A look at the latest developments on Assembly elections from the five states:

  1. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Friday filed his nomination papers as a candidate from Gorakhpur Urban constituency, where he is contesting his first state election, ANI reported. While addressing a rally earlier on Friday, Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh had progressed on several fronts in the last five years. “Every class of society benefited from government’s policies,” he claimed. “No one can raise a finger at the double-engine government.” Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad will also contest for the Gorakhpur Urban seat.
  2. Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said that “people at top” wanted to choose a weak chief minister for Punjab who can “dance to their tunes”, NDTV reported. “Do you want such a chief minister?” he asked his supporters. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to announce Punjab’s chief ministerial candidate during his virtual rally in Ludhiana on Sunday, The Tribune reported.
  3. Congress candidates in Manipur on Friday took an oath to not defect to other parties, The Indian Express reported. “This practice [of defection] has become a threat to democracy, not only in Manipur, but also in other parts of the country, like Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka,” said incumbent Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. In January, the Congress party’s Goa unit had taken its candidates to a temple, a church and a mosque where they had taken a pledge of loyalty and promised that they would not defect after the elections.
  4. The richest candidate contesting in Uttar Pradesh has assets worth Rs 148 crore, while two leaders have no assets, the Association of Democratic Reforms – a non-profit organisation – stated in a report on Thursday. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Meerut candidate, Amit Agarwal, has the most number of assets, followed by Bahunjan Samaj Party’s SK Sharma (Rs 112 crore). Sharma is contesting from Mathura.
  5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused Opposition parties of spreading “rumours” on Covid vaccines, PTI reported. He thanked people for ignoring the misinformation and taking the jabs. Modi was addressing his second virtual rally in Uttar Pradesh.