Indian educational institutes do not lack in merit and can be among the best in the world, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday.

He congratulated the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for figuring in the top ten institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017.

"Kindly convey my sincere compliments to the entire faculty, staff and students of your esteemed institute for having responded to my repeated calls to strive to be amongst the top institutions of higher learning in the world.

"This achievement reiterates my firm belief that Indian institutions are not lacking in merit and can be amongst the best in the world," the President said in a message to Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc.

The institute has achieved the eighth rank.

"I'm confident your institution will continue to strive and achieve greater and greater heights in the future," Mukherjee said.

Polling for the the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections has recorded 56 per cent of voter turn out till 5 pm on Wednesday in 40 assembly seats spread over seven districts.

With all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, voting started at 7 am.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.

1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide the fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

While he BJP is contesting 32 seats, its allies – the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party – are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats.

The Samajwadi Party is contesting 31 seats, the Congress is contesting for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

The results will be declared on March 11.

(With inputs from Agencies)

The agitating Madhesi group on Wednesday erved an ultimatum to Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda, threatening to withdraw support to his government if their demands are not addressed in a week.

The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) on Tuesday submitted a five-point memorandum to Prachanda during a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar.

In the memorandum, Madhesi (UDMF) leaders have demanded withdrawal of local elections' programme, discussion on the Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament and probe of police firing in Saptari.

They also demanded action against persons found guilty in the firing incident.

The Madhesi leaders also asked government to declare those killed in the incident as "martyrs" and demanded due compensation for their kins.

The Front has warned to withdraw support to the government if its demands are not addressed in a week, according to a statement issued by the Front after the meeting.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Saptari police firing has climbed to four after another Madhesi Front cadre succumbed to his injuries.

Three persons were killed on Monday after police opened fire at protesters who tried to disrupt CPN-UML's programme in the district. Several others were injured in the firing.

The CPN-UML has claimed that the Madhesi Front had made a failed attempt at "assassinating the party leadership by encircling" them when they were leaving the programme venue on Monday after the public meeting.

The agitating cadres vandalised 50 vehicles and a few houses of the local leaders of the UML, the party said in a statement.

The two-day general strike called by the Madhesi Front paralysed life in 20 districts of southern Nepal for the second consecutive day. Most of the shops, educational institutions and factories remained closed during the strike.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, had launched a six-month-long agitation against the implementation of the Constitution without amending its provisions that would address the demands for more representation and re-demarcation of state boundaries.

The Trump administration has sought 60 days from a US appeals court to "consider" its response in a case challenging Obama government's decision to allow spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US, putting the jobs of thousands of Indians at stake.

The H1-B community, which includes a large number of Indians, had welcomed the move by the Barack Obama administration in 2015 to allow H4 visa-holders – mainly spouses of the H-1B visa-holders – to be gainfully employed.

But the group 'Save Jobs USA' soon took the matter to the Washington DC appeals court after a district court upheld the Obama administration's decision.

Now, the Trump administration has sought a 60-day suspension in the appeals court proceedings. On February 1, the Department of Justice filed a petition in the court titled 'Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days'.

The Trump administration sought the freeze to "allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues".

The "abeyance" in court proceedings has led to concern among H4 visa holders, particularly as Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a known critic of the H1B programme.

Immigration Voice yesterday announced to intervene in the case for thousands of H4 visa-holders, saying this was the "only option" to protect the rights of its members and their families, including children who are US citizens.

The recent statements from the US government present "an unacceptable risk" for Immigration Voice members that the DoJ might decide after 60 days to against the H4 visa holders.

"There is nothing for the Department of Justice attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the District Court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed," said Aman Kapoor, co-founder of the group.

Sudarshana Sengupta, one of the petitioners, said she has been involved in bio-medical research for the past 13 years in the country, initially as a J2 dependent (work authorisation) and later on H-1B visa.

"In August 2015, I decided to use H4-EAD work authorisation to continue my research…," Sengupta said, adding that if the H4-EAD is taken away she will not be able to launch her start-up on developing cancer immunotherapy strategies.

Another intervenor Anuj Dhamija, who has been legally working in the US since 2010 as a project manager for a reputed 'Fortune 100' firm, said due to the long wait to get a green card, he switched to the H4-EAD programme as it was the only option for him to pursue his business venture.

"On this programme, I was able to keep my existing job and also start up my small high-end luxurious home remodelling business," he said.

"I expected to create 5-10 new American jobs in the construction industry. If this programme ceased to exist, I will lose all my investment in the new business and also my job as there will be no other legal option for me to work in the USA," Dhamija said.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has become the preeminent hacking operation, sneaking into hi-tech phones and televisions to spy on people worldwide, an explosive WikiLeaks publication said on Tuesday.

To hide its operations, the CIA routinely adopted hacking techniques that enabled them to appear as if they were hackers in Russia, WikiLeaks said.

The capabilities described include recording the sounds, images and the private text messages of users, even when they resort to encrypted apps to communicate.

WikiLeaks also claimed that nearly all of the CIA's arsenal of privacy-crushing cyber-weapons have been stolen, and the tools are potentially in the hands of criminals and foreign spies.

WikiLeaks said it published the documents to show the potentially hazardous ramifications of the CIA's covert hacking program — and the massive theft of those tools.

"There is an extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber 'weapons,'" WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange said in a statement.

Wikileaks said it redacted lists of CIA surveillance targets, though it said they included targets and machines in Latin America, Europe and the United States.

The anti-secrecy group also said that by developing such intrusive technology — rather than helping tech companies patch flaws in their products — the CIA was undermining efforts to protect the cybersecurity of Americans.

By targeting devices, the CIA reportedly gains access to even well-encrypted communications, on such popular apps as Signal and WhatsApp, without having to crack the encryption itself. The WikiLeaks reports acknowledged that difference by saying the CIA had found ways to “bypass,” as opposed to defeat, encryption technologies.

The blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train that left 10 people injured was carried out using a pipe bomb, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday.

The explosion took place near Jabri station on Tuesday and the terrorists also used a timer, he said.

The Madhya Pradesh Police arrested three suspects who were going to Hoshangabad district's Pipariya in a bus.

"They reached Bhopal from Lucknow on Tuesday morning and placed the bomb on the rack above the seat… The terrorists had set a two-hour timer," the Chief Minister said.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, all the suspects planned to escape to Lucknow from Pipariya.

India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to introduce four new products next fiscal.

The company, which has been bringing about two new products each year in the past couple of years, is accelerating the introduction with an eye to strengthen its hold in the market.

"We had earlier announced that we would bring 15 models by 2020. We have done eight so far. As part of the plan, in the next fiscal, we will have four launches," Maruti Suzuki India Executive Director (marketing and sales) RS Kalsi told PTI here on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor show.

Out of the four, he said, two will be new models and two will be upgrades.

The company will launch the all-new third generation Swift, which was unveiled here, in India in the spring of 2018.

The company is also gearing up for the upgraded version of its premium cross over X-Cross later this year.

Kalsi, however, declined to share details of the upcoming products.

Asked about growth expectations in the new fiscal, he said the market is poised for growth and the company's will be faster than the industry's.

"We have been growing at a good rate in the past five years and next fiscal, we are sure of a double-digit growth," Kalsi said.

So far in April to February, the company has sold around 13 lakh units, he added.

On whether the company is aiming to have 50 per cent market share, up from the current 47 per cent, he said: "For us, what is important is growing faster than the industry."

After suffering a 4-0 mauling by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg, FC Barcelona are on the brink of their earliest exit in the UEFA Champions League and have it all to do in the second leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday

Never before in the history of the competition has a 4-0 deficit been overturned and for a regular team it would be nigh impossible.

Barcelona, however, are no ordinary team and if there is any side that can complete the monumental task, it is them. Still, Paris Saint-Germain are a team that are buzzing with belief and most certainly won’t make it easy for the Catalans.

Barcelona
La Blaugrana have recovered from their mauling at the hands of the Parisiens, with four wins on the trot since then, scoring 14 and conceding three in the process.

The goal glut suggests that their famed ‘MSN’ trio is back in business and no better time than what might well be Luis Enrique’s final game in Europe with Barcelona. 

In the aftermath of that disastrous night in Paris, Enrique announced that he won’t be renewing his contract and will depart in the summer. So the onus is on Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to give their coach a befitting farewell by recovering some pride at the Nou Camp.

While Messi has been sensational in recent weeks, he was anonymous in the first leg and it is a given that when the Argentine has an off day, Barcelona end up on the losing side.

Having said that, football is a team game and the likes of Neymar and Suarez need to step on the big game and it all depends if their midfield will be able supply the forwards with ample ammunition on the night. Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic have the un-enviable task of shackling PSG's dynamic midfield and there will be no margin for error on the night.

Defenders Jeremey Mathieu and Aleix Vidal are the only injury absentees for the the Catalans and they have no suspension issues, a much-needed boost for Luis Enrique’s side.

Paris Saint-Germain

While Angel di Maria ran rings around the Barcelona defence in the first leg, it was Les Parisiens' midfield that dominated the game, allowing their offensive teammates to run riot.

Marco Verrati, who has put to bed rumours of him joining the Catalans this week, was superb and had able support from young Adrien Rabbit and the ever-dependable Blaise Matuidi.
The trio in midfield suffocated Barcelona’s supply to their potent forwards and were always looking to hurt the Catalans on the counter by releasing the likes of di Maria and Edinson Cavani on the counter.

So, with Barcelona set to go for the jugular from the first minute itself, Unai Emery’s men will relish the pressure and look to hit the home side on the break all night long.

Thiago Motta has returned in training for PSG and is likely to make the bench and with no other injury or suspension concerns, the French side will be confident of progressing to the quarters.

Super Stat: Prior to their monumental 4-0 win over Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain had beaten the Catalans only once in seven meetings!
 

 An explosion and gunfire rattled Kabul's diplomatic district on Wednesday as insurgents dressed as doctors attacked Afghanistan's largest military hospital, officials said, as growing insecurity besets the war-battered country.

No insurgent group immediately claimed responsibility for the ongoing assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up attacks even before the start of their annual spring offensive.

No casualties were immediately reported but medical staff trapped in the facility posted desperate messages for help on social media. "Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats were on the loose after the explosion struck, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

"The attackers are shooting everywhere," administrator Abdul Hakim told AFP by telephone.

"We are trying to bring the situation under control," he said in a frantic hurry before hanging up.

The attack comes a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker snuck in, sending clouds of smoke billowing into the sky.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The growing violence underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan over the resurgent Taliban.

The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payrolls, have been struggling to rein in the Taliban since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US general John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops in Afghanistan to fend off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.

Separately, the Pentagon this year said it would deploy some 300 US Marines this spring to Helmand province alone.

As polling for the second and final phase of Manipur Assembly elections 2017 is underway, the state has recorded a voter turnout of 67 per cent till 1 pm on Wednesday.

Voting is being held at 1,151 polling stations in 22 assembly constituencies spread across the valley district of Thoubal and the hill districts of Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati.

The second phase has 98 candidates in the fray.

Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh too casted his vote in the morning.

The final phase will decide the fate of all prominent state political leaders including the CM, deputy CM Gaikhangam, rights activist-turned politician Irom Chanu Sharmila among others.

The state has 19,02,562 voters– 9,28,573 male and 9,73,989 female. Around 45,642 new voters will exercise their franchise in this phase.

The results will be declared on March 11.

Kuwait is building one of the world's longest causeways to its remote north where it will pump billions into "Silk City", aiming to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The oil-rich emirate is eager to inject life into the uninhabited Subbiya region on its northern tip that has been chosen as the location for Silk City.

The plan is to reinvigorate the ancient Silk Road trade route by establishing a major free trade zone linking the Gulf to central Asia and Europe.

The 36-kilometre bridge, three-quarters of it over water, will cut the driving time between Kuwait City and Subbiya to 20-25 minutes from 90 minutes now.

Investment in the Silk City project is expected to top $100 billion, and a 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in Subbiya.

At a cost of 904 million dinars ($3.0 billion), the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway, named after the emir who died in January 2006, is one of the largest infrastructure ventures in the region.

It is already nearly three-quarters completed.

Despite the sharp drop in oil income which made up 95 percent of public revenues, the emirate has pledged to keep spending on capital projects almost intact.

Kuwait boasts a $600-billion sovereign wealth fund, and is in the middle of a five-year development plan stipulating investments worth $115 billion.

"The causeway project is a strategic link connecting Kuwait City to the northern region," said Ahmad al-Hassan, assistant undersecretary for road engineering at the public works ministry.

He told AFP that in addition to the fully integrated residential Silk City, other economic ventures are planned for Subbiya and its surroundings.

A large container port is also under construction on nearby Bubiyan, Kuwait's largest island.

Completing the causeway and harbour projects will pave the way for transforming the area into a commercial and investment hub with a free trade zone planned on five small islands nearby.

Virat Kohli has praised his mother Saroj Kohli and actress Anushka Sharma for being the two "strongest" ladies in his life as the cricket star shared a special message on International Women's Day.

The 28-year-old Indian skipper gave a shout-out to all the women around the world and posted a collage on Instagram
featuring him along with his mother and Anushka.

 "Happy women's day to every woman out there, but specially to the two strongest women in my life.My mom for looking after the family in toughest times in life and @anushkasharma for fighting against the odds regularly and standing up for righteousness and changing the norms. #happywomenday," writes Virat.

Last month, Virat also shared a sweet Valentine's Daymessage for Anushka in which he said, "Everyday is a valentine day if you want it to be. You make everyday seem like one for me. @anushkasharma." 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced investment of Rs.12,000 crore in upgrading eight state highways to National Highways in Gujarat as part of efforts to boost infrastructure development and job generation in the state.

The prime minister said the country is going to compete with the world and projects would not be allowed to languish for years.

Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects will together augment India's infrastructure and projects will not be allowed to languish for years as "India is going to compete with the world", Modi said after dedicating to the nation a cable-stayed bridge over the Narmada river here.

"Strict timeframes would be adhered to for completing projects while using modern technologies … There are incomplete bridges and structures languishing for 10-15 years," he said referring to such structures in Varanasi.

Modi said the ambitious Sagarmala project would alone witness an investment of Rs 8 lakh crore and usher in port-led development. Highways network under the Bharatmala project is being laid in a massive way, he said.

"Eight highways in Gujarat, totaling 1,200 km, will be converted into National Highways at an investment of Rs.12,000 crore," the prime minister said.

"Clear vision, clear conscience and perfect policies" could usher the country on the path of development, he said adding Dahej alone has a potential to provide employment to 8 lakh people.

Lauding Road Minister Nitin Gadkari for augmenting highways network, the prime minister said road building pace has increased 11 times to 22 km a day in the present regime from a mere 2 km a day during the previous regime.

Modi said there was need for I-ways apart from highways and his government would lay a network of optical fibre in the country.

Criticising the slow pace of laying of optical fibres under the previous regime, the Prime Minister said sadly fibre network could be laid only in 59 villages as against their target of 1.25 lakh villages.

"The present government will lay optical fibre network in 2.5 lakh panchayats and work has been completed in 68,000 villages," he said.

After nearly 12 hours of anti-terror operation, a suspected terrorist believed to be influenced by Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) and having possible links to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast was killed early Wednesday in Lucknow.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"The operation stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place," he added.

Inspector General (IG) of Anti-Terrorism Squad Aseem Arun revealed the terrorist identified as Saifullah was an active member of ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," he added.

"One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said

Saifullah, was linked to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday that injured ten passengers.

After nearly 12 hours of anti-terror operation, a suspected terrorist believed to be influenced by Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) and having possible links to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast was killed early Wednesday in Lucknow.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"The operation stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place," he added.

Inspector General (IG) of Anti-Terrorism Squad Aseem Arun revealed the terrorist identified as Saifullah was an active member of ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," he added.

"One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said

Saifullah, was linked to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday that injured ten passengers.

Over 13 per cent votes were polled in the first three hours of the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections on Wednesday in 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements on Wednesday morning with all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

"Over 13 per cent votes were polled till 10 am. The polling is going on peacefully," office of UP Chief Electoral Officer said here.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.

Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

Polling will be held between 5 pm in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 pm.

1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies – the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party – are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats.

While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.

Over 13 per cent votes were polled in the first three hours of the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections on Wednesday in 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements on Wednesday morning with all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

"Over 13 per cent votes were polled till 10 am. The polling is going on peacefully," office of UP Chief Electoral Officer said here.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.

Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

Polling will be held between 5 pm in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 pm.

1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies – the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party – are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats.

While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.