Election Tracker LIVE: BJP Announces Candidates for Sikkim, Arunachal Polls; Lok Sabha List to Be Out Shortly

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Ranbeer Gangwa joins BJP in the presence of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

Delhi: Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Ranbeer Gangwa joins BJP in the presence of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar. pic.twitter.com/PVoZDd1s46

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2019

TDP's Nama Nageswara Rao Joins TRS in Telangana | Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former MP Nama Nageswara Rao, who quit the TDP this week, joined the ruling TRS in Telangana. Nageswara Rao, who was a member of TDP's polit bureau, was welcomed into the Telangana Rashtra Samithi fold by its working president K T Rama Rao here, TRS sources said. Nageswara Rao, who was Lok Sabha member from Khammam in Telangana, had sent a letter to Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, claiming that the survival of TDP in Telangana has become a question in spite of his best efforts.

TDP's Nama Nageswara Rao Joins TRS in Telangana | Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former MP Nama Nageswara Rao, who quit the TDP this week, joined the ruling TRS in Telangana. Nageswara Rao, who was a member of TDP's polit bureau, was welcomed into the Telangana Rashtra Samithi fold by its working president K T Rama Rao here, TRS sources said. Nageswara Rao, who was Lok Sabha member from Khammam in Telangana, had sent a letter to Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, claiming that the survival of TDP in Telangana has become a question in spite of his best efforts.

Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan files nomination papers for Gajuwaka Assembly constituency. Kalyan will contest the April 11 assembly election in Andhra Pradesh from Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram constituencies. After an intensive survey in various constituencies, the party general body chose these seats for Kalyan and he has agreed to contest from there. Gajuwaka is in Visakhapatnam district and Bhimavaram in West Godavari.

Visakhapatnam: Jana Sena President Pawan Kalyan files nomination papers for Gajuwaka Assembly Constituency at Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in Gajuwaka. #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/0QGnKpcSFv

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2019

JD-S Postpones Nikhil's Nomination Date | The Janata Dal (Secular) postponed the filing of nomination by Nikhil Gowda from Mandya Lok Sabha seat to next Monday. Nikhil Gowda is the son of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and grandson of JDS supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, who is launching the third generation of his clan from party citadel Mandya. "We did plan the filing of nomination by Nikhil today (Thursday), but after much deliberation, we postponed it to March 25," JDS MLC TA Sharavana told PTI. Sharavana said the reason behind postponing the nomination date was that March 25 falls on Monday, which happens to be the day of Lord Shiva, the family deity of the Gowda family.

79 Expenditure Observers Appointed for LS Polls in Tamil Nadu | The Election Commission has deployed 79 expenditure observers for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, with three of them for a particular constituency in the city, a senior official said. A special observer for expenditure has also been appointed for the state, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters. "A total of 76 expenditure observers have been appointed for 38 constituencies, making it two per Parliamentary segment. But three persons have been appointed for Chennai Central," he said. The EC has appointed three expenditure observers for the Chennai-central segment accommodating factors like "expenditure sensitivity and previous history," he said.

Kanagaraj was an agriculturalist by profession and with his death, the AIADMK's strength in the Tamil Nadu assembly has come down to 113, which is five short of a majority.

In other news, the AIADMK MLA from Sulur Assembly constituency, R Kanagaraj, passed away today morning after suffering from a cardiac arrest while reading the newspaper in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. 

JD(U)'s to Contest into Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Polls | Janata Dal (United) will contest assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, in what would be its maiden entry in the electoral politics of the Himalayan state.The party, led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has fielded former MLA Tani Loffa from the Seppa West assembly constituency in East Kameng district.

Samajadwadi Party's RG Yadav hit out at Modi government for its alleged mistreatment of the paramilitary forces, "Paramilitary forces aren't happy with the government, jawan have been killed for the sake of votes, there was no checking between Jammu and Srinagar and the personnel had to travel in simple buses. This is a conspiracy. When the government changes, there should be an investigation," he says. 

RG Yadav,SP: Paramilitary forces dukhi hain sarkar se, jawan maar diye gaye vote ke liye,checking nahi thi Jammu-Srinagar ke beech mein, jawano ko simple buses main bhej diya,ye sazish thi, abhi nahi kehna chahta, jab sarkar badlegi, iski jaanch hogi, tab bade-bade log phasenge. pic.twitter.com/nLPnNP5P2f

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 21, 2019

BJP Shortlists Names For Mapusa Assembly Bypolls | The BJP shortlists the names of Joshua D'Souza, son of Goa's late Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza, and another party leader Sudhir Kandolkar for next month's Mapusa Assembly bypoll. The by-election to this Assembly constituency in North Goa was necessitated following the demise of Francis D'Souza, a BJP MLA, last month.

Two former chairmen of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will lock horns in the Tirupati constituency. Chadalavada Krishnamurthy, who has been fielded by the Jana Sena, will be pitted against another former TTD Chairman B Karunakara Reddy of YSRCP. Interestingly, this is the first time two former TTD chairpersons are locked in an electoral battle in the temple town, which will witness a multi-cornered contest also involving sitting TDP MLA M Suguna.

Other names included in the TMC's list are of MP Derek O'Brien, Dum Dum MP Saugata Roy and actor Nusrat Jahan. In its first list of 42 candidates, the party had announced that Nusrat Jahan will contest from Basirhat and Mimi Chakraborty will contest from Jadavpur. 

TMC Releases List of 40 'Star Campaigners' | In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress releases a list of 40 of its star campaigners. The list includes West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, TMC general secretary Subrata Bakshi and actor Mimi Chakraborty. 

TMC Releases List of Star Campaigners | In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress releases a list of 40 of its star campaigners. The list includes West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, TMC general secretary Subrata Bakshi and actor Mimi Chakraborty. 

Senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh's Deoria Kalraj Mishra says that he will not be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. "I have been given a lot of other responsibilities by the party so my time will be devoted to that," he says. 

Kalraj Mishra, Senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Deoria: I will not contest elections this time, I have been given a lot of other responsibilities by the party so my time will be devoted to that. pic.twitter.com/SC7aG6Svxv

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 21, 2019

The Congress General Secretary of UP East Priyanka Gandhi, however, hit out at the BJP saying, “Ye achievement hai? Jaane kisne diya tha? [Is this an achievement? Who let him go?]”. She had also locked horns with Narendra Modi after the Prime Minister, in a blog post, slammed the Congress for its "dynastic politics". The AICC general secretary yesterday, the final-day of her three-day Ganga Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, had said that the "BJP has systematically attacked every institution in last 5 years including the media." "PM should stop thinking people are fools and understand that they see through this," she had said. 

BJP leader and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hailed Modi government over his arrest saying,” The arrest of Nirav Modi is an indication of effective work done by investigative agencies, the CBI and the ED, and the political authority with which the Narendra Modi government has sought to nail him,” he said. 

Nirav Modi, the main accused in the Rs 13000-crore Punjab National Bank scam, has been remanded to custody till March 29 after being arrested from the metro station in Holborn, central London. 

Meanwhile, the opposition party leaders have locked horns with the ruling BJP over the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi. West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Modi government posing questions about the "timing" of the arrest. "Daal main kuchh kala hai (something is fishy). Why has Nirav Modi’s arrest taken place right before the elections? People will not give the BJP credit for this because their expiry date is over,” she said.

The 2019 polls is being seen as an important election for Patnaik especially after the anti-incumbency sentiment unseated BJP rule in three states last year - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In a bid to pacify the resentment over denial of tickets to some leaders, BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced a Rajya Sabha berth for Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik. "Work together, Chayu Babu will go to Rajya Saba," he said during a visit to Ganjam district.

Another prominent tribal woman leader from Sundergarh district, Kushum Tete, who had resigned from BJD on Tuesday, also joined the BJP here. Tete resigned from BJD after the party gave the ticket to Sundergarh's Congress MLA Jogesh Singh.

Three BJD Odisha MLAs Join BJP | Three MLAs of the ruling Biju Janata Dal party in Odisha join the Bharatiya Janata Party following hectic parleys and negotiations in the BJP headquarters. The sitting BJD MLAs who joined in the BJP are Debraj Mohanty, Purna Chandra Nayak and Sukant Kumar Nayak. Gunupur MLA Trinath Gomango, who also resigned from the BJD, has not made any such move so far.