Lok Sabha elections 2024 updates | Highlights of April 24, 2024

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for asserting that nobody in the world can stop the implementation of the CAA. 

She also remarked that Mr. Singh now appeared reliant on PM Narendra Modi’s favour. 

“You are surviving at the mercy of Modi. You are saluting Modi daily to save your chair. You or Nitin Gadkari could have been the PM today. There would have been no problem... at least there would have been a gentleman in the chair who knows minimum courtesy,” she said. - PTI

Calling the opposition INDIA bloc a group of “Ghamandia” (arrogant) parties, BJP president J.P. Nadda claimed that majority of the leaders of those “corrupt” parties are either in jail or out in bail. 

Addressing public meetings in Bihar’s Bhagalpur and Khagaria seeking votes for party candidates, Nadda also said that constituents of that anti-BJP coalition are dynastic parties. 

“The INDI Alliance is ghamandiya gathbandhan (group of arrogant parties) and all leaders in it only want to work for the betterment of their families. They shelter corrupt politicians and practise dynastic politics. Majority of the leaders of the INDI Alliance are either in jail or on bail,” he said. - PTI

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee asserted ten top BJP leaders are keen on switching over to the TMC, a claim dubbed baseless by the saffron party.

While conducting a road show in a Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Banerjee said the party will open its doors at the right moment and the “BJP will be wiped out of the state.” “The BJP is trying to get into the game of breaking parties, but they can’t win in it. They poached two of our MPs, and we replied by taking two of their MPs, Arjun Singh and Babul Supriyo. Recently, by using ED raids, they inducted Tapas Ray. At least 10 top leaders of the BJP are in the queue to join the TMC,” he said. - PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if people vote for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, their votes will go to the patriots, who who want to establish a ‘Ram Rajya’ in the country and not to the anti-nationals, who want dynastic politics to thrive. 

He also hit out at the Congress, saying it kept the Ram Janmabhoomi issue pending for 70 years, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi solved it soon after coming to power and built a Ram temple in Ayodhya. 

Mr. Shah was addressing a public meeting at Amravati to campaign for BJP’s Amravati Lok Sabha seat candidate Navneet Rana and Wardha candidate Ramdas Tadas. 

Mr. Shah attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for “insulting” Lord Ram by skipping the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony despite being invited. - PTI

The Odisha BJP trained its guns on V.K. Pandian, a close aide of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, as it launched a blistering attack on the Biju Janata Dal government by unveiling a catalogue of the administration’s ‘misrule and misdeed’.

The BJP released an Odia booklet, titled ( pachis barsha ra papa pedi) ‘25 years’ box of sins’ levelling charges of corruption, misgovernance, anti-farmer policies, atrocities against women, distress migration, rising unemployment, protection of criminals and anti-tribal deeds against the ruling party.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kannauj, the party announced on April 24, two days after it had declared another candidate for the Uttar Pradesh seat.

On Monday, the SP HAD declared Tej Pratap Yadav as its candidate from the seat.

The party said Akhilesh Yadav will now file his papers on Thursday, when nominations begin. - PTI

The curtains came down April 24 evening on a high-voltage campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in 89 seats across 13 states on April 26. 

Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir. - PTI

An FIR was registered on April 24 over a social media post by the BJP’s official handle which allegedly sought to promote hatred and enmity between different groups and classes, Election Commission (EC) officials said.

Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer stated that the FIR has been lodged by the Flying Squads Team of Malleswaram Assembly constituency against the post on X on April 23 titled “Congress Manifesto or Muslim League Manifesto”.

BJP candidate from Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency K. Madhavi Latha filed her nomination papers for the May 13 elections.

At a poll rally in Harda, Madhya Pradesh, PM Modi said, “There is a different kind of enthusiasm during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Dangerous hidden agenda of Congress is exposed; it is now clear how much that party hates Dalits and other backward classes.” 

“Congress wants to snatch reservation from OBCs, scheduled castes and tribes for giving it to its most loved community,” PM Modi added. 

“World will ridicule ‘one year, one PM’ scheme; do you want a new PM every year,” asked PM Modi at Harda rally in Madhya Pradesh. - PTI

The high-spirited finale of the open campaign was marked by hundreds of activists from various parties converging at particular places in each constituency, showcasing their strength by playing songs aloud, raising thunderous slogans, waving party flags, and distributing pamphlets. 

Even the final day of election campaign was marked by the presence of various national leaders in the state, including Home Minister Amit Shah, AICC Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who addressed public meetings in various constituencies. - PTI

Campaigning for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka going to polls in the first phase on April 26, came to an end on April 24. 

A total of 247 candidates — 226 men and 21 women — are in the fray for the first round of voting in most of the southern and coastal districts, where an estimated over 2.88 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 30,602 polling stations on April 26. 

It is a straight electoral contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) combine in the state. 

While the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11, and its alliance partner JD(S) in three — Hassan, Mandya and Kolar. - PTI

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee asserted that BJP will be “astonished” to see the results on June 4, and a “democratic and secular government” will be established in Delhi. 

Coming down heavily on the Congress and CPI (M), its INDIA bloc allies at the national level, the Diamond Harbour MP claimed that when Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were seeking the support of the Trinamool Congress for the formation of the opposition alliance, the parties’ West Bengal leaders were “effusively abusing” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. - PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath alleged that Congress wants to rob the rights of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Castes with its caste census. 

“Congress’s intention has always been to gain power by any means. They want power at the expense of the country. For this, they will bring in Talibani tendencies in India that will cause barbaric atrocities of women,” Mr. Adityanath said. - PTI

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda slammed Rahul Gandhi’s “wealth redistribution promise”, stating that only someone with no practical knowledge can speak like that. 

“The Congress has promised so many things in its manifesto that only a party that is very sure of never coming to power will promise so much,” Mr. Gowda said at a press conference in Bengaluru. - PTI

Blaming the ruling BJP for “rising” inflation in the country, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the waiver of ₹16 lakh crore loans of industrialists and extorting money from them in the guise of electoral bonds have led to price rise in the country. 

“The loans of the big and powerful people who supported them (BJP) were not only waived but they were also given more loans from banks and donations were taken from the same companies. The result is that today we are facing inflation,” Mr. Yadav said. 

“If someone is very rich, he can donate ₹one or two lakh but no one will donate ₹1,000 crore, ₹600 crore or ₹500 crore.

“It is wrong to call the money taken by the BJP as donations. The BJP has made vasuli (extortion) and perhaps no one else in history would have made so much vasuli,” he added. - PTI

Union minister Nitin Gadkari fainted while speaking at an election rally in eastern Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. 

The BJP leader was campaigning at Pusad which comes under the Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency. 

The minister, however, recovered after a few minutes and completed his speech. 

“Felt uneasy due to heat at a rally at Pusad, Maharashtra. But now I am completely alright and on my way to Warud to take part in the next rally,” the 66-year-old leader said in a post on X. - PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress over its leader Sam Pitroda’s “inheritance tax” remark, saying that the grand old party’s “dangerous intentions” of snatching the assets and rights of people have come to the fore.

The Congress will loot and equally distribute people’s earnings and properties, he claimed while addressing an election rally in Ambikapur, the headquarter of Surguja district, in Chhattisgarh.

“The dangerous intentions of Congress are coming to forth one by one and now it says it will impose inheritance tax. The advisor of ‘shehzada’ of the ‘shahi parivar’, who was also the advisor to the shehzada’s father, said that more tax should be imposed on the middle class and those who earn by toiling hard,” Mr. Modi said, apparently referring to Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Pitroda.

Bikramjoy Tripura, a ‘jhumia’ (shifting cultivator) residing at remote Vidya Kumar Roaja Para village in Tripura’s Dhalai district, said politicians come to our hamlet during elections and promise development but none of their promises has been fulfilled but still, he will vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

The main problem of the village, which is located around 62 km away from Ambassa, the district headquarters of Dhalai is connectivity as the village does not have a motorable road from Chawmanu, the block headquarters, he told the PTI reporter who visited this remote village.

There is no electricity, mobile connectivity or healthcare facility in our village, he said.

“The Lok Sabha election is coming and we all will vote on April 26 but it remains a five-year ritual for us because it will bring no solution to our problems”, the 41-year-old said.

- PTI

Two days after the Samajwadi Party declared its candidate for the Kannauj parliamentary seat, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav stoked speculation that he might himself contest from the constituency.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has already declared Tej Pratap Yadav as its candidate from the seat for which nominations will start from April 25.

When asked whether he will contest from the seat or Tej Pratap will remain the party’s candidate, Yadav told reporters, “See, when there are nominations, you will get to know. Maybe you will get to know before nominations also.” 

When asked whether party workers of Kannauj wanted him to contest from the seat, Mr. Yadav said, “The question here is of historic victory from the seat. The BJP will become history in this election as people have made up their mind for INDIA bloc. People are going to vote against the NDA. PDA (picchde, Dalit, alpsankhyak) will defeat the NDA this time.” 

- PTI

Amid the row over Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks, the party asserted that it has no plans whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax and cited former Union minister Jayant Sinha’s remarks to allege that it is the Modi government that wanted to do so.

Pitroda, the president of the Indian Overseas Congress, has talked about the inheritance tax law in the United States while answering a query on the “redistribution of wealth” issue.

Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress over its Pitroda’s “inheritance tax” remark, saying the grand old party’s “dangerous intentions” of snatching away the assets and rights of people have come to the fore.

PDP youth president Waheed Rehman Parra filed his nomination papers from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir which is going to polls in the fourth phase of elections on May 13.

Accompanied by senior party leaders, including PDP general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Parra filed the nomination papers before Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat, who is the returning officer of the constituency.

Talking to reporters later, Mr. Parra said the PDP will raise the voice of people of Kashmir in the Parliament.

“In this election, our endeavour is that the people of Kashmir will make Mehbooba Mufti’s team successful so that we raise your voice in the biggest institution and represent your issues there,” Mr. Parra said.

- PTI

Sitting MP Vishnu Dayal Ram filed his nomination papers as the BJP candidate for the Palamu Lok Sabha constituency.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) nominee Mamta Bhuiyan also filed her nomination papers during the day as the INDIA bloc candidate for the same constituency.

Mr. Ram was accompanied by Union Minister V K Singh and state BJP president Babulal Marandi when he submitted his papers to the returning officer at the Palamu district headquarters.

- PTI

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed that 10 years of Narendra Modi government saw only 22-25 persons becoming billionaires, but if the INDIA alliance is voted to power, it will turn crores of people into “lakhpatis”.

Addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, Gandhi also said no force in the world can change the Constitution of India.

He reiterated that caste census will be done on priority if the INDIA alliance is voted to power and it will also waive farmers’ loans.

The Congress, which is a part of the opposition INDIA alliance, has listed the Mahalaxmi scheme and the right to apprenticeship among its various promises made in its manifesto for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing an “unbelievable job” in India by pursuing reforms and taking 400 million people out of poverty through inclusive financial programmes, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has said.

Mr. Dimon made these remarks while speaking at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York.

He praised Prime Minister Modi for the performance of his government.

- PTI

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with selling state-owned factories established decades ago to Ambani and Adani.

He also challenged Modi to recover the looted money from the Gandhi family instead of blaming them though none of its members has been Prime Minister, Chief Minister or any Minister since 1989. “Modi says the Gandhi family looted the country. You are the Prime Minister, recover the looted money”.

“Modi says he has done big things. What have you done? You are selling and eating the big factories former PM Jawaharlal Nehru had established,” Mr. Kharge said addressing a public meeting at Afzalpur in his home district of Kalaburagi.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at Congress claiming that it promised reservations on the basis of religion even though the Constitution does not allow it.

The opposition party wants to snatch away your wealth, he said at an election rally at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.

India’s Constitution bars reservations on the basis of religion, but Congress promised the same in its poll manifesto, the PM said.

By doing so, it stabbed Dr B R Ambedkar in the back, he added.

- PTI

Attacking Congress over the murder of student Neha Hiremath in Karnataka, senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Wednesday asked what ‘nyay’ (justice) Congress can ensure when the daughter of the party’s councillor is killed and the victim’s family had to seek a CBI probe.

In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, ‘sab ka sath, sab ka vikas’ is ensured, he said.

“In Rahul Gandhi’s ‘nafrat ka dukaan’ (shop of hatred), bazar of hatred is opened. What ‘nyay’ (justice) they will get, when in Karnataka, where Congress government is there, Neha, the daughter of Congress councillor, ... does not get justice. They had to ask for a CBI probe,” the union minister said.

- PTI

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the Congress party’s manifesto includes “jihadi” and “appeasement” politics.

Addressing a press conference here, Sachdeva slammed the Congress, saying the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections “aims to break the country”.

“The manifesto of the Congress reeks of ‘jihadi’ thinking and appeasement politics. They have said if we come to power we will survey the assets of the country. Congress should explain which assets they are referring to. Are they talking about the jewellery of our mothers and daughters?” he said.

- PTI

DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed confidence of the INDIA bloc winning the Lok Sabha polls and said the new dispensation will fulfill the pledge to uplift Other Backward Classes, the Scheduled Castes and Tribes.

Tamil Nadu has played a pivotal role in championing social justice, Stalin said in his address at the social justice conference (Samajik Nyay Sammelan) held by Samruddha Bharat Foundation in the national capital.

The DMK chief recalled the era of the Justice Party government, dating back to 1921 and said it stands as a beacon of social justice with the introduction of reservations for the underprivileged through the communal G.O (Government Order).

- PTI

Prices of essential commodities are rising exponentially under BJP rule, alleges Priyanka Gandhi in Kerala.

PM failed to address price rise, other issues affecting people, instead focusing on irrelevant topics, Ms. Gandhi said.

PM did nothing for people; he diverted their attention from real issues even during election campaign, she added.

As Aligarh gears up for polling on April 26, high GST rates, MSP, inflation and unemployment are some of the issues of concern for the voters with Opposition raking them up while the BJP claims development work of the past 10 years in this western Uttar Pradesh constituency will see its candidate through.

The contest is a three-way one with incumbent Satish Gautam from the BJP facing competition from Bijendra Singh of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bunty Upadhyay of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Over 18 lakh voters are eligible to participate in the electoral process this Friday in Aligarh which has a Muslim population of over 40 per cent and houses the historic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

- PTI

Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda has backed the party’s stand on redistribution of wealth and advocated an inheritance tax law in the country.

Emphasing the need for policy towards wealth redistribution, Mr. Pitroda elaborated on the concept of inheritance tax prevailing in the U.S. “In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45% to his children, 55% is grabbed by the government. That’s an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” Mr. Pitroda said.

Terming the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc a “deceitful gang”, Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah has said the Congress and the communist parties despite being partners in other States are fighting each other in Kerala.

Addressing a campaign rally of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency Shobha Surendran at Punnapra in Alappuzha, Kerala, on April 24, Mr. Shah said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [(CPI (M)]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and were “cheating” the people of Kerala.

Rahul Gandhi in Maharashtra’s Amravati, lambasts PM Modi and the BJP saying, “For the first time, a political party in the history of India has attacked the Constitution and is trying to finish it off. On the one hand, the I.N.D.I.A. alliance is striving to preserve the Constitution, on the other, Narendra Modi, RSS, BJP are trying to destroy it. This is their objective. I want to give a message to the country that no power in the world can change the Indian constitution.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying those who call themselves ‘deshbhakt’ are scared of the ‘X-ray’ of caste census but “no force” can stop it.

Addressing the ‘Samajik Nyay Sammelan’ here, Mr. Gandhi said he is not interested in caste but in ‘nyay’ (justice) and asserted that it is his life’s mission to ensure justice for the 90 percent of the population against whom injustice has been done.

“As soon as our government is formed, the first thing that would be done is a caste census,” Mr. Gandhi said.

- PTI

Amit Shah rakes up Karuvannur bank scam, terming it an attack on cooperative sector by Left in Kerala.

- PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had panicked after seeing the Congress’ “revolutionary” manifesto.

“So did you like the Congress manifesto? You must have seen that the Prime Minister has panicked. It is a revolutionary manifesto,” Mr. Gandhi said while speaking at Social Justice conclave organised by the Congress in Delhi.

Mr. Gandhi alleged that Narendra Modi government at the Centre transferred crores of rupees to the few billionaires and said that Congress manifesto talks about returning a small amount of that money to the people who are at the bottom pyramid of income and wealth distribution.

“ There is mention of x-ray (caste census) and income inequality created by Modi ji. The Congress will return a small amount of money to 90% of the people of the country from the Rs 16 lakh crore given to the 22 people by Narendra Modi,” he said.

- ANI

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray hit out the BJP, saying that by inducting former Congress leader Ashok Chavan, the ruling party has also become a part of the multi-crore Adarsh Housing Society scam now.

Earlier, the BJP used to target Chavan saying the families of martyrs were fooled in the Adarsh scam, but now the same party is involved in fooling them, he alleged.

Ashok Chavan, a former Maharashtra chief minister, is an accused in the Adarsh Housing Society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances.

- PTI

The media, mostly owned by forces that support the BJP, doesn’t show you the truth, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi alleged.

The BJP will pull out some new issue that is unrelated to your life & the whole media will talk about such irrelevant issues. But, if you look carefully, the truth is everywhere, she said.

The truth lies in the daily struggles of your life, the rising prices of essentials, the highest rate of unemployment, reduced household savings and India’s declining growth rate, Ms. Gandhi added.

The Delhi BJP staged a protest near the Congress party headquarters here, claiming that Rahul Gandhi was indulging in politics to disintegrate India.

The BJP also said that the Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls was an “insult” to the culture of the country.

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the BJP including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have launched a frontal attack on the Congress alleging its manifesto smacks of appeasement and that if it came to power, it would redistribute people’s wealth and also give reservations to Muslims from the quotas for SC, ST and OBC communities.

- PTI

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has given ticket to the Marndi couple to contest from the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district while the opposition BJP has fielded the Singhdeo couple from western Odisha’s Bolangir district for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Odisha’s Revenue minister Sudam Marndi has been fielded by the BJD from the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat while his wife Ranjita Marndi will be the regional outfit’s nominee from the Bangirposi assembly segment.

The 56-year-old tribal leader’s Assembly seat Bangirposi has been given to his wife, who took voluntary retirement from government service two months ago to contest from the seat on the BJD ticket.

Sudam Marndi has been elected to the Odisha Assembly for five times and once to the Lok Sabha.

- PTI

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on April 24 exuded confidence of winning both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections as he kicked off the official campaign of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from Hinjili, his longstanding assembly constituency. 

Addressing a public rally in Hinjili assembly constituency located in his home district of Ganjam, Mr. Patanaik outlined a 10-year development plan with a strong emphasis on empowering the youth.

He announced plans for a youth budget aimed at harnessing the potential of the State’s young population for its development. Mr. Patnaik envisioned the next decade, from 2024 to 2034, as a golden era for the youth of Odisha, with a focus on industrial investment, employment generation, and skill development.

An IA petition was filed in the Supreme Court on April 24 for constituting a Special Investigation Team to investigate each instance of quid pro quo, corruption and kickbacks revealed through the disclosure of details of the electoral bonds.

The petition filed by Common Cause, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl D’Souza, said some of the country’s main investigative agencies such as the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department “appear to have become accessories to corruption”.

Several firms which were under investigation by these agencies have donated large sums of money to the ruling party, potentially to influence outcomes of probes, the petition said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress, saying the “vote bank hungry” party wanted to implement reservation on the basis of religion.

Addressing a poll rally in Ambikapur, the headquarters of Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi also said the Congress wanted to impose inheritance tax in the country and snatch the rights of people’s children.

“Today when I have come to Surguja, I want to present the Muslim League thinking of the Congress in front of the country. When their manifesto was released, on the same day I had said, and saying today also that the Congress manifesto has the imprint of Muslim League,” Modi said.

- PTI

This election is for freeing the state from violence, BJP leader Amit Shah said in Kerala.

Communists and Congress are taking support of banned organisation PFI, Mr. Shah alleged.

During Communist and Congress rule, terrorists were protected in state, he said.

- PTI

All surveys indicate whole of state is with Narendra Modi, says Amit Shah in Kerala.

Communists are finished in the world and in India. Congress too has declined. It is time for BJP, Mr. Shah added.

This election is for making Narendra Modi the PM for a third time, he said.

- PTI

Congress candidate for Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency in Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi alleged that the ruling BJP is trying religious polarisation in Nagaon, which has become a Muslim majority constituency after delimitation by the Election Commission of India last year.

Out of a total electors of around 18.2 lakh, there are over 10.5 lakh Muslim voters in Nagaon constituency after the delimitation.

Like every medicine has an expiry date, such a kind of communal polarisation is going to expire and public discourse will take a different turn, he said, expressing optimism about public wisdom.

- PTI

Voters in West Bengal may have a knack for maintaining status quo in state politics but in the Serampore Lok Sabha constituency, which surprises pollsters every once in a while, incumbent TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee may find himself at the receiving end of electors’ choice this time around.

Mr. Banerjee, though, rubbished any such possibility and called himself an “exception” to the trend where voters have swung among five Left, three Congress and two Trinamool MPs in the past few decades.

A senior, albeit maverick, leader and a lawyer in his own right, Mr. Banerjee is seeking a re-election from the seat for the fourth consecutive term when the constituency goes to polls on May 20 during the fifth phase with its 16-lakh odd electorate.

- PTI

A group of armed persons suspected to be Maoists were again sighted at Kambamala, near Thalappuzha, in Wayanad district of Kerala on April 24 morning.

Four armed persons, reportedly including Maoist leader C.P. Moideen, entered an estate lane around 6.10 a.m. and gathered estate workers at Kambamala junction. They interacted with the workers and reportedly asked them to “boycott” the Lok Sabha elections.

“There is no need for any rulers as the public themselves decide their destiny,” the suspected Maoists told the workers. They spent nearly 20 minutes in the area.

They want to snatch your assets and rights of your children, says PM Modi targeting Congress at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh.

Congress says it will impose inheritance tax, PM Modi said at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh.

- PTI

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge seemed hesitant to identify the Left Democratic Front (LDF), an INDIA bloc partner at the national level, as Congress’s main rival in Kerala. 

Instead, at a press conference at the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) headquarters, Indira Bhavan, in Thiruvananthapuram on April 24, Mr. Kharge focussed his party’s ire on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the latter’s Sangh Parivar brand of “muscular Hindu majoritarian nationalism and anti-Muslim politics.”

Congress planned to implement reservation on the basis of religion in the country, PM Modi said at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh.

- PTI

Congress has been supporting those who spread violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.

A peculiar poll battle is on the cards in the tribal-dominated Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan where the Congress is appealing to the people not to vote for its candidate.

The reason: After much flip-flop, the Congress decided to form an alliance with the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and the two parties fielded their joint candidate - Rajkumar Roat. However, the Congress candidate, Arvind Damor, whose name was announced before the stitching of the alliance, has refused to withdraw his nomination.

What was supposed to be a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress-BAP alliance has turned into a three-way fight with Mr. Damor likely to divide the Congress votes thus, giving an edge to the saffron party candidate - Mahendrajit Singh Malviya.

While the local leadership of the Congress has appealed to the people to vote for Mr. Roat instead of their own candidate, Mr. Damor has claimed that he has the support of a section of the party leaders who are against the alliance with the BAP.

- PTI

AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge said as the first round of voting of the Lok Sabha polls was over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of invisible voters and that’s why he is always criticising the Congress party.

If the Congress is nothing, why is the Prime Minister bothered about the grand old party, Kharge asked at a press conference.

He said he had travelled to nearly 10-12 states and that the party was getting a very good response from voters there.

- PTI

With eight out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh going to polls on April 26 in the second phase of general elections, including Aligarh, Amroha, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Bulandshahar, Meerut, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Mathura, the electoral campaign in India’s politically most crucial State peaked with top leaders leaving no stone unturned in reaching out to voters with contentious, polarising and long-standing issues taking centre stage in the political landscape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, both of whom led the ruling BJP campaign in phase two, invoked issues of the Opposition declining the Ram temple invite and appeasement politics of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP). 

Of the eight seats going for polls, the BJP in 2019 emerged victorious in seven, namely Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Mathura and Gautam Buddha Nagar, with the lone seat of Amroha won by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Kunwar Danish Ali, who is now a Congress candidate from the same seat. The campaign in Amroha witnessed rallies by Mr. Modi and a joint rally by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP president Akhilesh Yadav. Mr. Modi, while campaigning in Amroha, claimed that the sitting MP and Congress nominee Mr. Ali had problems in chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai. “Will a person, who cannot accept Bharat Mata ki jai, look good in the Indian Parliament? Should such a person be allowed entry into the Indian Parliament?” he asked voters. 

Though all the political parties talk about giving equal representation to women, during ticket distribution in the polls, the talk remains a false promise. This is visible at least in the Lok Sabha poll in Bihar, when both the national parties, the Congress and the BJP, have ignored Aadhi Aabadi (women, half the population) and did not field a single woman candidate in the State.

The picture became clear on Monday when the Congress announced the names of five more candidates for Bihar in which there was no mention of any woman candidate contesting the Lok Sabha polls. In the alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Left parties, along with the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) of Mukesh Sahani, the Congress has been offered nine seats. 

Defending the BJP for allowing the entry of leaders from different political parties, many of whom have had ongoing investigations against them from Central security agencies and have now landed tickets for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said that the party would not compromise on its ideology for any one.

Having set itself the steep target of 370 seats — a rise of 67 seats from their present 303 tally, the BJP, according to some estimates, has given tickets to 34 candidates who joined them just ahead of the polls. 

Repolling at eight polling stations in four Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh is underway on Wednesday, amid elaborate security arrangements, an official said. 

The repolling was necessitated following reports of violence, including damage to electronic voting machines (EVMs), during the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the northeastern State on April 19, he said. 

The Election Commission ordered repolling to Sario under the Bameng Assembly constituency in East Kameng district, Longte Loth in the Nyapin segment in Kurung Kumey, and Bogne and Molom booths under the Rumgong seat in Siang.

Dingser, Bogiya Siyum, Jimbari and Lengi under the Nacho constituency in Upper Subansiri are also on the list of booths where repolling is underway. 

PTI

Campaigning for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka going to polls in the first phase on April 26 will come to an end on Wednesday evening.

A total of 247 candidates -- 226 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for this round of voting in most of the southern and coastal districts. 

While the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11, and its alliance partner JD(S) in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar. 

PTI

Fr. Paul Thelakat is the former spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church and former chief editor of Christian journals ‘Sathyadeepam’ and Light of Truth. 

In an interview with The Hindu, the respected public figure and writer discussed issues ranging from the nature of the relationship between Christian and Muslim communities in Kerala, the question of ‘Love Jihad’, the CAA and the critical nature of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The Lok Sabha elections in Telangana this time are unique in the sense that the family of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao is not part of the race and for the first time, none from his family will have representation in Parliament, either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

Representation in Parliament was key to Telangana formation as the Constitution vested with it the power of creating a new State, and Mr. Rao emphasised multiple times how the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (now BRS) captured national attention by strongly advocating for the creation of a separate state. Read more

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent remarks that the Congress “would not spare even the mangalsutra of women”, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said he would not make such a statement if he knew the value of the mangalsutra.

Challenging him to fight the elections on issues such as price rise and unemployment, Ms. Vadra said, “How many more elections will you fight on Hindu-Muslim agenda? Do you know our party’s tradition? My grandmother Indira Gandhi donated her mangalsutra during the war. My mother’s mangalsutra was also sacrificed for the country,” she said referring to the assassination of her father. Read more

As Kerala gets ready to vote on April 26, many of the candidates contesting the election are using songs, ranging from rousing marching pieces and rap to lyrics set to popular film numbers, to reach out to voters.

Many reputed lyricists have been writing songs for their friends and acquaintances, irrespective of the political party they represent. Senior political leaders have also come out with verses for their candidates. Leading from the front is Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam who has written two songs for candidates of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). 

The outcome of six out of the eight Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, up for voting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 26, is likely to mirror the sentiments of the farmers, Dalits, and Marathas in the primarily rural State.

The constituencies going to polls include Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal-Washim, Buldhana, Wardha in the Vidarbha region and Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli in Marathwada, both regions of rural distress in the western State. 

Barring Amravati, which was clinched by the actor-turned-independent MP Navneet Kaur-Rana, the rest were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance in 2019. This time around, Congress candidates are in the fray in almost all the seats. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday alleged that the Congress in its election manifesto expressed intention to implement Sharia law in the country and redistribute people’s wealth.

“The Congress and its partners betrayed the nation and once again (has) come to you (voters) with a false manifesto. If you look at the Congress’ manifesto, they say that if they form a government, they will implement personal laws, meaning Sharia law,” said Mr. Adityanath, addressing an election meeting in Amroha. 

Mr. Adityanath, who was addressing the rally in support of BJP candidate Kanwar Singh Tanwar, said prior to 2014, frequent terror attacks instilled fear among the masses. He praised the Narendra Modi-led Union Government for curbing terrorism since coming to power in 2014.

“Our Prime Minister Modi ji took decisive steps. He revoked Article 370, which was the foundation of terrorism. It led to the eradication of terrorism from our nation. Now, even when a firecracker explodes, Pakistan promptly denies involvement,” said the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. 

A day after the BJP’s Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed in the Surat Lok Sabha seat, Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani – whose nomination papers were rejected on technical grounds – has gone incommunicado, prompting the local workers to hold a protest outside his residence. 

Mr. Dalal was declared the winner after the remaining candidates in the fray withdrew their nomination papers on April 22. 

The Congress workers, who protested outside Mr. Kumbhani’s locked house in Poona locality of Surat city on April 23, called him a “traitor” and “murderer of democracy”. 

“He is missing, his phone is switched off and his location remains unknown. He was last seen on April 21 when his nomination papers were rejected,” said local Congress workers who are furious at Mr. Kumbhani’s “irresponsible conduct.” The party workers even pasted posters at the gate of his locked house that read “ janta ka gaddar (people’s traitor).” 

Mr. Kumbhani’s nomination papers were rejected on April 21 after his three proposers denied that they signed the papers. The three proposers have also missing since April 19. 

The Election Commission (EC) on April 23 said that it was examining the complaint made against the speech made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Rajasthan where he had said that if elected to power at the Centre, the Opposition Congress would distribute people’s property, land and gold among Muslims.

EC sources said the complaint regarding the Prime Minister’s speech has been received and is under the consideration of commission.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was not participating in Lok Sabha poll campaign since Sunday as he was unwell, will resume electioneering on Wednesday with public meetings in Maharashtra’s Amravati and Solapur.

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