminal backgrounds and how many crorepatis are fighting phase 1 of the elections? Tesla may finally be coming to India; and why the SC came down hard on Patanjali.
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Market Watch
Indian benchmark indices ended the day in the green with Sensex up 354.45 points at 75,038.15, and the Nifty up 111 points at 22,753.80.
Barring Nifty Pharma, all other sectoral indices ended in the green.
How many crorepati candidates, and those with criminal backgrounds are contesting the Lok Sabha phase 1?
The analysis of Lok Sabha Polls Phase 1 candidates reveals a significant number of crorepatis and a disturbing trend of criminal backgrounds among the contenders.
An analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) indicates that out of 1,618 candidates analyzed, 252 have criminal cases, with 161 facing serious charges like murder and crimes against women.
Serious criminal cases are those which have a maximum punishment of 5 years or more, non-bailable offences, electoral offences, murder, kidnap, rape, assault, crimes against women, and crimes of corruption.
By the numbers: The BJP has 36% candidates with declared criminal cases against them of which 18% have serious criminal cases against them.
The Congress has 34% candidates with declared criminal cases against them, of which 14% have serious cases against them.
100% of RJD candidates have criminal cases against them with of which 50% have serious criminal cases against them.
49% DMK candidates have criminal cases registered against them, of which 27% have serious cases against them.
TMC has 40% candidates with criminal cases against them, with 20% facing serious criminal charges.
The ADR analysis shows that 41% of the constituencies in Phase 1 are “red alert” constituencies, where multiple candidates have criminal cases against them.
Crorepati candidates: There is a significant wealth disparity among candidates, with 28% being “crorepatis,” and the average assets per candidate amounting to Rs 4.51 crore.
Congress candidate Nakul Nath from Chhindwara is the wealthiest with assets worth Rs 716 crore, followed by AIADMK's Ashok Kumar and BJP's Dhevanathan Yadav T.
Of note: The elections are scheduled in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, culminating with the vote counting on June 4, marking an important event as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third term.
Clip du jour
This cheeky tweet by RT about India’s onion exports.
Is Tesla finally coming to India?
Elon Musk is scheduled to meet with PM Narendra Modi during the week of April 22 in New Delhi, where he is expected to announce Tesla's investment plans for India, including a potential new factory.
Tesla is exploring locations in India for a manufacturing plant requiring approximately $2 billion in investment, with Maharashtra emerging as a preferred location for its domestic and export potential.
The intrigue: Reports talk of a possible joint venture with Reliance Industries to establish the manufacturing facility.
This follows the release of a Spaces conversation where Musk mentioned that it was “a natural progression” for Tesla to make a market entry into India.
Of note: The company has begun production of right-hand drive cars at its German plant for export to India later this year.
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'We will rip you apart': Supreme Court's scathing remarks in Patanjali misleading ads case
The Supreme Court of India has expressed its dissatisfaction with the apologies from Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, refusing to accept them and indicating readiness for action.
Why the rejection? The Supreme Court criticized the preemptive release of their apology affidavits to the media before submission to the Court, suggesting a preference for publicity over the judicial process.
Justice Amanullah highlighted concerns about forgery in Ramdev’s apology affidavit, questioning the credibility and intent behind its drafting.
Key quotes from the court: Till the matter hit the Court, the contemnors did not find it fit to send us the (fresh apology) affidavits. They sent it to the media first, till 7.30pm yesterday it was not uploaded for us. They believe in publicity clearly.
Tendering apology is not enough. You (Patanjali) should suffer the consequences for violating the court's order.
We have strong objection to the use of the word 'bonafide' for officers. We are not going to take lightly. We will rip you apart.
The Uttarakhand licensing authority was merely pushing files and did nothing. The state authorities are hand in glove with the contemnors.
The big picture: A previous order from November 21, 2023, had recorded a commitment from Patanjali's counsel promising no future violations in advertising, which is now central to the contempt proceedings.
The Uttarakhand government has been directed to take strict action against Patanjali Ayurved, and the Ministry of Ayush has been involved in reviewing the claims made by Patanjali's Coronil tablet during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read how the Ministry of AYUSH did a U-turn on Patanjali.
ICYMI
“This is not like a James Bond movie where we will have sequels”: That’s the Delhi HC expressing frustration over multiple petitions seeking the removal of Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister.
A 2019 video of Sam Pitroda is doing the rounds on social media and is being falsely portrayed as a recent clip.
Hindus and Muslims have united to restore a 400-year-old Durga temple in Kerala.
A Canadian inquiry has found no evidence of Indian interference in the country’s elections.
Get ready for a surge in domestic airfares on key routes as the summer vacations are upon us.
IndiGo has become the world’s third-biggest airline by market capitalization.