Arvind Kejriwal violated the poll code of conduct in Gujarat, the Election Commission said, a day after the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s brief detention during a roadshow triggered clashes between the AAP and BJP.

“If you go strictly by law, Mr. Kejriwal violated the model code of conduct. The whole world knew that the code was in place after the announcement of the national election dates in the morning,” Election Commissioner HS Brahma said.

Mr. Kejriwal was detained at the city of Radhanpur in Patan, 170 km from Ahmedabad, on Wednesday. He was accused by officers of violating rules that make prior police permission necessary for political rallies. But the AAP leader insisted that his convoy consisted largely of media cars and did not amount to a political procession.

The Election Commissioner said the Patan district commissioner had said in his report that Mr. Kejriwal had been asked to seek permission for travelling with more than three cars on his road tour.

“We are going by that report. We will ensure that such incidents don’t recur. We will implement the law harshly and we appeal to pol parties not to use harsh language and action,” Mr. Brahma said.

Mr. Kejriwal is on a four-day tour of Gujarat for what he calls an assessment of Narendra Modi’s claims of exceptional development in the state that he has governed since 2001. The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate has held up Gujarat as an example of what he can do for the country.

Since, the AAP leader has faced black flag protests on the road and also an attack on his car while driving through Kutch.

His detention led to street battles in Delhi and Lucknow between workers of AAP and BJP.

Throwing his hat in the ring for prime ministership, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said that he was more qualified than many other aspirants.

Explaining why he is a better choice for the top job, Nitish said, “I am more qualified than those roaming around for the post of prime minister.”

Nitish was speaking during his ‘sankalp yatra’ held in Bettiah to demand special category status for Bihar.

Without naming either the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi or Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, he said “While one does not have the experience of Parliament another has no experience of running a state…I have both experiences …Am I less qualified than them?”

On a pointed question regarding his PM ambitions, the Chief Minister said his party JD(U) was small and modest and did not make tall claims, but believed in working for the people.

Coming from Nitish, who is known to be cautious in airing his views, the assertion is of immense political importance.

It indicates that the newly resurrected Third Front would find it even more difficult to arrive at a consensus in choosing a PM if the formation comes to power or forms a government with outside support from the Congress.

Nitish with his clean image and proven expertise in governance may emerge as the most powerful claimant.

Nitish has harboured prime ministerial ambitions for long and had walked out of the NDA after he sensed that Narendra Modi was being favoured as the PM candidate.

In the line of fire for failing to take action against his party MLA Irfan Solanki in connection with the doctors’ strike in the state, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday hit out at the media.

When questioned by reporters on the issue, Mulayam hit back saying “why is the media giving importance to the doctors’ strike?”
When reporters pointed out that over 50 people have died in the state due to the strike that started on March 1, the SP chief asked: “Has someone from the family of any media men died due to the strike?”

“If you stop publishing reports of the strike, deaths would automatically come down,” Mulayam said further.

He refused to comment on SP legislator Irfan Solanki.

Doctors in Uttar Pradesh earlier today called off their strike, a day after the Allahabad High Court directed them to return to work.

They had gone on strike on March 1 after supporters of the legislator and Solanki himself bashed up some junior doctors at the Hallet Hospital in Kanpur on February 28.

The subsequent cane charge by police angered the junior doctors further and doctors across the state joined the strike.

The Lucknow bench of the high court also ordered a judicial probe into the doctors’ grievances and the police lathicharge on them.

The court had also ordered the transfer of the inspector general, deputy inspector general, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Kanpur Yashaswi Yadav.

Further, 24 jailed doctors have been released unconditionally.

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Thursday opposed BJP’s proposed alliance or merger the BSR Congress in Karnataka.

“I am opposed to the BSR alliance or merger with BJP in Karnataka,” Sushma tweeted this morning.

In what was being seen as a boost to BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, BSR Congress leader B Sriramulu announced that his party was merging with the national party over two years after he had quit the saffron outfit.

“I have decided to rejoin BJP because people of the country want to see Narendra Modi as prime minister,” Sriramulu said.

The BSR Congress’ decision came close on the heels of merger of Karnataka Janata Paksha of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa with BJP.

Sriramulu had claimed that several BJP leaders, including Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari had agreed to the merger.

Contrary to the claims, Sushma opposed any such move.

The BJP leader also opposed the move of former Union minister Venod Sharma, who quit the Congress, to join the Kuldeep Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC).

“I am strongly opposed to this. I have conveyed my views to Shri Kuldeep Bishnoi,” she tweeted. “I have conveyed to Shri Raj Nath Singhji in writing that BJP must not permit this.”

Post his joining the HJC, Sharma is tipped to be the BJP-HJC candidate from Karnal Lok Sabha constituency.

It may be noted that Sharma’s son Manu is in a Delhi jail in connection with the murder of model Jessica Lall in 1999.

Reports have claimed that former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh my fight the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket.

As per party sources, Amar Singh may be named the Congress candidate from Gautam Budh Nagar constituency.

The party is expected to take a final decision on the matter at a meeting.

Earlier, there was speculation that Congress could field Thakur Dhirender Singh from the constituency.

While Samajwadi Party has declared Narender Bhati as its candidate from the constituency, BSP is likely to field sitting MP Surender Singh Nagar. The BJP is mulling over the name of Dr Mahesh Sharma.

Kiran Kumar Reddy, who resigned as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh after failing to prevent its bifurcation, has decided to launch his own party ahead of the national election.

Mr. Reddy, 53, quit the Congress last month after parliament cleared his party’s proposal to carve out Telangana as a new southern state.

Mr. Reddy, like many other leaders who are not from Telangana, had vehemently opposed the division, and urged the Congress leadership in Delhi to withdraw its plans. Mr. Reddy has also challenged the bifurcation of his state in the Supreme Court; his case will be heard on Friday.

The new state of Telangana will be officially born on June 2, which means that Andhra Pradesh will vote undivided for the state election which will be held simultaneously with the national election.

“Whoever is elected MLA (state legislator) as per law will automatically become member of the concerned state,” said Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath.

The Congress sanctioned a decades-long movement for a Telangana state in the hope of being rewarded by voters in the region in the election, but it failed in its plans to launch the new state before voting is held.

The two non-Telangana regions, referred to as Seemandhra, will constitute the down-sized state of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh in its current form has 42 parliamentary seats, of which 17 lie in Telangana. While Telangana will vote on April 30, Seemandhra votes on May 7.