Poll tales: Mallika Sarabhai not to contest; Cong-PPP tie-up in Punjab

Here are some of the day's Lok Sabha election snippets:

'Ignored', Mallika Sarabhai not to contest LS polls

Noted danseuse and Aam Aadmi Party member Mallika Sarabhai, who unsuccessfully contested against Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch L K Advani in 2009, does not want to enter the fray this time as she feels apparently ignored in the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

"No one from AAP has ever contacted me," Mallika told PTI.

When asked if she would contest as an Independent candidate if AAP denies her a ticket, Mallika replied in the negative.

"No, I will not contest as an independent and I don't want to contest at all," she said.

An AAP worker, when contacted, said Mallika was kept out of Kejriwal's recent "fact finding" tour of Gujarat.

AAP state convener Sukhdev Patel dismissed the issue saying, "A party worker is never invited...He or she should get involved pro-actively," he said.

Shibu Soren to contest from Dumka

Sitting MP and Jharakhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren will contest from the Dumka Lok Sabha constituency in the ensuing general elections.

"Besides Guruji (Soren) contesting from Dumka seat, Vijay Hansda will contest from Raj Mahal and MLA Jagannath Mahato from Giridih seats," party general secretaries Suprio Bhattacharya and Vinod Kumar Pandey said while announcing the list of JMM candidates.

They said the candidate for Jamshedpur seat would be announced within a few days.

The JMM will contest four Lok Sabha seats as per the pre-poll seat adjustment with the Congress, leaving 10 seats to the alliance partner in the Hemant Soren government.

Cong-PPP enter into alliance in Punjab

Congress and Manpreet Singh Badal led People's Party of Punjab on Tuesday announced an alliance to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Manpreet will take on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's daughter-in-law and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur from Bathinda constituency.

Congress will contest the remaining 12 Lok Sabha seats, with polling in Punjab's 13 seats scheduled for April 30.

The decision was announced at a press conference in Chandigarh, addressed by Punjab Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa, Manpreet, Leader of Opposition in the state and Sunil Jakhar, while Congress MPs Vijay Inder Singla and Ravneet Singh Bittu were also present.

Manpreet is estranged nephew of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former finance minister in the SAD-BJP government.

The newly-formed alliance leaves a window open for the Communist Party of India to be its part.

However, according to Bajwa and Manpreet, the CPI's central leadership had left it to state unit to take a final call. In the event CPI comes on board, the Left party may contest from Faridkot seat.

CPI's senior leader Joginder Dayal told PTI that his party is holding a meeting at Chandigarh tomorrow where a decision on the issue will be taken.

Bajwa asserted that Congress-PPP tie-up was here to last and it was not a stop-gap arrangement.

Image: Danseuse and Aam Aadmi Party member Mallika Sarabhai