A look at the latest Assembly elections developments from the five states:

  1. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday announced its alliance with the Apna Dal and Nishad Party for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. “NDA allies are contesting together just like we did in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” said party president JP Nadda. “The BJP, Apna Dal, and Nishad Party will jointly contest polls on 403 seats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.” He added that the BJP was in talks with the two allies regarding seat-sharing.. 
  2. Congress leader Harish Rawat on Wednesday said his party will punish those accused of delivering hate speeches in Haridwar if it comes to power in Uttarakhand, reported NDTV. Hindutva supremacists had called for violence against Muslims during a “dharam sansad” or religious parliament held in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar city between December 17 and December 19.    
  3. Aparna Yadav, who is married to Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Prateek Yadav, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that Mulayam Singh Yadav had tried to dissuade Aparna Yadav from leaving the party, reported PTI. “I am also happy that our socialist ideology is expanding,” he added. “I hope that our ideology will reach there and work to save the Constitution and democracy.”
  4. Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel on Wednesday said that a proposed alliance with the Congress for Goa elections has not worked out. “They [the Congress] neither said yes nor no,” Patel told ANI. He added that the NCP will fight the polls jointly with the Shiv Sena. “First list [of candidates] may be released tomorrow followed by other lists,” he added.
  5. The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday announced lawyer and social worker Amit Palekar as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Goa Assembly polls. Palekar hails from the Other Backward Class Bhandari community which accounts for about 35% Goa’s population.    
  6. Manipur Congress MLA Kh Joykishan Singh was suspended from the party on disciplinary grounds, reported The Indian Express. He reportedly missed three party meetings in a row. Also, senior Congress leader and Tipaimukh MLA Chaltonlien Amo and Tengnoupal MLA D Korungthang have quit the party. The Congress, which had 28 seats in 2017, is now down to 12.    
  7. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has urged party president JP Nadda not to field him in the upcoming Uttarakhand elections, ANI repeorted. “Please accept my request to not contest in Uttarakhand polls so that I focus on supporting the party,” he wrote in his letter to Nadda.    
  8. The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider hearing a public interest litigation challenging the use of electronic voting machines instead of ballot papers in polls, reported PTI. In his plea, petitioner ML Sharma has argued that Section 61A of the Representation of People Act, which permitted the use of EVMs, was not passed by Parliament.
  9. Sixty people, including Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Prasann Choudhary were on Wednesday booked for allegedly flouting the Model Code of Conduct and the Covid-19 norms in Uttar Pradesh, reported PTI. Choudhary, who will be contesting the elections from Shamli, held a public meeting in Kuwana village without permission.    
  10. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Wednesday claimed that rival Samajwadi Party has given tickets to criminals for the Assembly elections, reported ANI. “In five years, rioters either left the state or were in jail,” claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. “But as [the] elections approached, Samajwadi Party’s first list showed their criminal mentality. They want to bring in “maafiavad” in the state once again.”