(IANS)
BJP has started preparations for the assembly polls in all the major states being held till the end of next year.
New Delhi, April 17: While the opposition parties are still contemplating the reasons for their defeat, the BJP has started preparations for the assembly polls in all the major states being held till the end of next year. Senior BJP leaders including the Prime Minister have already started visiting these poll bound states.
Some of the big states where Assembly polls will be held by December 2023 are Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh at the end of 2022, Karnataka in the summer of 2023 and Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh at the end of 2023. Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are considered as the semi-final for the general elections.
The BJP has already launched a campaign for this year's assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on his second visit to Gujarat from Sunday after the recent victory of the BJP in four out of five states.
Last month while interacting with BJP MPs from Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi told them to use social media to explain to the people about government work.
A senior party functionary said that the senior ministers and leaders will frequently travel to the poll bound states to highlight the government programmes and take stock of the preparations. "Visit of senior leaders and ministers to poll bound states will be a regular feature as parliament is also not in session," he said.
"We are asked to make a short video and share it with each voter through WhatsApp group. The video will be short and will tell about the work of the union and state governments. MPs will also be asked to highlight their own work for their parliamentary constituency," a BJP MP said.
BJP chief J P Nadda has launched a party campaign with a roadshow in Shimla and had several meetings in different parts of Himachal Pradesh to take stock of the party preparations. From Sunday Nadda will be on a two-day visit to Karnataka. While visiting places of historical importance, Nadda will attend the valedictory session of the state BJP executive meeting.
Nadda also visited Rajasthan to review the preparations for next year's assembly polls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the southern state Karnataka to take stock of preparations and asked the cadre to hit the ground running to achieve the 'mission 150+' next year. "Elections will be held next year. Amit (Shah) bhai ji has given certain directions to the state unit on how we should work on the ground. State unit executes the direction on the ground. We will contest the Karnataka election on Prime Minister Modi's name and work and the work of the BJP government in the state. We will again come to power for sure," C T Ravi, BJP national general secretary and member Karnataka assembly, had told IANS.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has started several programmes strengthening organisations on the ground. Sources said that the formation of page committees and booth committees is on at full swing and will be completed in the coming months.
"The BJP workers are always on ground among people even during the peak of the Covid pandemic. As elections are approaching, we are simply putting things in place," a party insider said.
(IANS)
New Delhi, Dec 8: Elon Musk’s X on Friday rolled out access to its Grok AI chatbot to the Premium+ subscribers in the US. Grok is a ChatGPT competitor developed by xAI, Musk’s AI startup. Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak.
“Buckle up everyone. Access to Grok is now rolling out to Premium+ subscribers in the US over the next week. the longer you’ve been a subscriber, the sooner you can grok,” the platform posted.
The X Premium+ users can find Grok in the side menu on web, iOS and Android. “On iOS and Android, you can add it to your bottom menu for easy access,” said the company.
xAI is currently seeking to raise up to $1 billion in equity investments. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk has raised $134.7 million so far for xAI.
The $135 million came from four unnamed investors, with the first sale occurring on November 29. The SEC filing noted that xAI will only accept a minimum of $2 million from outside investors. Taking on Sam Altman-run OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Musk said last month that xAI’s AI chatbot Grok has current information in comparison to traditional GPT models.
The xAI ‘Grok’ AI assistant is being provided to the users as part of X Premium Plus which costs $16 per month via web. “The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” according to the website.
(IANS)
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Bhubaneswar, Dec 08: Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena, 28, has marked a remarkable journey, securing an Asian Games silver after a meteoric rise in the past year. From a third-place finish with 78.05m in the National Open Championships last October, Jena soared to a personal best of 87.54m at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Read Double Medal Success For Odisha At Kayaking And Canoeing, Kishore Jena Wins Bronze
Despite his impressive achievements, the late bloomer remains grounded, expressing a simple yet ambitious goal for the Paris Olympics: "I don't want to set any target of the distance which I will throw in the season ahead. I just want to throw my personal best in Paris," he stated. Aiming for continuous improvement, Jena embraces a humble approach towards his future performances.
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Chennai, Dec 8: The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its December review meeting unanimously decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, thus maintaining status quo for the fifth straight time.
Announcing the decision of the MPC after its three-day deliberations, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday that the committee unanimously decided to keep the repo rate at 6.5 per cent.
He also said that five out of six MPC members voted for the continued stance of withdrawal of accommodation.
Das said taking into account the economic factors, the MPC has predicted GDP growth at 7 per cent in FY24.
As regards the inflation rate, the MPC forecast was 5.4 per cent for 2023-24 taking into account the various domestic issues, including potential agricultural produce.
Das also said uncertainty exists due to the geopolitical situation.
The MPC is alert and prepared to take necessary actions that are needed, he said.
The MPC met on December 6-8.
(IANS)
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