Land slide victory for Cong in Ludhiana MC

LUDHIANA: The Congress swept the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation election by winning 62 out of 95 wards, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.

The BJP-SAD alliance won 21 seats and Lok Insaf Party led by MLA Simmerjit Singh Bains won 7 seats whereas independents bagged four seats, an election office spokesperson said here. For the first time AAP which contested 31 seats opened its account when its one woman candidate was declared elected from ward no-11, he said

The election for Ludhiana MC was held on February 24.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has hailed the Ludhiana MC results as a “clear vindication of the Congress government’s policies and an endorsement of the propeople initiatives undertaken by it in the past one year”.

In a statement welcoming the poll results, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also lauded the performance of the party in the MC polls, which they said marked the total annihilation of the opposition parties in the state.

While the chief minister congratulated the party workers and leaders, including Cabinet minister, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, and Ludhiana MP, Ravneet Bittu, for steering the sweeping victory for the Congress, Jakhar said it had once again underscored the faith that the people of Punjab had in Amarinder’s leadership.

Amarinder termed the victory as a “befitting reply by the people of Punjab to the misdeeds and fabrications of the opposition, which had been trying to mislead them with baseless allegations against the Congress government”.

Opposition SAD-BJP and AAP had accused the ruling Congress of rigging the polls.

He described the results as the “proverbial last nail in the political coffins of SAD, AAP and other parties in the fray”.

Sidhu welcomed the three independents who had extended support to the Congress.

With the AAP being reduced to a single seat, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) relegated to a poor second, winning just 11 out of 55 seats contested, and the BJP losing all but 10 of the 47 seats contested, it was clear that the political antics of these parties since their defeat in the Assembly polls a year ago had failed to impress the people, Jakhar said.

Meanwhile, the Congress high command has also lauded the party’s victory in the MC polls and congratulated Amarinder Singh, for it. NEW DELHI: Despite a drop in the wheat production by 1.42 per cent to 97.11 million tonnes (MT) in the current crop year ending June due to fall in acreage, the country’s overall foodgrain output is projected to touch a new record 277.49 MT in the 2017-18 crop year as against 275.11 MT last year.

While releasing its second estimate, Union Agriculture Ministry said, “As a result of near normal rainfall during monsoon 2017 and various policy initiatives taken by the government, the country has witnessed record foodgrains production in the current year.”

Wheat production is estimated to decline by 1.40 MT to 97.11 MT in 2017-18, from the record of 98.51 MT achieved in 2016-17, the release said. The fall in wheat production is mainly due to 4.27 per cent drop in acreage at 30.42 million hectare in the current rabi season. Farmers have shifted to pulses in states like Rajasthan.

Expressing satisfaction over latest foodgrain estimation, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said, “The foodgrains estimation validates the pro-farmer policies of the government, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The estimates are an indication of meeting the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.”

Rice output is pegged 1.31 MT higher at 111.01 MT this year, as against 109.70 MT in 2016-17. Much of the rice production comes from the Kharif season. Pulses production is pegged at a record 23.95 MT this year, up by 0.82 MT, from 23.13 MT last year, the data showed. Among pulses, gram and urad production is estimated to be a record 11.10 MT and 3.23 MT respectively, this year. Production of coarse cereals is estimated at record 45.42 MT this year as against 43.77 MT in 2016-17 crop year.

However, oilseeds production is pegged lower by 1.39 MT at 29.88 MT in 2017-18 as against 31.28 MT during 201617. Among oilseeds, soyabean output is likely to decline to 11.39 MT this year from 13.79 MT in 2016-17, while groundnut output is pegged at 8.22 MT as against 7.56 MT in the said period.

In case of cash crop, sugarcane production is estimated to increase significantly to 353.23 MT in 2017-18 crop year as against 306.07 MT last year.

Cotton output is pegged higher at 33.92 million bales (of 170 kg each) as against 32.58 million bales last year, while that of Jute/mesta is estimated to be lower at 10.51 million bales (of 180 kg each) in the said period. The government releases total four estimates, before the final one, at different stages of harvesting.