Lok Sabha election updates | As it happened on April 13, 2024

Former Union Minister Srikant Kumar Jena who had recently returned to Congress will contest from Balasore in Odisha.

Former Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani has been fielded from Gujarat’s Rajkot against Union Minister Purshottam Rupala.

After 22 years, Mr. Rupala and Mr. Dhanani are fighting against each other. In 2002, Mr. Dhanani had defeated Mr. Rupala from Amreli in the Assembly polls.

The Congress on April 13 announced a list of 16 more candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and fielded former Union minister Manish Tewari from the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency.

The party also pitted Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh against BJP candidate and Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut in the State’s Mandi Lok Sabha seat. Vikramaditya Singh is the son of the Congress’ Himachal Pradesh unit chief Pratibha Singh.

The candidates were announced during a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee in New Delhi on Saturday evening. 

A source from the Congress party said the name of Deepinder Singh Hooda was finalised from Haryana’s Rohtak Lok Sabha seat.

The party finalised two candidates from Himachal, one of whom was Vikramaditya Singh, whose name was mooted for Mandi Lok Sabha constituency to contest against BJP’s Kangana Ranaut, the person said.

Pradesh Congress Pratibha Singh said the recommended names have been left to the party high command to decide.

“All senior leaders believe that this time a young leader should be fielded from Mandi Lok Sabha seat and there is consensus on the name of Vikramaditya Singh,” she said.

- PTI

The Congress on April 13 finalised the names of a few Lok Sabha candidates from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee in New Delhi.

The CEC meeting for Himachal Pradesh was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal. 

Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Pradesh Congress Chief Pratibha Singh, and AICC in-charge Rajeev Shukla, were the others present in the meeting. - PTI

As the BJP government has fulfilled most of its core ideological promises, including the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the repeal of Article 370, all eyes will be on how the ruling party’s larger cultural and Hindutva agenda figures in the manifesto. 

Party sources said measures for the youth, women, farmers and the poor - four “castes” PM Modi has often spoken about - will be among the highlights of its poll pledges.

The BJP had appointed a manifesto committee headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that met twice to deliberate on its contents after the party had launched multiple exercises, including vans sent across the country and social media campaigns, to seek people’s suggestions. - PTI

The BJP will release its manifesto -Sankalp Patra - for the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday, with its planks of welfare and development besides a roadmap for ‘viksit Bharat’ expected to figure prominently in its election agenda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the party are expected to attend the unveiling of the manifesto at the party headquarters that coincides with the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, a towering leader from the Dalit community and an architect of the Indian Constitution.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are a fight between an ideology which seeks to protect the Constitution and democracy, and another which is out to destroy them.

Speaking at a campaign rally at Bastar village Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, he also accused the BJP and RSS of attacking the religion, ideology and history of the tribal communities in the country, and reiterated the promise of conducting a caste census. 

President Droupadi Murmu was not allowed to attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as she is a tribal woman, and this reflected the saffron party’s “mentality,” Mr. Gandhi alleged.

- PTI

A group of unidentified youths “stopped” the West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s car in his Lok Sabha constituency Baharampur and shouted “go back” slogan on April 13.

“This is nothing but a ploy to stop me. The local TMC is behind this. They want people not to work for the Congress party. This is the same thing they had done during the civic polls last year,” Mr. Chowdhury, who is seeking re-election from the constituency, told reporters. - PTI

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on April 13 moved to the Election Commission (EC) accusing BJP nominee for Puri Lok Sabha constituency Sambit Patra of distributing clocks adorned with the saffron party symbol, and his photograph to shopkeepers ahead of the polls.

A BJD delegation led by Rajya Sabha Member Sulata Deo has submitted a petition to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha in this regard.

“It has come to our attention that Sambit Patra and his campaign team have resorted to gross misconduct by distributing clocks adorned with the BJP logo, lotus symbol, and even Patra’s photograph,” the BJD alleged in its petition. - PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on April 13 said the Supreme Court upholding the abrogation of Article 370 does not close the issue and his party will keep it alive till a dispensation comes at the Centre that is willing to discuss the restoration of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“This government will not remain forever. There is no power on earth that can keep Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in office in perpetuity, there is no power on earth that can keep the BJP in office forever. Every government has a finite term, some are longer, some are shorter. Why would you assume that no government will come in future that will be unwilling to talk to us on Article 370,” Mr. Abdullah told PTI in an interview.

Rejecting BJP Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate K. Madhavi Latha’s allegation of about six lakh bogus votes in the constituency, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on April 13 said the Election Commission takes care of the issue of voters’ lists.

Mr. Owaisi, who is seeking re-election from Hyderabad constituency, wondered what his role was in the matter.

The AIMIM leader said the process of addition of names and publication of final voters’ list is carried out every year by the Election Commission which he does not head. - PTI

Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Sakoli in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district said “In the last 10 years, PM Modi has run the govt. for the sake of a few select billionaires, notably Gautam Adani. This is not Modi’s govt, but Adani’s govt. Everything is done for the benefit of one billionaire.”

Union minister Anurag Thakur called the AAP the “most dishonest party”, and claimed that the Congress is fighting the Lok Sabha elections for “abki baar, 40 paar” when the BJP is aiming for over 400 seats.

Congress leaders are leaving in droves for the BJP due to the spectacular performance of the BJP-led NDA government for the past ten years, he said in Madhya Pradesh’s Pandhurna district, a part of the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat.

- PTI

Bansuri Swaraj, the BJP candidate from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat and daughter of late Union minister Sushma Swaraj, said the values of Sangh run through her veins and that she cannot even think of filling her mother’s shoes owing to her stature and legacy.

“I humbly submit that I am in politics not because of Sushma Swaraj, and I say this with great responsibility. My ‘Sangh Ayu’ (affiliation) is 24 years. I started my political life as an ABVP worker,” she said.

“I have served the party and organisation as a lawyer for the last 10 years. I got the first responsibility in the party as co-convener of the legal cell of Delhi BJP, four years after the passing away of my mother,” she added.

- PTI

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said Gujjar leader Mian Altaf was still the party’s candidate from Anantnag Rajouri Parliamentary constituency amid reports that he was not keeping well.

“We have not heard about it. If he had taken such a decision, then he would have informed us. Now that you have raised it, we will find out about it,” Mr. Abdullah told reporters.

- PTI

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced its first list of seven candidates, fielding senior party leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib and Daljit Singh Cheema from Gurdaspur.

Besides, the SAD also named former MLA N K Sharma from Patiala, former minister Anil Joshi from Amritsar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa from Fatehgarh Sahib, Rajwinder Singh from Faridkot and Iqbal Singh Jhoonda from Sangrur seat.

- PTI

AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said the party will observe ‘Samvidhan Bachao, Tanashahi Hatao Divas’ across the country on the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar on April 14.

The party workers will read the preamble of the Constitution and an oath to save the founding document of the country, Mr. Rai said.

The minister, at a press conference at the party office here, said the BJP-led central government is “attacking our democracy and constitution”.

To counter that, we need to be united, Mr. Rai said.

- PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said if his party is voted to power at the Centre, it will immediately conduct a caste census in the country.

Addressing an election rally at Bastar village Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, he described the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a fight between two ideologies involving those seeking to protect the Constitution and those out to destroy it.

He also attacked the Narendra Modi-led government and said President Droupadi Murmu was prevented from attending the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya as she is a tribal, and it reflects the Bharatiya Janata Party’s mentality.

- PTI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked people not to get carried away by the words used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches and to vote for change in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a poll rally in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar, she said elections should be fought on real issues and not on the basis of empty rhetoric.

“Don’t get carried away by the words used by Modiji in his election speeches. Before casting your vote, you should honestly ask yourself whether 10 years of the Modi government have really brought about a positive change in your lives,” the Congress general secretary said.

- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya claimed that it was the Samajwadi Party’s “friendship” with Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari that led to its debacle in the state.

Mr. Maurya told reporters at party headquarters here, “Akhilesh Yadav has three friends Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar. Two of them are not alive anymore. But this friendship led to the wiping out of Samajwadi Party.” 

Gangster-Politician Atiq Ahmed was gunned down in police custody in Prayagraj last year while Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest in hospital in Banda last month.

Former cabinet minister Azam Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail after being convicted in multiple cases.

- PTI

A woman teacher of a government school in Odisha’s Boudh has been suspended by the district election officer-cum-district collector for allegedly attending an election rally and procession, an official notification said.

The woman teacher of Government Nodal High School at Dahya had allegedly participated in a political rally from Palaspat to Ambagaon in Kantamal assembly constituency two days ago in violation of ECI rules, it said.

- PTI

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said autocracy was detrimental to the country and called for having a coalition government at the Centre, saying that such dispensations have “worked well” in the past.

There is a need for a strong leader, but he should take everybody along, he said.

“Autocracy is detrimental to the country. There was a time when it was felt that there should be no coalition government. But P V Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as Manmohan Singh ran coalition governments well,” the former chief minister pointed out.

“Barring some exceptions, coalition governments have worked in the country. We want a strong country and a coalition government. We want a strong leader, but who can take everyone together,” Mr. Thackeray said.

- PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Lok Sabha polls will be a fight between two ideologies. It will be a fight between those seeking to protect the Constitution and those out to destroy it, he said.

- PTI

The Bahujan Samaj Party announced Jagjit Chharbarh as its candidate from Patiala Lok Sabha seat.

The information in this regard was shared by the party in-charge of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Randhir Singh Beniwal.

Punjab BSP chief Jasvir Singh Garhi said Jagjit Chharbarh will fight from Patiala Lok Sabha seat.

Patiala Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by Preneet Kaur.

- PTI

Congress will be finished in Chhattisgarh after Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader Rajnath Singh said in Dantewada.

- PTI

BJP will not even win 200 Lok Sabha seats, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in an election rally at Jalpaiguri.

- PTI

Corruption increases whenever Congress comes to power, BJP leader Rajnath Singh said at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada.

The real challenge before the Left in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls lies not in fighting the might of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, but in shattering the perception in people’s minds that no alternative currently exists beyond the TMC-saffron camp binary, said Dipsita Dhar, the Left Front-backed CPI(M) candidate from the Serampore seat.

Thirty-year-old Ms. Dhar, a first-timer in parliamentary polls, embodies her party’s current thrust on highlighting young Turks in electoral politics.

The Serampore constituency falls largely in the state’s Hooghly district, but it also encapsulates parts of neighbouring Howrah. This is where Ms. Dhar takes on TMC veteran and incumbent advocate Kalyan Banerjee and his former son-in-law Kabir Shankar Bose representing the saffron brigade.

- PTI

Rejecting BJP Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate K. Madhavi Latha’s allegation of about six lakh bogus votes in the constituency, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said the Election Commission takes care of the issue of voters’ lists.

Mr. Owaisi, who is seeking re-election from Hyderabad constituency, wondered what his role was in the matter.

The AIMIM leader said the process of addition of names and publication of final voters’ list is carried out every year by the Election Commission which he does not head.

He was responding to a query from reporters about Madhavi Latha’s charge that Owaisi wins with the help of the six lakh bogus votes The allegation amounts to “abusing” the Election Commission, he added.

- PTI

Also Read | Hyderabad Constituency has 30% bogus voters, says Congress leader

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Tamil Nadu, the Congress posed several questions to him, asking why is he so eager to privatise the Salem Steel Plant and why the ruling BJP has not set up a single educational institute in the southern state.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked Modi whether the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai is merely a publicity stunt.

“Today’s questions for the PM as he heads to Tamil Nadu: AIIMS Madurai: Premier institute or publicity stunt? Why hasn’t the BJP set up a single premier educational institute in TN? Why was the PM so eager to privatise Salem Steel Plant,” Mr. Ramesh asked in a post on X.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of giving “jumlas” (rhetoric), he said the saffron party proudly announced the establishment of the AIIMS, Madurai in the 2015-16 Union budget and for four years since the announcement, no action was taken.

- PTI

A contest between a former Chief Minister and a political greenhorn is being projected as a battle between an “outsider” and a “local” by the ruling Congress, raising the stakes for JD(S) in this key Lok Sabha poll in this ‘ Sakkare Naadu’ (land of sugar).

This Vokkaliga-dominated, largely agrarian constituency is all set for a face-off between JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy contesting as the joint candidate of his party and its alliance partner the BJP, and Congress’ Venkataramane Gowda, popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’, a contractor.

PTI

Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has accused the BJP and the AIMIM of being hand in glove with each other, and sought to know the source of funding of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instigates Hindus, while the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), headed by Mr. Owaisi, provokes Muslims, but they complement each other and work in tandem.

Mr. Singh was addressing a gathering on Friday night at Susner under Agar Malwa district, falling under Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat. Mr. Singh is a Congress nominee from this seat.

PTI

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ruled out the possibility of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha during the coming polls.

Speaking to reporters outside his house in Mysuru on Saturday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the INDIA alliance and other parties opposed to the BJP were poised to win a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha.

The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal released the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections and promised five new airports in the State and ₹1 lakh every year to “sisters from poor families on Raksha Bandhan day”.

Titled as “ parivartan patra (letter of change), RJD has promised altogether 24 promises in its manifesto released by party leader and former Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and other senior party leaders. 

The Kukis and Meitis may be at loggerheads in Manipur but their thoughts on one point converge — this is not the right time for Lok Sabha elections in the restive State.

It has nearly been a year since ethnic violence broke out between the hill-majority Kukis and the valley-majority Meitis. It has not only killed over 200 people and displaced around 50,000 but also sharply divided Manipur along ethnic lines.

Elections for two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur will be held on April 19 and 26. While Inner Manipur and some segments of Outer Manipur will vote in the first phase, the remaining segments of Outer Manipur will go to polls on April 26.

PTI

They have played captain innings in astroturf while representing the Indian hockey team, but this time they are trying their luck in the electoral battlefield in Sundergarh district, often referred to as the cradle of hockey in Odisha. They are Hockey India president and former Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Tirkey and ex-Indian hockey team captain Prabodh Tirkey. 

While Dilip Tirkey is the ruling Biju Janata Dal candidate for the Sundergarh (ST) Lok Sabha constituency, his junior and former India hockey captain, Prabodh Tirkey is the Congress candidate from the Talsara (ST) assembly segment also in Sundergarh district. Both the BJD and Congress have picked Dilip Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey in the electoral battle as Sundergarh is known as the cradle of hockey in the State and the game is very popular among the masses.

PTI

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has approached the Madras High Court challenging orders passed by a committee headed by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), on April 4, refusing to grant pre-certification for some of the posters, videos and audio recordings planned to be used by the party during the ongoing campaign for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled on April 19.

Read here

The passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill and the “pro-women” schemes might help the BJP’s fortunes, but the delay in rehabilitating victims of the Chamoli disaster is concerning, women voters in Uttrakhand’s Garhwal region have said.

Read here

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on April 13 said the INDIA alliance will deliver a “sweet victory” on June 4.

Mr. Stalin who was pleasantly surprised over receiving Mysore Pak from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the latter’s visit to the State on Friday, expressed that he was “touched” by his “brother’s sweet gesture.” The two leaders had addressed a poll rally in Coimbatore.

Police have registered two cases against senior Congress leader and the party’s Bastar Lok Sabha seat candidate Kawasi Lakhma in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district for allegedly violating the model code of conduct through his alleged objectionable remarks, officials said.

While an FIR was registered against him at Mirtur police station for allegedly making an objectionable remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another case was registered at Kutru police station for his alleged statement against police and administration, a district official said.

PTI

Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) president Pawan Kumar Chamling on Friday, April 12, 2024, claimed that Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang will convert all 12 assembly seats reserved for the Bhutia and Lepcha (BL) tribal communities into scheduled castes (SC) constituencies if he comes back to power.

Read here

Sonal Patel, whom the Congress has fielded against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, said she was not at all hesitant to fight the upcoming election against the senior BJP leader.

The 62-year-old leader, who is All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and the party co-incharge of Mumbai and western Maharashtra, claimed that anti-incumbency prevails as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has failed to fulfil the aspirations of people.

She also accused the ruling party of intimidating Congress workers in her constituency and sought a “level-playing field” in fighting elections.

PTI

Terming his defeat in the last Lok Sabha election on his home turf of Kalaburagi as an act of “deception”, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge has called upon the people to “avenge” his defeat by electing Congress candidates in this polls.

Read here

As the vibrant Bihu festival lights up the spirit of Assam, the buzz of electoral politics resonates just as strongly through the streets of Dibrugarh. This key parliamentary seat is grabbing headlines as it prepares for the polls on April 19, part of the first phase of elections in the State.

Dibrugarh is especially under the spotlight with Sarbananda Sonowal, the BJP’s high-profile candidate and Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, throwing his hat into the ring.

Speaking to ANI during his hectic campaign trail, the senior BJP leader said, “I am blessed to be given the opportunity by the party to contest as the BJP candidate for the prestigious Dibrugarh constituency. I convey my sincere thanks to the party leadership — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Party President J.P. Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah — for their faith in me.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi focussed a spotlight on the promise to restore Statehood and hold Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir at a rally for the upcoming Lok Sabha election on April 12, though he did not offer any concrete timeline for the restoration of Statehood. Instead, he extolled the positive impact of the abrogation of Article 370 and targeted the Opposition INDIA bloc’s leaders for their “Mughal mindset”.

Read here

Amid Opposition charges that the BJP was out to destroy the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 12 said that his government revered it and even Babasaheb Ambedkar would not be able to abolish it now.

Read here

Veteran Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram feels the fervour for militant, extreme, right-wing Hinduism is working in favour of the BJP in the Hindi belt. “Our Hinduism is more inclusive,” he says in an interview with The Hindu on Friday. He speaks on a range of issues including the alleged misuse of Central agencies, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and more.

Read the interview here

The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is probably the most evocative issue that has shaped politics for over three decades now. If in the 1990s, the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation mobilised Hindu public opinion across the country, mainly in the north and the west, and propelled the BJP to the centre stage of politics, the construction of the temple and its consecration in January this year have helped the party silently consolidate Hindu identity. 

CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey | ‘Construction of the Ram Mandir will help the BJP consolidate Hindu identity’

CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey: If the Ram Mandir issue is brought into focus during the campaign, the BJP may make further gains, but even if it is not, the BJP has already established itself as a party that stands for Hindu pride.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is re-contesting Lok Sabha polls from Thiruvananthapuram said BJP’s message is not well received in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and the party has very little hope from southern India.

“The problem for them (the BJP) is that their message is not well received in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Here, we have a very different culture. We live with people of all religions, all faiths, and all castes side by side. We share life, and we celebrate festivals together. Ours is a very different place from the kind of ethos that the BJP promotes in northern India and therefore their message will not get across here,” he said.

“In Kerala as a whole, there is a great deal of lack of receptivity to that kind of politics, which is very similar in Tamil Nadu and very similar in Andhra, so I would say that the BJP has very little hope in the South. That’s why, when the Prime Minister came and announced we are going to do double digits in Kerala, I said only if the two digits were zero and zero,” Mr. Tharoor told ANI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scheduled to unveil its election manifesto, known as the “Sankalp Patra,” on April 14 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, according to sources.

The manifesto committee, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has already held two meetings. The BJP has received over 1.5 million suggestions for its manifesto, including more than 400,000 through the NaMo app and over 1.1 million through videos.

According to party sources, the BJP’s manifesto will focus on development, a prosperous India, women, youth, the poor, and farmers. The party pledges to fulfil only those promises that are achievable. The theme of the manifesto will be “Modi’s Guarantee: Developed India 2047,” with a focus on cultural nationalism.

ANI

Three weeks before the 2024 general election was to commence, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) enjoyed a comfortable 12 percentage point lead over the rival alliance, INDIA, according to the CSDS-Lokniti pre-poll survey. The Narendra Modi factor continues to play a major role in providing the NDA with its advantage. 

CSDS-Lokniti pre-poll survey | ‘BJP has an edge, but a tough fight is possible’

The Narendra Modi factor continues to play a major role in providing the NDA with its advantage. However, livelihood-related issues are emerging as major concerns in this election, says CSDS-Lokniti pre-poll survey

On June 4, 2024, the day of counting of votes of the Lok Sabha elections, will India witness anti-incumbency? Or will the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is seeking a third consecutive term under the same leader, witness a watershed moment?

CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey | There is no clear and close challenger to the BJP this time. ‘Ifs and buts’ apply

CSDS-Lokniti 2024 pre-poll survey: BJP, which is banking on its record in government, the Modi factor, and more votes from southern and eastern India, is in a pole position. But respondents are upset about economic distress

While the grim memories of the ethnic violence, which left many dead and scores displaced, still fresh in the minds of voters, 29 special polling stations have been set up ahead of the Lok Sabha elctions for about 5,000 people, who are presently sheltered in camps.

All arrangements to enable displaced people to vote have been made in accordance with the guidance received from the Central Government, polling officials told ANI.

Senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to participate in the party’s campaign rally in Agartala, Tripura on April 16, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Swami Vivekananda Maidan.

The senior Congress leader will lead a roadshow that will cover most of the city areas in support of CPIM-supported INDIA bloc candidate Asish Kumar Saha. Mr. Saha also happens to be the president of the Congress party’s Tripura State unit.

PTI

The Congress party’s choice of candidate for Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh is tied to its strategy of quelling factionalism in the State unit as well as provide stability to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government.

Sources told The Hindu that the son of former Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh and State unit chief Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, is most likely going to be pitted against BJP candidate and film actor Kangana Ranaut.

Top Congress leaders will discuss and decide on the party candidates from Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Delhi at a meeting of the central election committee to be held on Saturday evening.

The central election committee chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday.