Feature
Rampur turns into Bollywood tearjerker with drama before LS polls
Lucknow: Rampur is turning into a Bollywood tearjerker with ample drama, emotion, action and even a bit of comedy.
Former Uttar Pradesh Minister M. Azam Khan, who is the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party candidate has revived his now legendary battle with actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada who is the BJP candidate in Rampur.
Addressing an election rally in his constituency, Khan said, “I did not open dance schools, I opened proper schools and universities.” The remark was obviously directed at Jaya Prada who is known for her dancing skills as an actor.
In another meeting, Jaya Prada breaks into tears and says: “I do not want to cry now. I want to laugh and I want peace. I have come here to seek your blessings.”
Her producer brother Raja Babu, who is also campaigning for the actor, says in yet another meeting: “Meri behen ne Rampur ko chamka diya, aur woh rakshas ne Jaya ji ko bhaga diya (My sister made Rampur shine but that demon drove her out)”. The brother breaks into sobs to earn public sympathy.
BJP workers, as if on the cue, start shouting Jaya ji tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain”.
The battle between Azam Khan and Jaya Prada has acquired legendary proportions.
Politics make UP’s Rampur turns into Bollywood tearjerker before LS polls:
It was 15 years ago that Azam Khan had brought Jaya Prada to Rampur to challenge the political supremacy of the family of Begum Noor Bano, a Congress leader.
Jaya Prada contested and defeated Bano in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. In the next five years, her relations with Azam Khan soured and she moved to the Amar Singh camp.
In 2009 general elections, Azam Khan was shown the door from SP on the issue of his deteriorating relationship with Jaya Prada who won the election.
By 2014, both Amar Singh and Jaya Prada had quit the SP and both lost the elections while Azam Khan returned to the Samajwadi fold.
In 2019, Khan is cautious not to take the name of Jaya Prada but his statements, laced with sarcasm, make it obvious and the people lap up his speeches.
One of his statement goes thus, “Buddhe chuhon ki mooch nikal jaye to wo sheher ka kaptaan nahin ho jata” and then he says “Jako rakhe saiyan maar sake na koi.”
Rampur, meanwhile, is enjoying this theatre of the absurd while it plays out. The constituency goes to polls on April 23 in the third phase.
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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