Feature
Mayawati’s campaign turns a new leaf in UP
Lucknow: People change with times. In Uttar Pradesh, where voters are being wooed left and right, the most striking election campaign although low profile is of the Bahaman Samaj Party (BSP).Raring to wrest power from arch rival Samajwadi Party (SP), the BSP has changed tack and gone for a different brand of campaign – a departure from its earlier methods.The BSP has not only got an audio-visual campaign stitched up to tell voters how Mayawati is a harbinger of social change but to remind them of the better law and order in 2007-12 when she was the Chief Minister.
Unlike in the past when the party heavily relied on corner meetings and low profile rallies in rural constituencies, this time it has roped in the likes of Bollywood stars Anil Kapoor to seek support.The BSP has never been known to woo the media. This time, the party mandarins are not only in touch with journalists but are sending regular press releases in PDF format using WhatsApp, SMS and emails. The party is also extensively using the social media network, something Mayawati had ridiculed not so long ago.
Candidates have been told to create Facebook pages and twitter handles and keep the ‘tech savvy’ and youths hooked on to the BSP.The strategists are sending live feeds of speeches of ‘Behenji’. The speeches of the four-time Chief Minister are also posted on Youtube in the new ‘avatar’ of the party.A party leader said much credit for these changes goes to Rajya Sabha member and Mayawati’s close aide Satish Chandra Mishra, who has been able to get the Dalit leader to embrace all possible avenues to reach out to voters.
Dozens of new age candidates — Paresh Mishra, Afzaal Siddiqui and even retired IPS official like Gurbachan Lal — have their own teams for social networking.They also keep track of their opponents and devise ways to beat them using technology. The BSP does not have any official Facebook or Twitter presence and depends on its supporters to expand its base and promote its ideology.Mayawati has ruled Uttar Pradesh twice with BJP’s legislative support and once in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
While her three terms were brief and full of upheaval, she had a full five-year term in 2007-12 until the SP stormed to power, led by the young Akhilesh Yadav. The BSP drew a duck in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014.Determined to return to power, Mayawati is leaving nothing to chance now. This explains the BSP’s new slogans, jingles, TV spots and social media reach out. Whether the BSP’s new love for technology will fetch her the desired results or not will be known only on March 11 when votes polled in Uttar Pradesh will be counted.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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