New Delhi, Mar 17: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley skipped the second party central election committee, slated to decide candidates from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for the forthcoming general elections.

According to sources, party Vice President Venkaiah Naidu failed to convince Jaitley to attend the meeting.

Lucknow, Mar 17: Bollywood actor and Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Lucknow Sanjay Dutt sought the support of Muslim clerics.

Dutt visited a mosque and termed it as ''personal'' visit.

Dutt said that he wanted Muslim clerics to pray for him so that the Supreme Court grants him permission to contest the elections.

"I would ask the Muslim clerics to pray for me, so that I get permission. I have full faith in the Supreme Court and God. And even if I don''t get the permission then also I would stay here only," said Dutt.

Patna/Jammu, Mar 17: The Janata Dal (United) has termed the emergence of the Third Front as a "futile exercise".

Addressing reporters here on Monday, Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav said: "There are only two fronts opposite to each other, the NDA and the UPA, with whom larger geographical areas are attached. If there is a third force, then it is the Communists, but I consider the Third Front as a futile exercise."

He said that the main battle would be between the Congress-led coalition and the leading opposition bloc, headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Yadav also ruled out that there were differences between his Bihar ruling party and the BJP over seat sharing.

Lahore, Mar.

Lahore, Mar 17: Former cricketer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was against basic human rights and would be challenged in court.

A private TV channel quoted Khan as saying that incidents like May 12 and the Lal Masjid operation would also be challenged in court.

He said Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had been reinstated through the people’s power and would stand by the people.

Tehran - Iranian former president Mohammad Khatami quit the presidential race on Monday night to support former prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi in the June 12 election.

The two candidates had similar platforms, and observers believed they could split the moderate vote to the advantage of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose ultra-conservative faction has named him as its sole candidate.

In a statement carried by his website, Yaari News, Khatami said he withdrew his candidacy "as a moral obligation for avoiding a split in the votes."