Feature
Abhinandan to fight LS polls against Narendra Modi-Rajnath Singh from LKO-Varanasi
Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh now have an unusual candidate pitted against them: Abhinandan Pathak, a lookalike of Modi, who is contesting form Lucknow and Varanasi as an independent candidate.
Pathak, 51, had campaigned for Modi in Varanasi and became a celebrity overnight with his strong resemblance to the Prime Minister.
“When Modi became Prime Minister, I gained recognition and respect. My resemblance with him was my biggest asset and the common people would offer me tea and request for a photograph with me. After demonetization, things began to change and as disillusionment set in, I became a victim of the people’s anger.
There have been incidents where I have been beaten up only because I resemble Modi,” he said.
Pathak switched his loyalty to the Congress and campaigned for the party in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
“I am upset with the Congress because the party did not give me a ticket in these elections. However, I still support Rahul Gandhi and his policies,” he said.
Abhinandan Pathak has been living in Lucknow for five year and works as a priest to earn a living.
Bad news for Narendra Modi-Rajnath Singh as Abhinandan to contest election against them:
He said he was contesting elections to develop his own identity. “I am fed up of living in someone else’s shadow. The main issues of my campaign will be the need for ‘roti, kapda aur makaan'”, he said.
Pathak is a native of Saharanpur and has collected the security money for nomination through crowd funding. “I am asking for one rupee and one vote from the people and the response has been encouraging,” he said.
In his affidavit filed with his nomination, Abhinandan Pathak says he has no immovable assets and only Rs 50,000 in his bank account. He has done his master’s from Allahabad University.
All the ten proposers in his nomination papers are Muslims who are also his closet friends.
Pathak has contested four elections so far � twice for corporator in Saharanpur municipal elections, the 1999 polls and assembly elections from Saharanpur Nagar in 2012. He had also filed nomination in 2017 assembly elections in Varanasi, but his candidature was rejected. He has challenged the decision in court.
He is separated from his family that includes his wife and six children.
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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