Rajnath’s son opts out of contest

BJP chief Rajnath Singh’s son, Pankaj, was among the 316 names cleared by the party’s central election committee to contest the Uttar Pradesh elections.
But, as Rajnath Singh’s rivals alleged that the party chief secured the ticket for his son after sewing up the alliance with the Apna Dal, Pankaj announced he would opt out of the contest and work for the party.
Pankaj was given the ticket to contest from candidate from Cherae village in Chandoli district, which is near Varanasi.
The BJP has tied up with the Apna Dal, which has a support base in the state's Kurmi community, in a bid to win OBC votes for the alliance.
Pankaj told Hindustan Times that he would rather work for the party before joining electoral politics. "I welcome the party's decision and am thankful to the party for this honour. But I would like to work for the organisation first before joining electoral politics," he said.
The BJP re-nominated all its sitting MLAs, barring defectors, for the assembly elections in the key state of Uttar Pradesh. The party's chief ministerial candidate, Kalyan Singh, however, will not contest the polls. State BJP leaders Kesrinath Tripathi and Lalji Tandon were among the prominent leaders in the list of candidates declared so far.
BJP officials said the party would give some 50 seats to its allies Apna Dal and the Janata Dal-United as part of an electoral understanding.
-
Couple hacked to death in Punjab’s Abohar
A couple was hacked to death on the suspicion of illicit relations at a village at Abohar of Fazilka district. The accused was nabbed by Fazilka police on Wednesday late night. According to information, Purushottam Singh (50) and his wife Sukhdeep Kaur (48) were found lying dead with sharp injuries in their house at Jhurikhera village in Abohar on Wednesday night. Police apprehended another co-villager, Baldev Singh.
-
Waste dumped in Buddha Nullah: Ludhiana MC starts issuing notices to over 500 dairy owners
Taking a strict note of dumping of cow dung and other waste materials in Buddha Nullah, the Ludhiana municipal corporation has started issuing notices to over 500 dairy owners in Haibowal and Tajpur road dairy complexes. MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh said the notices are being served to dairy owners on the directions of MC chief Shena Aggarwal, who had also conducted a meeting with dairy owners' association a few days ago.
-
Ludhiana | 85-year-old woman succumbs to Covid, 37 test positive
An 85-year-old woman died while as many as 37 residents tested positive for Covid-19 in Ludhiana on Thursday. The deceased was a resident of Sector-32 of Chandigarh Road. She was admitted to Christian Medical College and Hospital following complaints of hypertension and diabetes. Currently, there are 226 active cases, of which 212 patients are in home isolation.
-
No breakthrough in Amritsar petrol pump owner’s killing
After an elderly businessman was shot dead here on Wednesday night and with no major breakthrough in the case, police on Thursday said efforts were on to nab the killers and ascertain motive behind this killing. Fuel pump owner Mohan Singh (80) owned two fuel stations--- one at the Gumtala Bypass and one at the Rattan Singh Chowk. Mohan was on his way from Rattan Singh Chowk to his house at around 10 pm when the attack took place.
-
Ludhiana | 3 rape cases come to fore in a day
Three rape cases were reported in Ludhiana on Wednesday. In all cases, the perpetrators of the crime were known to the victims. In the first case, a man was arrested for raping the six-year-old daughter of his tenant in Phullanwal village. The victim's mother stated that her daughter had gone missing on August 7. The accused has been identified as Gauravpal. A case of rape has been registered and hunt launched for the accused.