The Catch Up: 3 June

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 3rd of June and here are today's headlines.With less than 24 hours to go for the counting of votes to start, all eyes are on whether the exit poll predictions will hold ground — the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government coming back to power with thumping majority. While the Opposition’s INDIA bloc has rubbished the exit polls, the BJP is confident of easily crossing the majority-mark, even planning out how they want to celebrate the landmark victory. All major exit polls have projected a resounding victory for the NDA with the BJP expected to better its own 2019 tally of 303 seats.A day before the vote counting of 18th Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Monday said the EC had failed to counter “mischievous” narratives – starting with allegations that the electoral roll was faulty, then questions raised on EVMs and voter turnout, and now the counting processes. Asked whether there were any learnings from the election process, he said that in hindsight, given the heatwave, the polls should have been finished within a month. Additionally, he said that the EC has to be better prepared to counter “false narratives”.The Delhi government has approached the Supreme Court, seeking increased water allocation from neighboring states due to an acute water crisis caused by extreme heat waves. While Himachal Pradesh has agreed to share surplus water, the Haryana government is not providing necessary support. The Supreme Court has called for an urgent meeting of the Upper Yamuna River Board to address the critical situation.Bengaluru experienced a heavy downpour on Sunday, during the Southwest Monsoon, breaking a 133-year-old record for the highest daily rainfall in June. According to the India Meteorological Department, the city received 111.1 mm of rainfall on that day, surpassing previous 101.6mm in 1891. The current forecast suggests that rainfall will continue for the next two days, accompanied by overcast conditions and light to moderate thunderstorms. This recent heavy rainfall has put Bengaluru on track to potentially break its highest monthly rainfall record for June, which currently stands at 228.2 mm recorded in 1996.Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including one who has long evaded security forces, were trapped in a gunfight with a joint team of security forces in Kashmir's Pulwama. The militants, identified as Riyaz Ahmad Dar (a militant since September 2015) and Rayees (who joined in 2021). A joint team comprising personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army, and paramilitary forces cordoned off Pulwama’s Nehama village after specific inputs about the presence of militants in the village.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.