The BJP's vote share in Punjab has been declining -- 8.21 per cent in 2007 to 7.13 per cent in 2012, and finally to 5.4 per cent in 2017, when it won just three of 23 seats the party contested. So doing an election deal with Amarinder and a political formation he might float in the future is not inconceivable.
The PML-N, however, rejected the demand and claimed that it was winning Thursday's elections.
A meeting of Aam Aadmi Party MLAs will be held on Tuesday morning, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to tender his resignation after it, the party said.
The other main contender for the party's CM face was Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh face.
The meeting comes ahead of the party's Punjab unit revamp and amid reports that Sidhu may get a key role in the organisation.
The legislator was taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after he was detained by agency officials from a public meeting he was holding in Malerkotla, they said.
The AAP government in the state had earlier claimed that some of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them.
Arvind Kerjiwal, who resigned as Delhi chief minister on Tuesday, is likely to focus on galvanising the AAP cadres and rebuilding trust among the people before the assembly polls, a senior functionary said.
Amid a row over the extension of the territorial jurisdiction of the Border Security Force in Punjab, a top officer of the border guarding force on Saturday said the powers of the state police remain intact and the BSF is only there to complement it.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh alias Honey was arrested in this case by the agency.
The Punjab assembly on Monday "unanimously" passed the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on September 27, even as Congress members staged a walkout.
A five-time Olympic shooter, Randhir Singh was the lone eligible candidate for the OCA president's post.
Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday joined protesting farmers at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana and said the central government should pay heed to their demands and make it a priority to address their issues.
Voting for 117 assembly seats in Punjab and 59 assembly constituencies spread across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh were held on Sunday.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said his government will bring a bill against the Centre's farm laws on the lines of Punjab.
The Mayawati-led BSP will fight 20 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest will be contested by the SAD.
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
After Congress president Sonia Gandhi met leaders of the G-23 grouping to resolve internal party issues, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday said "indulging the dissenters too much" will encourage more dissent.
The star-studded TPL auction saw the presence of the tennis icons Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, who gathered together after many years to promote the sport, along with Bollywood celebs Rakul Preet Singh and Sonali Bendre.
Polling to 115 of 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held amidst tight security.
The chief minister further informed that an FIR has been registered following the incident and a probe has been ordered to nab the culprits.
Dissidence in Congress in Punjab came to the fore in the wake of the party's debacle in the assembly polls with a former stat unit chief on Wednesday demanding an emergency meeting of the PCC to go into the causes.
Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann won from Dhuri assembly seat on Thursday, whereas Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was defeated from Amritsar East seat.
AAP is working on its new strategy to build a strong organisational set-up with leaders from all sections of society, reports Nitin Kumar.
Sunil Jakhar was among the front runners for the chief ministerial post after the exit of Amarinder Singh. But the party preferred Charanjit Singh Channi, who became the first chief minister of Punjab from the Scheduled Caste community.
Three of the 23 MLAs are cabinet ministers. Another minister who had tested positive earlier has recovered. The chief minister gave the number during a video conference with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had held a virtual meeting with CMs of opposition-ruled states to discuss a range of issues faced by them.
Sidhu said there would be no need for Amarinder to go for power cuts or to regulate the office timings if the state acts "in the right direction".
Polling was held for over hundred civic bodies in Punjab on Sunday amid stray incidents of skirmishes at some places.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi rides a motorcycle during a road show in Jalandhar for the assembly elections.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is Leader of the House, moved a resolution in the assembly saying that his state is facing "crisis of water" and does not have even one drop to share with others.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
In its first decision, the Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.
Sunita Kejriwal and daughter Harshita Kejriwal will seek votes for chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann in the Dhuri assembly seat.
Several exit polls on Monday forecast a clear majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab with some of them giving an edge to the saffron party in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said it has put the ball in Bharatiya Janata Party's court by demanding early elections in Delhi in November, and now it is up to the opposition party to decide whether it was prepared to face CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Jailed ex-Pakistan premier Imran Khan's party-backed independent candidates on Friday sprang a surprise by winning 86 seats out of the 201 results declared following unusual delays and allegations of rigging, as the country appeared heading towards a hung assembly.
In its Karnataka assembly poll manifesto, which was released on May 2, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the PFI "spreading hatred" among communities on the grounds of caste and religion.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday hit out at the Congress for blaming the anti-incumbency of his four-and-half-years tenure for the poor show in assembly polls, saying the party's leadership will never learn.
Sirsa has been a prominent face of the Akali Dal in the national capital and was a strong supporter of the farmers' protests against the three contentious farm laws. He said he will continue to work for Sikh causes.
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