Jaya Bachchan declines SP offer for Rajya Sabha

Lucknow , May 28 — Caught between Samajwadi Party and expelled SP leader Amar Singh, the film actress-turned politician Jaya Bachchan, 62, on Friday declined the SP’s offer to re-nominate her for Rajya Sabha. The SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav said in Lucknow on Friday that the Jaya Bachchan had informed him that she wanted to stay away from the active politics for sometime. Yadav said that party spokesman Mohan Singh, who had lost 2009 Lok Sabha election from Deoria, had been nominated for the Upper House. Even though Amar Singh, a close friend of Bachchan family, had wished his “Bhabi” Jaya Bachchan well on her re-nomination, he certainly did not like the idea. Sources said that in order stop bickering in her family Jaya Bachchan declined the SP’s offer. Jaya’s present term in Upper House expires on July 4, 2010. Even though the SP’s Lok Sabha member from Rampur Jaya Prada had joined Amar Singh camp, Jaya Bachchan had been maintaining safe distance. Amar Singh had however expressed his displeasure over Jaya’s continuous association with SP. Amar Singh said that Jaya had been staying in a party, which had “humiliated” him. Jaya Bachchan had also not attended the Thakur rally organized by Amar Singh in Delhi in March last.

With depleted strength of the party in the state assembly the SP would be able to win just two seats. Apart from 87 MLAs, the party has support of few independent members. The SP thus would be able win two seats, as each candidate required 34 first preference votes.

Farmers protest against Hydro Power Project in Himachal

Rampur (HP), Sept 18 (ANI): Hundreds of residents and farmers here protested against the construction of run-of-river hydropower plant project on the river Satluj.

The campaigners called for Save Satluj drive and complained that the hydropower plant would disturb the ecological balance of the region.

“Our protest is to save our environment and our natural resources. They are being affected by the project. Because of this, the Sutlaj river will dry up, water mammals will die and the temperature of the region will also rise,” said Mohan Singh, a farmer.

Environmentalists believe that the 412MW Rampur hydropower project is not suitable to the fragile ecology of the region.

“The project will divert this river through the tunnel leaving the river bed dry which will disturb the ecological balance. This will not only affect the course of river but will also harm the crop grown in the area,” said Jai Chand, head of the Village Committee for Environment Protection.

The activists were protesting against the Rampur hydropower project authorities and the district administration.

The campaigners later staged a sit-in-protest outside the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate demanding his intervention into the matter.

Rampur Hydropower Project will provide renewable and low carbon energy to the country’s over-stretched Northern Electricity Grid. (ANI)

Star of Oscar winning documentary lives in an impoverished condition

Rampur (UP), July 8 (ANI): Despite all claims and promises made to improve her life, Pinki Sonkar, protagonist of the short documentary ‘Smile Pinki’, which won an Oscar, continues to live in stark poverty in her village, Rampur.

Unlike stars of Slumdog millionaire, Azharrudin Ismail and Rubina Ali, who received all the media attention and recently houses in Mumbai, Pinki is living a miserable life.

Pinki is still deprived of basic amenities including education.

“Earlier, there were lot of talk that she will get lot of money as she has come after winning. We didn’t get a penny. We are still living in the same conditions. We didn’t get any benefits. People said that Rajendra’s fortune will change but nothing has changed,” said Rajendra Sonkar, father of Pinki.

Local leaders and filmakers, who once thronged her village and promised financial support, are not to be found anywhere.

Pinki’s family wants that someone should come forward to support them.

“We want that there should be a change in our condition and we should get some facilities. But our condition is like earlier. What’s the use of bringing so much of fame for the village (Rampur) when there is no change in our condition?,” said Shimla Devi, Pinki’s mother.

Pinki is the star of the short documentary “Smile Pinki”, which won an Academy Award.

The 39-minute poignant film, by U.S.-based filmmaker Megan Mylan, recounts how the girl, born into a poor family and with a cleft lip, is taken by a social worker to a hospital that provides free surgery to fix the deformity for thousands of children each year.

Pinki was once an outcast in her village, where deformities are not understood, but she was accepted into the community after the surgery. (ANI)

Samajwadi Party expels Azam Khan for six years

Lucknow, May 24 (ANI): The Samajwadi Party on Sunday expelled senior leader Mohammad Azam Khan for six years for anti-party activities, capping weeks of bitter feud with the party leadership over its closeness with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh and its choice of Jayaprada as the party candidate for the Rampur Lok Sabha constituency.

“Azam Khan was involved in anti-party activities for a long time. Despite the national leadership’s request he continued indisciplined behaviour and did not attend party meetings due to which he has been expelled from the party for six years,” the party’s state president, Shivpal Singh Yadav, said.

Khan, 60, a founder member of the party, had actively campaigned against Jayaprada in the Rampur constituency and made adverse comments against Amar Singh.

Khan had raised the banner of revolt against the party leadership after JayapPrada’s candidature from Rampur was declared. He was also peeved over Mulayam Singh Yadav’s friendship with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the 1992 Babri mosque demolition.

He had termed Yadav’s closeness with Kalyan Singh as against the sentiments of Muslims. (ANI)

Chidambaram loses in Sivaganga, seeks repoll

Sivaganga, May 16 (ANI): Congress leader and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has lost the elections in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga parliamentary constituency to his All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) rival Raja Kannappan.

According to sources, a repoll has been ordered in the constituency.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha has won the Patna seat, beating his rival and television actor Shekhar Suman of Congress.

In Ghaziabad, BJP President Rajnath Singh has won, while Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad has managed to win only the Saran seat.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamta Banerjee has won the South Kolkata seat, beating her nearest rival Robin Deb of CPI-M.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has lost against the Janata Dal-United’s (JD-U) Ram Sundar Das in Bihar’s Hajipur parliamentary constituency.

BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has won the Amritsar seat, beating O. P. Soni of the Congress.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Jaya Prada has won the Rampur seat, while Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda beat his nearest rival Nafe Singh Rathi of INLD by over four lakh votes in the Rohtak constituency. (ANI)

No fissure in LJP, RJD and SP alliance: LJP

New Delhi, May 12 (ANI): The LJP has rejected reports of any cracks in the Lok Janshakti Party, Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal coalition in UP and Bihar.

“We take exception to news reports carried in the media ascribing motives to absence of Ram Vilas Paswan from the rally held in Rampur on May 11,” LJP Secretary General Abdul Khaliq said.

Khalid said media was speculating too much in LJP chief Paswan’s absence from the Rampur rally, which was prescheduled.

“Ram Vilas Paswan had prior commitments scheduled for the day and the invitation for the rally was received much later. Therefore, it was not possible for him to reschedule commitments already made,” he said.

Leaders of all tree parties will hold a meeting on May 14 to discuss their “future course of action.”

“The leadership of the three constituents would discuss jointly and decide the strategy on the formation of a secular government at the centre after the polling gets over,” Khaliq said.

He added that the three coalition partners would jointly contest assembly polls in Bihar, Jharkhand and UP. (ANI)

Jayaprada’s hotel room raided in Rampur

Rampur, May 12 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat Jayaprada’s hotel room was raided by the police late on Monday night.

Her supporters claim that it was another attempt to harm Jayaprada.

Earlier, she accused her fellow SP leader Azam Khan of being involved in cheap campaigning against her, and added that she would take the matter to the Election Commission.he actress-turned politician further alleged that Khan and his supporters had released CDs and posters that were not good in taste.

Claiming that she considered Khan as her elder brother, Jayaprada said the senior SP leader was hell-bent upon spoiling her image. (ANI)

Jayaprada accuses Azam Khan of launching a cheap campaign against her

New Delhi, May 11 (ANI): Samajwadi party candidate from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat Jayaprada has accused her fellow SP leader Azam Khan of being involved in cheap campaigning against her, and added that she would take the matter to the Election Commission.

The actress-turned politician, who is seeking re-election from Rampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, further alleged that Khan and his supporters had released CDs and posters that were not good in taste.

“I am yet to see the content of the CDs but the posters released by them are very bad in taste, damaging my reputation. I am approaching the Election Commission to check this sort of campaigning,” she said.

“This is not good. They want to demoralize woman’s pride by engaging in cheap campaigning,” she said adding that she has already approached the police on the issue.

Claiming that she considered Khan as her elder brother, Jayaprada said the senior SP leader was hell-bent upon spoiling her image.

“He is like my elder brother. But he is sullying my image by involving in cheap campaigning against me. His action is an insult to women,” she said.

When asked if Khan was indirectly hitting at Kalyan Singh by doing so, she said, “if that was the case then why he (Khan) is supporting Congress which was equally responsible for Babri Masjid demolition”.

“It is ethically and morally wrong on the part of the senior leader Khan for supporting the candidature of her opponent Noor Bano,” she added. (ANI)

Azam Khan has betrayed Samajwadi Party: Mulayam

New Delhi, May 9 (ANI): Samjawadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday came out in defence of party general secretary Amar Singh by saying that Azam Khan, the Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party, was indulging in acts of indiscipline.

Reacting to Azam Khan’s comments on Amar Singh being a petty politician, Mulayam Singh said: “Azam Khan has betrayed the party. What he has done is anti-party.”

Mulayam Singh’s comments comes after Amar Singh had threatened to quit the party over the Azam Khan issue.

Amar Singh was reportedly upset with Azam Khan opposing Jaya Prada’s candidature from Rampur. (ANI)

Amar Singh threatens to quit SP

Rampur, May 8 (ANI): In the latest episode of the Amar Singh- Azam Khan spat, Amar Singh has given an ultimatum to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav that he will quit the party after the elections if nothing is done to rein in Khan.

Accusing the Muslim leader of making “intolerable utterances” against him, Singh said he would decide over continuing in the party after the polls.

Referring to Yadav’s statement, “If you want to remain in the party, you will have to keep Azam Khan happy,” Singh alleged that Khan was Mulayam’s favorite.

“Azam Khan is a favourite of Mulayam Singhji and in spite of his intolerable utterances against me, I was being asked to keep silent,” Singh said addressing a public meeting in Rampur, 250 km from Lucknow.

Singh said he was expecting a shoe as a “gift” from his estranged party colleague Azam Khan, claiming he must have readied one by now.

“I am waiting for a shoe from Mr Azam Khan. I sincerely invite him to come forward and hand me over the shoe which he is supposed to have readied by now,” Singh said, who had come here to address a rally in support of party candidate Jayaprada.

“I am impatiently waiting for the moment when Mr Khan will implement his plan out of proportion to insult me. If a shoe comes from Khan, I would first decorate this precious gift and then place it in a museum,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a television interview, Mulayam Singh Yadav has said that Khan’s recent utterances against Amar Singh are unacceptable and will be dealt with in the party. (ANI)

Cherry blossoms to attract tourists to Himachal

Kandyali (HP), Apr 25 (ANI): Farmers in Himachal Pradesh seek to promote the cherry blossom season to attract more tourists to the state.

With the onset of spring, the hills in Kandyali area of Shimla come alive, dotted with hundreds of white flowers blossoming on the cherry trees.

As April is considered the opening tourist season in the state, cherry farmers say that the season has a lot of potential to attract tourists when the flowers are in full bloom.

“Just like in the European countries when the flowering starts during the first week of April, similarly the cherry blossom season here attracts a lot of tourists,” said Jeet Ram Verma, a cherry farmer.

However, the residents say that the cherry blossom tourism is not being promoted by the State Government, which could fetch good revenue.

“Unlike foreign countries, there is no provision to attract tourists to Himachal Pradesh during the cherry blossom season. So the tourism department must promote the season and encourage tourists to visit Himachal during the season,” said Naren Shahi, a travel agent.

Cherry cultivation is gaining popularity in Himachal Pradesh, as the traditionally apple-growing farmers find it a profitable alternative to other cash crops.

In Himachal Pradesh, 2,000 hectares of land is under cherry cultivation.

In Shimla district, Narkanda, Kandyali, Kotgarh-Kumarsen, Rampur, Rohru, and Kotkhai are the main areas of cherry cultivation. By Hemant Chauhan (ANI)

Advani claims BJP will emerge as the single largest party

Unnao/Rampur/Ahmedabad, Apr 24 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani has said his party would become the single largest party in the next Parliament.

“The BJP is going to emerge as the biggest party in the Lok Sabha elections. Once the result of the election is out, you will see that National Democratic Front led by BJP will form coalition government,” Advani said in a rally in Unnao.

“The whole talk of Third Front and Fourth Front is a joke. There is no basis to these assertions,” he added.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Ansari, who is contesting election from Rampur , lashed out at actor-turned-politician Sanjay Dutt.

“I want to say that Sanjay Dutt should stop all filmy gimmicks. He should give an answer to the people as to what he has done so far for Rampur in the past five years. Shedding crocodile tears, making terrorists stand on stage, showing filmy gimmicks, Rampur is not a cinema hall and the people of Rampur are not a film screen. The people of Rampur want to ask them what he has done,” Naqvi said.

In Ahmedabad, Raghu Ram, senior supervising producer at MTV India and the executive producer of the popular reality show MTV Roadies campaigned for Mallika Sarabhai, who is contesting against Advani, an independent from Gandhinagar constituency.

Raghu Ram said he wanted to tell the youth of the country to vote for change.

“I want to tell the youth to reject stagnation. If change does not happen now, we are doomed. You know the kind of threat our nation is facing and you know which government is supporting the terrorists,” said Ram. (ANI)

China increases aid to Nepal by 50% ahead of Prachanda visit

Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Apr 19 (PTI) Ahead of Prime Minister Prachanda’s second visit to Beijing, China has jacked up its annual aid package to Nepal by a whopping 50 per cent to develop infrastructure of the land-locked Himalayan nation. Chinese government has announced an additional package of USD 7.31 million to Nepal, increasing its annual financial assistance to the Himalayan nation to USD 21.94 million.

“China would provide assistance in science and technology, tourism, water resources, infrastructure development and agriculture if Nepal made progress in the peace process,” Nepalese Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav, who returned from China yesterday, told reporters about the additional aid. “Beijing is positive about increasing investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector,” he added.

Prachanda is likely to visit China, the next month. The minister also said that China has responded positively to Nepal’s request for providing duty-free access to 497 Nepalese exportable items so as to help the country to reduce its trade deficit.

“China has also shown interest in developing Rampur Agriculture College of Chitawan district in central Nepal into an agriculture university,” Yadav said. Meanwhile, a high level team of CPN-UML led by the party’s chairman Jhalanath Khanal yesterday left for Beijing on a week-long visit at the invitation of Chinese Communist Party.

PTI.

Filing of nominations gathers momentum across India

Rampur/New Delhi, Apr 19 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi filed his nomination papers as a candidate from the Rampur constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

“I am incapable of facing them (his opponents on the seat). I am contesting on the faith and strength of the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, nominees of the Congress party have entered the fray from two of the seven seats in New Delhi.

J P Agarwal, Congress party chief of Delhi state unit, submitted his nomination papers from North East Delhi constituency while Ramesh Kumar, brother of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, filed his nomination from the South Delhi constituency.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit hoped her party would do well at the hustings.

“The personality of Dr Manmohan Singh and the way he has worked. The way Sonia Gandhi ran the UPA and took people together to formulate pro-people policies. So we are confident that not only in Delhi, but the Congress party will win in whole of India,” said Dikshit, as she accompanied Agarwal to the poll office.

The Congress party had to withdraw names of its two nominees –Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar earlier over protests from the Sikh community on their alleged involvement in the 1984 Sikh riots.

Delhi is expected to witness a straight contest between the BJP and the Congress. (ANI)

Azam Khan fires another salvo at Amar Singh

Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) April 10 (IANS) The bitter war between Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and veteran leader Mohammed Azam Khan rages on in the run-up to the elections and shows no signs of ending soon.

Samajwadi Party national general secretary Azam Khan has asked Muslims to remain vigilant and foil the ‘conspiracies’ being hatched to divide the community.

‘Another national general secretary (Amar Singh), accompanying actor Sanjay Dutt in the course of his election tour, misguided Subhani Mian, leader of the Barielvi sect by alleging that Azam Khan was faithful to the Deobandi sect. This is a dangerous conspiracy to create a gulf between two sects of Muslims,’ Azam Khan said in a statement issued here Thursday evening.

He said the nomination of Maulana Khalil Athar Ashrafi and Maulana Yasin Usmani as presidents of the State Arabic Persian Board and the Urdu Academy respectively during the party’s rule was enough to prove his sincerity and intentions to keep the community and the two sects together.

He said if community members refrained from responding forcefully to these ‘conspirators’, the party will not have a single Muslim leader to raise voice against Kalyan Singh, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader with whom the Samajwadi Party has arrived at an understanding, and others.

While Amar Singh is backing actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada as the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Rampur, Azam Khan and his followers are opposed to her candidature and have been campaigning against her.

A group of Samajwadi Party activists have been supporting Azam Khan’s demand to shift Jaya Prada from Rampur and field a non-Muslim, non-actor and a male candidate, said Azam Khan’s aide Mohammed Mustafa.

Amar threatens to quit Samajwadi Party over tiff with Azam

Lucknow, April 7 (IANS) In a surprising move, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh Tuesday dared party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to choose between him and party leader Azam Khan and said he was prepared to walk out of the organisation.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Indian Muslims and Lok Sabha elections’, organised by a lesser known new outfit called the Students Islamic Federation of India (SIFI) at the Sahkarita Bhawan here, Amar Singh suddenly went off tangent and trained his guns on Azam Khan.

‘Azam Khan continues to humiliate me and I have continued to overlook all that simply because I have tremendous respect for (party chief) Mulayam Singh Yadav, who does not want anyone to speak out against Azam Khan,’ he said at the meet.

The tenor of his speech indicated that the prolonged clash of egos between the two party bigwigs may soon reach a flash point.

Khan has been vehemently opposed to Amar Singh’s protege and film actress Jayaprada being pitted for the Lok Sabha election from Rampur, Khan’s home contituency.

‘Sure enough, Azam Khan is very close to Mulayam Singh-ji; even closer than me, so I dare not utter anything against Azam Khan under any circumstances,’ Amar Singh said.

‘I do not mind that, as I consider myself a small but committed worker of the party,’ he added.

Virtually throwing the gauntlet at Mulayam Singh Yadav, Amar Singh said sarcastically: ‘If people think that the party can survive without me but not without Azam Khan, I would not hesitate to say good-bye to Mulayam Singh-ji and make an exit from the party.’

The audience looked stunned at the remarks as Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh share strong bonds.

The meet nearly came to an abrupt end with the departure of Amar Singh and film actor Sanjay Dutt, who was to be the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Lucknow seat before the Supreme Court ruled against him.

Some of the maulanas (clerics) at the meet said they would have abstained had they known this was going to be a gathering of politicians.

Political observers point out that Amar Singh is seen as largely responsible for alienating a number of other prominent party leaders over the years.

They include Beni Prasad Verma, Raj Babbar, Saleem Sherwani, Shafiqur Rehman Burke and Shahid Siddiqui. They all switched loyalties either to the Congress or the Bahujan Samaj Party largely because of Amar Singh’s perceived dominance over Mulayam Singh Yadav.

No Samajwadi Party leader was ready to make a comment on the issue.

‘No comments. You should ask Netaji (Mulayam) only,’ said party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was busy campaigning in other parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Amar Singh threatens to quit SP over abuse

New Delhi/Lucknow, Apr.7 (ANI): Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh on Tuesday threatened to quit after he was insulted by party member Azam Khan.

“SP can exist without me, but not without Azam Khan, it appears,” said an upset Amar Singh.

It all started when Azam Khan questioned the renomination of actress Jayaprada as the party’s candidate from Rampur.

Azam Khan asked the leadership to remove Jaya from what he saw as his political turf.

Mulayam Singh Yadav then asked a sulking Azam Khan to contest the high-profile minority seat himself. (ANI)

Almond, plum crop damaged in Himachal Pradesh after dry weather

Rampur (HP), Mar 28 (ANI): Farmers in Himachal Pradesh have complained of huge losses as 90 percent of their almond and plum crops have been damaged due to a drought like situation.

The Fruit Farmers’ Association said that they used to sell over 100,000 fruit boxes every year but this year due to the absence of rain, it was difficult.

“This year our almond and plum crops have been destroyed due to drought. We are finding it difficult to make both ends meet. We want the Government to provide us with some crop insurance scheme or find some other solution for us,” said Narender, Secretary of the association.

The farmers demanded that the Government buy their stocks at a reserve price.

” We want that the government should provide us with minimum support price for plum and almond just like minimum support price is provided for apple and lemon,” said Hemant Shelly, a farmer.

India’s annual monsoon rains is crucial for a farm dependent economy.

The four-month monsoon is the main source of water for most farmers in India. However untimely rains create situations such as these.

India is basically an agriculture economy and about 600 million of the billion-plus population depends on agriculture for a living. By Vipul Goel (ANI)

German scientist trains farmers on ancient Indian vedic homa therapy

Rampur (Himachal Pradesh), Mar 19 (ANI): To deal with the impact of climate change in agriculture, farmers in Himachal Pradesh are being trained by a German scientist in the ancient Indian vedic homa therapy.lrich Berk claims the vedic homa therapy, which invokes prayers, has been found to aid farming.

This farming technique is called ‘Homa’ (traditional vedic farming method through prayers) farming here. Berk has made some alterations in the centuries old technique to make it contemporary.

Berk said that if the farmers practice ‘Homa’ therapy it might rain in their farms as the therapy creates microclimate around one’s farm.

“It is possible that if the farmers practice ‘Homa’ farming here that it might rain as it creates microclimate around your farm and you will be safe. The capacity of soil to absorb the moisture will be increased,” said Berk.

Lalit Mohan Sharma, a farmer in Rampur, said that by practicing ‘Homa’ farming pollution can be controlled to a large extent.

“Earlier in Hindu culture, life used to revolve around Vedas and today he has given a demonstration of ‘Homa’ farming and also told us that by practicing this technique pollution can be controlled,” said Sharma.

The farmers are very delighted to adopt the traditional methods of farming and offering prayers. They believe that the prayers offering will help the farmers to purify the atmosphere and bring timely rainfall to have good crop. By Hemant Chauhan (ANI)

BJP to finalise candidates for LS elections for Delhi, U.P soon

New Delhi, Jan 26, (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that the party would finalise its list of all candidates for Delhi and more than half of Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming General Elections by January 29.

BJP will be able to finalize the list during its Central Election Committee (CEC) meet to be held between Jan.28-29.

“I have called the next CEC meeting of BJP on January 28 and 29. We will finalise our Lok Sabha candidates for almost all the seats,” BJP President Rajnath Singh told mediapersons in national capital on Monday.

The names of the selected candidates for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi would be declared after the CEC meeting, BJP sources said.

Names of former BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra, party general secretary Vijay Goel and Arun Jaitley are doing the rounds, stated a BJP leader requesting anonymity.

BJP candidates for 40 Lok Sabha seats from UP would also be declared. The party is in the process of choosing another candidate from Eta, after the declared candidate Kalyan Singh, resigned from the party last week.

The CEC may hold back declaration of candidates for some seats where more than one BJP leader is keen on contesting.

BJP has already declared four lists and finalised candidates for 36 Lok Sabha seats so far. The list include BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate L. K. Advani (Gandhinagar), Rajnath Singh (Ghaziabad), Yashwant Sinha (Hazaribagh), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar), Vinod Khanna (Hoshiyarpur), party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Rampur), Ashok Pradhan (Bulandshahr). (ANI)