New Delhi, October 25
The Election Commission of India today announced the schedule for by-elections to three assembly seats in the national Capital. Bypolls will be held for Tughlakabad, Krishna Nagar and Mehrauli seats on November 25.

The notification for the by-elections can be withdrawn in case the Lieutenant Governor (LG) or the Supreme Court dissolves the Delhi Assembly before that, said a senior official in Delhi Chief Electoral Office (CEO).

The last date of filing nomination is November 5 while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 10 and the counting will be done almost a month later on December 23.

"The Model Code of Conduct will come into force with immediate effect in the districts in which the whole or any part of the assembly constituency is going for by-election and it will be applicable to all the candidates, political parties and the state government concerned," said Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev. The Model Code will also be applicable to the Union government.

Reacting to the move, Delhi BJP said that the announcement for by-elections has proved that both the BJP government at Centre and the party are ready to go to the people at appropriate time. "The results of by-elections will decide which party is more popular in Delhi," said Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhayay.

However, Delhi Congress demanded immediate dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and attacked the BJP government at Centre for not coming out with a clear position on the political situation in the national Capital.

It had earlier challenged the BJP to hold fresh elections in Delhi if it was so sure of a Narendra Modi wave. The Congress said that the defeat in Maharashtra and Haryana will not affect the morale of party workers in Delhi and it was ready to face fresh elections.

"If the BJP is so confident of the Modi wave then why the Delhi Assembly has not been dissolved. We are ready for fresh elections; the morale of the party workers will not get affected by the outcome of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana," said Mukesh Sharma, Delhi Congress spokesperson.

New Delhi, October 25
Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay today said the AAP is losing its public support and volunteers as party's chief Arvind Kejriwal is making absurd statements in both the social media and news media.

He was reacting to Kejriwal's accusation that the BJP is instructing its MLAs to buy fake votes in their constituencies and get the votes of the AAP deleted in the Delhi Assembly polls.

"By making such baseless allegations against the BJP, Kejriwal wants legal action to be taken against him so that he remains in the news glare, but understanding his intentions the BJP will not give him any such opportunity," Upadhayay said.

He said the support base of Kejriwal and his party has diminished due to which the AAP is unable to take part in the work of summary revision of electoral roll started by the Election Commission with open invite to the people and political parties.

"In order to cover up his party's inability, Kejriwal is levelling false charges against the BJP and also questioning the impartiality of the Election Commission of India which is respected world over," he said.

"Tweet and social media which were the means of his social awareness now are showing him as a ridiculous character," Upadhyay added.

New Delhi, October 25
Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal along with Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) president Sukhbir Singh Badal will inaugurate the memorial for 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims at Rakabganj Gurdwara on November 1.

The decision was taken in a meeting held by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK on the gurdwara premises today.

"It would remind people of the atrocities committed by the Congress government on the Sikh community and will be a tribute to all the people killed during the riots," said Singh.

The ceremony is also likely to be attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and prominent Sikh leaders.

DSGMC members said the rival Sikh group led by former DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna had moved court against the memorial.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had served a notice to the DSGMC for laying foundation of the memorial in June 2013.

"No new 'structure' will be built on the gurdwara premises.

“Therefore, there is no question of seeking any permission from the NDMC. In case a new structure is raised, we will definitely take necessary approval from the municipal body," Singh said.

The memorial will have the names of more than 12,000 Sikhs killed in the riots which took place after the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Singh said the DSGMC had earlier requested the government to approve a piece of land for constructing the memorial.

"We approached the government to allot us a piece of land somewhere and later we tried to rename a park in the Punjabi Bagh area, west Delhi, by following a laid-down procedure, but the (then Congress) government did not let us do that," he said.

New Delhi, October 25
A 24-year-old man died when his car rammed into another car and then moved over a footpath, when he tried to evade hitting two jaywalkers in Connaught Place, central Delhi early today, said a police officer.

The deceased has been identified as Ashwini Kumar, who hailed from Himachal Pradesh. According to the police, he drove a Tata Indigo car for a businessman in Pandav Nagar, east Delhi.

Kumar was returning home from work when the incident took place near B-Block, said the officer.

According to the officer, Ashwini was driving his car at a high speed. When he saw two men crossing the road, in his bid to avoid hitting them, he lost control of the car. "The car was also hit by another vehicle before it came on a footpath," the officer added.

Ashwini was taken to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, where he was declared dead. The two other men were unharmed in the accident.