Lok Sabha election updates | As it happened on April 17

The BJP on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Election Commission against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she tried to incite voters to violence while addressing a public meeting.

Banerjee, addressing an election rally at Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday, claimed that some BJP members shouted “chor chor” targeting her convoy in the Chalsa area.

The BJP, in its complaint to the EC, claimed that she had said, “They had the courage to say chor chor on seeing my car, if I had the opportunity would have pulled their tongues out, because of elections I did not say anything.” Alleging that she attempted to “incite the voters to violence while addressing a public gathering”, the BJP said this is “expressly prohibited under the electoral laws of the land”.

The BJP claimed the statement is in gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

-PTI

The Congress in Kerala on Wednesday approached the Election Commission seeking stringent measures to ensure that the postal votes are stored in sealed ballot boxes and not in loose carry-bags for transparency in the vote-from-home system.

The EC has introduced the facility to Vote-from-Home (VFH) for senior citizens and those with disabilities in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Senior party leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan lodged a complaint with the EC seeking its urgent intervention in this regard.

Multiple incidents have been reported across the states where the votes have been carried in loose carry-bags, he alleged in the complaint.

-PTI

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday launched its ‘AAP Ka RamRajya’ website for the Lok Sabha polls campaign to showcase the party’s concept of “Ram Rajya”, saying Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tried to realise the ideals of Lord Ram in the national capital.

The launch of the website -- aapkaramrajya.com -- came ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls to be held on Friday. It coincided with the Ram Navami festival being celebrated in several parts of the country on Wednesday.

During a joint press conference, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the website will showcase AAP’s concept of “Ram Rajya” as well as the work done by the party’s governments.

“Chief Minister Kejriwal accomplished wonderful things -- good schools, mohalla clinics, free water and electricity and free bus rides for women -- in the last 10 years for realising ‘Ram Rajya’,” Singh said.

-PTI

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is being “arrogant” but he will not be able to realise when his government will be gone.

He said there will be surprising results in the Lok Sabha elections as people are wise enough.

The politics of religion, language and castes does not have a place in a democracy which is governed by the Constitution, he said.

Gehlot further said, “The way you are dividing India in the name of religion, in the name of caste and doing politics in the name of religion, this is not appropriate in a democracy.” He said the BJP seems to be projecting the slogan of winning 400 seats as if they have secured a lifetime contract and there will be no elections further.

-PTI

Acrimonious exchanges between main rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over issues like corruption, poverty and pre-poll promises made by them dominated the high-decibel campaign for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh covering the Bastar seat that ended on Wednesday evening.

Naxal-affected Bastar is the only seat among the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state that will vote in the first phase on April 19, an exercise that will take place in shadow of the major counter-insurgency operation in Kanker district on April 16 in which 29 Maoists, including senior cadres, were gunned down by security forces. Kanker is part of the Bastar region.

A total of 11 candidates are in fray in Bastar where 14,72,207 voters -- 7,71,679 women, 7,00,476 men and 52 members of third gender -- are eligible to exercise their franchise, a poll official said.

Just two days ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP on Wednesday expelled one of its leaders in Manipur, E Dwijamani Singh, from the party for six years.

Singh of Hiyanglam Mandal of the saffron camp was expelled for “violation of party’s rules and regulations”, a statement issued by the BJP’s Manipur unit said.

Singh, an ex-MLA of the Congress, joined the saffron camp in 2022 after being denied a ticket by the grand old party.

Immediately after his expulsion from the BJP, Singh returned to the Congress.

-PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the electoral bond issue and dubbed it as an extortion racket.

The MP addressed an election rally in the Cauvery heartland of Mandya on April 17, along with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.

Mr. Gandhi referred to Mr. Modi’s interview to ANI recently in which the Prime Minister tried to project the electoral bonds as something that would help cleanse the political system. But Mr. Gandhi described he electoral bonds as the world’s biggest scam, and said it was akin to an extortion racket operated by ‘petty, goonda elements’.

Campaigning for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections for 12 seats in Rajasthan came to an end on Wednesday.

The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases, beginning on Friday. The votes will be counted on June 4.

The Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and the Nagaur seats in Rajasthan will go to the polls in the first phase.

The Congress focused its election campaign on two issues -- inflation and unemployment.

The BJP, on the other hand, attacked the Congress on appeasement politics, corruption and paper leak cases during its tenure in the state government. The saffron party also promoted its Sankalp Patra and highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “guarantees”.

-PTI

A subdued atmosphere prevailed throughout the election campaign in Rampur, which has over close to five decades become used to electrifying speeches by Azam Khan, a Samajwadi Party leader who has been removed from the fray because of his imprisonment.

After almost five decades, Lok Sabha elections are going to be held in the complete absence of Rampur’s ‘Khan,’ who held the sway over its voters all these years.

Famous for its cultural and historical heritage, Rampur was the political stronghold of the Nawabs in the early decades after Independence. After that, the political rise of Azam Khan in the 80s eclipsed all his rivals ever since.

Khan, who had a stronghold on the politics of Rampur from 1978 to 2022, is currently serving seven years of imprisonment in the case of a fake birth certificate of his son Abdullah Azam.

PTI

Senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Nazrul Islam on Wednesday apologised for making a derogatory statement against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that his remark was not intended to hurt anyone.

His apology came a day after the state BJP demanded Islam’s arrest for the comment that the prime minister “would be buried 400-foot below” in the election, instead of winning 400 seats.

“During a political speech, I was speaking against the prime minister’s claim of winning 400 seats. I intended to say that they (BJP-led NDA) would not get 400 seats and they will be out of power,” Islam said in a video statement.

-PTI

Election Commission of India has halted the proposed tour of West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose to Cooch Behar on April 18-19. ECI sources said the decision was taken as it was violative of MCC and would have disturbed poll officials on the eve of elections.

Polling is scheduled in Cooch Behar on April 19 and the 48-hour silence period when campaigning is barred begins on Wednesday evening.

The commission has also noted that the entire district administration and police force will be occupied in election management during April 18 and 19.

Taking a swipe at the JD(S), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the BJP’s ‘B team’ has now become it’s ‘partner’ in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing his first election rally in Karnataka at Mandya on April 17, Mr Gandhi recalled his statement during earlier elections in Karnataka that the JD(S) was the BJP’s ‘B team’.

Claiming that the people of Karnataka had believed him when he said so, Mr. Gandhi said JD(S), which had now entered into an alliance with the BJP, had been helping the saffron party at every stage.

Campaigning for the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand which face polls on April 19 came to a close on Wednesday with the BJP seeking a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress appealing for vote for change.

Campaigning drew to a close in Uttarakhand at 5 pm this evening, Chief Electoral Officer B V R C Purushottam said at a press conference here.

Having won all the five seats in Uttarakhand in both 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP is seeking to retain them for a third term.

The first phase the Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 19.

-PTI

The political ripples created by the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are yet to die down in Kerala, with the Congress on Wednesday alleging that the BJP leader and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were trying to convince people that they were not similar.

But the people of the state are well aware that they are one and the same, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, V D Satheesan, told reporters here in Panur near Kannur.

Hitting hard at CM Vijayan, the leader said that for the past one month, he had been constantly criticising the Congress and senior leader Rahul Gandhi without uttering a word against Modi.

Satheesan alleged that the CM was humble and careful even while replying to Modi’s allegations against the state government during his recent election rallies in Kerala.

-PTI

There is no need for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] to discuss the probe by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against Exalogic Solutions Private Ltd, the company owned by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena, in connection with the alleged monthly pay-off controversy, CPI(M) Kerala State secretary M.V. Govindan has said.

“Let them investigate and arrest anyone. The ED is the goonda gang of the BJP and the Union government. It is trying to create a conducive political climate for the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Despite all the efforts, the BJP is not going to win the elections. All the noise around the ED probe will draw to a close after April 26 (polling date in Kerala),” he said. Read the report here.

With just a week left for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress still remains undecided on its candidates for Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli and Amethi — seats traditionally fought by the Nehru-Gandhi family. 

Here’s a look at both Gandhi bastions.

Rae Bareli & Amethi | Journey from Gandhi bastion to BJP turf (1980-2019)

The Nehru-Gandhi family is in the fear of losing its last bastion — Rae Bareli — to the BJP after already losing Amethi to the ruling party in 2019. Here’s a look at the Gandhi family’s history with the two constituencies.

Former Union Minister Pratik Patil, the grandson of former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vasantdada Patil, has expressed dismay over the Congress ceding the Sangli Lok Sabha seat to ally Shiv Sena (UBT).

Talking to PTI ,Mr. Patil said he had quit the Congress after it gave in to ally NCP (then undivided) to “weaken” Vasantdada Patil’s family.”Vasantdada Patil may no longer be alive, but his faction within the Maharashtra Congress still exists even if it is non-functional,” he said.

Congress’ Vishal Patil, the younger brother of Pratik Patil, who was eyeing a party ticket for the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency, filed his nomination as an Independent candidate for the seat. The Congress has been persuading him to withdraw his candidature. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded wrestler-turned-politician Chandrahar Patil from the seat.

The Sangli Lok Sabha seat was held by Vasantdada Patil’s family from 1980 to 2014. In 2014, Pratik Patil lost the election on a Congress ticket. - PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress during an election rally in Tripura, saying the party had adopted the ‘loot’ east policy while the BJP had turned it into the ‘Act East’ policy. Addressing a rally in Agartala, the Prime Minister said Tripura has witnessed pioneering transformations under the BJP government. Read the report here.

In its election manifesto, the Trinamool Congress promised to provide guaranteed employment, universal housing and assured MSP for farmers.

More than 70 environmental and civil society organisations urged citizens to evaluate India’s performance concerning the environment and ecology before exercising their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections. These organisations include the National Alliance of People’s Movements, People for Aravallis, Youth for Himalaya, Climate Front India, Fridays for Future, Alliance for Rivers in India, Aarey Conservation Group and UP Land Right Forum.

“As Indians prepare to vote in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, it is crucial to consider the future of our democracy, especially the youth and their right to clean air and water security in the coming years as our country faces extreme impacts of climate change, including unpredictable rainfall, melting glaciers, and increasing pollution,” they said in a joint statement.

They asked citizens to consider other factors like “increase or decrease in quality of life, freedom of speech, democratic fabric of the nation, job creation, citizens’ rights,” etc before casting their vote. -PTI

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh questioned the intention behind the CPI(M)‘s poll promise to dismantle India’s nuclear weapons and demanded the Congress to make its stand on this issue clear. 

Speaking at a public meeting in Kasaragod, Mr. Singh said India worked hard to become a nuclear power and dismantling its nuclear weapons will weaken the country whose neighbours Pakistan and China are nuclear powers.

The CPI(M) in its manifesto has said that there will be “complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons”. - PTI

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) supremo Hanuman Beniwal’s first-ever alliance with Congress and his subsequent candidature from the Opposition INDIA bloc, has rendered the Lok Sabha contest in the Jat stronghold of Nagaur into a fight between old rivals.

Mr. Beniwal is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jyoti Mirdha, whom he had defeated in 2019 when she fought as a Congress candidate. 

​Read the full story here. ​

Hours before the campaigning for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections comes to an end, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi held a road show here in support of INDIA bloc candidate Imran Masood in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. 

In a post on X, Ms. Gandhi said, “People who are disappointed with unemployment and inflation are now beginning to see hope for change. This enthusiasm is a reflection of that hope. The departure of the BJP, which has done injustice to the people is certain. India will unite, India will win.” - PTI

Dayanidhi Maran, the DMK’s sitting MP representing the Central Chennai constituency, said that the INDIA bloc will win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. 

“In the Central Chennai constituency, it is very clear that the people here will reelect DMK because of the trust they have in our chief minister M.K. Stalin. In the last three years, our chief minister has delivered every poll promise, which clearly shows that in Tamil Nadu, DMK will win again,” he said on the last day of campaigning for the April 19 polls. “We will not get carried away by lies that are made by PM Modi and the BJP. For the first time, PM Modi has come eight times to Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, it is 40 out of 40 for the DMK-INDIA alliance,” he said.

Tamil Nadu’s Chennai Central Lok Sabha seat will witness a fierce battle between the ruling DMK and the BJP. The DMK has fielded incumbent MP Dayanidhi Maran, seeking to retain the seat, while the BJP has announced Vinoj P Selvam is giving a tight fight to Mr. Maran. -- ANI

Like the ​Mysuru Lok Sabha seat​, ​Chamarajanagar (Reserved) constituency​ is a prestigious one for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and winning both is seen as important for his leadership within the Congress, as the BJP and JD(S) alliance has launched a no-holds-barred battle. The Varuna Assembly constituency that the Chief Minister represents falls in the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

While the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the seat from the BJP, the saffron party is waging a determined fight to retain the seat that it won for the first time in 2019. Mr. Siddaramaiah has already campaigned twice for Congress nominee Sunil Bose. 

​Read the whole story here.​

The bitter factionalism within Haryana Congress over ticket distribution has come into sharp focus as a three-member committee of the party has failed to resolve the differences that have emerged over the choice of Lok Sabha candidates in some seats.

Senior party functionaries told The Hindu that the faction, led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has sought to dominate the party’s choice of candidates and marginalise other powerful leaders like Kiran Choudhry and Randeep Surjewala.

In Bhiwani, for example, the State unit wants to field Rao Dhan Singh, a Yadav leader, in place of former Lok Sabha member Shruti Choudhry, who is the daughter of former Haryana minister and five-term MLA Kiran Choudhry. 

Asserting that “winds of change” are blowing across Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP in the State. “Today we are sitting in Ghaziabad. There will be a clean sweep of the INDIA bloc over the BJP from Ghaziabad to Ghazipur,” he said. 

“They (BJP) made claims of ‘double engine’ [government at the Centre and State], look at their hoardings now, their candidates are missing and only a single person is there. After the polls, that person on the hoardings will also disappear,” he said in an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “They have only one slogan to lie and loot. Lying has become their identity,” he added. Mr. Yadav made the remarks during a joint press conference with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on April 17, their first this election season. Read the report here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that he went to people with hope in 2014, trust in 2019 and guarantee in 2024.

Addressing an election rally at the Borkura ground here, he said that the birth celebrations of Lord Ram were being held in the temple at Ayodhya after 500 years with a ‘Surya Tilak’ ceremony.

Earlier in the day, Modi greeted people on the occasion of Ram Navami on Wednesday and said Ayodhya is in incomparable bliss as this is the first time the festival would be celebrated there after the consecration of the Ram temple. 

‘’We cannot join the celebrations at Ayodhya but let us participate in the event by switching on our mobile flashlights and offering our prayers to Lord Ram,” the PM said at the rally. The Prime Minister said that free ration will be provided to all without discrimination for the next five years. 

PTI

BJP MP Karadi Sanganna on Wednesday joined the Congress.

The two-time MP from Koppal has been upset with the BJP leadership for not giving him a ticket to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Sanganna was welcomed into the party fold by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the State Congress chief. 

Distance had prevented geriatric voters in Kra-Daadi district from walking to polling booths and the nearest health centre for decades. 

Sending a medical team along with polling personnel to provide home voting service to geriatric electors and persons with disabilities (PwDs) was a last-minute decision by the district’s Deputy Commissioner and Election Officer Sunny K. Singh.

The medical team comprising nursing officer Takhe Manju, ophthalmic assistant Koj Minu, and laboratory technician Ajay Singh was tagged along with the election team under the presumption that the targeted home voters might not have had access to healthcare in recent times. 

Out of a total of 50 candidates contesting the Lok Sabha polls on 5 seats in the second phase in Bihar, the Congress candidate from Bhagalpur Ajit Sharma is the wealthiest. In contrast, the Independent candidate from the Purnea seat Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has a maximum number of 41 criminal cases lodged against him.

According to the latest Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, out of a total of 50 candidates, 24% (12) have declared criminal cases against them with the Independent candidate from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav topping the list with 41 cases. The heavyweight Pappu Yadav was also accused in the murder of CPIM leader and four-time MLA from Purnea Ajit Sarkar. Mr. Sarkar was murdered in broad daylight in June 1998 allegedly by Pappu Yadav and his gang members. 

The Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday announced the candidature of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from the Kantabanji Assembly seat in Balangir district. Mr. Patnaik will contest the election from two Assembly seats - Hinjili, his traditional seat in his home district of Ganjam and now Kantabanji. 

Campaigning by key fronts in the Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency has peaked ahead of the polling on April 26.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) released its manifesto for the constituency on Tuesday. The promises include aero city centred around the Cochin International Airport, a satellite industrial hub at Koratty, and a master plan for coastal development. 

Industries Minister P. Rajeeve released the manifesto by handing over a copy to Alice, wife of late actor and MP Innocent. The aero city project envisages a multi-purpose space for promotion of commerce, tourism, education and health. On Tuesday, LDF candidate C. Raveendranath toured various places in Kodungalloor.

Former Congress MLA from Pulakeshinagar here, R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy joined the BJP on Wednesday.

He had quit the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest the Assembly elections last year. 

He was welcomed into the party fold by BJP veteran and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, among other leaders. 

Eight Union Ministers, two former Chief Ministers and one ex-Governor are among those who are set to test their electoral fate in the first phase of elections on April 19 when 102 seats across 21 States and Union Territories will go to polls.

Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is seeking a hat-trick of wins from the Nagpur seat. 

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju is contesting from the Arunachal West seat. The 52-year-old has represented the constituency thrice since 2004. 

Sarbanada Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, is seeking a return to Lok Sabha from Dibrugarh in Assam. 

Muzaffarnagar, known for its intricate caste dynamics, is witnessing a three-cornered electoral battle, with Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan locked in competition against Samajwadi Party’s Harindra Malik and BSP candidate Dara Singh Prajapati.

Jitendra Singh, a two-time parliamentarian and a Junior Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, is aiming for a hat-trick in Udhampur.

Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member who replaced sitting MP Balak Nath, is in a contest with sitting Congress MLA Lalit Yadav, who belongs to Matsya region of Alwar district in Rajasthan and enjoys the support of the Yadav community.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is pitted against former Congress Minister Govind Ram Meghwl from Bikaner parliamentary seat in Rajasthan. 

PTI

This is Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s maiden Lok Sabha election, but political experts and voters feel he can easily win the Porbandar seat in his home State Gujarat, despite the electorate facing some key issues like unemployment.

Their logic is simple. They believe that being a minister in the Narendra Modi government, BJP leader Mr. Mandaviya can resolve their woes.

Mr. Mandaviya is pitted against Congress’ Lalit Vasoya, a former MLA, who belongs to the Patidar community like the Union Minister. 

Political analyst Jayesh Joshi said, “Mr. Mandaviya’s biggest strength is that he is a Minister in the Modi government. People would think he can raise their issues more effectively through his position. People hope their issues will be resolved if Mr. Mandaviya is elected,” he said. 

Patidars dominate in this seat with nearly 4 lakh voters. 

PTI

Amid a new political alignment in Darjeeling, the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland is back in focus and electoral fortune of parties hinges on promises of a permanent political solution to the long-pending issue.

Although a separate Gorkhaland state resonated as a major issue in all elections till 2014, it took a backseat in the 2019 polls. Parties, including the indigenous Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and GNLF, then emphasised on development and restoration of democracy in the region. Politics in the hills has seen many changes in the last six years.

The GJM, once a dominant force in the area, has become a significantly weakened political entity. 

Of the 35 candidates in the fray for the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam going to the polls on April 19, fifteen are ‘crorepati’ with the richest being independent woman candidate Diluwara Begum Chowdhury from the Kaziranga seat. 

Five BJP candidates, three of Congress, two of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), one each of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and Bharatiya Gana Parishad (BGP) and three independents have assets over Rs one crore, according to the affidavits filed by candidates. 

PTI

AAP on Wednesday launched its “AAP Ka RamRajya” website to showcase the party’s concept of “Ram Rajya”, saying Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tried to realise the ideals of Lord Ram in the national capital.

The website launch came ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the first phase of which will be held on Friday, and coincided with the Ram Navami festival being celebrated in several parts of the country.

During a joint press conference, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the website will showcase AAP’s concept of “Ram Rajya” as well as the work done by the party’s governments.

“Chief Minister Kejriwal accomplished wonderful things -- good schools, mohalla clinics, free water and electricity and free bus rides for women -- in the last 10 years for realising ‘Ram Rajya’,” Mr. Singh said.

This is the first time that Mr. Kejriwal is not among his people on Ram Navami, Mr. Singh said and alleged that the Delhi Chief Minister was sent to jail in a “baseless” case based on statements from “false” witnesses. 

A day after ENPO reiterated its decision not to take part in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections until its demand for a separate state carved out of Nagaland is fulfilled, all 20 legislators from the eastern part of the State appealed to the people to participate in the polls.

Eastern Nagaland Legislators Union (ENLU), in a statement issued on Tuesday evening, said as elected representatives of the people, they are mindful of the resentment over not fulfilling the Frontier Nagaland Territory demand but abstention from the Lok Sabha polls would hinder the progress of the talks.

The lone Lok Sabha seat in the State will go to polls on April 19. 

PTI

Exuding confidence in winning the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate, Lal Hriatrenga Chhangte said on Wednesday that he considered youth as his voters who want to have a dynamic MP who can bring employment and career opportunities for them. 

Mr. Chhangte told ANI that the State government cannot create jobs for youth, and that’s why they look for jobs outside the State. 

“I consider youth to be my voters. Young and educated voters here want to have a dynamic MP who can bring employment and future career opportunities to them. The State government is largely dependent on the Centre. It has none of its own resources or funds. Mizo people have Chinese looks but have Indian passports. These two combinations take them around the world. Youth looking for employment outside Mizoram is a welcome part of my own because the state government’s dependence on the central government cannot create employment opportunities for them. They should work outside and pump in money in the State,” he said. 

ANI

Mahe shares all its cultural traits with Kerala, yet does not share the vibrant political situation of the State. It may come as a shock for the common people in Kerala that the CPI(M), the ruling party in the State, and its arch rival the Indian National Congress have put forth a single candidate against the Bharatiya Janata Party here. More so, one cannot find a poster of any political party or otherwise in this erstwhile French territory that is now an assembly constituency under the Puducherry Lok Sabha segment.

However it is not the seemingly one sided political battle, between the incumbent MP, V.Vaidyalingam of the INDIA bloc and Home and Education Minister of Puducherry A.Namassivayam of the NDA, that is going to mark Mahe in the pages of history this time, but the 140 women polling officers.

Sandwiched between Kannur and Kozhikode districts of Kerala, this district of the Union Territory of Puducherry barely has an area of 9 sq.km.. There are 31,038 voters and 31 polling stations, all of which will be completely managed by women polling officers in the Lok Sabha polls. 

Interesting, right? Read more here.

The economic woes of the tea gardens and their workers, and the identity politics of the Rajbangshi community are likely to be key issues determining the electoral choices of voters in three constituencies along the northern fringes of West Bengal which will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won all three seats — Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri — in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has gained considerable ground since then and is now posing a stiff challenge in the region. Campaigning for the first phase ends on Wednesday, April 17. 

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday issued a notice to Bharat Rashtra Samiti President and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao over his “derogatory” remarks for the Congress Party in a press conference. 

Acting on the complaint of Congress leader G. Niranjan, the Election Commission noted that KCR had violated the Model Code of Conduct in his press meeting in Sircilla on April 5 while criticising the Congress party. 

The Commission also noted that KCR was issued several advisories and instructions even earlier regarding his speech. 

ANI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address public meetings at Mandya and Kolar in Karnataka on Wednesday for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

According to Congress sources, he is scheduled to land in Bengaluru around 1:20 p.m. from where he will go to Mandya by a chopper and address a poll rally at around 2:10 p.m. He will then fly to Kolar to address a public meeting at around 4 p.m.

It is his first visit to the State after the poll schedule was announced a month ago. 

PTI

In life, and in politics, Kawasi Lakhma is a survivor. In his public meetings, the 70-year-old Congress candidate from the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, and a six-time MLA from the Konta Assembly segment, reminds his audience about his longevity in politics.

“I became an MLA the last time, I will win the next time too. I will remain an MLA till the time I am alive. But will you make me an MP or not,” he asks at one such public meeting in Jagdalpur city. In the Assembly election last November when nine ministers of the erstwhile Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government lost, Mr. Lakhma was an exception although he scraped home by just 1,981 votes.

Having dubbed the election in Bastar as a “Narendra Modi versus Kawasi Lakhma contest” minutes ago, he also touches upon several issues – from deforestation to railway services and reservations to electoral bonds – and makes the sound of an EVM that leaves those gathered in splits. He says he will go to Delhi to raise Bastar’s voice.

His speeches and rustic ways find more traction in the interior areas of his home constituency and areas like Bijapur. But the electoral challenge is formidable though he is up against a relatively inexperienced Mahesh Kashyap of the BJP. In a battle that commentators are calling a close contest, Mr. Lakhma is also fighting recent electoral history, the organisational might and Hindutva consolidation attempts of the BJP.

To read the whole story, click here.

The digital atlas developed by the Elections Department using Geographical Information System (GIS) tools has mapped at least 185 polling booths across the Union Territory that registered less than 75% voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The data is being used to recalibrate election awareness campaigns to maximise polling in the Lok Sabha election on April 19. These low electoral participation pockets have been at the centre of intensified Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiatives over the past few weeks.

With the electorate in the Union Territory, which has 30 Assembly constituencies, pegged at 10,23,699 voters, the overarching theme of the Elections Department is 100% ethical with informed voting and carbon-neutral, sustainable elections. 

Congress has not won a Lok Sabha seat in Bengaluru city after 1999. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won all the Lok Sabha seats in the city since 2004 — two seats in 2004, and three since 2009 after delimitation of seats in 2008.

This has been the case even when Congress outdid the BJP in Assembly polls thrice — 2004, 2013 and 2018 — indicating a schism in voter’s preferences in Bengaluru for the State and Centre. 

The changing colours of symbols and flag positions during an election tell a story. At the Rashtriya Lok Dal head office near the bustling Mahavir Chowk in Muzaffarnagar, the party’s green and white flag is flying above the Bharatiya Janata Party’s flag. At the recent roadshow of RLD chief Chaudhary Jayant Singh and the BJP candidate Sanjeev Balyan, the saffron party’s lotus symbol took on unusual shades of green and white.

It appears that the BJP is allowing its small but influential partner to take the lead in this critical constituency in western Uttar Pradesh that it won by a whisker in 2019, when Mr. Balyan defeated Mr. Singh’s father and the RLD’s then-supremo Ajit Singh, who was then a joint candidate of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, by only 6,500 votes. 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Trinamool Congress of preventing Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal and termed the Calcutta High Court’s ruling that allowed a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession in Howrah as “victory of truth”.

“Like always, Trinamool has tried to prevent Ram Navami celebrations here. They tried all the conspiracies. But the truth has emerged victorious. Court has given permission and tomorrow the processions of Ram Navami will begin,” the Prime Minister said, while addressing a rally at Balurghat.

Ram Navami will be observed on Wednesday and there have been instances of communal flare-ups in the State during the festival over the past few years. Leaders of both the BJP and the Trinamool had been involved in Ram Navami processions in the past. 

Ending days of speculation, two-time Member of Parliament from Koppal Karadi Sanganna, who has been upset with the BJP high command for not giving the party ticket to contest the election this time, submitted his resignation from his Lok Sabha membership and also from the party’s primary membership on Tuesday. 

“I have tendered my resignation as the BJP has hurt my self-respect and honour. Though the party has failed to recognise my service and good work, the people of my constituency [Koppal] are with me,” he said. Mr. Sanganna, it is speculated, would join the Congress. 

Chennai district has 3,726 polling stations, the highest among districts in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled on April 19. There are a total of 68,321 polling stations across the State, including 177 auxiliary polling stations that have been created in 19 districts.

Tiruvallur district has 3,687, the second-highest number of polling stations in the State followed by Salem (3,260) and Coimbatore (3,096), according to figures available with the Election Commission of India. 

To learn more about polling stations in the State,click here.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Tuesday came down on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for contesting Lok Sabha elections in Wayanad.

“If the Congress was trying to defeat the BJP at the Centre, should he contest against the Left Front?” Ms. Karat asked. The Congress was keeping mum on the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in its election manifesto, she said.

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RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on April 16 questioned the absence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the BJP’s election rallies in the State.

The former Deputy Chief Minister made the remark while referring to the absence of Mr. Kumar, the JD(U) president, from rallies addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gaya and Purnea earlier in the day.

“Where is Nitish Kumar ji? Why is the BJP not inviting him to its rallies? He could not be seen at either rally of the PM on Tuesday. I still have respect for the CM... BJP, which is his current ally, needs to come clean on the matter,” Mr. Yadav, whose RJD lost power after Kumar’s return to the NDA in January, told reporters here in the evening.

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