HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top headlines at 9.30 PM: NATION DEL53 EC-GOEL-RESIGN ****Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigns as Lok Sabha polls approach New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.**** DEL49 BJP-2NDLD TDP ****BJP, TDP join hands for polls as ex-Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu predicts sweep New Delhi: The BJP sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, with former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls.**** CAL61 LDALL-PM ****PM unveils projects worth Rs 55,600 cr for NE; says Cong compromised security by neglecting region Itanagar/Jorhat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unveiled projects worth Rs 55,600 crore for the development of the Northeast and accused the Congress of neglecting the region and compromising the nation's security by ignoring the border areas.**** CAL62 WB-MODI 2NDLD-RALLY ****Modi slams TMC for corruption, dynasty politics at Siliguri rally Siliguri: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday intensified his criticism of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on the issue of corruption and dynasty politics and accused opposition INDIA alliance parties such as the TMC and Congress of prioritising their family interests over the nation's development.**** BOM22 MP-PACHOURI-3RDLD BJP ****Blow to Congress as former Union minister Suresh Pachouri, ex-MP Rajukhedi join BJP Bhopal: In a significant political development in Madhya Pradesh, veteran leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the BJP on Saturday.**** MDS20 TN-POLLS-DMK-CONGRESS ****LS polls: DMK allots 10 seats for Congress in TN, Pondy Chennai: Repeating its 2019 seat-sharing formula for principal ally the Congress, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Saturday allotted 10 seats in the state and neighbouring Puducherry to the national party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.**** DEL45 NCB-TN DRUG DEALER-4THLD ARREST ****NCB arrests ex-DMK functionary in global drugs trafficking case; top party leader may be summoned New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested 36-year-old Jaffer Sadiq, an expelled DMK party functionary in Tamil Nadu, in connection with an international drugs trafficking racket investigation estimated to be worth more than Rs 2,000 crore.**** DEL19 PM-SELA-TUNNEL ****PM Modi inaugurates strategically significant Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh that will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.**** CAL53 BH-2NDLD SHAH ****Bihar govt will form committee, take stringent action against land mafia: Amit Shah Patna: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Bihar government will form a committee to look into the cases of land grabbing and warned of stringent action against the land mafia allegedly patronised by RJD chief Lalu Prasad.**** DES52 PB-AAP-2NDLD JOIN ****Former MLA Gurpreet Singh joins AAP, Congress calls move '€˜political suicide' Chandigarh: Former Punjab Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh on Saturday joined the AAP in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, with the opposition party describing his switch as a ''political suicide''.**** CAL60 JH-RAJYA-SABHA-LD BJP ****BJP names Pradeep Verma as party's candidate for RS polls in Jharkhand Ranchi: Jharkhand BJP general secretary Pradeep Verma will be the party's candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls in the state, party spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said here on Saturday.**** MDS12 TN-HAASAN-LD DMK ****Kamal Haasan's MNM joins DMK-led alliance in TN, gets one RS seat for 2025 polls Chennai: Six years after its founding and fighting two elections by itself, actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) on Saturday joined the ruling DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu and extended its support to the bloc for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.**** MDS11 KA-BLAST-CAFE REOPENS ****Eight days after blast, The Rameshwaram Cafe reopens to brisk business Bengaluru: Eight days after it was shattered by a blast that left 10 persons injured, The Rameshwaram Cafe in the city started serving its loyal customers once again on Saturday, throwing open the eatery to the public with heightened security measures.**** FOREIGN FGN14 JAPAN-JAISHANKAR-VISIT ****Jaishankar's Japan visit provided opportunity to explore ways to qualitatively transform bilateral special strategic partnership: MEA Tokyo: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Japan provided a timely opportunity to take stock of the ongoing bilateral cooperation and explore ways to qualitatively transform the special strategic partnership, an official statement said on Saturday. **** FGN37 PAK-PRESIDENT-LDALL ZARDARI **** Asif Ali Zardari becomes Pakistan's 14th president; first civilian to secure 2nd term Islamabad/Lahore: Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian president of the coup-prone country for a second time.By M Zulquerrnain **** SPORTS SPD16 SPO-CRI-2NDLD IND ****India make it 4-1 with crushing win in Dharamsala, provide rude reality check to Bazball Dharamsala: Ravichandran Ashwin took a famous five-wicket haul in his 100th Test as India thrived on the impatience of England batters for an emphatic innings and 64-run victory in the final chapter of an action-packed five-match contest, handing the visitors their heaviest defeat in the 'Bazball' era.By Bharat Sharma