The ruling Congress surged ahead in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday winning 11 seats and leading in 10 others as counting of votes progressed to pick a new 60-member legislature.

Congress is all set to retain power in Haryana. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda got a thumbs up from the voters, as Congress is leading in 22 out of 49 seats. INLD is leading in 12 seats, while BJP is leading in just 4 seats.

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi said here Monday that she was confident that her husband, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, will become the prime minister of the nation some day.

Rabri has been telling voters at campaign rallies that her husband will surely become the prime minister since “it is in his destiny” and he is more eligible than many others in the race for the top job.

Lalu Prasad has on many occasions publicly expressed his desire to become the prime minister.

Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh on Monday flayed Minister Manmohan Singh for his statements on Bofors payoff suspect Ottavio Quattrocchi and said his party would not “guarantee” supporting him for the PM’s post again.

Amar Singh also said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners would decide on a prime ministerial candidate after the Lok Sabha polls.

“We can’t take the guarantee of Manmohan Singh becoming the prime minister again, though we don’t oppose him. But we can see his increasing love towards Ottavio Quattrocchi,” Singh said after participating in a road show for party candidate Suhel Ahmed Khan for the Chandni Chowk constituency.

The Congress received a major boost to their confidence on Monday night, brightening its chances in the North East parliamentary constituency, when SP'>BSP candidate Haji Dilshad Ali announced his support for the party (congress).

Dilshad, who had lost the last assembly election from Babarpur seat by a narrow margin, was seen as a major spoiler for the Congress in North East. According to estimates, Muslims and Dalits have over 8 lakh votes in this constituency. By fielding a Muslim candidate the SP'>BSP was hopeful of scoring well from here. On the other hand, there had been strong indication of over 1.8 lakh Brahmin votes and large chunk of Vaisya votes could have polarised for BJP candidate B L Sharma.

Robert Vadra, husband of Priyanka Gandhi,  expressed confidence in his wife’s political abilities saying that she would have a good future whenever she decided to join politics.

Responding to a question on whether . Priyanka would join politics or not, he said “she will be there (in politics) at the right time… and will have a good future there as well”.

Vadra, who was in Amethi to campaign for his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi, said “it is her choice. Already there are many people in the family in politics.”

Central Government on Saturday rejected Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi’s plea for lifting the National Security Act (NSA) slapped on him by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

The 29-year-old leader, who will make his electoral debut from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on March 29 by Uttar Pradesh Police under the NSA for allegedly inciting communal tensions.

He was granted two weeks parole/interim bail on April 16 by the Supreme Court.

After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Shourie, party general secretary Arun Jaitley Saturday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was a future prime ministerial candidate after the present aspirant, the octogenarian L K Advani. “Gujarat under the leadership of Modi has emerged as a role model for India and we willbe happy if Modi gets the top job some day,” Jaitley told in an interview.

Shekhar Suman, Congress candidate for Patna Saheb seat, on Saturday was arrested for of the model code of conduct violation after he allegedly held a road show without permission.

The TV actor was, however, released on bail immediately after he furnished a bail bond of Rs 2,000.

Ex-Miss India and social activist Nafisa Ali will contest Lok Sabha polls from Lucknow on Samajwadi Party ticket, replacing Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who was barred by the Supreme Court from being in fray Samajwadi Party on Sunday announced Nafisa candidature.

The party had announced in January this year that Dutt would be its candidate from Lucknow for Lok Sabha elections in January this year. However, Dutt was barred by the apex court from contesting.

Dutt suffered a setback earlier this week when the Supreme Court rejected his plea for suspension of his conviction in connection with 1993 Mumbai serial blasts to contest coming Lok Sabha polls.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) patriarch George Fernandes will contest from Muzaffarpur in Bihar as an Independent after his party denied him the Lok Sabha ticket.

The decision was announced after a meeting of hundreds of supporters of the reportedly ailing Fernandes in Muzaffarpur, about 70 km from Patna.

BJP leader LK Advani welcomed the Congress announcement that Dr Manmohan Singh would be its prime ministerial candidate in the ensuing elections, but said Singh should enter Parliament by contesting polls in a Lok Sabha constituency instead of taking the Rajya Sabha route.

Dubbing Manmohan Singh as the “weakest prime minister the country ever had”, the leader of the saffron brigade said, “He cannot do anything without getting a green signal from 10 Janpath.”

The BJP was making alliances with different political parties in the country, including the AGP, to root out the Congress from power, he added.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party manifesto on Tuesday.

Security, respect and prosperity of all citizens will be our endeavour, Sonia said while releasing the manifesto.

The UPA Chairperson was accompanied by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukhrejee.

Highlights of the PM and Sonia’s speech:

NREGA wage will now be Rs 100 per day: PM

• After China, India is second most imp growing nation: PM
• Events in South Asia are a cause for worry, says PM.
• All families below poverty line will get 25 kg rice/wheat per month at Rs 3.
• Empowerment of weaker section of society, SC/OBC and minority: Sonia

Slamming the BJP for lending an all-out support to Varun Gandhi despite the alleged hate speeches delivered by him, some Muslim leaders have demanded a ban on his candidature.

The Muslim leaders warn that failure to do so would encourage many more to fan communal passions in the run up to the polls.

“The manner in which the BJP is insisting on Varun’s candidature from Pilibhit, seems that it wants to flaunt its communal card and exploit it fully in the campaigning for the coming elections,” Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahli, a senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Board told in an Interview.

“Varun Gandhi’s speech, it appears, was an experiment at the behest of the BJP which is now being taken ahead with insistence on his candidature. If he is not barred from contesting elections, many more such immature politicians would take cue from it and vitiate communal harmony,” said Firangimahli, who is also ‘naib imam’ of an idgah.

It has been just eight months since he floated his political party but Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi is very confident of winning the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls, being held along with the Lok Sabha elections, and promises he will bring “a change” in the state.

“We will definitely get a number with which we can form government. I am confident,” the 53-year-old Chiranjeevi said, even rubbishing prospects of a hung assembly.

The actor, who belongs to the Kapu community, also hinted at the formation of a “fourth front” with his party at the national level.

The megastar is hoping to better the record of his predecessor and matinee idol N T Rama Rao, who became chief minister within nine months of launching the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1982. He has acted in 149 films and ruled the Telugu film industry for over two decades

The Jharkand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress on Thursday finalised a seat-sharing deal in Jharkhand with former chief minister Shibu Soren contesting both Lok Sabha polls and an assembly by-election.

As per the agreement JMM will fight in five seats and Congress in seven seats.

Soren will contest from Dumka, Suman Mahto from Jamshedpur, Teklal Mahto from Giridih and Hemala Murmu from Rajmahal seats, a party release said.

Soren will also contest Jamatara assembly by-election scheduled for April 23.

Jamatara seat was vacated by Vishnu Bhaiya, a suspended Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, in January this year after Soren lost by-election from Tamar on January 8.

Mallika Sarabhai on Wednesday said she has decided to take on senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LKAdvani from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Sarabhai, a leading exponent of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi, has been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government since post-Godhra riots in 2002.

Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front’s seat sharing woes continued on Thursday after an ally, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), walked out of a meeting for being denied Kozhikode seat.

As the meeting began, CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan read out a statement that they will take the Kozhikode seat, to which we raised our strong objection. All the other allies were silent and we felt that there is no point in sitting in the meeting. Our future decision would now be taken when our party meets on March 22.

Lawyers, retired judges and former police officers have formed a forum to launch a signature campaign against the candidature of actor-turned-politician Sanjay Dutt, who is a Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow.

Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act for illegal possession of an AK-47 rifle after the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai. His appeal against the verdict is pending in the Supreme Court.

Members of the forum have planned to approach the Supreme Court after having signature of at least 1,000 people. Though launched on Wednesday evening, the campaign started on Thursday in a full-fledged manner.

Striking an emotional cord with his electorate, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday hinted that these Lok Sabha elections could be the last hurrah of his long political career.

“I have been in the Government for a long time. I have been a Parliament member for 37-38 years. I have come to seek your support for one more time,” the Congress heavyweight said at a public rally in his Jangipur constituency, 260 km from Kolkata.

“I am growing old. I don’t know whether this will be my last election,” Mukherjee said.