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

  1. The Samajwadi Party released its first list of 159 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will will contest the Karhal seat. Party leaders Shivpal Singh Yadav will be fielded from Jaswantnagar, Nahid Hasan from Kairana, Abdullah Azam Khan from Suar and  Azam Khan from Rampur.
  2. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that it will contest for 65 seats in the Punjab Assembly election, NDTV reported. The Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress will contest for 37 seats, while the Akali Dal (Samyukt) will contest from 15 seats. BJP chief JP Nadda said that Punjab needs a stable government as it a border state. 
  3. Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary CT Ravi has asked late Union Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal Parrikar to reconsider his decision to contest as an independent candidate from Panaji, ANI reported. Utpal Parrikar had resigned from the BJP after it gave the Panaji ticket to Atanasio Monserrate. Utpal Parrikar wanted to contest from Panaji as his father had held the constituency for 25 years before.
  4. Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, on Monday received a notice from the Election Commission for violating Covid-19 protocols, NDTV reported. Mann on Sunday launched his campaign for the Punjab Assembly polls from the Dhuri assembly seat despite rallies and roadshows being banned till January 31.
  5. The Congress on Monday released list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, reported ANI. The list includes party chief Sonia Gandhi, former party president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel among others.