New Delhi: Assembly elections begin in five states. Notice has been issued for the first phase of polling in Assam and West Bengal. The BJP’s first list of candidates will be released the next day.

The notification was issued for 47 seats in Assam and 30 seats in West Bengal. The last date for submission of nomination papers is March 9. The first round of voting is scheduled for March 27. In West Bengal, the first two phases of polling will be in East Medinipur, West Medinipur, and Jargram. This time, the Election Commission has divided the constituencies in the same district into two phases. Nandigram will go to the polling booth in the second phase.

The BJP Central Election Commission will meet the next day in the presence of the Prime Minister to release the first list of candidates. The announcement will be made on Friday for the second phase of voting on April 1.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Partho Gupta, former head of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), in a case of television rating point (TRP) inflation. Bail was granted by a single bench of Justice Prakash D Naik. A bail of Rs 2 lakh is required and an equal number of sureties are required.

The court granted a one-and-a-half-month extension personal in bail. The Mumbai Crime Branch, which is probing the case, has to appear before Mumbai on the first Saturday of the month. The trial court and the investigating officers must appear in person as required. Passport must be kept.

Dasgupta was arrested on December 24. WhatsApp chats between him and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami are key evidence in the case. Of these, Arnab’s disclosure of information related to national security was controversial.
Dasgupta had approached the Bombay High Court after the lower court denied him bail. Dasgupta’s request for permission to be shifted to a hospital, citing his health condition, was rejected by the court after a lengthy debate on his bail application.

New Delhi: MP dies due to Covid infection. BJP MP Nandakumar Singh Chauhan from the Khandwa constituency in Madhya Pradesh has died. He died at Medanta Hospital in Delhi. Nandakumar Singh was undergoing treatment after Covid became positive.

Mumbai: Police have registered a case against Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis for allegedly defaming a deceased woman. The move follows a complaint against Fadnavis and five BJP leaders.

Shyam Sardar Rathore, head of the youth wing of the Rashtriya Banjara Parikshit, had lodged a complaint against Fadnavis and other BJP workers. Sections IPC 500 and IPC 501 have been imposed.

A 23-year-old woman died in February in the Hadapsar area of Pune. The BJP and the Shiv Sena have been at loggerheads over allegations that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Rathore was linked to the death. Rathore said the protest would start if strict action was not taken against the accused in the case of defaming the girl.