Bookies betting big on BJP in UP, U'khand, Goa; see AAP win in Punjab
Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Mar, 2022 05:19 PM
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) Ahead of the announcement of results of the assembly elections in five states, the bookies who run the satta bazar have put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the driver's seat in three states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa, while they have considered only the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a formidable contender in Punjab, with no party coming close to it.
While the bookies are betting on the basis of per seat in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, in Goa and Uttarakhand, they are betting on forming the government.
In Punjab, they are giving the AAP 40 paise against a rupee, predicting a possible AAP government in the state.
The bookies have put the Congress in second position, while the Akali Dal has been placed third. The BJP appears nowhere in the bookies' calculation.
"We are talking about 40 paise for the AAP government, Rs 3.50 for the ruling Congress and Rs 25 for the BJP. It is based on our calculations," said a bookie on the condition of anonymity.
As per their calculation, the AAP gets 55 paise for 50 seats and 80 paise for 52 seats. The Congress is being paid 40 paise for 30 seats and Re 1 for 32 seats.
In other words, the AAP is likely to get a maximum of 50 seats and the Congress 30 seats. The Akali Dal gets 50 paise for 12 seats and 75 paise for 13 seats.
"A new wave have entered Punjab. Farmers are supporting the AAP. It was ahead of all others since the beginning. This did not change anywhere," said a bookie.
According to the bookies, the BJP may form the government in Goa and Uttarakhand.
The bookies said in these states, they were not betting on seats but on whether a government is formed or not.
"The BJP is ahead of others in both the states.The cost of forming a BJP government in Goa is 66 paise. The price of the Congress is Rs 1.60 and Rs 10 for an AAP government. In Uttarakhand, we are giving BJP 80 paise and the Congress Rs 1.20 for forming the government," said a bookie.
In Uttar Pradesh, they are betting on seats. Here too, the BJP is ahead of others while the Samajwadi Party is trailing the saffron party.
"The price is Rs 1.20 for 245 seats for the BJP and Rs 1.60 for 135 seats for the SP. These are the final prices which won't change," said a bookie.
The satta bazar prices are showing that the BJP is quite strong in three states while it's only the AAP in Punjab.
Interestingly, the move comes a week after neighbouring Madhya Pradesh permitted liquor sales at all its airports, select supermarkets in four major cities and also allowed issuing home bar licences to those earning Rs 1 crore or more annually.
The incident took place on Wednesday and the accused are said to be illicit liquor sellers in the area. It has been alleged that the woman was also gang-raped. A video of the incident showed the woman being attacked.
Both Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have urged Rahul Gandhi to announce a CM face well ahead of the polls, instead of going with the collective leadership.
The ministry of external affairs organised the summit virtually on Thursday which was attended by the heads of all five Central Asian countries -- Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.
Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, shared documents pertaining to the reported abuse of the state intelligence wing by a private company, Movedek Politico. Bains said there are credible reports that the highest-ranked police officers of the state were asked to collaborate with the private company in intelligence gathering.
Two-time Member of Parliament and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann will be contesting from Dhuri in the February 20 polls in Punjab. The announcement was made by state affairs co in-charge Raghav Chadha in Mohali on Thursday.
