HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm KARNATAKA ELECTIONS DEL70 ELECTIONS-KARNATAKA-LDALL VOTING Stage set for high-stakes Karnataka Assembly elections tomorrow BJP looks to script history, Cong eyes a comeback Bengaluru The BJP looks to script history to retain its southern citadel while a combative Congress eyes a comeback as Karnataka goes to polls on Wednesday at the end of a high octane campaign that was marked by a plummeting level of public discourse and grew increasingly shrill over the Bajrang Dal issue.

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: KARNATAKA ELECTIONS DEL70 ELECTIONS-KARNATAKA-LDALL VOTING **** Stage set for high-stakes Karnataka Assembly elections tomorrow; BJP looks to script history, Cong eyes a comeback Bengaluru: The BJP looks to script history to retain its southern citadel while a combative Congress eyes a comeback as Karnataka goes to polls on Wednesday at the end of a high octane campaign that was marked by a plummeting level of public discourse and grew increasingly shrill over the Bajrang Dal issue. **** MDS18 ELECTIONS-KARNATAKA-CAMPAIGN-BJP **** BJP banks on Modi's personal appeal to shore up prospects & fight ''anti-incumbency'' Bengaluru: The battle-ready BJP with its well-oiled election machine ran its campaign with a blitzkrieg by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Assembly elections in Karnataka that votes on Wednesday. **** MDS17 ELECTIONS-KARNATAKA-CAMPAIGN-CONGRESS **** Karnataka polls will be key for Congress' revival ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections Bengaluru: Wresting power from the BJP will be a morale booster for the Congress, key for reviving its electoral fortunes and strengthen its credentials as the main opposition player against the saffron party, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. **** MDS12 ELECTIONS-KARNATAKA-LD PM **** ''Dream of every citizen of Karnataka is my dream'': PM's strong pitch for BJP govt's return in state Bengaluru: Making a strong pitch for the return of the BJP government in Karnataka a day before the Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday the affection he has received in the state over the last few days has been unparalleled, and it has strengthened the resolve to make it number one across all sectors. **** NATION DEL64 LD INDOISRAEL **** India, Israel firm up mobility pact; resolve to expand trade, defence ties New Delhi: India and Israel on Tuesday firmed up a mobility pact and vowed to expand ties in a range of areas such as trade, regional connectivity, and defence as Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen held talks with the Indian leadership. **** DEL65 RJ-2NDLD SACHIN PILOT **** Seems Gehlot's leader is Vasundhara Raje not Sonia Gandhi: Sachin Pilot Jaipur: In a no-holds-barred attack on Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his former deputy Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said the recent speech by the Congress veteran indicated that his real leader is BJP’s Vasundhara Raje Scindia and not his own party’s Sonia Gandhi. **** DEL61 JAISHANKAR-MYANMAR-UN-ENVOY **** EAM Jaishankar meets UN secretary general's special envoy on Myanmar New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer and discussed with her the situation in the neighbouring country. **** DEL60 LDALL KERALA STORY **** ‘The Kerala Story’: Tax-free in UP and Uttarakhand as debate rages New Delhi/Lucknow: “The Kerala Story”, the film on conversion that has polarised political discourse, was given tax-free status in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Tuesday and came under renewed attack from some opposition leaders for allegedly fuelling hatred. **** BOM26 MP-ACCIDENT-3RDLD-BUS **** MP: 24 killed, 41 injured as speeding private bus falls off river bridge in Khargone Khargone/Bhopal: At least 24 people were killed and more than 40 others injured when a speeding private bus packed with passengers plunged into a dry river bed after breaking through railings of a bridge in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district on Tuesday morning, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said. **** MDS22 KL-LD ALL BOAT TRAGEDY **** Boat tragedy: Kerala HC initiates suo motu PIL; Police slaps murder charges against boat owner Kochi/Malappuram: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday swung into action by initiating a PIL on its own to probe into the violation of rules that led to the Tanur boat accident, while the state police has invoked murder charges against the owner of the vessel that capsized. **** CAL25 LD CYCLONE **** Low pressure area over Bay of Bengal likely to intensify into cyclonic storm on Wednesday Bhubaneswar/Kolkata: A well-marked low-pressure area lies over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday, the Met department said. **** CAL22 WB-SHAH-LD BANGLADESH **** India, Bangladesh share deep ties; no one can undermine our bilateral relations: Shah Petrapole (WB): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that India and Bangladesh share deep ties, with a history of intertwined culture and language, and as such, no one can undermine the good bilateral relations between the two nations. **** LEGAL LGD24 DL-COURT-2ND LD SHRADDHA **** Shraddha Walkar murder: Delhi court frames charges against accused Aaftab Poonawala New Delhi: Setting the stage for trial, a court here on Tuesday framed charges of murder and disappearance of evidence against Aaftab Amin Poonawala, accused of strangling his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar to death and chopping her body into pieces. **** LGD30 SC-SAME SEX MARRIAGE **** Same sex marriage: Have to be alive that concept of marriage has evolved, says SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it has to be alive to the fact that the concept of marriage has evolved and must accept the basic proposition that marriage itself is entitled to constitutional protection as it is not just a matter of statutory recognition. **** LGD21 SC-BILKIS **** Bilkis Bano case: SC defers till July 11 hearing on pleas against remission to convicts, directs publication of notices through newspapers New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred till July 11 the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the case of gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots. **** FOREIGN **** FGN71 PAK-IMRAN-LDALL ARREST Imran Khan arrested from Islamabad High Court premises in corruption case, supporters storm Army GHQ Islamabad/Lahore: Former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested and bundled into a prison van by paramilitary Rangers on Tuesday from the Islamabad High Court, sparking massive protests across Pakistan by his supporters who stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander's residence in Lahore. ****