Top election updates: Former Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar says he will quit BJP
Meanwhile, Mayawati released the Bahujan Samaj Party’s second list of 51 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh elections.
A look at the latest developments on Assembly elections from the five states:
- Former Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Saturday said that he will resign from the Bharatiya Janata Party, PTI reported. The party had denied him a ticket for the upcoming Assembly election. Parsekar told ANI that he was a member of the BJP for years, but the party took him for granted. “I have prepared to disassociate myself from the party and have decided to contest independently,” he said. “I will come out with this declaration in a couple of days.”
- The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen on Saturday announced an alliance in Uttar Pradesh with the Babu Singh Kushwaha-led Jan Adhikar Party and the Bharat Mukti Morcha. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that if the alliance comes to power, there will be two chief ministers – one from the Dalit community and another from the Other Backward Classes, ANI reported. He added that there will be three deputy chief ministers, including one from the Muslim community.
- The Bharatiya Janata Party has said that it chose Atanasio Monserrate as its candidate from Panji as he can “best represent the aspirations of the people”, the Hindustan Times reported.. A notice by the BJP’s general secretary in a local newspaper said that Monserrate has a good rapport with voters. The BJP overlooked former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal Parrikar for the seat, after which he left the party.
- Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday released the party’s second list of 51 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh elections. She expressed hope that party members will work hard to form a BSP government, like in 2007.
- The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced 85 more candidates for the Uttar Pradesh elections, the Hindustan Times reported. Till now, the party has named a total of 195 candidates. It has retained its candidates in at least 30 constituencies.