Utpal Parrikar, the elder son of late Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, is one of the two people shortlisted by the BJP to contest the upcoming bypoll in the Panaji Assembly seat, a party leader said on Thursday. Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar on Wednesday held discussions with various party units, including the Panaji block committee, to discuss the names of probables, he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at PM Modi for "running-away from holding press-conference" on a day the PM arrived at Varanasi to hold a-massive-roadshow ahead of filing his election-papers. Akhilesh Yadav in another tweet attacked BJP over PM Modi's overnight move to scrap high-value-notes in November-2016, which the opposition claims hurt the economy and broke the back of cash-dependent informal sector.

Which alliance is formed on Twitter, Arvind Kejriwal today questioned, blaming Rahul Gandhi for failed talks for a tie-up in Delhi between his AAP and the Congress. At the release of his party's manifesto for Delhi, the Chief Minister also said the Congress president would be the only person to blame if Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power.