Rajasthan Elections 2023 Highlights: BJP announces candidates against Gehlot, Pilot

Serchhip, Mizoram: Leader of Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) Lalduhoma on alliance in Mizoram assembly elections: “...The BJP is talking about the formation of a coalition government with my party and the same thing is being said by the Congress people...There's no room for any other party even if they are willing to join...There is no question of ZPM aligning with the BJP either openly or secretly...We are not going to join any political group at the national level, we don't want to be dictated from Delhi.”

-- The Congress has planned several rallies of its senior leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in the coming days till the poll campaign ends.

-- The party has set a target of winning 150-plus seats in Madhya Pradesh, where elections to the 230-member assembly will be held this month.

-- Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to address two rallies in Jabalpur district on Saturday, a senior Congress leader said.

-- After him, two other senior leaders of the Congress - its former president Rahul Gandhi and his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - will keep visiting the state to canvas for the party candidates till campaigning ends on November 15.

“...This time we are hoping to form a government with a positive thought. They expect a corruption-free government...to uplift the poor people, particularly farmers and the youth...Ever since Mizoram became a state there has been the rule of MNF and Congress in succession one after another. It's only the change of the person sitting in the chair of the CM, it's only the change of the ruling party, the system is the same...”

-- Defying the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) summons, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday took part in a roadshow for the party's Singrauli city candidate in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.

-- He was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

-- The AAP national convener did not appear before the ED for questioning in the Delhi excise policy-linked case earlier in the day.

-- The BJP has released its third list of candidates for the November 25 Rajasthan assembly elections.

-- The party has fielded Mahendra Singh Rathore from the Sardarpura assembly seat against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

-- BJP leader Ajit Singh Mehta will contest the polls from Tonk against Gehlot's former deputy and Congress leader Sachin Pilot.

-- Balmukand Acharya has been fielded from Hawamahal, a seat for which the Congress is yet to announce a candidate.

-- So far, the party has fielded candidates for 182 of the 200 assembly seats in the Rajasthan.

"I have full faith that BJP will form a government here with majority. BJP does not believe in only making announcements, it believes in inauguration...The Scindia family works day and night with a passion for development, progress and public service..." said Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Maihar.

"Rahul Gandhi is just a reader and not a leader. He should either change his script or scriptwriters because he repeats the same thing wherever he goes in the country...Congress has been involved in rampant corruption...Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are themselves facing a probe in the National Herald case. So they should not come here & lecture us on corruption..." said BRS leader KT Rama Rao.

"Be it Arvind Kejriwal, Azam Khan or other MLAs of Samajwadi party or those who are standing with me if they would try to raise public voice then the trials against them will begin...Arvind Kejriwal or the family of Azam Khan, all of them are being bothered because BJP feels that they may turn out as a huge strength so if they demoralise them here, the entire party will become hopeless. But, we trust the public and the court that they'll get justice someday," said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said , "Just like the people of Delhi and Punjab did charisma, the people of Madhya Pradesh will do charisma in the coming days... I don't know whether I will be in jail or somewhere else on the day of counting, but everyone should say that Arvind Kejriwal came to Singrauli and we gave him a historic victory."

"Congress is a party of cut, commission and corruption," said Union Home Minister Amit Shah at an event in Haryana's Karnal. He addressed the 'Antyodaya Mahasammelan' in Karnal on the completion of nine years of the double engine government dedicated to good governance and poor welfare in Veer Bhoomi Haryana.

"This INDI Alliance is actually a 'tukde tukde' alliance. Rahul Gandhi should take out an INDI Jodo Yatra, and not Bharat Jodo Yatra. SP vs Congress was going on in Madhya Pradesh, today Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attacked Congress, before that it was AAP vs Congress from Delhi to Punjab, in West Bengal it is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury vs Mamata Banjeree, in Kerala Congress vs Left has been ongoing. It means that this alliance has no mission or vision. This alliance has just contradiction, confusion, corruption, ambition and frustration against each other. That is why they taunt each other...," said BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla.

"We are going in between the people on the basis of our schemes, the laws that we passed, our guarantees. We want the people to bless us again. If the government is repeated, the current schemes will strengthen in the coming time. The guarantees would get stronger," said Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel said, "I request that the Election Commission should check vehicles belonging to CRPF also. BJP has accepted defeat, and is getting boxes filled with cash to be used for influencing the voters. This is a serious matter. Congress will file a complaint in this manner. What's the need to bring more companies of CRPF when there is enough CRPF presence in the state?"

Chhattisgarh has around 41 per cent OBC population. Rahul Gandhi announced a caste survey if his party is voted to power. According to the BJP leaders, the promise of carrying out a caste survey may break the consolidated Hindu votes and the OBC population that traditionally votes for BJP can be divided.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government has a "mad" policy of selling or privatising PSUs, including LIC, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao alleged.
Speaking at a poll rally in Telangana, Chief Minister Rao also said he designed the Dalit Bandhu scheme for Telangana after seeing the plight of Dalits, including attacks on them in North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and also in PM Modi's home state, Gujarat.

Polling to the 90-member state assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17. Twenty seats falling in seven districts of Maoist-hit Bastar division and Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath drew parallels between the Israel-Hamas war and the Congress vs BJP fight in Rajasthan. Addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Alwar, Yogi Adityanath said, "Are you watching, how the Taliban mindset is being crushed in Gaza? Hitting the target and crushing it with precision".
He further said that the solution to the Taliban is Bajrang Bali's mace. Launching an attack on the Rajasthan Congress, Yogi Adityanath said, "Anarchy, hooliganism and terrorism are a curse to the society. When politics gets caught up in them, it affects the civilized society".

Chandrabhan Singh Aakya, a two-time BJP MLA from Chittorgarh, has turned rebel after being denied ticket. He is now set to contest polls as an Independent candidate

-- Rajasthan will conduct assembly elections for 200 seats on November 25
-- Assembly elections in Mizoram will be held on November 7 for 40 seats
-- In Telangana, which has 119 seats, elections will be held in single phase on November 30.
-- In Chhattisgarh, the elections for 90 assembly constituencies will be held in two phases on November 7 and November 17
-- The vote counting process will occur on December 3 in all the five states.

Rahul Gandhi took a dig at BJP's claim that they would make a backward candidate as the chief minister of Telangana stating, "You will get two per cent votes here and how can you make a chief minister?" Earlier in a public rally, BJP's Union Home Minister Amit Shah had promised the party will make a backward class leader as Chief Minister of Telangana if the BJP came to power after the November 30 assembly polls.