With Assembly polls in five states–Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram– around the corner, all political parties are engulfed in election fever. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and national president JP Nadda will soon join the party’s campaign in Mizoram.
According to BJP’s Mizoram state President Vanlalhmuaka, the Prime Minister is likely to visit the state and will address an election rally in Mamit town on October 30 to campaign for BJP candidates.
“We have received the PM’s tentative schedule of his proposed visit to Mizoram. Expecting the final tour programme soon,” the BJP leader told IANS.
He said that Shah, Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Kiren Rijiju, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Tripura counterpart Manik Saha are among the star campaigners of the saffron party
Assembly Election 2023 Latest Updates
- Chhattisgarh Polls: Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also released its fourth list of 12 candidates for next month’s assembly elections in the state. With the fourth list, AAP has released the names of 45 candidates in the state.
The candidates announced in the fourth list are – Dev Ganesh Tekam (Samri-ST), Alexander (Lundra-ST), Munna Toppo (Sitapur-ST), Prakash Toppo (Jashpur-ST), Gopal Bapudia (Raigarh), Sobram Singh Saima (Pali-Tanakhar -ST), Parmeshwar Prasad Sandey (Janjgir-Champa), Neelam Dhruv (Khallari), Santosh Yadu (Baloda Bazar), Vijay Gurubaxani (Raipur North), Parmanand Jangde (Arang-SC) and Bhagirathi Manjhi (Bindranawagarh-ST).
The Congress on Sunday also released its third list of candidates for the remaining seven seats for the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, renominating the party’s two sitting MLAs and denying tickets to four incumbent legislators.
Sitting MLAs Ambica Singh Deo, the granddaughter of the erstwhile king of Koriya, and Kuldeep Juneja have been fielded from their incumbent seats Baikunthpur and Raipur North, respectively. The candidates who have been fielded in place of four sitting legislators are Chaturi Nand (Saraipali-SC), Ambika Markam (Sihwaha), Sandeep Sahu (Kasdol) and Rashmi Chandrakar (Mahasamund). The party has fielded Omkar Sahu from the Dhamtari seat which it could not win in the 2018 elections. Of these five candidates, except for ex-MLA Markam, the others are new faces.
With this, the ruling party has announced its candidates for all the 90 assembly constituencies in the state.
The party has denied tickets to 22 of 71 sitting Congress MLAs this time.
Of the 90 candidates from Congress, 33 are from ST, 29 from OBC, 10 from SC and 15 from general categories, while three are minorities.
The BJP has so far announced candidates for 86 seats.
- Rajasthan Polls: With just a month left for the Rajasthan Assembly election, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is set to hold poll campaign in Jodhpur today.The Congress on Sunday released its second list of 43 candidates for the upcoming polls in the state. The fresh list features the names of senior leaders Govind Ram Meghwal and Prasadi Lal Meena, among others. The party has so far announced 76 candidates for the polls.
On Saturday, the party released its first list of 33 candidates which had Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s name as well as his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
Four members of Pilot’s camp had found their names on the first list.
Twenty state ministers find their names in the two list with sources saying the names of Urban Development and Housing Minister Shanti Dhariwal and PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi — who were served showcause notices for not adhering to the high command orders during the political crisis in the state — are still under consideration.
On Saturday, BJP had also released the second list of 83 candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, which also includes the name of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. While Raje will contest from her home town of Jhalrapatan, the Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore has been given a ticket from Taranagar instead of Churu. Previously, he had contested from Taranagar.
The BJP had earlier announced candidates for 41 Assembly seats on October 9.
- Madhya Pradesh: Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Rustam Singh resigned from the party on Monday, ahead of the state assembly polls scheduled next month. In a letter addressed to state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma, Singh (78) said he is resigning from the BJP’s primary membership and all party positions.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday fielded party’s Madhya Pradesh president Rani Agrawal as its candidate from Singrauli constituency.
Earlier on Sunday, Supporters of poll aspirants from the BJP and opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh who failed to get tickets staged protests in different parts of the state, even as both parties tried to downplay the resentment.
The BJP has declared the candidates for 228 out of 230 seats so far while Congress declared the names of 229 nominees for the assembly elections.
In Bhopal, supporters of former BJP MLA and ex-minister Umashankar Gupta raised slogans in front of state BJP president VD Sharma, demanding to replace the party candidate Bhagwandas Sabnani who is in the fray from the Bhopal South West constituency. In Gwalior, supporters of BJP leader Munnalal Goyal, a loyalist of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, protested outside the erstwhile royal’s Jai Vilas Palace after he (Goyal) was denied a ticket. To mollify the protesters, Scindia drove to the palace gate and asserted that he stood by them and Goyal.
Supporters of sitting Congress MLA from Badnagar, Murli Morwal, staged an aggressive protest in front of the Bhopal residence of MP Congress chief Kamal Nath after Morwal failed to get the ticket. They set tyres on fire demanding that Congress replace its nominee, Rajendra Singh Solanki, from Badnagar.
- Telangana Polls: The BJP which has announced its first list of 52 candidates for the November 30 assembly polls in Telangana, will release the “second list” after the Dasara festival, state BJP president G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday.
Reddy said Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will campaign for the party in the poll-bound state towards the month end. Three Lok Sabha MPs, including its former Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, figured on Sunday in the BJP’s first list of 52 candidates.
Amit Shah will be visiting the state on October 27 while Yogi Adityanath will be coming in the last week of October, Reddy said.
Meanwhile, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) is also likely to release its second list of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections after Dasara on November 30. Earlier, on October 15, the party had already released its first list containing 55 candidates.
- Mizoram Polls: A total of 174 candidates including 16 women in Mizoram have filed their nominations for the Assembly polls scheduled. According to an official, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), opposition Congress and the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), a local party, have fielded candidates in all the 40 Assembly constituencies.
The BJP nominated candidates in 23 seats, Aam Aadmi Party in four seats while 27 Independent candidates are also in the fray. State unit presidents of most of the political parties – Chief Minister Zoramthanga (MNF), Lalsawta (Congress), Lalduhoma (ZPM), Vanlalhmuaka (BJP) are contesting this election.
MNF supremo Zoramthanga is re-contesting from the Aizawl East-1 seat, BJP state chief Vanlalhmuaka is contesting from Dampa seat, Congress’ Mizoram unit chief Lalsawta is in fray from Aizawl West-III constituency. ZPM president Lalduhoma is seeking re-election from Serchhip seat.
Poll Schedule
Mizoram will vote on November 7; Madhya Pradesh on November 17; Chhattisgarh on November 7 and 17 in two phases; Rajasthan on November 25; and Telangana on November 30. Counting of votes for all states will be held on December 3.
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