 "Daily Dispatch (India): BJP to go solo in LS and Assembly polls in Odisha, BJP names candidates for 14 more Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, Kejriwal withdraws from SC plea against arrest by ED")
BJP to go solo in LS and Assembly polls in Odisha
The BJP will go solo in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, state party president Manmohan Samal said on Friday. Talks for pre-poll alliance were being held between the ruling BJD and the opposition BJP. “Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will fight this election alone in all 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats to create a developed India and a developed Odisha under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to fulfil the hopes, aspirations and aspirations of four and a half crore Odiyas,” Samal said in a post on X.
BJP names candidates for 14 more Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu
The BJP on Friday named its Lok Sabha poll candidates for 14 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat of Puducherry. It has fielded A Namassivayam, a minister in the Puducherry government, from the union territory. The party had names its candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats on Thursday. Among the allies, the party has allotted 10 seats to Dr Ramadoss-headed Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) while a few seats have been given to some smaller partners. The BJP had on Thursday fielded its Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai from Coimbatore and Union Minister L Murugan from Nilgiris. It nominated former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Chennai South seat and ex-union minister Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanniyakumari, which he represented in 2014.
Ponmudy sworn in as minister by TN Governor, a day after SC nudge
Senior DMK leader K Ponmudy was on Friday sworn in as minister by Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, a day after the Supreme Court’s nudge. About three months after he lost his post following his conviction by the Madras High Court on 19 December 2023 in a disproportionate assets case, Ponmudy is now again the Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education. In a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ponmudy in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin and a couple of other ministers including Udhayanidhi Stalin and Ma Subramanian. Ponmudy was assigned higher education portfolio, which was briefly held by Backward Classes Minister R S Rajakannappan.
Kejriwal withdraws from SC plea against arrest by ED
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Kejriwal’s counsel said he would contest the remand proceedings before the trial court and then come back to the apex court with another petition. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and said since the remand proceedings before the trial court later in the day will be clashing with the hearing in the top court, he be allowed to withdraw the plea.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj, Aatishi detained as party protests against Kejriwal’s arrest
Following Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) nationwide call for protests against the BJP-led Centre over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, Cabinet ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, who were leading a mega protest march at Delhi’s ITO on Friday, were detained along with other protesters for violating prohibitory orders. The two ministers were pushed into a police bus as officials asked protesters to disperse in view of prohibitory orders under Section 144 imposed in the area.
One killed, several trapped as under-construction bridge collapses in Bihar’s Supaul
A person was killed, and several workers were trapped after an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Supaul, according to an India Today report. The incident took place when a slab of an under-construction bridge being built over the Kosi river collapsed. The district official later confirmed the death of one person and injuries to several others. Those injured were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
With inputs from agencies
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