The Evening Wrap: Jagdeep Dhankhar elected 14th Vice-President of India

NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice-President of India on Saturday as he defeated Opposition candidate Margaret Alva. Mr. Dhankhar, a former Governor of West Bengal, secured 528 votes while 80-year-old Alva got 182. The numbers were stacked in favour of Mr. Dhankhar as the ruling BJP enjoys an absolute majority in Lok Sabha and has 91 members in Rajya Sabha. The BJP heads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Even before the results were announced, celebrations had started outside the residence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi where Mr. Dhankhar was present. Joyous scenes were also reported from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu, the hometown of Dhankhar. Soon after the announcement of the result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Mr. Dhankhar and congratulated him. Mr. Dhankhar, 71, will succeed M. Venkaiah Naidu whose tenure ends on August 10. As many as 725 MPs cast their ballots in the poll, which is 92.94% of total votes adding 15 votes were declared invalid. Utpal Kumar, Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and the Returning Officer, said "Out of 780 total electors, 725 MPs turned up for voting. 15 votes were declared invalid." As many as 55 MPs did not vote in the election held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day. Ms. Alva congratulated Mr. Dhankhar on his victory and also thanked leaders of the Opposition and MPs from across parties who voted for her. “This election was an opportunity for the opposition to work together, to leave the past behind & build trust amongst each other. Unfortunately, some opposition parties chose to directly or indirectly support the BJP, in an attempt to derail the idea of a united opposition,” she said in a tweet. “It is my belief that by doing so, these parties and their leaders have damaged their own credibility,” she added. The Trinamool Congress, which has a total of 36 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, had abstained from the election. However, two of its MPs had cast their ballots. Centre directs urgent action against COVID-19 surge in some States The Centre has written to Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi and Karnataka following a steady rise in the average daily new cases of COVID-19 in the past few weeks. In its communication, the Centre said that in view of some changes in symptoms and clinical manifestation of the disease it is crucial to monitor and report district wise influenza-like illness (lLl) and SARI cases in all health facilities as per the guidelines. It also said this is vital to detect early warning signals of the spread of infection. The Union Health Ministry cautioned that it was especially worried with the upcoming months which are likely to witness mass gatherings in context of various festivities to be held in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the States have also been requested to ensure effective compliance of these guidelines and its regular monitoring. Genome sequencing of prescribed samples of international passengers as well as collection of samples from-sentinel Sites (identified health facilities) and local cluster of new Covid-19 cases is equally important, said the Ministry. The Ministry said that such samples must be sent promptly to the designated lab of the INSACOG network for Genome Sequencing. States have also been instructed to increase the pace of vaccination for all eligible populations and accelerate the administration of free precaution doses for eligible populations at all Government Covid Vaccination Centres. Commonwealth Games 2022 | Boxers Nitu Ghanghas, Amit Panghal storm into finals; Sindhu enters women’s singles semifinals Indian boxer Amit Panghal (51kg) displayed his class as he reached his second consecutive Commonwealth Games final while Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) also remained on course for a gold in her maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Panghal, who is vying to win the yellow metal after his silver in the last edition, came from behind to beat an aggressive Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia with a 5-0 unanimous decision win. Nitu, on the other hand, prevailed over Canada's Priyanka Dhillon as she notched a RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win in the minimum weight category. Meanwhile, double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu struggled past Malaysia's Goh Wei Jin in women's singles quarterfinals to stay on course for a maiden individual gold medal. A former world champion, Sindhu registered a come-from-behind 19-21 21-14 21-18 win over Goh, ranked 60th, to enter her third successive semifinals at the Commonwealth Games. However, young Aakarshi Kashyap's debut ended with a 10-21 7-21 defeat to Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a silver and bronze medallist in 2014 and 2018 editions respectively. Athlete Avinash Sable broke his own national record to win a silver in the men's 3000m steeplechase while Priyanka Goswami also clinched a medal of the same hue in the women's 10,000m race walk. Goswami also scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walk with a silver in 10,000m event. The 27-year-old Sable clocked 8:11.20s to better his earlier national record of 8:12.48 and finish behind Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot (8:11.15). Another Kenyan Amos Serem took the bronze with a time of 8:16.83. Goswami clocked a personal best time of 43:38.83s to finish second behind Jemima Montag (42:34.30) of Australia. Emily Wamusyi Ngii (43:50.86) of Kenya took the bronze. India also won its second medal in lawn bowls competition on the day after the men's fours team settled for a silver after losing to Northern Ireland in the final. The final score read 18-5 in favour of Northern Ireland. The Indian team comprised Sunil Bahadur (lead), Navneet Singh (second), Chandan Kumar Singh (third) and Dinesh Kumar (skip). Sanjay Raut’s wife appears before ED in money laundering case Varsha Raut, arrested Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a 'chawl' and related transactions. The central agency is conducting a probe linked to a ₹1,034-crore alleged land scam related to the redevelopment of the Patra "chawl" in Mumbai's Goregaon area. The central agency issued summons to Ms. Varsha Raut earlier this week and she reached the ED office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai. Mr. Sanjay Raut was arrested by the ED in this case on August 1 and a local court on Thursday sent him to further custody till August 8. The ED had earlier told the court that Mr. Sanjay Raut and his family received "proceeds of crime" worth over ₹1 crore generated out of alleged irregularities in the housing redevelopment project. In Brief The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farm unions, will launch a nationwide campaign against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for military recruitment on August 7. The SKM said the scheme is a “serious setback” to farming families whose youths have been part of the armed forces. The campaign will be launched in collaboration with the United Front of ex-Servicemen and various youth organisations. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 06 AUGUST 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Jagdeep Dhankhar elected 14th Vice-President of India NDA candidate [Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice-President of India]( on Saturday as he defeated Opposition candidate Margaret Alva. Mr. Dhankhar, a former Governor of West Bengal, secured 528 votes while 80-year-old Alva got 182. The numbers were stacked in favour of Mr. Dhankhar as the ruling BJP enjoys an absolute majority in Lok Sabha and has 91 members in Rajya Sabha. The BJP heads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Even before the results were announced, celebrations had started outside the residence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi where Mr. Dhankhar was present. Joyous scenes were also reported from Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu, the hometown of Dhankhar. Soon after the announcement of the result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Mr. Dhankhar and congratulated him. [Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Vice-President-elect Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi on August 6, 2022. ] Mr. Dhankhar, 71, will succeed M. Venkaiah Naidu whose tenure ends on August 10. As many as 725 MPs cast their ballots in the poll, which is 92.94% of total votes adding 15 votes were declared invalid. Utpal Kumar, Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha and the Returning Officer, said "Out of 780 total electors, 725 MPs turned up for voting. 15 votes were declared invalid." As many as 55 MPs did not vote in the election held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day. Ms. Alva congratulated Mr. Dhankhar on his victory and also thanked leaders of the Opposition and MPs from across parties who voted for her. “This election was an opportunity for the opposition to work together, to leave the past behind & build trust amongst each other. Unfortunately, some opposition parties chose to directly or indirectly support the BJP, in an attempt to derail the idea of a united opposition,” she said in a tweet. “It is my belief that by doing so, these parties and their leaders have damaged their own credibility,” she added. The Trinamool Congress, which has a total of 36 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, had abstained from the election. However, two of its MPs had cast their ballots. Centre directs urgent action against COVID-19 surge in some States  The [Centre has written to Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi and Karnataka]( following a steady rise in the average daily new cases of COVID-19 in the past few weeks. In its communication, the Centre said that in view of some changes in symptoms and clinical manifestation of the disease it is crucial to monitor and report district wise influenza-like illness (lLl) and SARI cases in all health facilities as per the guidelines. It also said this is vital to detect early warning signals of the spread of infection. The Union Health Ministry cautioned that it was especially worried with the upcoming months which are likely to witness mass gatherings in context of various festivities to be held in different parts of the country. Meanwhile, the States have also been requested to ensure effective compliance of these guidelines and its regular monitoring. Genome sequencing of prescribed samples of international passengers as well as collection of samples from-sentinel Sites (identified health facilities) and local cluster of new Covid-19 cases is equally important, said the Ministry. The Ministry said that such samples must be sent promptly to the designated lab of the INSACOG network for Genome Sequencing. States have also been instructed to increase the pace of vaccination for all eligible populations and accelerate the administration of free precaution doses for eligible populations at all Government Covid Vaccination Centres. Commonwealth Games 2022 | Boxers Nitu Ghanghas, Amit Panghal storm into finals; Sindhu enters women’s singles semifinals Indian [boxer Amit Panghal (51kg) displayed his class]( as he reached his second consecutive Commonwealth Games final while Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) also remained on course for a gold in her maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Panghal, who is vying to win the yellow metal after his silver in the last edition, came from behind to beat an aggressive Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia with a 5-0 unanimous decision win. Nitu, on the other hand, prevailed over Canada's Priyanka Dhillon as she notched a RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win in the minimum weight category. [P.V. Sindhu in action against Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia during the women’s singles Badminton quarterfinal match at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on August 6, 2022.] Meanwhile, double Olympic medallist [P.V. Sindhu struggled past Malaysia's Goh Wei Jin in women's singles quarterfinals]( to stay on course for a maiden individual gold medal. A former world champion, Sindhu registered a come-from-behind 19-21 21-14 21-18 win over Goh, ranked 60th, to enter her third successive semifinals at the Commonwealth Games. However, young Aakarshi Kashyap's debut ended with a 10-21 7-21 defeat to Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a silver and bronze medallist in 2014 and 2018 editions respectively. Athlete [Avinash Sable broke his own national record to win a silver]( in the men's 3000m steeplechase while Priyanka Goswami also clinched a medal of the same hue in the women's 10,000m race walk. Goswami also scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walk with a silver in 10,000m event. The 27-year-old Sable clocked 8:11.20s to better his earlier national record of 8:12.48 and finish behind Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot (8:11.15). Another Kenyan Amos Serem took the bronze with a time of 8:16.83. Goswami clocked a personal best time of 43:38.83s to finish second behind Jemima Montag (42:34.30) of Australia. Emily Wamusyi Ngii (43:50.86) of Kenya took the bronze. [India also won its second medal in lawn bowls competition]( on the day after the men's fours team settled for a silver after losing to Northern Ireland in the final. The final score read 18-5 in favour of Northern Ireland. The Indian team comprised Sunil Bahadur (lead), Navneet Singh (second), Chandan Kumar Singh (third) and Dinesh Kumar (skip). Sanjay Raut’s wife appears before ED in money laundering case [Varsha Raut, arrested Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate]( in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a 'chawl' and related transactions. The central agency is conducting a probe linked to a ₹1,034-crore alleged land scam related to the redevelopment of the Patra "chawl" in Mumbai's Goregaon area. The central agency issued summons to Ms. Varsha Raut earlier this week and she reached the ED office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai. Mr. Sanjay Raut was arrested by the ED in this case on August 1 and a local court on Thursday sent him to further custody till August 8. The ED had earlier told the court that Mr. Sanjay Raut and his family received "proceeds of crime" worth over ₹1 crore generated out of alleged irregularities in the housing redevelopment project. In Brief The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farm unions, will [launch a nationwide campaign against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme]( for military recruitment on August 7. The SKM said the scheme is a “serious setback” to farming families whose youths have been part of the armed forces. The campaign will be launched in collaboration with the United Front of ex-Servicemen and various youth organisations. 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