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A shop selling selling political merchandise in Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar. (Photo: Anushka Bhardwaj)
Several people, including senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had also flagged the issue on social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
Here are 10 major election updates for March 25:
Ramayana actor Arun Govil gets BJP ticket
2) Over the weekend, both the BJP and the Congress launched their latest list of candidates for the polls, with the saffron party announcing some big guns as it eyes a third consecutive term in the elections. Other than Ranaut, former Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal and ex-Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently quit his job to join the party, are also named on the list. Notably, Ramayana actor Arun Govil is also set to make a poll debut on a BJP ticket from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.
Varun Gandhi dropped by BJP
3) Speculations are that sitting Pilibhit BJP MP Varun Gandhi may contest the elections independently from the seat since the party dropped him in the fifth list released on Sunday. The BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh Minister Jitin Prasada from the Pilibhit seat, which has been represented by Varun or his mother, Maneka Gandhi, for over two decades. It is being said that the BJP MP lost the ticket due to his frequent critical comments against the Narendra Modi government.
4) Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the polls. Reddy, who is an MLA from Gangavati, snapped the two-decade-old ties with the BJP last year and formed ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha’. Reddy is an accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case and has been out on bail since 2015.
Ajay Rai against Narendra Modi in Varanasi
5) The Congress also launched its latest list, the fourth one on Saturday, naming Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai from Varanasi to take on PM Modi. Senior leader Digvijaya Singh will contest the polls from Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh and the newly-inducted leader, Lal Singh, has been fielded from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur. With this, the Congress has now declared a total of 183 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
‘Main Bhi Kejriwal’ campaign launch soon
6) Amid the turmoil over Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to continue with the ‘Main Bhi Kejriwal’ campaign as it seeks to expand its national footprint in the upcoming polls. The party noted that the Delhi chief minister will not resign from his post, and the government will continue to function based on orders sent out from the jail. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the ongoing probe linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.
‘Maha’ INDIA bloc rally on March 31
7) Following the high-voltage drama over the AAP chief’s arrest, the Opposition’s INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance has decided to hold a grand rally on March 31 at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan to protest Kejriwal’s arrest. This comes as the Opposition leaders criticised the Modi government for Kejriwal’s arrest right before the polls while the Model Code of Conduct was enforced.
NDA’s Bihar cards out
8) Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United also released its list of all 16 candidates for Bihar on Sunday. The party is contesting the polls in alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Notably, it gave the Sheohar ticket to Lovely Anand, former Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, who quit the party to join JD(U) earlier in March. The BJP has also named all 17 candidates for the states on its latest list.
First phase poll nomination deadline this week
9) The poll developments have geared up as the last date to file nominations for the first phase is inching closer. According to the Election Commission’s schedule, the candidates can file their names till March 28 in Bihar and till March 27 for the rest of 20 states and UTs, which will go to polls on April 19. The EC’s website shows that as many as 183 candidate affidavits have been registered to contest the poll battle across 102 constituencies in the first phase.
10) NDA ally Chirag Paswan announced that his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will unveil its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls right after the Holi festivities. Paswan’s party has got five seats as part of the seat-sharing deal between the NDA partners in Bihar.
First Published: Mar 25 2024 | 1:20 PM IST
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