Elections LIVE: Muthalik shown the door by BJP hours after his appointment

9.00 pm: Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Ghonda, Data Ram Baisla, today rejoined BJP.

8.30 pm: Gurgaon District Returning Officer R C Verma today issued a show cause notice to AAP’s Gurgaon Lok Sabha candidate Yogendra Yadav for alleged violation of the Model Code.

7.20 pm: Upset over denial of the Lok Sabha ticket, JD(U) MP Vishwa Mohan Kumar today resigned from his party and joined the BJP.

6.30 pm: 

In 1 hour membership will be cancelled, party has informed the state unit: Nirmala Sitharaman on Pramod Muthalik

— ANI (@ANI_news) March 23, 2014

6.30 pm: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hit out at BJP saying there was more democracy in “family-run” parties like his National Conference than in “parties with a difference”.

5.45 pm: Pramod Muthalik’s membership put on hold after Goa CM objects his inclusion into the BJP: TV reports.

5.20 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi will begin their Lok Sabha election campaign in Bihar from Sasaram and Aurangabad constituencies next week.

5.00 pm:

Some enthusiastic supporters are using slogan “Har Har Modi…” I respect their enthusiasm but request not to use this slogan in the future.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2014

4.30 pm Dwarka Peeth Shankarachayra Swaroopanand Saraswati has raised objection to “Har Har Modi” slogan in favour of BJP PM nominee Narendra Modi and registered a strong protest with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat asking him to stop such “vyakti puja” (eulogising of individual).

4.00 pm:: Union Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday asked his party workers to take advantage of the multi-phase polling in the state by voting twice, first at their hometowns and then at places of work.

2.45 pm: With veteran party leaders unhappy over denial of ticket for Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu stressed there were no differences in the party and no question of sidelining any senior leader. “I respect Jaswant Singh. I do not want to join issue with him. And secondly, if somebody does not get a ticket and makes such a statement, it is understandable.”

2.25 pm: With a sulking Jaswant Singh set to contest from Barmer as an Independent after being denied a party ticket, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said leaders should sometime accept “no” after being showered with privileges and that his loyalty is at test.

READ FULL STORY: LEADERS SHOULD LEARN TO ACCEPT ‘NO’, SAYS JAITLEY

2.00 pm: Sri Rama Sena chief Pramod Mutalik, involved in the Mangalore pub attack, joins Bharatiya Janata Party.

1:40 pm: BJP MP Pathak hurt over ticket denial; to consult party workers.

12.50 pm: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slams Narendra Modi for sidelining senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Earlier there was the Advani Vajpayee duo, possibly even with Joshi the trio but now it’s just the NaMo monopoly.

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) March 23, 2014

For all the chatter that RG can’t work with the old guard of the congress it’s actually NaMo who has culled the senior leadership of the BJP

— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) March 23, 2014

12.30 pm: Union Minister Kapil Sibal says corporate sector is fuelling the campaign of BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Corporate sector is fuelling the campaign of BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi: @KapilSibal

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 23, 2014

12.30 pm: In a major political development in Tamil Nadu, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko met suspended DMK leader M K Alagiri at his residence here and sought his support for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls. The meeting between the leaders holds significance as DMK leaders were worried about the poll strategy to be taken by Alagiri after his suspension from the party.

12.15 pm: Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh has questioned as to why BJP was “displacing” its senior leaders from their constituencies if there was a “Modi wave” in the country. “If there is a Modi wave, why displace seat winning seniors like Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Lalji Tandon?” Singh said.

FULL STORY: VAIKO MEETS ALAGIRI

12.05 pm: Manvendra Singh, Jaswant Singh’s son, who is currently an MLA in the Vasundhara Raje-led government in Rajasthan, has also indicated that he might follow in his father’s footsteps. When contacted, Manvendra said that he was “extremely stressed out” and was resting.

11.44 am: Terming the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) an “aberration,” the Congress has said that its magic won’t be repeated in the upcoming general elections.

“It is an aberration,” senior Congress leader and Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma said, adding that the AAP would “certainly not” be able to reprise its Delhi assembly electoral performance in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

11.14 am: Singh, however, is not resigning from the party yet and said he would consult his colleagues before taking that step.

READ FULL STORY: JASWANT SINGH TO FILE NOMINATION AS AN INDEPENDENT

10.40 am: Reports suggest Jaswant Singh may file nominations without quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

10.35 am: Jaswant Singh says he will file nomination as an Independent candidate from Barmer seat tomorrow.

10:33 am: The Election Commission instructed that Tripura election officials would conduct polling through postal ballots in Bru relief camps in North Tripura district.

10:25 am: No Modi wave in Siwan, claims Shahabuddin’s wife.

10:12 am: Jaswant Singh to file his nomination as an independent candidate on Monday: sources

9:47 am: From old-timers like Shatrughan Sinha, Raj Babbar and Hema Malini to new entrants – Kirron Kher, Gul Panag, Moon Moon Sen, Pawan Kalyan and Innocent – several stars have jumped into electoral politics this time to try their luck, adding glamour to the battle for power.

8:30 am: BJP veteran leader Jaswant Singh likely to resign from party today.

ALSO READ: BJP SPLIT WIDE OPEN AS JASWANT HITS OUT, SUSHMA BACKS HIM