Kangana Ranaut & Shahid Kapoor’s Cold War Hits The Roof As She Compares Him To Hrithik Roshan

Vishal Bhardwaj’s new film ‘Rangoon’ stars Kangana Ranaut, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in a love triangle against the backdrop of World War II and all everybody is talking about is Shahid and Kangana’s intense love making scenes.

But if reports are to be believed, Shahid and Kangana’s equation off screen is quite the opposite. The two seem to have locked horns with each other and their recent interviews are proof. It all started when Kangana was asked what it was like to kiss Shahid in the film. Never to mince her words, Kangana called her experience of sharing a cottage with Shahid on the sets of ‘Rangoon’ a nightmare. "Shahid's moustache was horrible and it (kissing) would be disgusting. Then he would keep telling me that he has a runny nose which helps it to stick," she recently said.

Kangana Ranaut & Shahid Kapoors Cold War Hits The Roof As She Compares Him To Hrithik Roshan
DNA reported that Shahid Kapoor was rather surprised to hear the statement. He obviously didn’t hold back either. “I have to tell you that Kangana makes up things in her head. She has a vivid imagination. I don't remember telling her all this at all.” He told DNA.

Things only escalated from thereon. Kangana Ranaut hit back at him in an interview with Pinkvilla where she said “that line he (Shahid) must have borrowed from Hrithik. He would have thought that dude I will borrow these claims from Hrithik”. She compared him to her alleged ex Hrithik Roshan. Looks like this cold war is only going to get worse.

Uttar Pradesh Election 2017: Awadh region witnessed 45 of the 109 narrow-margin victories in 2012 polls

The battle for Uttar Pradesh has begun. Two phases of the seven-phase election are over and the polls to elect the 403-member state Assembly is reaching fever pitch. The biggest state in India is witnessing a three-cornered fight this election between the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Multi-cornered contests have been the trend at least since 2002, when elections that year had thrown up a hung Assembly, while in the 2007 and 2012 polls, the BSP and the SP won clear mandates to form the government. With such contests emerge the possibility of many seats being won by a whisker.

In the 2012 Assembly elections, 109 seats were won by either less than three percent of the total votes polled or by a margin of less than 6,000 votes. This translates to more than 25 percent of the total seats of in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Of the 109 narrow margin victories witnessed last election, 50 of them were registered by the SP, which ultimately emerged victorious in 226 seats. BSP, its arch-rival was victorious in 28 such seats.

Interestingly, 24 of the 109 seats were won by less than a thousand votes. The narrowest of victory was recorded in the Baheri constituency, where Ataurrehman of the SP defeated his nearest rival Chhtrapal Singh of the BJP by just 18 votes.

In caste-dominated Uttar Pradesh politics, close contests were recorded in 12 of the 85 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates.

Of the 12 reserved constituencies, Ghatampur recorded the lowest margin of victory, as Inderjeet Kori of the SP barely managed to win a nail-biting contest by a margin of 700 votes.

42 of the 150 seats in western Uttar Pradesh were won by narrow margin

In 2012 elections, 22 of the 73 western Uttar Pradesh seats were won by a margin of less than three percent of the votes polled. Known to be communally sensitive, especially after the riots of Muzaffarnagar, the Dadri lynching case and alleged exodus in Kairana, western Uttar Pradesh is in the centrestage of this year's elections. In fact, the key accused in the 2013 riots, Suresh Rana, managed to win the Thana Bhawan seat by a margin of a paltry 265 votes. Western Uttar Pradesh went to polls in the first phase of Assembly election on 11 February 2017.

In 2012, however, it was another BJP leader Bimla Singh Solanki, who recorded the lowest margin of victory in the western part of the state. In a close contest with BSP’s Saleem Akhtar Khan, Solanki pulled off a victory in the Sikandrabad constituency by a margin of just 123 votes.

In the second phase of election on 15 February, 67 seats in the Muslim-dominated Rohilkhand region, a part of western Uttar Pradesh, went to polls. Twenty of those seats were won by less than three percent of the total votes polled in the last election. Behat constituency had witnessed a close contest last time, as Mahaveer Singh Rana of the BSP narrowly defeated Naresh of the Indian National Congress by 518 votes. Behat went to polls on 15 February.

Vodafone awards Rs 2,040-crore 4G contract to Ericsson

Vodafone India has awarded a 4G deployment contract worth $300 million (about Rs 2,040 crore) to Swedish gear maker Ericsson for UP West, Rajasthan, Odisha, North East and Assam telecom zones, people familiar with the matter said.

“The deployment of 4G LTE network is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2017. Ericsson, under this contract, is deploying its full radio system portfolio that offers 50% improved energy efficiency,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified. Queries emailed by ET to Ericsson and Vodafone India did not elicit any response till late evening on Tuesday.

Vodafone India, the domestic arm of the British telecom firm, which is expediting its network expansion and ramping up capacities to counter bigger rival Bharti Airtel and the 4G entrant Reliance Jio, is currently in talks with Aditya Birla Groupowned Idea Cellular for a potential equal merger. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have common network equipment and managed services vendors.

he proposed merger could lead to realignments of existing contracts with their respective partners, industry analysts said. Both the telcos may have to renegotiate some vendor contracts to optimise network and bring in operational efficiency on a circle-to-circle basis, they said. The two companies had bought spectrum in the 2016 auctions.

Vodafone India has given network rollout contracts for all its 4G circles, including a 4G LTE deployment and expansion deal worth ¤450-500 million (about Rs 3,650 crore) to Nokia covering 10 circles and a similar contract to Huawei in Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi circles. Vodafone also awarded a multi-year managed services contract, worth ¤200 million (about Rs 1,420 crore) to Nokia, covering several telecom circles.

Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli relationship

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma just made their relationship ‘Insta-Official’. While the world may have a clue or two about the lovebirds’ hush-hush relationship, this might just be the very first time that Virat has taken to his social networking handle to profess his love and admiration for his lady love. Sharing a cute and casual picture of himself posing with Anushka on a lush green lawn, the cricketer wrote, “Everyday is a valentine day if you want it to be. You make every day seem like one for me.

The cricketer recently played the guessing game with fans when he sent out a cryptic tweet which hinted at something ‘forever’. In his tweet, he wrote, “When you’ve got something to tell the world. But you can’t yet.

irat Kohli and Anushka Sharma may be just back from their New Year vacation in Uttarakhand, but the duo is making news again. In latest development, the two were spotted outside the upscale residential building, Omkar 1973 in Worli, Mumbai, where Virat owns a sprawling 5-BHK house. He bought the sky bungalow in 2015.

Virat rubbished the rumours of their engagement after their holiday pics went viral in the last week of December, but their joint visit at the under-construction site hints at their future plans. The cricketer is expected to get possession of the property only after 2018.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma were holidaying with her family in Uttarakhand amid the countdown to the New Year. The year has been very busy and fruitful for both Virat and Anushka and this definitely calls for a quiet holiday together. In this latest picture that surfaced on the web, the couple was spotted posing with a saint in their winter gear. The two were seen arriving at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and are currently soaking in the winter sun at a luxury destination spa in Narendra Nagar in Tehri. Anushka also shared a beautiful video in which she was seen feeding a peacock.

PM hits back at Akhilesh's jibe, rakes up issue of rapes

Hitting back at Akhilesh Yadav for his 'kaam ki baat' jibe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said incidents of rape and abduction have gone up in Uttar Pradesh and asked whether the Chief Minister would describe it as his "work" or "misdeeds".

Addressing an election rally in the sugarcane bowl of UP, he found faults in the functioning of the Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party government and raised the issue of non-payment of cane dues to farmers.

He said if BJP comes to power in the state, waiving off of loans to small farmers would be its first task and all cane dues of farmers would be cleared within 14 days.

Urging voters of the state to give BJP a chance, Modi said if his party is voted to power, all anti-social elements would be put behind bars within six months.

"Incidents of rape and murder (in UP) are on the rise and gangs are operating from inside the prisons... Cases of abduction and riots have increased," the Prime Minister said.
He further questioned, "Akhilesh ji, is this your 'kaam (work) or karname (bad deeds)' which is speaking?"

His comment on the law and order situation came as a 22-year-old woman, who had accused an MLA of the SP of rape in 2013, was found allegedly murdered+ .

Modi's attack on Akhilesh came a day after the Chief Minister took a swipe at him in the context of his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, saying "I want to ask him (PM) as to when will he do 'kaam ki baat' (talk something worthwhile)."

India team selection for Australia Test series: Unchanged India squad announced

The BCCI retained the same India cricket team squad that had featured in the Bangladesh Test in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra were not considered for selection. Relive all highlights of the selection meeting here.

13:47 hrs IST: Rohit Sharma will get a chance to prove his fitness for the Tests in Ranchi and Dharamsala as he plays the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai. Mohammed Shami and Amit Mishra will also get a chance to showcase their fitness.

13:24 hrs IST: No major surprises in the Indian squad. Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav along with Kuldeep Yadav and Abhinav Mukund retained. No Rohit Sharma or Amit Mishra.

13:13 hrs IST: Steven Smith and the Australian cricket team had their first media interaction and he said that they had no specific gameplan to stop Virat Kohli.

12:52 hrs IST: In the 2013 series, Ashwin picked up 29 wickets while Ravindra Jadeja picked up 24 wickets. With Ashwin and Jadeja in prime form this time around, the task does not get any easier for Australia.

12:40 hrs IST: India are going to play three out of the four Tests against Australia in new venues. Pune, Dharamsala and Ranchi have hosted ODIs and T20Is but never Tests. In the England series, Rajkot was the new Test venue while for New Zealand, Indore was a new Test venue.

12:33 hrs IST: What will be the composition of the Indian attack for the Australia series? Will they pack their line-up with spinners or maintain the three pacers two spinners composition which they did in the Bangladesh Test?

12:14 hrs IST: With a settled middle order and with a settled bowling combination, the onus is on the top. While Murali Vijay has been consistent, KL Rahul has experienced peaks and troughs.

12:05 hrs IST: According to early reports, the team selected might not have any major changes. Perhaps, Mohammed Shami will come back but he has not had many opportunities to prove his fitness.

12:01 hrs IST: Will Rohit Sharma get a surprise call to the Test team? Considering he has not played much cricket since injury, he might get a nod for the last two Tests should he perform well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

11:52 hrs IST: The selectors are meeting at noon to decide the squad for the upcoming four-Test series against Australia. The first Test will begin in Pune on February 23.

The selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad, will meet in the BCCI office at noon and chances are that it will announce the retention of the entire Hyderabad squad. At least for the first two Tests against Australia – in Pune from February 23 and in Bangalore from March 4. However, there is one case for the committee which should make their travelling to Mumbai worthwhile. They will need to apply their minds over the right time to recall Rohit Sharma into the squad.

Rohit’s plan is to play the domestic one-day matches, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, from February 25 in Chennai to prove his fitness.Mumbai play three back-to-back matches on Feb 25, 26 and 27, against Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which will be as good as playing a three-day first-class game. If everything goes well and the selectors are convinced, then Rohit will be available for the second Test.

Virat Kohli’s Indian team has a settled composition and have dominated the home season. Kohli has not lost a single Test in 2016 and has not tasted defeat at home yet. India have not tasted defeat in a home Test for 20 matches while Kohli has not suffered a loss for 19 Tests since the loss in Galle to Sri Lanka in 2015.

Virat Kohli Says Captaincy Has Made Him A Better Batsman

Virat Kohli scored fourth double ton in Test cricket on Friday, with all four of them coming after he became Test captain
Team India skipper Virat Kohli has credited his prolific run of form with the bat to his captaincy, saying that the added responsibility has left no room for complacency in his batting. Kohli on Friday completed a double century on the second day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, scoring 204 to help India reach a commanding total of 687/6. This was the captain's fourth double ton in Test cricket, with all four of them coming after he was given charge of the team in the longer format of the game.
"I don't know, I think it is because of captaincy that you tend to go on more than what you usually would as a normal batsman. I think the room for complacency is no more present when you become captain. So, that has something to do with me playing long innings," the 28-year-old right-handed batsman said.

"I have always wanted to play long innings and my first seven or eight hundreds were not even 120 plus scores. After that I made a conscious effort to bat long and control my excitement or not be complacent at any stage," he was quoted as saying by 'bcci.tv', when asked about his hunger for big scores.
With his 204-run knock, Kohli became the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to claim four double hundreds in as many series. In the process, he surpassed the legendary Sir Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid, both of whom had three double hundreds in successive series.
Kohli's four double hundreds have come against West Indies (200), New Zealand (211), England (235) and now Bangladesh.
The Indian captain said that he's is no longer satisfied with Test hundreds and his fitness level allows him to play for longer innings and eye bigger scores.
'Worked on fitness over the years'
"I worked on my fitness level over the years and I feel I can go for longer periods now. I don't get tired as much as I used to before. Definitely, I don't get satisfied when I get a Test hundred which used to be before, because I used to give too much importance to Test cricket separately. Now I have started to treat it as any game of cricket and I have to keep going on till the time the team needs to," said the Delhi batsman.
Asked how he has been able to maintain consistency across the three formats, he said, "It is not easy to do especially with the amount of cricket we play nowadays. It is more of a mental thing. I don't necessarily focus too much on practice because sometimes you might not get to practice so much.