Here are the top headlines of the day:

  1. EC removes three polling officials in UP day after Samajwadi Party alleged ‘tampering’ of EVMs: A nodal officer for EVMs in Varanasi district, a returning officer in Sonbhadra and an additional election officer in the Bareilly have been removed. On Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had accused the district magistrate of Varanasi of transporting EVMs without informing the candidates.
  2. Ukraine says it is no longer interested in NATO membership: President Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not want to be the leader of a ‘country which is begging for something on its knees’.
  3. Panchayat head shot dead by militants near Srinagar: Sameer Bhat was reportedly a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. According to preliminary investigation, suspected militants barged into Bhat’s house and fired at him, the police said.
  4. Will investigate Devendra Fadnavis’ claim that government is trying to frame him, says Sharad Pawar: The NCP chief said that the BJP leader’s allegations are an attempt to destabilise the Maharashtra government.
  5. Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict AG Perarivalan granted bail by Supreme Court: The judges noted that he had spent over 30 years in jail. They were hearing Perarivalan’s plea seeking remission of his life sentence.
  6. Trinamool’s ally in Goa elections says it is in touch with BJP and Congress: Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudhin Dhavalikar made the comment two days after exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in the state. 
  7. Life Insurance Corporation of India’s initial public offering gets SEBI approval: The IPO will help  the government garner Rs 63,000 crore.
  8. United Nations atomic agency loses contact with Chernobyl nuclear data systems: More than 200 technical staff members and guards have been trapped inside the facility since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
  9. Supreme Court refuses to urgently hear petition seeking verification of VVPAT slips before counting: The judges had initially agreed to hear the plea on Wednesday but changed their decision after the poll panel said it was following a 2019 SC order in the case.
  10. One killed, 13 injured in explosion in Jammu, says Union Minister Jitendra Singh: The blast took place outside the district court complex.