 Hello and welcome to NewsClick. I am Aditi and today we are bringing to you a glimpse of some of the most important stories that we report about here at newsclick.com. Last week a photo of a farmer lying dead on the onion crop in his farm went viral on social media in Maharashtra. He had reportedly consumed poison as his crop was rotten in his farm shed. But he was not the only one. The highest onion growing district Nashik has witnessed 18 farmer suicides within the first 20 days of 2019. This has brought the already deepening crisis of onion prices back to the headlines. Reactions have started pouring in from all quarters. In the election year, the fall in onion prices has become a serious political issue. To add to that, various farmers organizations have been agitating against the anti-farm government policies. It shows how deep the crisis is and how farmers have lost all faith in the state. The Shabri Malashrayan has been closed after two-month-long annual pilgrimage season. BJP RSS machinery has concluded their four-month-long protest series that ironically had become a burden for themselves. Ever since the apex court overturned the regressive ban on the entry of women from menstrual age on September 28, the right wing forces from the state had unleashed colossal ruckus in favour of a custom that endorsed gender discrimination. The political drama was linked to the culture and tradition to polarise the people from the state. With planned attacks, violence and dual standards, the right wing supporters have been trying to appropriate Ayyappa devotees in order to get them to oppose the SC verdict. RSS, which was earlier in favour of the entry of women into Shabri Malashrayan had tactically chained their stance and resorted to mass protests against the verdict. The devotees, however, eventually seem to have realised the political agenda behind it. Pulling out its trump card before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has appointed Priyanka Gandhi Badra as the All India Congress Committee's Secretary for UP East, marking her formal entry into active politics. She will be taking charge from the first week of February 2019, a party statement said. Priyanka Gandhi's entry into politics has been speculated for long after reports of Sonia Gandhi's failing health and the possibility of her not contesting the Lok Sabha election this time. The announcement also underlines the crucial role that will be played by Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The two key opposition parties, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, recently announced an alliance to defeat the BJP, but kept Congress out of it. This appointment has turned heads and attracted several reactions. While on the one hand, people within the party feel that this move will help boost the morale of Congress carder in UP, especially after having been snubbed by SP and BSP. BJP members on the other hand are calling it a result of the failure of Rahul Gandhi. All said and done, UP East holds a formidable challenge for Priyanka Gandhi, as the area is said to have considerable influence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who cut his political teeth in the Gorakhpur region. In international news, nearly two weeks after the swearing in of democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, Juan Guaido, unilaterally decred himself interim president of the country and said he will try and push forth a council of transition. The declaration was immediately supported by the US President Donald Trump and his administration, who have been demanding that Maduro step down since his inauguration on January 10. Nicolas Maduro addressed thousands of supporters and denounced his bid, which is against the sovereignty of Venezuela and the attempt to violate the will of the people. He announced that Venezuela will cut all the diplomatic relationships with the United States and the personnel have 72 hours to leave the country. Despite the latent coup threat, thousands took to the streets of Caracas today to show their support for the legitimate, democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro and their support to the Bolivarian Revolution. Thank you for watching the Daily Roundup. To know more about these and many more stories, visit our website www.newsclick.com. Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.