Priyanka Chaturvedi's exit to Maya, Mulayam unity: 10 election headlines

A Congress spokeswoman resigned and joined the Shiv Sena, decades-old political rivals came together in Uttar Pradesh, and a controversial BJP candidate said she had cursed a decorated police officer killed by terrorists in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Here are Top 10 headlines from elections news on Friday: 

1. Priyanka Chaturvedi quits as Congress spokesperson, joins Shiv Sena

Congress national spokesperson and convenor of the party's media cell, Priyanka Chaturvedi, resigned from the party on Thursday. After quitting all the posts in the party, Chaturvedi sent her resignation to the Congress top brass. 

2. LS polls: Mulayam, Mayawati share stage after decades, praise each other

Ending decades-long rivalry, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati Friday shared dais at an election rally with the BSP President describing the SP patron as a "real leader" of the backwards, unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom she dubbed as "farzi". 

3. Pragya Thakur shocker on 26/11 hero Karkare: He died for treating me badly

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has said former Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she "cursed" him for torturing her. Addressing BJP workers here Thursday night, Pragya also claimed Karkare had made up his mind not to release her.


4. 1,500 rules scrapped in 5 yrs to help business: PM makes his election pitch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday his government had scrapped 1,500 rules in five years to improve ease of doing business in the country, speaking to small traders as he campaigns to be reelected for a second term.

5. Ready to face assembly polls in TN, whenever they are held: Rajinikanth

Tamil 'superstar' Rajinikanth Friday said his formal political entry will coincide with the next assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. The remarks virtually reiterate his earlier announcement that he will float a party by the next assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, due in 2021, and contest from all the 234 seats.

6. Lok Sabha polls: EC issues notice to Rahul over NYAY poster in Amethi

The Election Commission (EC) has issued a notice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi for alleged violation of model code of conduct (MCC) over the party's Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme banner put up on a wall in Amethi. The EC said that the banner was put up without the permission of the owner of the building. Furthermore, the details of the printing firm were not seen on the banner, the poll body said in a statement on Thursday.

 

7. After Modi's lookalike, Yogi's doppelganger to contest from Lucknow seat

First, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lookalike, Abhinandan Pathak, who filed his nomination on April 12 from Lucknow. And now, another 'double' so to speak, this time of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has filed his nomination from the prestigious Lucknow parliamentary constituency.

8. LS polls: Major parties again fail to field women in race to parliament

Women running for India’s parliament are barely a blip in the world’s biggest democratic exercise, which began last week and will play out in seven rounds, with results expected on May 23. Women now make up just 11.8 percent and 12.8 percent of the total candidates nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress respectively, candidate lists show.

9. EC ban ends: Yogi says respecting constitutional bodies is BJP's ideology

As the 72-hour campaigning ban imposed on him by the Election Commission came to an end, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday said that respect for constitutional bodies was part of the BJP's ideology. Adityanath also reiterated his Hindu identity as he defended his visits to temples during the ban. He tweeted that the visits should not be linked to politics as he was practising his right to faith enshrined in the Indian constitution.

10. ‘Politics of UP, Gujarat Won't Work Here': Muslim Leaders in Rajasthan Struggle for Political Space

Despite having a sizable population of about 9.07 per cent in Rajasthan, the Muslim community’s representation in politics remains minimal. While the Congress has fielded one Muslim candidate, Rafique Mandelia from Churu seat, in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has not fielded any