Lok Sabha election updates | Kejriwal’s arrest will benefit AAP electorally, says Atishi

Prakash Ambedkar, the chief of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, announced eight Lok Sabha candidates in the State. 

Addressing a press conference in Akola, Mr. Ambedkar, who himself will contest from Akola, accused MVA allies - Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT) - of trying to use his outfit to promote dynastic politics, which he asserted, his party is trying to resist.

The VBA has fielded Sanjay Kewat from Bhandara-Gondiya, Hitesh Madavi from Gadchiroli, Rajesh Belle from Chandrapur, Vasant Magar from Buldhana, Ambedkar from Akola, Prakajkta Pillewan from Amravati, Rajendra Salunkhe from Wardha and Khemsingh Pawar from Yavatmal-Washim.

The VBA leader’s announcement comes after the MVA and his party failed to reach a consensus on seat-sharing arrangement in Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80).

Delhi Minister Atishi said the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal will benefit the AAP electorally in the Lok Sabha polls as the party is getting a lot of sympathy.

In an interview to PTI, Ms. Atishi termed the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case as an attack on democracy that was “never seen before” in the democratic history of the country.

“The good thing is that it has benefited us electorally,” she said, adding before the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal, the result of Lok Sabha polls was a forgone conclusion as people were of the view that the BJP was going to win.

“But after Kejriwal’s arrest, the level of public sympathy has gone up for us. There is just one sentiment that the BJP has gone one step too far. So, I would feel it has benefitted us electorally,” she said. She said the Lok Sabha polls have become a ‘People vs BJP’ election. “This election has become a very different kind of election. This is no longer an ‘AAP vs BJP’ or ‘INDIA bloc vs BJP’ election. After the arrest of Kejriwal, this is a ‘People vs BJP’ election,” she said.

AAP national convener Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case and subsequently remanded in the agency’s custody till March 28 by a court in Delhi. - PTI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she declined to contest the elections as she did not have the ‘kind of funds’ required to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

The Finance Minister said that J.P. Nadda, the party president, gave her the option to contest from either Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. “After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say... maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It’s also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use...Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it,” she said while speaking at an event.

“I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting,” she added. “My salary, my earnings, my savings are mine, not the Consolidated Fund of India,” she said.

Several Rajya Sabha MPs, including Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Mansukh Mandaviya and Jyotiraditya Scindia, are contesting in the Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 19. But, Ms. Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, is not contesting. Instead, she said that she would campaign for different candidates. - PTI

N. Eswara Rao (Etcherla), P. Vishnu Kumar Raju (Visakhapatnam North), Pangi Rajarao (Araku Valley (ST)), M. Shiva Krishnam Raju (Anaparthy), Kamineni Srinivas Rao (Kaikalur), Y.S. Chowdary (Vijaywada West) and Bojja Roshanna (Badvel (SC)) will contest the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh representing the BJP. The party is in an alliance with the TDP and JSP in the State. - The Hindu Bureau

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to contest Assembly bypoll from Karnal, the BJP has announced. - The Hindu BureauWatch: Who is Nayab Singh Saini?

BJP’s Topon Gogoi, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and Ranjit Dutta filed their nominations for the Lok Sabha elections today. Mr. Gogoi is contesting in the Jorhat constituency, Mr.Tasa is contesting in Kazirangna and Mr. Dutta is contesting in Sonitpur.

Today is the last date for filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls to be held on April 19. 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accompanied Mr. Gogoi and Mr. Tasa during their nomination filing at Jorhat and Golaghat and exuded confidence that both the candidates will win their respective seats. - PTI

Sitting DMK MPs Dayanidhi Maran and A. Raja filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Today is the last day for filing nominations in the State. 

Mr. Maran is seeking a successive term from the Chennai Central constituency, while Mr. Raja is seeking re-election from Nilgiris.AMMK founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran also filed their nominations in Theni. AMMK is a part of the BJP-led NDA. 

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections, revealing high-profile political contests ahead.

The party has announced candidates for nine out the 21 Lok Sabha seats, and 72 out 147 Assembly seats in Odisha.Read the story here

The ECI has slapped show-cause notices on BJP leader Dilip Ghosh and Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for their offensive remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kangana Ranaut respectively. Their remarks were “undignified and in bad taste”, the ECI said.

The poll panel said that prima facie, their remarks were violative of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and its advisory to political parties to maintain dignity during electioneering.

The MCC came into force on March 16 when the Commission announced the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections. The two leaders have been asked to respond by March 29 evening.

The EC took action against Ms. Shrinate following a complaint by the BJP that alleged she had posted a picture of Ranaut along with “derogatory remarks” on social media platform X.The notice to West Bengal BJP leader Ghosh was issued after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) approached the Commission. According to the English translation of Ghosh’s remark, as provided by the EC in its notice, he had said: “When Didi goes to Goa, she becomes Goa’s daughter, in Tripura, she says I am Tripura’s daughter, decide who is your father, this is not right”.

The EC said on careful examination, the comment has been found to be offensive.The poll authority reminded the two leaders of the provision of the MCC which states that criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work.

“Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.” The commission’s advisory issued to the political parties regarding plummeting levels of political discourse notes that no aspect of the private life, not connected with the public activities, of the leaders or workers of other parties is to be criticised.

“Low level personal attacks to insult the rivals shall not be made. The political parties and candidates to refrain from any deeds/action/utterances that may be construed as being repugnant to the honour and dignity of women,” it said. - PTI

The Congress said that youth unemployment is a defining issue for the Lok Sabha elections and it has a concrete plan to deal with it. Citing the India Employment Report 2024 released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged people to remember that Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to provide 20 crore jobs in 10 years but “snatched more than 12 crore jobs from the youth”.“Our youth is bearing the brunt of the Modi government’s pathetic apathy, as ever-rising unemployment has destroyed their future. ILO & IHD Report conclusively says that the unemployment problem is grim in India,” he said. “They are conservative, we are sitting on a ‘ticking bomb’ of joblessness!” Mr. Kharge said in a post on X.

“But the Modi government’s Chief Economic Advisor protects the dear leader, by saying ‘government can’t solve all social, economic problems such as unemployment’,” he said. 

Is unemployment a major factor in shaping the vote choice of the youth? Here’s an analysis.

Launching the Lok Sabha election campaign from the holy city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that upcoming polls are a contest between the opposition whose motto is “Family First” and the ruling BJP which is focused on “Nation First”.

Adityanath, who addressed an election meeting here after offering prayers at the Shri Krishna Janmasthan temple, also said that after 500 years, Lord Ram played holi in his “dham” (abode) in Ayodhya and now the “lanes of Mathura and Vrindavan must also be waiting”.

Adityanath has in the past too hinted at the demand of building a temple at the Sri Krishnajanmabhoomi complex in Mathura, claimed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna and where a mosque stands now.

- PTI

Confusion prevailed in Rampur and Morababad Lok Sabha constituencies over the authorised Samajwadi Party candidates as two of them, each from both the seats, filed their nominations on Wednesday claiming themselves to be the original party candidate.

In Rampur, Asim Raja, who had contested the 2022 Lok Sabha byelection as an SP candidate, filed his nomination papers claiming himself to be the party candidate.

Mohibulla Nadvi, who is the imam of a mosque in Delhi, also filed his nominations making similar claims.

Similarly in Moradabad, SP leader Ruchi Veera filed the nomination papers as an SP candidate on Wednesday while sitting MP S.T. Hasan had filed them on Tuesday.

- PTI

The BJP urged the Election Commission to immediately transfer senior IPS officer Hemanth Nimbalkar whose wife is contesting on a Congress ticket from Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency in the coming polls, and relieve him from all election-related works.

In a letter to the poll body, the party noted that Nimbalkar is currently working as Commissioner, Department of Information and Public Relations. His wife, Anjali Nimbalkar is presently an MLA from Khanapur in Belagavi district.

“He is a highly influential IPS officer in Karnataka. In view of the above relationship, there is every likelihood of his influence on other IPS officials and other police officials and personnel in electioneering work, to favour the State Ruling Congress Party. If he continues in the same post, he will use his influence to favour the Congress party and its candidates,” BJP said.

- PTI

More than 58,000 voters in Rajasthan have so far opted for home voting in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, an official said on Wednesday.

For the first phase of the general election, 35,542 people, including 26,371 senior citizens and 9,171 persons with disabilities, have registered for home voting, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said.

Special polling teams will be formed to conduct home voting and their training will be completed by April 4. These teams will reach the residences of registered home voters in the presence of political parties and their candidates to conduct voting through postal ballots.

In the first phase, home voting will be conducted from April 5 to 14.

In the Lok Sabha constituencies where voting will be held in the second phase, individuals can apply for home voting till April 2, Gupta added

- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Minister Jitin Prasada, who replaced party leader Varun Gandhi as the BJP candidate from the Pilibhit constituency, filed his nomination papers.

BJP MLAs from all four Assembly constituencies in Pilibhit -- Sanjay Gangwar, Baburam Paswan, Vivek Verma and Swami Prakhashanand -- are the proposers in Prasada’s nomination papers, the BJP candidate’s lawyer Saroj Kumar Bajpai told PTI.

Varun Gandhi was not present when Prasada filed his nomination papers. The local leaders remained tight-lipped about his absence.

Prasada had won the Lok Sabha polls in 2004 on a Congress ticket from Shahjahanpur seat. In 2009, he won from Dhaurahara seat and was made Union minister in the Congress government.

- PTI

AAP Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural announced he is quitting the party.

He is likely to join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

“I am resigning from all responsibilities of the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party),” Angural said in a post on Facebook.

Angural had won the Jalandhar West assembly seat in Punjab by defeating Sushil Kumar Rinku of the Congress during the 2022 assembly elections.

Rinku had last year moved to the AAP from the Congress and became the Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar after winning a bypoll.

- PTI

Election Commission of India slaps show cause notice on BJP’s Dilip Ghosh and Congress’ Supriya Shrinate for their “insulting, offensive and derogatory remarks against honour and dignity of women”.

- Sreeparna Chakrabarty

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the Maha Vikas Aghadi waited for the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi till the last moment and is still waiting after the latter announced that he will not ally with the opposition camp for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.

Talking to reporters, Raut said his party was still of the opinion that talks could be held with the VBA.

“We waited for the VBA till the last moment and are still waiting. We had offered the VBA five seats including Akola. We still are of the opinion that talks can be held with him. This can go beyond five,” Raut said.

- PTI

On Shiv Sena (UBT) fielding Amol Kirtikar from Mumbai’s North-West seat, former Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said: “I will wait for a week for the Congress leadership to take a call… after which I am open to all the options.” 

He said that the Uddhav Sena should not take an “extreme stand.” 

“This will cause a huge loss to Congress. I want to attract the attention of Congress leadership to intervene, if not then break the alliance to save the party. The decision of an alliance with Shiv Sena will prove self-destructive for Congress,” the former MP who was looking to contest the seat as the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates, said.

- Abhinay Deshpande

Six-time Congress MLA Suresh Routray’s son Manmath Routray joined the ruling BJD in Odisha.

Manmath, a former commercial pilot, went to the BJD headquarters, Sankha Bhawan, with his supporters in a procession. He was inducted into the party by its MPs Manas Mangaraj and Sasmit Patra.

“I will work for the ideology of my father and also Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Both leaders have one agenda in life and that is development. I will work for the development of Odisha,” he said.

- PTI

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari filed his nomination as a BJP candidate for the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra, and expressed confidence that the NDA government will continue to be in power at the Centre.

Before filing the nomination paper, Gadkari took out a roadshow in the city, where Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel were present with him.

Addressing a gathering before filing the nomination, Gadkari said, “With people’s blessings, the NDA government will retain power under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Maharashtra will see a huge development under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.”

- PTI

The CPI(M) is using artificial intelligence (AI) as a campaign tool for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

‘Samata’, meaning equality, is an AI-generated character for disseminating campaigns news and other matters of interest to the people, CPI(M) leader Samik Lahiri, who is one of those looking after this newly launched project of the party, said on Wednesday.

“We are using artificial intelligence to bring out what the people want to say,” he told PTI.

Samata, the AI presenter of CPI(M) West Bengal’s social media handles, has been started in Bengali language and will soon be introduced in Hindi and English versions also, Lahiri, a member of the CPI(M)‘s central committee, said.

- PTI

High political drama prevailed in the State Secretariat on March 27 in Karnataka as five Congress legislators, including three MLAs and two MLCs from Kolar district, threatened to tender their resignations to the membership of the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, respectively, opposing the candidature of Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa’s son-in-law Chikka Peddanna in the Kolar (SC) Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress has not yet announced its candidate from Kolar.

BJP National Vice President Baijayant Panda, from his traditional Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat, will face Ansuman Mohanty, who recently switched Biju Janata Dal from Congress.

Former Indian Hockey captain and Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey will fight against Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweight and former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram in Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency.

The Biju Janta Dal has announced the first list of candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats, deciding to field its organizational secretary Pranab Prakash Das against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat which is billed to be a high profile electoral battle.

- Satyasundar Barik

The Congress is likely to announce names of its candidates for the Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti and Hazaribag Lok Sabha seats on Wednesday, a senior party leader said.

The names are likely to be announced after the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in New Delhi.

“The names of the candidates for Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti and Hazaribag Lok Sabha seats are likely to be announced today. We are going to participate in the meeting in Delhi, and the final list is likely to be issued after the CEC meeting and the screening committee meeting this evening,” Congress legislature party leader Alamgir Alam told PTI before leaving for Delhi.

- PTI

PM Modi, along with other top Ministers including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh are part of BJP’s list of star campaigners for Maharashtra.

The Congress party objected to Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing candidates for two seats - Sangli and Mumbai South-Central - stating that it’s a disregard for the principles of the alliance. 

“Announcing candidates while discussions are still on is an insult to Aghadi Dharma,” CLP Balasaheb Thorat and LoP Vijay Wadettiwar said. 

Mr. Thorat said that there’s a strong demand from the Congress for those seats and asked Sena (UBT) to reconsider its decision.

- Abhinay Deshpande

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath are among the 40 star campaigners who would canvass for the BJP in Bihar during the Lok Sabha elections.

In the list, the party also named its chief J.P. Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai, besides Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav.

Among the State leaders who found a place on the list are Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Renu Devi, Mangal Pandey, Prem Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Sushil Kumar Modi.

PTI

The Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency has caught the attention of many for curious reasons.

While former Chief Minister and expelled AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam filed his nomination with the Returning Officer as an Independent with the support of the BJP on Monday, four others with the same name and initial filed their papers the very next day.

Read here

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar declared the candidature of Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil from Shirur Lok Sabha constituency after the Shiv Sena leader joined the Nationalist Congress Party.

Mr. Patil will be the candidate of the tripartite Mahayuti alliance. Mr. Pawar has also announced the candidature of sitting NCP MP Sunil Tatkare from the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency in the coastal region. 

Mr. Patil joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP at a party congregation held in Manchar village in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district which falls under the Shirur LS constituency.

PTI

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on March 27 announced a new alliance with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil after meeting with the latter in Jalna early today morning.

The VBA exited the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance for the April-May general elections. Mr. Ambedkar announced candidates for some Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

While announcing the names of seven VBA candidates for the lok sabha seats in the Vidarbha division that go to polls in the first phase of the general election, Mr. Ambedkar, however, said his party would support the Congress’ candidate for the Nagpur lok sabha seat.

Indian social media influencer Chandni Bhagat has been creating devotional videos on Instagram for three years - now she’s mixing politics with her daily dose of religion.

Bhagat is one of thousands of social media influencers mobilised by political parties in the runup to elections with the aim of wooing a young and ever-online India.

Last year, 18-year-old Bhagat - who has more than 200,000 Instagram followers - was among 100+ content creators in the central Indian city of Indore invited to meet workers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Read here

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar held a meeting with Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange in the wee hours of Wednesday over the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra’s Jalna district.

The meeting, which lasted more than one hour, took place at Antarwali Sarati village where Jarange resides.

The development assumes significance as Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, was eyeing to seal a poll pact with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance for the April-May general elections.

- PTI

There was barely even a murmur about nepotism or dynastic politics after the Congress announced its second list of candidates, teeming with sons, daughters, and relatives of incumbent ministers and senior leaders, for the Lok Sabha elections. This is not surprising, though: no party in Karnataka can claim moral superiority on this count.

While the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) has always openly been a “family party”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too has not been a “party with a difference” despite all its tall claims. 

The poll campaign temperatures are set to spike in Andhra Pradesh with YSRCP supremo and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy kicking off canvassing for the forthcoming elections with a 21-day bus tour named ‘Memanta Siddham’ (We are all ready), on Wednesday from Idupulupaya in Kadapa district.

The bus tour will be Mr. Jagan’s first election campaign post the announcement of the legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16.

PTI

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a public meeting in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Anil Baluni from Garhwal Lok Sabha seat at Ramlila Maidan in Pauri Garhwal.

Exuding confidence about BJP’s victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister said, “This time there is a discussion of crossing 400 in the whole country. We will together achieve a bigger victory than 2019 in the 2024 Lok Sabha.”

ANI

Shiv Sena (UBT), a part of Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), on March 27 released its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Uddhav-led Sena is expected to contest 20 seats. The MVA has not yet announced the seat-sharing agreement.

Additionally, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut declared that his party colleague in the Rajya Sabha, Anil Desai, will run for the South Central seat in Mumbai, bringing the total number of candidates to 17. Mr. Desai’s tenure in the Rajya Sabha will conclude on April 3.

Key insiders told The Hindu that despite the Shiv Sena (UBT) naming its candidates for the Sangli and Mumbai’s South Central Lok Sabha seats, the Congress party is gearing up to nominate its own candidates for these constituencies. Moreover, there’s a tussle between Congress and NCP (SP) over the Bhiwandi seat.

Read here

Stating that “99%” of the seat-sharing talks between the three ruling Mahayuti partners (Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP and the splinter Nationalist Congress Party faction) had been completed, NCP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said the ruling coalition will declare their remaining candidates on Thursday.

Read here

The Samajwadi Party’s Rampur president said that the district unit had wanted SP president Akhilesh Yadav to contest the Lok Sabha elections from this constituency and is now inclined to boycott it.

A statement that bears the names of district unit president Ajay Sagar and jailed leader Azam Khan accused the ruling BJP of poll violations and excesses against SP leaders.

They had asked Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Rampur because of these “special circumstances” in the constituency, the letter said indirectly indicating that he turned down the request.

PTI

For months, BJP supporters have been chanting how Narendra Modi has brought Ram home. This week, Meerut is abuzz with praise for the Prime Minister for bringing Arun Govil, the actor who played Ram in a popular television series in the 1980s, home as well by fielding him from his hometown. “Ram is back home for a political battle,” said Rajesh Bansal, a BJP supporter. The transition from a mythological to a political avatar, evokes the memory of N.T. Rama Rao and M.G Ramachandran, was imminent since last month when Mr. Govil played Mr. Modi with gusto in Article 370.

Read the story here

Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) will clear its stand on whether to join the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi or not on March 27.

“The working committee of VBA will hold a meeting on Tuesday night, and our chief Prakash Ambedkar will announce a decision on Wednesday at his home district Akola regarding whether to join hands with the MVA or not,” Siddharth Mokle, chief spokesperson and State vice president of VBA, told reporters.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

PTI

In Gujarat, the BJP has dropped more than a dozen sitting MPs, including Ministers Darshna Jordosh and Mahendra Munjapara, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Two Cabinet Ministers, Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala, whose Rajya Sabha terms end in April, find a place on the candidate list instead.

​Read here​

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leaders held talks to sort out the differences that have emerged between the two allies over the seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar.

​Read here​