In the first list released of 67 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections, the BJP has denied tickets to nine of its sitting MLAs and two Ministers, while fielding Jail officer Sunil Sangwan, who granted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Ram Rahim parole six times.

Jail officer Sangwan has been fielded from Charkhi Dadri seat the former BJP leader Somveer Sangwan won as an independent in 2019. Somveer may join Congress if the party gives him a ticket for the seat.

After being displeased with the BJP’s decision to select wrestler Babita Phogat over him for the seat, former BJP leader Somveer ran as an Independent candidate in 2019.

Releasing its first list on Wednesday, the BJP declared names for 67 out of the state’s 90 constituencies. The list included the names of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who will be contesting from the Ladwa constituency, and former Minister Anil Vij from the Ambala Cantonment constituency.

In an attempt to address concerns about anti-incumbency after a decade in power, the saffron party has made significant changes for the upcoming elections. This includes dropping nine sitting MLAs, including Sudhir Singhla from Gurugram.

The party did not name two Cabinet Ministers, Ranjit Chautala and Sitaram Yadav. Additionally, it gave tickets to eight sitting ministers, while the list named 25 new faces. There are also 8 female candidates on the list.

Among the dropped MLAs are Deepak Mangla from Palwal and Narendra Gupta from Faridabad. Two MLAs, Laxman Napa, and Haryana BJP Kisan Morcha State President Sukhwinder Mandi, have resigned from their posts in anger over the situation. Napa has been replaced by former MP Sunita Duggal for the state polls.

Shruti Choudhry, who left the Congress and joined the BJP along with her mother Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhry in June, has been nominated as a candidate from Tosham.

Additionally, three former legislators from the Jannayak Janata Party, which was previously allied with the BJP, have also been selected. These candidates are Devender Singh Babli from Tohana, Ram Kumar Gautam from Safidon, and Anoop Dhanak from Uklana.

Other notable candidates include Deepak Hooda, the former captain of the Indian Kabaddi team, who will be contesting from Meham, and Union Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, who will be running from Badli.

The list of candidates includes eight women, 13 leaders from the Scheduled Castes, and nine from other backward communities (OBCs).

India and Singapore strengthened their ties on Thursday by exchanging four significant Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the island nation. The agreements cover collaboration in digital technologies, the semiconductor sector, health and medicine, and education and skills development.

The agreements were signed at Singapore’s Parliament House by India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in the presence of PM Modi and Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong.

In a post on X, PM Modi said semiconductors and technology are important facets of India-Singapore cooperation. This is also a sector where India is increasing its presence, he added.

“Today, PM Wong and I visited AEM Holdings Ltd. We look forward to working together in this sector and giving our youth more opportunities,” PM Modi said.

The first agreement, signed between India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information, focuses on cooperation in digital technologies. This includes digital public infrastructure, cyber-security, 5G, super-computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and upskilling workers in the digital domain.

The second agreement establishes a partnership for the India-Singapore semiconductor ecosystem, facilitating cooperation in semiconductor cluster development and talent cultivation. Singaporean companies, integral to the global semiconductor value chain, are keen to invest in India, and the dialogue mechanisms under this MoU will facilitate these investments.

The third between the health ministries of both nations focuses on cooperation in health and medicine, promoting joint research, innovation, and human resource development in healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

The final MoU, signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India and Singapore’s Ministry of Education, aims to enhance collaboration in technical and vocational education, complementing ongoing skill development initiatives between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi and PM Wong also visited the semiconductor facility of AEM Holdings Ltd in Singapore, where they explored synergies in semiconductor manufacturing.

During his visit, PM Modi also met former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and discussed how both nations can work together in futuristic areas such as green energy, FinTech, etc.

Expressing his gladdening, PM Modi said, “Loong has always been a strong votary of close India-Singapore ties. His insights on various matters are also very enriching.”

Singapore’s semiconductor industry spans the entire value chain, including IC design (MediaTek, Qualcomm, AMD), assembly and testing (ASE Group, UTAC), wafer fabrication (GlobalFoundries, Micron), and equipment manufacturing (Soitec, Applied Materials). The visit highlights India’s potential role in expanding this industry, with opportunities in talent development, knowledge sharing, and possible investment by Singaporean companies in India.

The Centre and Tripura government on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Settlement with representatives from the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) in New Delhi, in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha.

After signing the Tripura peace pact, Shah said, “It is a matter of great joy for all of us. You all have decided to end the conflict that has been continuing for the last 35 years and join the mainstream shunning arms and also expressed commitment for development of entire Tripura.”

Since the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed charge, he has presented a vision of a capable and developed Northeast through peace and dialogue, Shah said. Shah added that there was a big distance between the people of Northeast and Delhi, which has been removed by PM Modi by linking the two with road, rail and airways, and apart from this PM has also bridged hearts.

“We have also approved a package of Rs 250 crore for the development of tribal areas in particular,” said the Union Home Minister.

A new milestone is set today in Tripura’s ongoing journey towards peace and progress with the signing of an agreement between the Government of India, the Government of Tripura, the National Liberation Front of Tripura, and the All-Tripura Tiger Force, Shah said in a post on his X handle.

The NLFT and the ATTF have agreed to end a 35-year-long conflict and return to the mainstream, renouncing violence and committing to building a prosperous and developed Tripura, reposing their trust in the government led by PM Modi, Shah further said.

Speaking to reporters on peace pact decision, NLFT(BM) general secretary Upendra Reang said: “We’ve been struggling for this, our people are the most oppressed in the northeast because we are sandwiched structurally and institutionally.”

He added, “We all know that the state was independent until 1949 before it merged with India. And after the merger, the geopolitical situation changed. Today, we have had an agreement with the government of India, let’s see how things unfold.”