New Delhi, June 23: The counting of votes is underway for the by-elections to five Assembly seats in four states — Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala and Bengal.

The bypolls were held on June 19 for two Assembly seats in Gujarat — Visavadar and Kadi; and one each in Punjab (Ludhiana West), Bengal (Kaliganj), and Kerala (Nilambur).

In Gujarat, the Visavadar seat recorded 56.89 per cent voter turnout; in Kadi, the turnout was 57.90 per cent.

Kerala’s Nilambur registered a 75.27 per cent voter turnout in the bypoll.

West Bengal recorded 69.85 per cent voting percentage in the Kaliganj seat, and in Punjab’s Ludhiana West constituency, 51.33 per cent voters turned up.

The deaths of the incumbent legislators necessitated the bypolls in one seat each in Gujarat, West Bengal and Punjab, and the resignation of two MLAs led to the polling in Kerala and another seat in Gujarat.

In Gujarat’s Kadi, the BJP has fielded Rajendra Chavda, Congress has Ramesh Chavda, a former MLA from the same seat, and AAP has fielded Jagdish Chavda.

In Visavadar, the BJP nominated former Junagadh district president Kirit Patel against AAP’s Gopal Italia and Congress’ Nitin Ranpariya.

The key contenders in West Bengal’s Kaliganj are Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Sheikh, backed by the Left Front, Trinamool Congress’ Alifa Ahmed, and BJP’s Ashish Ghosh.

In Kerala, the ruling LDF nominated M. Swaraj for Nilambur bypolls, whereas Aryadan Shoukath (Congress-led UDF), Trinamool Congress’ P.V. Anvar, and Mohan George of the BJP-led NDA are the other candidates in the fray. In total, ten candidates are in the fray. The contest is seen as a litmus test for the ruling LDF government and its prospects in next year’s Assembly elections.

Ludhiana West bypoll has a four-cornered battle among Sanjeev Arora from the AAP, Bharat Bhushan Ashu from Congress, Jiwan Gupta from the BJP and Parupkar Singh Ghumman from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Arora is AAP’s Rajya Sabha candidate, and it is being speculated that Arvind Kejriwal may be nominated for the upper House in case Arora wins. Though the AAP leaders have so far denied this move. The counting of votes for the Ludhiana West Assembly is being held at Khalsa College For Women.

Mumbai, June 23: Amid ongoing controversy over the Maharashtra government’s policy on the inclusion of Hindi “generally” as the third language in the curriculum in Marathi and English schools from Classes 1 to 5 from the academic year 2025-26, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has convened a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue and review its implementation.

The government issued a revised government resolution (GR) last week, which skipped the word “mandatory” third language as Hindi but said Hindi will be the third language in Marathi and English medium schools for Classes 1 to 5.

The GR further stated that students were allowed to choose from other Indian languages in the place of Hindi if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi.

The GR also said that Marathi continues to remain compulsory in all schools. For non-Marathi and non-English medium institutions, the curriculum from Classes 1 to 5 will now include the medium of instruction, Marathi, and English. From Classes 6 to 10, the policy will align with the existing State Curriculum Framework.

CM Fadnavis has strongly defended the government decision, saying that the three-language formula is a directive under the Central government’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is binding on all states.

School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse argued that Hindi is not mandatory and that Marathi will remain compulsory in all schools, saying that action will be taken against institutions that fail to comply.

However, opposition parties have accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of betrayal while opposing the introduction of Hindi as a third language. Former Union Minister and NCP(SP) Sharad Pawar said no one hates Hindi as a language, but it should not be imposed.

Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said his party was not averse to Hindi but asked why it was being forced on students. He declared that his party will not allow the state government’s move to make Hindi compulsory.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena founder Raj Thackeray questioned the need to introduce Hindi as a third language, saying that even Gujarat had not imposed Hindi in schools.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged that CM Fadnavis has once again stabbed a dagger into the heart of Maharashtra and Marathi. He further alleged that this is nothing but the BJP’s anti-Maharashtra agenda, a plot to destroy the Marathi language, Marathi identity, and the Marathi people.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis participated in the ‘Warkari BhaktiYog’ program on the occasion of International Yoga Day, June 21, 2025. The event was held in Pune and witnessed the participation of lakhs of Warkaris.

Dignitaries present at the event included Minister Chandrakant Patil, Minister of State Madhuri Misal, Professor Sadanand More, and several other important leaders. In an X (formerly Twitter) post, CM Fadnavis shared pictures from the yoga session and expressed his thoughts on the confluence of yoga and the Warkari tradition through the ‘Bhakti Yoga’ program.

The ‘Warkari BhaktiYog’ program aimed to promote a balance between the body, mind, and soul. It concluded in Pune with a massive gathering addressed by Chief Minister Fadnavis, who highlighted the spiritual and healing powers of yoga.

The Chief Minister said that yoga is our tradition, culture and a key to a happy life, as well as a method of treatment. It has an extraordinary ability to rejuvenate the body and mind. With this in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed Yoga Day at the United Nations, with the view that the world should accept this ancient Indian knowledge. This is the only such proposal in the history of the United Nations which was supported and approved by all the countries present. Therefore, we have been celebrating World Yoga Day for the past 11 years.

He further said that yoga is a practice that anyone can do. These asanas are designed according to our body structure and have a therapeutic effect on all the external and internal organs of the body, from nails to hair. That is why yoga is being recognised as a ‘healing power’ at the global level.

Chief Minister Fadnavis, referring to the concept of ‘One Earth, One Health’ given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the Warkari community upholds this concept through action. It is a matter of fortune for us to get the opportunity to do yoga with the Warkari after the Wari’s stay in Pune. Savitribai Phule Pune University is leading this program, which is a matter of pride.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that today, all the Dindyas are participating in yoga sadhana at their respective stations, and students from 700 colleges have also participated, which is a matter of great satisfaction.

The Chief Minister said that Pune has given a new ‘ring’ to the Wari. He wished that this tradition should continue and that we all remain committed to creating a ‘healthy and prosperous society’.