Nitish Rane jumps to BJP, to contest from Kankavli
Congress legislator and son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane, Nitish Rane, has quit his party and formally joined the BJP. He will seek re-election from Kankavli Assembly segment, this time as a BJP member.
JJP releases 4th list
Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) on Thursday announced its fourth list of 30 candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls. According to the list, party leader Dushyant Chautala will fight the elections from the Uchana Kalana segment and once again take on BJP’s sitting MLA Prem Lata.
Mr. Dushyant, a former MP from Hisar will take on Prem Lata, who defeated him from the constituency by a margin of over 7,000 votes in the 2014 state Assembly polls.
Assembly elections in Haryana will take place on October 21. The last day for filing nomination is October 4. The final results will be declared on October 24 after counting of votes.
Uchana Kalan in Jind district has been a bastion of former Union Minister Birender Singh, who earlier represented the seat five times. Singh’s wife Prem Lata, a sitting MLA, was re-nominated from the seat by the BJP for the Assembly elections.
Lata had defeated Dushyant in 2014 polls when he had entered the fray despite being a sitting MP of the Indian National Lok Dal from Hisar.
Dushyant also tasted defeat at the hands of bureaucrat-turned-politician Brijendra Singh of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls from Hisar this year.
BJP to field Fadnavis' PA from Ausa
A section of local workers of the BJP and Shiv Sena have opposed the BJP’s decision to field Abhimanyu Pawar, personal assistant of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, from Ausa Assembly seat.
Mr. Pawar would be making his electoral debut from Ausa in Latur district in the October 21 state Assembly elections.
Mr. Pawar is being seen as an outsider, a Shiv Sena leader said.
“Our workers want that the seat be given back to the party and a son of the soil be fielded from here,” said former Sena MLA Dinkar Mane.
Deepak Nikalje to contest from Phaltan on RPI(A)'s ticket
The Republican Party of India (A), an ally of the ruling BJP, has fielded Deepak Nikalje, brother of jailed underworld don Chhota Rajan, from Phaltan Assembly constituency in Western Maharashtra.
The RPI, led by Union minister Ramdas Athawale, has been given six seats as part of the seat-sharing deal between the BJP, Shiv Sena and other smaller allies for the October 21 state elections.
Athawale announced the candidates in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Nikalje, who has been with the RPI for several years, had earlier unsuccessfully fought assembly elections from Chembur in Mumbai on the party’s ticket.
“This time he expressed willingness to fight the election from Phaltan since he hails from that area and has a good network there,” said a senior RPI leader.
Haryana Congress list out
The Congress on Wednesday night officially released the party’s list of candidates for the coming Assembly election amidst a bitter factional fight that had reached party chief Sonia Gandhi’s doorstep .
Prominent names include former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former Congress Legislature Party chief Kiran Chaudhary, party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and elder son of former CM Bhajan Lal Chander Mohan.
With Friday being the last date of filing nominations for the October 21 election, the party made its list public well past midnight to avoid further confrontation with any disgruntled leader.
(With inputs from agencies)