Daily Bulletin: BJP core committee to meet over Maharashtra govt formation; Cylcone Bulbul makes landfall, Kolkata airport suspended till 6 am today; day's top stories

Maharashtra govt formation: BJP core committe to meet today after Governor asks party to prove majority

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday evening asked the BJP, the single largest party in the new Assembly, to "indicate the willingness and ability" to form the government, creating hope that the 15-day- long political impasse in the state will end. The BJP's core committee will meet on Sunday and decide the future course of action, party leader Chandrakant Patil said.

The Shiv Sena, locked in a tussle with ally BJP over sharing of chief minister's post, welcomed Koshyari's decision.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had met the governor at Raj Bhavan on Saturday sources said. The term of the 13th Legislative Assembly of the state ended on Saturday midnight.
"We have just received a letter from the governor."

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with minister Devendra Fadnavis. Twitter/@CMOMaharashtra

Chandrakant Patil, who is state BJP president, told PTI, "Our core committee will meet tomorrow and discuss the future course of action," he added.

According to Raj Bhavan statement, the governor asked Devendra Fadnavis, who is the leader of the state BJP's legislature wing, to "indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government".

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the governor's decision follows laid-down procedure and the Sena welcomes it. "At least the government has begun the process of exploring for government formation. The BJP is the single largest party and the rightful claimant to form the government first," Raut told PTI.

The BJP won 105 seats in the October 21 elections, while the majority mark in the 288-member Assembly is 145. Its ally Shiv Sena has won 56 seats, but the two parties are bickering over chief minister's post.

Cyclone 'Bulbul' makes landfall at midnight; Kolkata Aiport suspended till 6 am

Severe cyclonic storm 'Bulbul' made landfall Saturday midnight between Sagar Islands of West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh, hurtling northwestwards into the neighbouring country over the Sunderban delta, with two deaths reported in its wake.

The system, which made landfall as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained a speed of 110 to 120 kilometres per hour with gusts up to 135 kmph, is set to weaken gradually as it moves into Bangladesh through the Sunderban delta, Regional IMD director GK Das said in Kolkata.

Gale wind with speed of 110 to 120 kmph with gusts up to 135 kmph prevailed along and off the coastal and adjoining districts of West and East Midnapore, South and North 24 Parganas as the eye of the storm made landfall around midnight. Squally wind with speed of 50 to 60 kmph with gusts up to 70 kmph was likely to prevail over Kolkata during the night, the IMD office said.

One death each has been reported from West Bengal and Odisha due to heavy rain triggered by the storm.

According to the disaster management division of the National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), restrictions on fishing boats' movement have been imposed till 12 November and all boats have been advised to return to the coast. Tourist have also been barred from the sea coast in coastal districts of West Bengal.

Meanwhile, home ministry officials said operations at the Kolkata airport, the busiest in eastern India, has been suspended for 12 hours beginning 6 pm on Saturday due to severe cyclone 'Bulbul'.

Ayodhya verdict: Centre to set up trust for temple construction, govt to allot five-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Board

The Supreme Court of India in a judgement running 1,045 pages has ruled that the Central Government in three months will set up a trust to build a temple on the disputed site. The Masjid side will get an alternate patch of land.

The apex court cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India's history, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi put an end to the more than a century-old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation.

The apex court said the mosque should be constructed at a "prominent site" and a trust should be formed within three months for the construction of the temple at the site many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

India, Bangladesh face off in the T20I series showdown at Nagpur

Following their dominant eight-wicket victory at Rajkot thanks to a whirlwind 85 from Rohit Sharma, India will hope to carry over the momentum into the third and final T20I at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur with the series currently level at 1-1. Bangladesh before this series had never beaten India in the T20I format in eight meetings but now have the chance to pull off a historic series win despite missing star names such as Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.

NASA to unveil its first electric airplane

At its aeronautics labs in California desert, NASA has showcased an early version of its first electric airplane – the X57 Maxwell. NASA has been working on the airplane since 2015, and there is believed to be at least another year until its first test flight. The X57 Maxwell will be NASA’s first crewed X-series plane to be developed in 20 years.

With inputs from agencies