A day after Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma claimed that there were Congress leaders upset with the party’s decisions, former chief minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath dropped Congress from his bio on social media.

Nakul Nath’s move has added fuel to rumours of him and father Kamal Nath defecting to the BJP, which have been doing the rounds for the last few days.

Kamal Nath will be in New Delhi later today and speculation is rife that he will hold meetings with BJP leaders.

In a major blow to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, several leaders switched sides earlier this week. Former MLA Dinesh Ahirwar and Congress District President from Vidisha Rakesh Katare joined the BJP on February 12.

BJP state president VD Sharma yesterday said that the party’s doors are open for other senior Congress leaders who are upset with the party rejecting the the invitation for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.

When asked about speculations of Kamal Nath joining the BJP, VD Sharma said, “So today I am telling you the environment, we have kept our doors open because there are people in Congress who feel that Congress boycotts Lord Ram, India has Ram in its heart. When Congress insults him, then there are people who are pained by this, who are upset, and they should get a chance.”

“If those whose names you are taking have pain in their hearts, then they are also welcome,” Mr Sharma said while addressing a press conference in Bhopal on Friday.

Earlier this month Nakul Nath, the lone Lok Sabha Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh, declared himself as the Congress candidate from Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat. No official announcement has been made by the party yet.

“This time too, I will be your candidate for Lok Sabha elections. Rumours are going around whether Kamal Nath or Nakul Nath would contest the election, I would like to make it clear that Kamal Nath won’t contest the election, I will,” said Nakul Nath as he was addressing a gathering.

Chhindwara has long been a stronghold for Kamal Nath, who held the seat for nine consecutive terms. In the 2019 elections, despite the BJP’s victory in the other 28 seats in the state, Nakul Nath managed to secure a win from Chhindwara.

Raveena Tandon unveiled an intersection in Juhu, Mumbai named after her late father, filmmaker Ravi Tandon. 

On Saturday, Raveena Tandon took to her social media handle to share a series of photos as she unveiled a chowk in honour of Ravi Tandon on his birth anniversary.

Check it out here: 

Raveena captioned the post. “Happy Birthday Pops 🎂 #ravitandonchowk 17 February 2024” 

At the ceremony, she was joined by her mother Veena and her daughter Rasha, among others. They can be seen posing for the crowd. 

On the work front, Raveena Tandon was last seen in Karmma Calling. She is set to star in Welcome To The Jungle. 

A senior Pakistani bureaucrat on Saturday alleged that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice were involved in poll rigging in the recent election as he resigned from his post, taking the “responsibility for all this wrongdoing”.

Former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha’s remarks came amidst jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party began nationwide protests against alleged rigging and stealing of its mandate in the February 8 elections.

Speaking to reporters at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Liaquat Ali Chattha said the candidates who were “losing” the elections “were made to win”.

“I am taking the responsibility for all this wrongdoing and telling you that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice are also completely involved in this,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Liaquat Ali Chattha resigned from his office after “accepting responsibility” for manipulation of poll results, it said.

Liaquat Ali Chattha said “stabbing the country in its back does not let” him sleep.

“I should be punished for the injustice I have done and others who were involved in this injustice should also be punished,” he said.

The former bureaucrat said there was “pressure” on him to the extent that he contemplated suicide but then resolved to present matters before the public.

“It is my request to the entire bureaucracy to not do anything wrong for all these politicians,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has strongly rejected the allegations Chattha has made against the chief election commissioner.

In a press statement, it said, “The Election Commission of Pakistan strongly rejects the allegations levelled by the Commissioner Rawalpindi on the chief election commissioner or the election commission and no official of the election commission never issued any instructions regarding changing the election results to the Commissioner Rawalpindi.

“Neither is the commissioner of any division ever appointed as a DRO, RO or presiding officer, nor do they ever play a direct role in the conduct of elections.” However, it said that the matter would be investigated.

Earlier, Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir has also “rejected” the claims of manipulation of election results made by Liaquat Ali Chattha.

Speaking to Geo News, he said that Liaquat Ali Chattha had “not shown any proof” of the alleged tampering of poll results.

Noting that the commissioner was retiring on March 13, Mir said, “I imagine he’s trying to kick start his political career after he retires.” Besides Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), and others have also complained of rigging during the elections.

Independent candidates – a majority backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party – won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats that were contested in the February 8 election.

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s two main rivals appear on course to form a coalition government after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) formed a post-poll alliance on Tuesday.

The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has also agreed to support them with their 17 seats.

To form a government, a party must win 133 seats out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)