Election Tracker LIVE: Samajwadi Party Releases First List of Candidates, Mulayam Singh Yadav to Contest from Mainpuri

SP Released First List | The Samajwadi Party has released its first list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2019. The first name on the list is of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav who will contest from Mainpuri seat.

SC Order Shall Not be Questioned | Referring to the Supreme Court's mediation order Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, Deputy CM of UP, KP Maurya, said that his party won't question the SC. "In the past, efforts were made to arrive at a solution, but with no success. No Lord Ram devotee or saint wants delay in the construction of Ram Mandir," Maurya said.

Supreme Court Orders Mediation | Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench refers Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case for court appointed and monitored mediation for a “permanent solution”. With this judgment, the Supreme Court  paved way for a time-bound mediation with a panel of three. The panel of mediators will be headed by Supreme Court judge FM Kalifullah and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Shriram Panchu will be the other two members of the panel. The Supreme Court said in its order that the process of mediation shall remain confidential and the Media is barred from reporting on the matter.

Most of these names are of leaders who had won the Lok Sabha polls in 2009, when the Congress had won 22 seats from the state.

Congress First List Comes as No Surprise | As Congress ups the stakes in most crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, its list of first 11 candidates and their constituencies for the Lok Sabha polls comes as no major surprise. All these seats are well part of its core 'Mission 30' in UP. Choice of candidates for these constituencies too springs no major surprise. All of the 11, including party president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, perfectly fit in the 'tried and tested' label.

Why Sonia Gandhi Will Have to Wait Longer for Retirement | Her sticking around as an active politician underlines the harsh reality that at a critical phase when the Congress is trying to stitch up strategic alliances to take on the BJP, she remains the glue. Many alliance partners and potential ones would prefer to speak and negotiate with her rather than Congress president Rahul Gandhi. A stark example of this was when Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee went on record to say that she was more comfortable with Sonia Gandhi and that Rahul Gandhi requires some more time. 

Supreme Court's Ayodhya Mediation Verdict to Have Significant Impact on Elections | Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will today pronounce its judgment on mediation for amicable settlement in Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case. The verdict will have a vital impact on major political parties and their next course of action.

Alpesh Blamed for Migrant Exodus | Months ago, Alpesh Thakur was under fire over the attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in Gujarat. Thakur had shot off letters to the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, claiming he or his outfit were not involved in the violence that has triggered an exodus. At that time, the ruling BJP had blamed Thakor and his outfit Gujarat Kshatriya-Thakor Sena for the outbreak of violence.

Crucial Meeting | Alpesh Thakor has arrived in New Delhi to meet Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday. He is set to decide the next course of his political action today after weeks of suspense.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, when asked about Thakor's induction in the BJP, said, "You should ask this to Alpesh Thakor." However, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said doors of the BJP are open for anybody who wants to join the party. "We welcome everybody who wants to join us and follow the BJP ideology," he said.

Alpesh Thakor had called a meeting of his Thakor Sena on Thursday to take a final decision on his next course of action amid speculation that he may join the saffron outfit. "All the rumours that are being spread about me are aimed at damaging my image. I will hold a press conference tomorrow (Friday) afternoon and clear my stand," Thakor told reporters.

Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor to Take a Call Today | Amid rumours of him heading to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, OBC leader and Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor on Thursday said he will decide his next course of action on Friday. Thakor is the Congress MLA from Gujarat's Radhanpur.

BSP chief Mayawati and SP's Akhilesh Yadav had jointly announced their alliance in January. On Tuesday, Yadav, at a press conference in Lucknow with RLD's Jayant Chaudhary, had said the Rashtriya Lok Dal will contest three Lok Sabha seats as part of an alliance with the SP and the BSP. After repeated questions by reporters at the press conference, the SP chief had said the Congress was "very much in the alliance". "We have left two seats (Amethi and Raebareli) for the party (Congress)," he had said. 

Sonia Gandhi to Contest from Rae Bareli for 6th Time | Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats out of which the Congress had won just two (Amethi and Raebareli) in 2014, while Gujarat has 26 seats and the Congress had drawn a blank in 2014. This is the sixth time Sonia Gandhi is contesting Lok Sabha polls while for Rahul it is fourth.

Former UP Congress chief Nirmal Khatri will contest from Faizabad, while Bharatsinh Solanki, the party's ex-chief of the Gujarat unit, has been fielded from the state's Anand constituency. The party has fielded Imran Masood from Saharanpur, Saleem Iqbal Shervani from Badaun, Annu Tandon from Unnao, Rajaram Pal from Akbarpur, and Brij Lal Khabri from Jalaun (SC) in UP.

Interestingly, the Congress has announced 11 candidates for the electorally crucial state of the UP where there is still no clarity on whether the party will go it alone or be a part of the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal grand alliance. Former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Jitin Prasad and R P N Singh have been fielded from their traditional seats of Farrukhabad, Dhaurahra and Kushi Nagar respectively.

Congress Clearing the Air | The announcement made by the Congress put an end to speculation that Sonia Gandhi may not contest in the upcoming polls due to health reasons and the party's newly appointed general secretary in-charge (East UP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be fielded from her constituency.

Congress' First List | The Congress on Thursday released its first list of 15 candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2019, fielding UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli and party president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. The list, finalised at a meeting of the party's central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, named 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat.

There was no mention of newest Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in the list of candidates released for the Lok Sabha elections.

The list also confirms that the Congress would contest from at least 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh, where the party was overlooked for an alliance by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party. The party has stated that it would contest on all seats in the electorally crucial state, which sends 80 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha.

The list also confirms that the Congress would contest from at least 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh, where the party was overlooked for an alliance by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party. The party has stated that it would contest on all seats in the electorally crucial state, which sends 80 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha.

Former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Jitin Prasad and RPN Singh have been fielded from their traditional seats of Farrukhabad, Dhaurahra and Kushi Nagar respectively. Former UP Congress chief Nirmal Khatri will contest from Faizabad, while Bharatsinh Solanki, the party's ex-chief of the Gujarat unit, has been fielded from the state's Anand constituency. The first list, finalised at a meeting of the party's central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, named 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat.

The Congress released its first list of 15 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, fielding UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli and party president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. The first list, finalised at a meeting of the party's central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, names 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat.

Sonia Gandhi to contest LS polls from Rae Bareli, Rahul from Amethi | The Congress Central Election Committee on Thursday announced that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will contest from Rae Bareli and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will once again be fielded from Amethi. There was no mention of newest Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in the list of candidates released for the Lok Sabha elections.  On February 19, News18 had reported that a group of seniors, representing the party old guard, requested Sonia Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli.

Any attempt to use Official Secrets Act against media 'reprehensible': Editors Guild | The Editors Guild of India and other media bodies on Thursday condemned the government's stand before the Supreme Court on the Rafale deal reportage, and said any attempt to use the Official Secrets Act against the media was reprehensible. The Guild, in a statement, denounced the "threats" against the media in the matter and urged the government to refrain from initiating any action that might undermine the media's freedom and independence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said metro connectivity in the country has expanded by 400 km since 2014 when a "strong" government took charge at the Centre. He said work on 800 km of metro lines is currently in progress in different parts of the country, adding projects of rapid transport system have created employment opportunities. The PM said it was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government which conceived the metro rail project to deal with traffic woes in cities.

PM Narendra Modi flags off 13.5 km phase of Nagpur Metro via video-conferencing. Metro network expanded after "majboor sarkar" replaced with "majboot sarkar", said Modi. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off 13.5 km phase of Nagpur Metro via video-conferencing. Metro network expanded after "majboor sarkar" replaced with "majboot sarkar", said Modi. The Nagpur Metro network, work on which started in June, 2015, consists of two corridors with a total length of 38 kilometres.

Govt should come out with details of air strike: BJP MP Shatrughan | Disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday supported demand that the Centre come out with the details of the air strikes in Balakot, including the number of terrorists killed, and described as "tamasha" (theatric) claims about casualties by different leaders of the party. He also said that he had great respect for veteran Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who has drawn flak for calling the Pulwama terror attack a durghatna (accident), and said the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister wanted to say something but could not choose his words wisely.

What did Rahul Gandhi disclose to them (G-20 members) about Pulwama attack and air strikes? Did he convey to them the view of the country, Government or Congress' view: Ravi Shankar Prasad

RS Prasad: Rahul Gandhi y'day met ambassadors of G20 countries, what did he disclose to them about Pulwama attack & #AirStrikes? Did he convey to them the view of the country, Govt or Congress' view. everyday they're questioning air strikes, he needs to explain it to the country. pic.twitter.com/n7uPpjMXfd

— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2019