News Breakfast @6

01. Election 2021: BJP-Led NDA Retains Power In Assam With 75 Seats

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA coalition has won a second consecutive term in the recently conducted Assam Legislative Assembly polls. BJP and its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party – Liberal (UPP-L) have bagged 75 seats. The majority mark in the 126- seat Assam Assembly for a party or coalition to form a government is 64. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal-led government has become the first non-Congress party to retain power in the state for a second straight term. The saffron party emerged victorious with 60 seats; the same figure which the party had claimed in the 2016 Assembly elections. The party's allies – the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People's Party Liberal won nine and six seats, respectively.

02. Assam Election 2021: BJP Wins With Comfortable Majority| Full List Of Winners

The BJP-led NDA has retained power with a comfortable majority. The NDA has won 75 out of 126 seats, while the Grand Alliance led by Congress is ahead in 50. The saffron party emerged victorious with 60 seats; the same figure which the party had claimed in the 2016 Assembly elections. The party's allies – the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People's Party Liberal won nine and six seats, respectively. The opposition 'Mahajot' won 50 seats, of which Congress won 29 seats, while, Badruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front won 16. The Bodoland Peoples Front won four seats and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) bagged one.

03. Assam Polls: BJP Led Coalition Conquers Kamrup Metro Again

As Election Commission declared the results for 126 seats in the Assam Assembly in the wee hours of Monday, BJP has not only retained its power in the state but. the party and its ally have emerged victorious in Dispur. The Kamrup Metropolitan district that comprises four key constituencies – Dispur, Gauhati East, Gauhati West, and Jalukbari. In Dispur, BJP's sitting MLA Atul Bora is elected once again in the constituency with 1, 96, 403 votes. The trailing candidate in the constituency was Manjit Mahanta who fetched 74, 127. A total of 3, 06, 318 voters (including postal ballots) exercised their right to franchise. A total of 13 candidates contested the seat, including six independent candidates. In Gauhati East, ten candidates contested the seat, whereby sitting MLA Siddharth Bhattacharya was elected for a straight second term. the constituency had the lowest voter turnout and 1,71,060 voters cast their vote. Bhattacharya won with a landslide margin of 66 per cent of the vote share with 1, 13, 461 votes. INC's Ashima Bordoloi came second with a mere 29, 316 votes.

04. Longest-Serving Female MLA Pramila Rani Brahma Loses In Assam Polls

As Assam Assembly election comes to an end and the BJP led coalition has returned to power with a landslide majority, the longest-serving female legislator and Cabinet minister of the outgoing government, Pramila Rani Brahma, has lost in the Kokrajhar (East) constituency. Brahma has been Kokrajhar (East) candidate since 1991. She served five consecutive terms as an independent candidate and then represented Bodoland People's Front (BPOF). Brahma lost to Lawrence Islary of the United People's Party – Liberal (UPPL). BPF severed ties with the BJP led coalition early this year.

05. Cong Gets 29.67% Vote Share, AIUDF Bags 9.29 % | Full List Of Mahajot Winners

As Congress faced defeat for the second consecutive term in Assam, the party has barely managed to get 29 seats, while its alliance 'Mahajot' bagged 21 seats. For this year's Assembly election, Congress joined hands with Badaruddin Ajmal's All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Bodoland People's Front (BPF), Left Parties, and Anchalik Gana Mancha. The Congress got the second-highest vote share at 29. 67 percent, while the All India United Democratic Front got 9.29 percent votes.

06. Assam: New COVID Guidelines For Restaurants, Bars

A new COVID-19 advisory has been issued by Assam State Disaster Management (ASDM) on Monday for restaurants, bars, banquet halls and other eateries in the state. It includes 50 percent seating, wearing of mask, social distancing, COVID smart seating arrangement among others. The advisory also encourages cashless payment, outdoor seating as well as thermal screening.

07. Kaziranga National Park Closed Due To COVID-19

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest on Monday ordered the closure of Assam's Kaziranga National Park for tourists until further notice. The decision was taken in light of the devastating second wave of COVID-19 which is gripping the state as well as the nation. On Sunday, Assam logged 2,385 cases of coronvirus and 30 deaths. The active caseload stood at 24,551.

08. Assam Archer Jayanta Talukdar In ICU After Testing COVID +Ve

Assam archer Jayanta Talukdar has been admitted to a Guwahati hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. As per a report, he is currently being treated in the ICU for low oxygen levels. Talukdar was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2006 Doha and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He also represented India at the 2012 London Olympics. Notably, the 35-year-old was a gold medallist at the 2006 World Cup in Merida, Mexico and a silver medallist in the men's team World Championships in 2005 in Madrid, Spain. Talukdar was also bestowed the prestigious Arjuna award for his achievements. In addition to Talukdar, many other Indian athletes have tested positive for the virus including Tokyo-bound pugilist Simranjit Kaur and race walker Priyanka Goswami.

09. Centre & States Should Consider Lockdown To Curb 2nd Covid Wave: SC

As India continues to grapple the second wave of coronavirus, the Supreme Court on late Sunday night urged the central and state governments to consider imposing a lockdown to control the further spread of the pandemic. A three-member apex court bench, comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice L Nageswara Rao, and Justice Ravindra Bhat said, "We are cognizant of the socio-economic impact of a lockdown, specifically, on the marginalized communities… thus, in case the measure of a lockdown is imposed, arrangements must be made beforehand to cater to the needs of these communities." The top court in its order noted that getting admitted to a hospital with beds is one of the biggest challenges being faced by most individuals during this second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

10. India Reports Over 3.68 Lakh Active Covid Cases

India registered a spike of 3,68,147 fresh coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,99,25,604 on Monday (May 3, 2021), as per data by the health ministry.  The country's total COVID-19 caseload has now escalated to 1.99 crore (1,99,25,604), of which, 34.13 lakh (34,13,642) are active cases. India has also witnessed 3,417 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 2.18 lakh (2,18,959) coronavirus-related deaths.  The Ministry of Health has identified and marked ten states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, for the highest COVID-19 active cases. 

11. COVID-19: NEET-PG Exams Postponed For 4 Months

The Centre on Monday announced that National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Exam 2021 has been postponed for at least four months in a bid to provide adequate human resources for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, according to an official statement by the Prime Minister's office (PMO). Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the growing need for adequate human resources for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Many important decisions were taken which will significantly boost the availability of medical personnel in Covid duty, the official statement said. A decision was taken to postpone NEET-PG for at least four months and the exam will not be held before August 31, 2021. Students will also be given at least one month of time after the announcement of the exam before it is conducted. This will make a large number of qualified doctors available for Covid duties.

12. Oxygen Crisis: 24 Patients Dead In Karnataka Hospital

In a tragic incident, over 24 patients including COVID-infected patients died at a government hospital in Karnataka allegedly due to oxygen shortage. As per reports, the deceased include 23 COVID patients and one other patient. Meanwhile, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa took stock of the situation and called an emergency Cabinet meeting. Soon after the tragedy, kins of the deceased staged a demonstration outside the hospital and raised slogans. "There were 24 deaths at the hospital, not all at the same time. 14 people died between Sunday morning to midnight, three patients died between 12 and 3 am. Between 3 am and Monday morning, seven more patients died. There was oxygen shortage at 10.30 pm which was sorted by getting 60 oxygen cylinders from Mysuru. 60 more cylinders arrived on Monday morning. The district has a requirement of 300-350 cylinders which is not being fulfilled," Dr MR Ravi, Deputy Commissioner, Chamrajnaga told a news channel.

13. Mamata To Take Oath As Bengal CM On May 5

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will be taking oath as Chief Minister of West Bengal for the third consecutive term on May 5 (Wednesday), a news agency reported. In a meeting held at party headquarters, the newly-elected MLAs unanimously elected Banerjee as the legislative party leader. Yesterday, the country witnessed one of the biggest political victories with the TMC bagging 213 of the 292 assembly seats to secure a third consecutive term in office. BJP on the other hand were able to procure 77 seats, while the ISF and an independent managed one seat each. Banerjee however lost Nandigram by 1,956 votes to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.

14. India Gets Oxygen Generation Plant, Ventilators From Italy

A flight from Italy brought in an oxygen production plant and 20 ventilators on Monday to support India's response to a massive surge in Coronavirus infections that has stretched the resources of healthcare facilities in several states, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In a tweet, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi lauded Italy for its medical help and support to India in fight against COVID-19. "Taking forward our warm and multifaceted relationship. Shipment of an oxygen production plant and 20 ventilators arrives from Italy. Value the support from our important EU partner. Will help augment our oxygen capacities," he said. In view of the unprecedented medical crisis in India, several countries have offered help in the forms of ventilators, oxygen concentrators, PPE kits, and even raw materials for vaccine production.

15. Assam: 4,489 New COVID Cases, 29 Deaths

Assam on Monday recorded 4,489 cases of coronvirus, pushing the tally to 26,477. Meanwhile, 2,534 patients were discharged today. The new cases were detected out of the 55,939 tests conducted. The highest cases were reported from Kamrup Metro (1,645), Dibrugarh (460), Kamrup Rural (239), Nagaon (201) and Nalbari (201). The case positivity rate is 8.02 per cent. The district wise deaths were recorded from Kamrup Metro (13), Dibrugarh (4), Karimganj (3), Udalguri (2), Bongaigaon (1), Cachar (1), Goalpara (1), Kamrup Rural (1), Nalbari (1), Sonitpur (1), Tinsukia (1). With 29 new deaths, the death tally now stands at 1,389. The current death rate stood at 0.53 per cent.