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

  1. Uttar Pradesh doctor Kafeel Khan on Tuesday said that he is ready to contest the Gorakhpur seat against Chief Minister Adityanath if any party gives him a ticket, reported PTI. Khan, a paediatrician at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur, said that talks were on with a party for him to contest the polls. Khan was suspended in 2017 after 63 children died at the facility reportedly due to lack of oxygen. He was jailed for medical negligence but cleared of all charges in nine months with the Uttar Pradesh government praising him for doing everything he could to help save lives.
  2. Former Union minister RPN Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party hours after quitting the Congress on Tuesday ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Positing his resignation letter on Twitter, Singh had said that he was beginning a new chapter in his political journey.
  3. The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Election Commission to respond within four weeks to a petition seeking rules to deregister a political party or its symbol that distributes irrational freebies from public funds before elections. The court said that it was not a “corrupt practice, but it creates an uneven playing field”.
  4. Congress leader Alka Lamba rejected former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s allegations that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had lobbied for a ministerial berth for party’s state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, reported NDTV. Lamba claimed that Singh was only the “face” but his words “belong to his ally party”, the Bharatiya Janata Party.    
  5. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit the state on Thursday. Gandhi will offer prayers at the Golden Temple along with the 117 party candidates and later hold a virtual rally.