BJP releases second list of 72 candidates for Lok Sabha polls, drops various sitting MPs | Updates

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named 72 candidates in its second list for Lok Sabha elections and dropped several sitting MPs including former Union ministers Sadananda Gowda and Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'. READ MORE

As BJP released its second list for Lok Sabha polls, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav said, " BJP's candidate list for all 29 seats has come... 'Ab ki baar 400 paar', we will win 29 out of 29 seats (in Madhya Pradesh)".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its second list of 72 candidates for Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party has fielded Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North, former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal among others. READ MORE

Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas chief Chirag Paswan met BJP chief JP Nadda in New Delhi. After the meeting, he published a post on X saying the seat-sharing deal has been finalised and added details will be out soon. READ MORE

In yet another setback to Congress ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, senior party leader Padmakar Valvi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra on Wednesday. READ MORE

The BJP on Wednesday released candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh. CM Pema Khandu to contest from Mukto (ST) Assembly seat.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned as an MLA in the Assembly. "The new Chief Minister should contest elections from Karnal," he added. 

Congress MP from Patiala Preneet Kaur is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tomorrow (March 14). Preneet is the wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. 

Former Uttar Pradesh Congress MLA Ajay Kapoor is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to sources, he is likely to be inducted into the party in the presence of UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

In the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Telangana on March 15 and Karnataka on March 16. In Telangana, he will hold a road show in Malkajgiri and attend programmes in Naga Kurnool and Gulberg in Karnataka. 

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini moved a Confidence Motion for his government in the state Assembly. 

Senior Maharashtra Congress leader Padmakar Valvi joined BJP today ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Valvi switched sides in the presence of state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and party leader Ashok Chavan, in Mumbai.

At least four JJP MLAs have reached the Assembly despite the party issuing a whip asking members to remain absent during the floor test. The members who ignored the party's whip are Devender Singh Babli, Yogi Ram Sihag, Ishwar Singh and Ram Kumar Gautam. 

The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) issued a three-line whip to its party legislators asking them to stay absent for the no-confidence motion set to take place in the Haryana Assembly today. The whip has been issued to prevent rebel party MLAs from voting for the BJP during the floor test. 

The whip issued by the JJP.

Haryana's new Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini will prove his government's its majority in the House today. In the 90-member state assembly, the BJP has 41 members, and it also enjoys the support of six of the seven independents as well as of lone Haryana Lokhit Party MLA Gopal Kanda. The JJP has 10 MLAs in the House. The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs while the Indian National Lok Dal has one.

The BJP is likely to announce its decision on the possible formation of an alliance with the BJD in Odisha on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state, sources said, as per PTI. Top state BJP leaders held a series of meetings in Delhi for the past three days, they said. BJP state leaders held a series of meetings at the residence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the sources said.

Expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran held late night seat-sharing talks with the BJP here for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with OPS insisting that his candidates will contest from the Two Leaves symbol. The former chief minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) exuded confidence that the popular Two Leaves symbol of the AIADMK would be allotted to him by the EC.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has again asked Union minister Nitin Gadkari to leave the BJP if he is being "insulted", saying the opposition in Maharashtra would ensure his victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at a rally at Pusad in eastern Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, Thackeray said people like (former Congress leader) Kripashankar Singh, whom the BJP once targeted (over alleged corruption), figured in the saffron party's first list of candidates along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Gadkari's name was missing.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the Congress is fighting a "lost battle" and its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections does not have any prominent nominees for seats in MP. The Congress is fighting a lost battle. No prominent names featured in this list. On the contrary, the BJP's first list of candidates carried the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and several other leaders, " he added. The Madhya Pradesh CM also claimed that prominent Congress politicians are reluctant to contest the upcoming polls.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has indicated that he might not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing his age as a factor influencing this decision. Kharge was the MP from Karnataka's Gulbarga from 2009-2014 and had lost from the same seat in 2019. 

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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Congress party is raising the issues of farmers, youth, women and labourers. What are BJP's issues? he asked. "What are PM Modi's issues? He does not talk about the 10 years of injustice...They have only one weapon in this election and that is polarization...The CAA rule is made after 4 years and 3 months...Now when only a month is left for the elections they are giving a dose of polarization..." Ramesh added. 

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a popular leader, a US congressman has exuded confidence that he would be re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “Prime Minister Modi is incredibly popular. I was just over there. I actually had lunch with Prime Minister Modi and several other congressmen, and to see his popularity across party lines really. Somebody who I think is around 70 per cent popular. He is going to be prime minister again,” Congressman Rich McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, told news agency PTI. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to release its second list of candidates today for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. According to sources, the second list is likely to have 100 names. Earlier on March 2, the saffron party had released its first list of 195 candidates. Of 195 candidates, 34 are ministers from Centre and States while two are former Chief Ministers who are in the list.