BJP finalises names of 29 nominees for elections in Uttar Pradesh

June 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW - Celebrating its gains in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress in Uttar Pradesh will mark party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's birthday June 19 with community feasts, mainly in Dalit-dominated areas. June 19 will be celebrated as Samrasta Diwas (Harmony Day) in Uttar Pradesh.

April 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's staggered parliamentary elections began Thursday morning in 124 constituencies spread across 17 states and union territories. Polling centres opened at 7 a.m.

March 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - After it became clear Saturday that there was virtually no chance of any seat sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress released its second list of 15 candidates from the state for the Lok Sabha elections. The new nominees include Saleem Sherwani, who had left the Samajwadi Party Thursday to join the Congress.

March 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Putting all speculation to rest, the Congress party Wednesday announced that possibilities of a poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh were over. 'Certainly the possibilities of alliance with Samajwadi Party are over now.

March 15th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday said that her party would contest alone in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "In all the states we will contest the election on our own and we will not tie up with any other political party," Mayawati said on the sidelines of a press conference here.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday night declared candidates for four Uttar Pradesh constituencies for the Lok Sabha polls. The constituencies for which BJP nominees were announced include Dhaurahara, Sitapur, Basti and Kushinagar, a party statement said.

March 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Samajwadi Party Sunday declared 10 more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh taking the number of its nominees to 74, but left six constituencies for the Congress despite the stalemate in seat sharing talks. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, the Samajwadi Party left Rae Bareli, Amethi, Ghaziabad, Dharora, Mathura and Kanpur City for the Congress.

March 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Wednesday released its first list of 24 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections, including its president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi. The list includes some of the rebels of the Samajwadi Party, with which the Congress has been trying to work out a pre-poll alliance in the state.

March 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Wednesday finalised its first list of 24 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. This includes seats the Samajwadi Party wants to contest.

March 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After announcing the five-phase voting dates for the Lok Sabha elections, the three-member Election Commission of India will leave Wednesday to review poll preparedness in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. 'The full Election Commission will be leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) evening for Lucknow to undertake review of preparation for the general election in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

February 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday said that it has finalised its pre-poll alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a party with some influence in western Uttar Pradesh. 'The alliance with the RLD has been finalised.

February 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India (CPI) Sunday announced its first list of 28 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections and said it planned to contest 50 seats. Announcing the list, CPI general secretary A.B.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Samajwadi Party Friday said the final decision on any pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh would be made in two days. 'The final picture of the proposed alliance with the Congress would emerge in two days,' Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters.

January 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday released a list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, naming a total of 48 contestants so far in the four lists announced. The names were finalised at a meeting of the party's Central Election Committee held at the party headquarters under the chairmanship of its president Rajnath Singh.

January 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Even as its moves to form a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh are on, the Samajwadi Party Saturday announced the names of 17 more candidates to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the state. Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, who released the second list of candidates to the press, maintained that he was 'not violating any coalition dharma', but the move has raised the hackles of the Congress.