Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, on Thursday said he had spoken with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh in the wake of Cyclone Arnab and assured them of all possible assistance to mitigate the hardships faced by people affected by the disaster.

In a post on social media platform X, HM Shah said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs) had launched rescue and relief operations.

“In the wake of Cyclone Arnab, spoke with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and Chhattisgarh and assured them of every assistance to mitigate the hardship of the people in the face of the disaster. NDRF and SDRF teams have sprung into action and are continuing rescue and relief operations on a war footing. IMCTs will soon be sent to assess the impact and further assistance required. The Government of India stands with the people with resolute commitment,” HM Shah said.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest weather bulletin on Thursday, said Cyclonic Storm Arnab had weakened into a deep depression and was likely to further weaken into a depression by Thursday morning, followed by a well-marked low-pressure area in the evening.

At least 17 districts in southern Odisha have been affected by heavy rainfall triggered by the cyclone, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday.

In Andhra Pradesh, five people lost their lives, prompting Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to announce a relief and compensation package for affected families, farmers, fishermen and businesses.

In other parts of the country, rainfall activity is likely to ease considerably across Kerala, with daytime temperatures expected to rise. In Telangana, isolated places in 12 districts are likely to experience thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds on Thursday.

Rainfall is also expected to intensify in parts of Jharkhand and continue until Friday. Gudabanda in East Singhbhum district recorded the highest rainfall, at 71.4 mm, since Wednesday evening, followed by Manjhari in West Singhbhum district, which received 64 mm.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Arnab brought back grim memories of Cyclone Hudhud, which battered the region 12 years ago. Although Arnab was less severe and did not make landfall in the city, strong winds continued throughout the night.

Extensive damage to the city’s green cover, uprooted electric poles, prolonged power outages and disrupted mobile network connectivity reminded residents of the destruction caused by Hudhud in October 2014.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), after securing five seats in the latest Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, has described its performance as an indication of the public mood ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, asserting that the results reflect what could unfold in the next state polls.

Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party received a significant boost ahead of the crucial Assembly elections after winning five of the 11 Legislative Council seats contested in the latest round of polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the remaining six seats. While the BJP managed to retain its pre-election tally, the SP improved its position by adding two seats to its previous strength.

One of the most notable outcomes came from Varanasi, where the Samajwadi Party won both the Teachers’ and Graduates’ constituencies.

The result has drawn particular attention because Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to media, SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand said the results demonstrated that the BJP faced difficulties when elections were conducted through ballot papers. He also alleged that the ruling party had attempted to influence the process at certain places.

“In Uttar Pradesh, when elections were held through ballot papers, the BJP lost. The BJP also slowed down the voting process in ballot paper elections and, in some places, its workers misused the administration to influence certain seats through their arbitrary actions. They tried to stop the Varanasi results; however, they were not able to stop the public from expressing their stand,” Chand said.

Taking aim at the BJP over its response to the election results, the SP spokesperson said the party should explain its defeat in Varanasi rather than seeking political satisfaction from the Congress’ setbacks elsewhere.

“The BJP, which is trying to find happiness in the Congress’ sorrow, will not answer questions about how it lost in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi. Those who want to find happiness in others’ sorrow can do so. However, this is what is on the public’s mind. This is just a reflection of what will happen in the 2027 Assembly elections,” he added.

Reacting to the results in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the Samajwadi Party had managed to win in a constituency where such an outcome was not anticipated. He said the BJP would examine the reasons behind the result.

“The Samajwadi Party has opened its account where it was not expected,” Maurya said, adding that the BJP would look into the outcome.

Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also reacted to the results through a post on social media platform X, referring to the victory of the PDA, a political grouping promoted by the Samajwadi Party.

“They are secretly happy about the PDA’s victory too – no one becomes a stranger just by leaving home,” Yadav wrote.

“If the scheming BJP folks hadn’t pulled that double-cross in Gorakhpur, the same fate as in Varanasi would have befallen them there too. All in all, the BJP has suffered a moral defeat in Gorakhpur as well. Until the final results from Banaras come in, this is our appeal to all our workers: No rest until we have proof of victory in our hands,” his post read.

“The MLC elections have packed off the BJP’s bag and baggage. Despite extreme dishonesty and administrative tampering, no one could avert the BJP’s downfall. All those corrupt officials who served the BJP will be hauled before the people’s court once the PDA government takes power,” he added.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday took potshots at the Gandhi family, saying that the ‘Congress-I’, a faction of the grand old party formed by former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi in January 1978, stands for “Italian Congress” rather than “Congress-Indira”, while terming the party’s electoral defeats as “purification” by citizens.

The BJP chief made the remarks while speaking at the ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ march at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra and Minister Parvesh Verma were also present.

Addressing a gathering, Nabin asserted that democracy is in safe hands under the BJP-led Centre.

“If democracy is in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then it is absolutely safe. Citizens know that 140 crore people of the country are the family of the son of the soil of the country – PM Modi,” he said.

Targeting the Congress and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the BJP chief said: “The people who think that they are speaking for democracy…LoP Rahul Gandhi walks around with a copy of the Constitution; actually, he doesn’t care about the Constitution. Whatever Rahul Gandhi says, the Congress deems it right, due to which the party is sinking lower and lower. If they continue to obey Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party will be wiped out.”

Referring to the imposition of the ‘Emergency’ under the Congress regime in 1975 and the party’s subsequent electoral defeat, he said: “To those so-called Congress leaders who try to turn one family’s rules into the law of the country, I want to make it clear that the roots of Indian democracy are strong enough and you have already experienced this, even after imposing the Emergency…Whenever you have tried to undermine democracy, citizens have replied by punishing you (in elections)”

Further, Nabin accused the Congress of opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in order to protect its “political interests.”

“There are crores of voters whose names appear in the voter list at two different places. There are also crores of voters whose addresses and whereabouts cannot be traced. They (Congress) wanted such ‘ghost voter lists’ to remain this way so that they could continue serving their political interests…But we (BJP) believe in purification,” he said.

Referring to ‘Congress (I)’, Nabin said: “People thought that they would be known as Congress-Indira, but rather they are known as Italian Congress, having a distorted mindset. That is why the people of the country ‘purify’ them from time to time.”

Accusing the party of not learning from its electoral defeats, he asserted that anarchy cannot have a place in the country.

“We are working for India’s development, to take ahead the nation’s heritage. As ‘didi’ (Delhi CM Rekha Gupta) was saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t go anywhere, rather he will be again seen hoisting the Tricolour at the ramparts of the Red Fort in 2029 (Independence Day) as well,” he asserted.

Further, Nitin Nabin drew a parallel between the SIR process and the ritual followed by traders on Diwali festival where they worship and make new entries in the ‘Bahi Khata’ (account books) and delete those being repeated.

“This is because our traders believe that a clear account book reflects the credibility of businessmen. Similarly, voter list is the account book of a democracy. Whenever attempts are made to clean it, the Congress becomes restless,” he alleged

Asserting that the ‘Bahi Khaata’ of the democracy will be “purified”, the BJP chief stated: “The names of every genuine Indian citizen who is entitled to vote will be included in the voter list, while the names of infiltrators will be deleted. Every BJP worker is fully prepared to fight for this cause.”

Moreover, Nitin Nabin also referred to the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) October 16 call for Tiranga Assembly in Delhi’s Connaught Place, underlining that BJP members had hoisted the Tricolour for the first time at Jammu and Kashmir’s Lal Chowk, despite peak militancy.

“Today, people are taking to the streets carrying the Tricolour and talking about hoisting it at Connaught Place. We should all remember the time when it was a challenge to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Kashmir, an integral part of India. It was our party workers who, through their struggle and sacrifice, made it possible to hoist the Tricolour there,” he said.

Notably, then-BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi, accompanied by now PM Narendra Modi and Indian troops, hoisted the national flag atop the clock tower at Lal Chowk for the first time during the peak of militancy, on January 26, 1992.

In a warning to the Opposition, Nabin added: “Even the Opposition leaders know that only if their views align with the Tricolour, they will be able to live in India.”