Janata Dal (S) president HD Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and former Union ministers Madhu Dandavate and CM Ibrahim were among the 28 candidates cleared by the party for contesting Lok Sabha polls. Gowda, a member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, filed his nomination papers seeking re-election from Hassan Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka.

Uma Bharti to contest from Bhopal

Minister of state for human resource development, Uma Bharti will be the BJP's candidate from Bhopal instead of Khajuraho in the Lok Sabha elections. Party spokesman M Venkiah Naidu also told reporters in New Delhi that Pradeep Rawat will be BJP's candidate from Pune in place of Anna Joshi. No reason was given for the changes. Bharti has won from Khajuraho twice, but had recently announced that she would not contest the elections this time.

EC bars documentary on Kargil

The Election Commission on Thursday stopped the government from screening any documentary on Kargil till thecompletion of voting in the Lok Sabha elections on October 3. "The screening of a Kargil documentary, at this juncture, is not in consonance with the code of conduct. It may be done from the evening of October 3 when voting is over," the commission said in a press release.

BJP-EC media dispute

BJP on Thursday said it would take up with the Election Commission the issue of not allowing media personnel to accompany the Prime Minister on election tours. "The EC directive on not allowing media personnel to accompany the Prime Minister on his election tours would lead to discrimination as it was allowed in the 1998 elections. The party is footing the Bill for the media personnel," party spokesman Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in New Delhi.

Cong fires another Kargil salvo at BJP

The Congress came out with fresh evidence on Thursday suggesting the availability of credible intelligence inputs about the armed infiltration from Pakistan even before the Lok Sabha was dissolved in April and chargedthe Vajpayee government of laxity in tackling Kargil. Briefing mediapersons at the party headquarters, spokesperson Kapil Sibal said the BJP-led government had necessary and sufficient basis to act on specific requests from the brigade level in order to prevent the strategic catastrophe in Kargil.