Apart from Raje, Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Ashwini Vaishnaw are said to be among the frontrunners for the chief minister's post in Rajasthan.
The BTP chief said the party is now extending support to Gehlot after an assurance that its demands related to the development of tribal areas will be met.
The BJP has fielded 18 MPs, including four Union ministers, for the latest round of assembly polls so far -- seven each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and four in Chhattisgarh.
Days after being inducted as a minister in Rajasthan, Rajendra Singh Gudha has shot his mouth off comparing roads to the cheeks of actors Hema Malini and Katrina Kaif.
Though the MLAs termed it a courtesy meeting, they said they will support Raje if the party leadership chooses her for the post in the state.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
"Rahul Gandhi is a traitor; such a traitor should be punished and should be hanged ...and shot," said BJP MLA from Baytoo in Barmer Kailash Choudhary.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
While Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia accused the Congress of being behind the demolition, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra asserted that it was the decision of the city's municipality headed by the saffron party.
They have been expelled for their decision to contest elections against party candidates.
The state government issued a notification requiring the CBI to take prior consent of the state government for investigation of an offence under Section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
"The Congress is "going to (fight) the election with unity" and it will win the polls," Sharma said after the meeting at Pilot's Civil Lines residence that lasted for nearly half an hour.
A day after a group of Congress MLAs met Sachin Pilot, another party legislator on Friday expressed support for the dissident leader as trouble brewed again in Rajasthan's ruling party.
The legislators will be staying at a luxury resort there and likely to visit the Somnath temple, sources said.
Eight Union ministers, two former chief ministers and one ex-governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls.
A 25-year-old rape survivor was seriously injured when she was shot at and attacked with a sharp-edged weapon by a man accused of raping her and his two accomplices in Kotputli-Behror district of Rajasthan.
About a dozen locations in the state, including in state capital Ranchi and a premise in Rajasthan, are being raided by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
Legislator Ved Prakash Solanki, who is considered close to former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, also criticised Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for his recent remarks praising Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Vasundhara Raje, for helping him survive the 2020 revolt by some Congress MLAs.
The resolution is likely to be passed on the very first day of the session, government sources said. The opposition BJP has said the government's move to bring the resolution will be strongly opposed.
Several ministers, including Parsadi Lal Meena, B D Kalla, Mamta Bhupesh and some independents like Suresh Tak, are present at the hotel in the lake city.
"Sanjay Jain has been arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) team of Rajasthan Police, under sections 124A and 120B of Indian Penal Code (IPC)," Police said.
Vijayvargiya stated that a clear decision on CM candidates will be revealed by December 10, but refrained from disclosing whether the party will select leaders from the newly elected MLAs or bring in outsiders.
The counting began at 8 am to decide the fate of the candidates contesting the polls, among whom all eyes will be on Dimple Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's elder daughter-in-law and the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, necessitated by the demise of Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav in October.
The complaint mentions "Gajendra Singh" but does not say if it pertains to the Union minister.
Contests in 13 seats would attract most attention during the Chhattisgarh assembly elections as they feature prominent leaders of the Congress and BJP.
The decision was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting held here on Thursday. After the meeting, Kataria told reporters that the motion of no confidence will be moved in the assembly session beginning Friday. He said the proposal was being finalised.
At a public meeting in Jhalawar on Friday, while referring to her MP son Dushyant Singh's progress as a people's representative, Raje candidly said she felt she can retire now.
Facing protests from a section of the Rajput community over Union Minister Parshottam Rupala's remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh -- a Rajput-dominated seat -- is hoping that the 'Modi factor' and the development work undertaken by his government will help it retain the Lok Sabha constituency.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the accused in the Kanhaiya Lal killing case in Udaipur were 'linked' to the Bharatiya Janata Party and should have been 'hanged by now' but the investigation by the National Investigation Agency was not progressing as it should.
While Chouhan has emerged as a favourite to remain at the helm in MP despite the presence of some challengers, the leadership race is wide open in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, two states where the BJP has snatched power from the Congress.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the BJP was conspiring to poach the MLAs in order to destabilise his government, a charge denied by the saffron party.
The Congress is blaming the BJP to deflect criticism for its inability to keep its house in order, but truth is clear before the masses, the BJP said.
Virender Poonia is the husband of Olympian discus thrower and sitting Rajasthan MLA Krishna Poonia. He is now admitted to the Railway Hospital in Jaipur.
In a communication, the ministry of home affairs told the Rajasthan chief secretary to send a report on the allegations of phone tapping, an official said. The chief secretary has been told to provide the details of the incident after two audio clips emerged, the official added.
In India elections are never fought in a straight line. It's fought on many issues, at many levels, with multiple emotions and with a bit of good luck, too. Sheela Bhatt reports from Rajasthan.
'I was never why I was denied a ticket to contest the assembly elections.'
Contesting on a Congress ticket, Poonia, on Tuesday, won the Sadulpur assembly seat in Rajasthan, defeating sitting BSP MLA Manoj Nyangali.
The CLP also recommended strong disciplinary action against any Congress MLA and office-bearer who 'weakens' the party. The resolution expressed confidence in the leadership of national party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress has appointed observers to coordinate meetings of its legislature party in four states where assembly election results will be declared on Sunday.
The assembly session comes days after the top leadership of the Congress announced the return of Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs to the party-fold. Referring to Pilot's open rebellion while addressing the legislators, the CM asked them to 'forget what has happened'.
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