A look at the top Assembly elections developments:

  1. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India to deregister political parties that do not disclose details related to criminal cases of their candidates along with the reason selecting them.
  2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party workers in Varanasi, his home turf, on Tuesday ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, PTI reported. The interaction took place virtually since the Election Commission of India has suspended all physical rallies till January 22 in view of the the coronavirus pandemic.
  3. Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad said his party may hold talks for an alliance with the Congress, India Today reported. “We will be an alternative [to other political parties in UP],” he said. “I rejected offers to be MLA and minister.”
  4. The Congress released its third list of candidates for the Assembly polls. Former BJP MLA Michael Lobo will contest from Calangute.
  5. The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday morning raided the home of Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew in connection with alleged illegal sand mining. It also raided 10 other places in Punjab. The law enforcement agency has filed a money laundering case.
  6. Channi said he was being targeted ahead of the Assembly polls, ANI reported. “This is not good for democracy,” he added. “We are ready to fight this. The same thing happened during West Bengal elections.”
  7. The Nationalist Congress Party said that it will meet Shiv Sena leaders in Goa on Tuesday to discuss a pre-poll alliance in the coastal state for the Assembly elections, reported PTI.
  8. The Gautam Buddh Nagar Police have registered an first information report against Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Tejpal Nagar for conducting door-to-door campaigning with a group of more than five people, reported NDTV. Nagar has been booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
  9. Senior Congress leader Luv Kumar Goldy on Monday joined the Punjab Lok Congress along with his supporters, reported PTI. The two-time MLA from Garhshankar said he always had faith and confidence in the leadership of Amarinder Singh, the chief of the Punjab Lok Congress.
  10. Former Punjab minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur and his son Damanvir Singh Phillaur quit the Congress and joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) at the party’s office in Mohali, reported The Indian Express. Sarwan Singh Phillaur had quit the Shiromani Akali Dal and joined the Congress in 2016.