Lok Sabha elections updates | PM Modi launches BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign in MP with Jabalpur roadshow

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday issued a notice to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for allegedly making derogatory comments about Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

During YSRCP’s ‘Memanta Siddham’ public meetings at Puttalapattu, Madanapalle, Naidupeta, Jagan allegedly equated Chandrababu Naidu to multiple demonic characters from popular films.

- ANI

The Election Commission has launched a variety of campaigns across social media platforms to nudge young and urban voters to cast their ballot in the Lok Sabha elections.

The poll watchdog has also initiated a campaign urging people to first verify then amplify what they get on social media related to elections.

According to the EC, it is nudging young and first-time voters through ‘Turning 18’ campaign, urging them to come to the polling station to vote.

‘You are the One’ campaign seeks to recognise importance of different stakeholders in the election process, including polling machinery, in ensuring that no voter is left behind.

- PTI

A regional political outfit of the Sonowal-Kachari community on Sunday joined the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA), a coalition of various parties in the state.

The Sonowal Kachari Gana Mancha formally joined the UOFA in the presence of the forum’s president and Congress’ state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah and MLA Akhil Gogoi at Dibrugarh.

The UOFA was formed as a 16-party forum last year to fight the Lok Sabha elections unitedly against the BJP-led coalition in the state.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday kickstarted the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh with a roadshow in Jabalpur.

He was accompanied by MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state PWD minister Rakesh Singh and the party’s Jabalpur Lok Sabha candidate Ashish Dubey.

- PTI

The Congress announced its candidates for three parliamentary constituencies of Bangaon, Uluberia and Ghatal in West Bengal, the party said in a release.

The party also named its candidate for the by-election to Bhagabangola Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district.

CPI(M) politburo member Manik Sarkar has urged party workers and supporters to vote for the Congress candidate contesting from the Tripura West constituency in the Lok Sabha elections.

Sarkar, a former chief minister of the state, made the statement following persistent criticism by Chief Minister Manik Saha and BJP candidate for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, Biplab Kumar Deb, during their election campaigns.

Ashish Kumar Saha, the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president, is the INDIA bloc nominee for the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat and former CPI(M) MLA Rajendra Reang is contesting from the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat as INDIA bloc candidate.

- PTI

Udhampur goes to vote on April 19 and, geographically, is one of the largest parliamentary constituencies in the country. It comprises Doda, Ramban, Kathua, Kishtwar and Udhampur districts, and has a 60% Hindu and 40% Muslim population.

A political contest emerges in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, geographically one of the largest parliamentary constituencies

In one of the largest constituencies in the country, the so far one-sided contest has turned interesting with the entry of Lal Singh Choudhary, standing against BJP’s Jitendra Singh

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti will contest the Lok Sabha pollsfrom the Anantnag-Rajouri seat against DPAP president Ghulam Nabi Azad, making the newly carved out constituency the most high-profile contest in Jammu and Kashmir in these elections.

PDP to contest on all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley, Mehbooba to contest from Anantnag-Rajouri

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti will contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat against DPAP president Ghulam Nabi Azad

District Collector, A.S. Dinesh Kumar, issued orders suspending the superintendent of Irrigation project engineer’s office, M. Rama Rao, for allegedly attending the election training class under the influence of alcohol.

The Collector also served show cause notices on 59 Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), for being absent from the training classes.

Justice V. Gopala Gowda, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, has lamented that parliament and State legislature houses were filled with representatives of real estate investors, industrialists, and capitalists. “There are no representatives of farmers, women, and workers in parliament,” he said at a seminar. “ They all represent the capitalists. They act in a manner that helps the capitalists,” he said.

​Read the story here.​

Trying to connect with voters of Puducherry by promising to fulfil the long pending demand of Statehood for the Union Territory if INDIA alliance wins the Parliamentary polls, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin accused Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy of compromising on the issue by aligning with BJP.

Addressing a public meeting seeking votes for V. Vaithilingam, Congress’s candidate Puducherry Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Stalin said Mr Rangasamy has surrendered completely to BJP and Central government. “He has become a dummy. He has not spoken about the Statehood demand in the last three years. He has also surrendered the Lok Sabha seat to junior partner BJP in Puducherry. The UT has not benefited from the alliance with BJP,” the DMK president said.

Puducherry did not benefit from the alliance with BJP: Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin accused Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy of compromising on the Statehood issue and governance rights by aligning with BJP

In an election rally in Bharatpur, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that the new India knows how to provide security to its people and protect its borders. 

While addressing the audience, he referred to a report by The Guardian that claimed Indian intelligence agencies were involved in targeted killings in Pakistan as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019. “On one hand, the report [by The Guardian] says terrorists are being killed by the present government and on the other, there was the Congress government that used to feed biryani to terrorists,” he said. He said, “Should terrorists be killed or not? They are a burden on society and a threat to everyone’s safety. Congress would starve the poor and feed biryani to terrorists.” Read the story here.

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Anantnag seat. The party’s Waheed Parra will contest from Srinagar and former Rajya Sabha member Mir Fayaz will contest from the Baramulla seat.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly by-polls to be held simultaneously in Himachal Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed confidence that people will support her party. 

In a post in Hindi on X, Ms. Gandhi said, “I met all leaders of the Congress Party in Himachal Pradesh. I am proud of their unity, hard work, courage to contest elections strongly and their dedication towards the people.” “On the one hand, there is the BJP’s empire of fear, greed and lies. The pursuit of power through money power and agencies is a politics that destroys democracy. On the other hand, Congress has the resolve to work tirelessly for the people with truth, courage and patience,” she said. - PTI

“I have full confidence that the public will support us and the truth will prevail,” the Congress general secretary asserted.

PM Modi, while addressing a public meeting in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri, expressed condolences to families of those who lost their lives in storm.

“I express my condolences to families of those who lost their lives in storm,” PM Modi said at the rally in Jalpaiguri.

“This election is about a stronger and stable government at the Centre. The stronger the Central Govt is, the stronger will be the world’s trust in our country,” he noted. 

“TMC Govt is putting obstacles on implementation of Centre’s welfare schemes for poor people,” PM Modi said, adding “TMC attacks Central agencies when they come to investigate corruption cases. It wants to have a free pass to loot and terrorise people in Bengal.” — PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged the central investigating agencies were asking TMC leaders to either join the BJP or face action. 

Addressing an election rally in Purulia, she alleged agencies such as the ED, CBI, NIA and the I-T Department were working as “arms” of the BJP. “Agencies such as the NIA, ED and CBI are being used to harass TMC leaders. They are carrying out raids without prior information, and barging into houses. What the women would do if someone entered their house when everyone was asleep in the dead of night?” she asked. 

Ms. Banerjee was referring to Saturday’s incident in Bhupatinagar where a team of the NIA was attacked by a mob when it went to arrest two accused in a blast case. “The agencies are asking our leaders and activists to either join the BJP or face action,” she alleged. - PTI

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said in a post on X handle, “Experience the unfolding alliance between the @NIA_India and @BJP4Bengal, orchestrating conspiracies against Trinamool leaders and the Model Code of Conduct. While this collusion persists, the ECI stands by, conspicuously silent, neglecting its duty to ensure fair play.” 

Earlier, in a press meet, TMC where senior party leader Kunal Ghosh alleged that a senior state leader from the BJP from Paschim Bardhaman district had met an NIA SP at his apartment in the New Town area of Kolkata on March 26 and handed over a list of TMC leaders to be arrested by NIA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “I dare this leader to either refute my allegations with substantial proof of his movement on that day or we will come up with his call records and CCTV footage evidence after 48 hours,” Mr. Ghosh said. - PTI

The ECI said that its Suvidha portal has received over 73,000 applications seeking permission for various campaigning activities since the Lok Sabha polls were announced.

Parties and candidates have submitted applications requesting to book rally grounds, open temporary party offices and operate video publicity vans, the ECI said.

More than 44,600 requests have been approved with first in-first out principle ensuring a level playing field for parties and candidates, it said.

Of the total requests received, nearly 11,200 or 15% were rejected, and 10,819 applications were cancelled as they were invalid or duplicate, the data released by the Commission showed.

Maximum requests were received from Tamil Nadu (23,239), followed by West Bengal (11,976) and Madhya Pradesh (10,636). The least number of requests so far have been received from Chandigarh (17), Lakshadweep (18) and Manipur (20), the poll authority said.

The Suvidha portal has streamlined the process of obtaining permissions and facilities by candidates and parties, it said. - PTI

Even after the passage of the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill aimed at bolstering women’s participation in electoral politics, the ground reality speaks of a different narrative in Arunachal Pradesh. Only a few women are contesting in the simultaneous polls to two Lok Sabha seats and 50 Assembly constituencies to be held in this northeastern state on April 19.

Activists and political analysts say that several factors such as cultural barriers, socio-economic constraints and lack of awareness could contribute to the low participation of female participants in electoral politics.Read the story here.

For someone whose dawn in politics began with the blessings of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, it will be a homecoming of sorts for expelled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who is widely expected to join Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s ruling Shiv Sena faction.

Sanjay Nirupam | Return of the prodigal son?

Sanjay Nirupam's political journey from journalism to Shiv Sena and Congress, marked by alliances, rivalries, and controversies.

In an election rally in Bikaner, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at the Congress, saying that he was pained when Congress questioned the power and valour of defence forces. He noted that while the BJP treats people as supreme, the Congress treats “the family as supreme”.

He also stated that India will be the third-largest economy after the U.S.and China by early 2027. - PTI Read the story here.

PM Modi at a rally in Bihar’s Nawada said a strong government elected by people is taking bold steps for country.

We have achieved in 10 years what could not be done in 60 years after Independence, Mr. Modi asserted.

The prime minister said that the INDIA bloc is upset with Modi’s guarantee.

He asked the people not to forget that the INDIA bloc leaders did not attend Ram temple consecration.

Mr. Modi also attacked the Congress’ poll manifesto, saying that it smacks of appeasement and appears to be poll document of Muslim League.

Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal has fielded two octogenarian candidates for the state Assembly elections which will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJD has fielded over 80-year-old Ramesh Chandra Chyaupatnaik from the Berhampur assembly seat in Ganjam district, from where he was elected five times in a row till 2014. In the last election, he did not contest the election as the party denied ticket to him Chyaupatnaik is the oldest candidate of the BJD in the state so far after the ruling party declared his candidature. The BJD has so far announced candidates for 108 of the 147 assembly seats and 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

- PTI

Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who is contesting from Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, is among eight senior citizens in the fray for constituencies in Assam going to polls in the first phase on April 19.

The 62-year-old Rajya Sabha MP is among the elderly contestants, with his party colleague and MLA Ranjit Dutta, who is contesting from Sonitpur, being the oldest at 67, followed by Lakhimpur’s 65-year-old Congress candidate Uday Shankar Hazarika.

The youngest candidate in the fray is 27-year-old Gobin Biswakarma, who is contesting as an Independent from Lakhimpur, while Republican Party of India’s Kaziranga candidate Saleh Ahmed Majumdar is the second-youngest at 29.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Bihar’s Nawada said he talked to one of the leaders from the INDI Alliance who said that a leader from the bloc has refused to campaign until they are declared as the PM candidate.

They might stand together in Delhi, but when they go to their respective states, they keep fighting, Mr. Modi said, referring to the INDIA bloc leaders.

Aam Aadmi party leader seen during Samuhik Upwas (collective fast) on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest at Jantar Mantar.

In a jolt to the opposition BJP, the party’s Odisha unit vice-president Lekhasri Samantasinghar resigned from the saffron party and joined the Biju Janata Dal ahead of the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.

Lekhasri is the second BJP Odisha vice-president after Bhrugu Baxipatra to resign from the BJP weeks before the polls and join the BJD. In her resignation letter to Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, Lekhasri said that she decided to quit the saffron party having “failed” to earn the trust of the leadership.

“I have given my sweat and blood to the Bharatiya Janata Party for the last ten years. However, despite all the sincerity and hard work, I could not earn the trust of the leadership. Hence, I feel there is nothing left for me to do here and my desire to serve the people of Odisha is being hampered,” Ms. Lekhasri said in the letter.

- PTI

Eleven months of conflict, over 50,000 displaced people and an anti-poll sentiment among few -the Election Commission in violence-hit Manipur is gearing up for the challenging task of holding Lok Sabha elections in the state where the poll scene is muted.

Chief Electoral Officer Pradeep Kumar Jha said over 24,500 displaced people have been identified as eligible to vote in the upcoming elections and special arrangements have been made for them to cast their franchise from relief camps.

- PTI

With the government contemplating the idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state elections, India Meteorological Department chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the authorities should certainly take weather conditions and the climate into consideration when planning for such a massive exercise.

Mr. Mohapatra told PTI in an interview that India will experience intense heat during the general election period, and the IMD is providing specialised forecasts to help authorities prepare better, but it has not proposed a change in the timings of public rallies and voting.

Asked about the ideal time to hold elections, given the central government’s contemplation of the ‘one nation, one poll’ concept, the IMD Director General stressed that the authorities must consider weather conditions and the climate while planning.

- PTI

PM Modi at a rally in Bihar’s Nawada said he wants to make women “ lakhpati didi”. He also talked about the PM SuryaGhar Muft Bijli Yojana, a scheme that promises to reduce the electricity bill.

PM Modi said that he guarantees to work for the people of the country. But the INDI Alliance is afraid of his guarantees. 

Top leaders of Aam Aadmi Party gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to observe a day-long fast on April 7 to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and the party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Similar protests were being held in other States and by Indians abroad, including at Harvard Square in Boston, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, in New York Times Square and Toronto, London and Melbourne among others, party leaders said.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in AAP-ruled Punjab joined a collective fast at freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s village Khatkar Kalan, they said.

Many senior AAP leaders, including Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bila, ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain attended the day-long ‘Samuhik Upwas’ at Jantar Mantar in the national capital from 11 a.m.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government has brought electricity to the people of Bihar.

While speaking at a rally in Nawada, Mr. Kumar also said that they have made education accessible for girls.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the youth of Bihar should not forget the condition of Bihar before 2005.

Earlier people could not go out, but now the youth roams around freely, Mr. Kumar said.

Hindu-Muslim fights were prevalent earlier, but have been resolved now, the chief minister added.

A team of Flying squad seized ₹3.90 crore from three persons who were on their way to Tirunelveli, a senior police official said.

They had boarded a train to Tirunelveli from Egmore here and the team of officials intercepted them at nearby Tambaram and found Rs 3.90 crore in their possession. They had no valid documents to carry the said amount of cash.

They are suspected to be supporters of BJP’s Tirunelveli Lok Sabha candidate Nainar Nagendran and have been detained for interrogation.

- PTI

Minorities in West Bengal, constituting nearly 30% of the electorate, are likely to vote for the TMC to halt BJP’s advance, despite the presence of a secular alternative in the form of Left-Congress alliance, community leaders said.

According to minority leaders, Muslims in West Bengal, pivotal in several Lok Sabha seats, are inclined towards the Mamata Banerjee-led party, which they see as a credible force, unlike the Left-Congress alliance.

This inclination is particularly evident in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur, where minorities form the majority.

- PTI

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar, Congress accused the NDA government of horse trading, asking how much the change in government in Bihar earlier this year cost the people of the country and sought his stance over the delay in the appointments of teachers. 

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, “Today, the Prime Minister heads to Nawada in Bihar - the state where the BJP orchestrated its latest government collapse. While they have excelled at forcing their way into power, the BJP’s governance has left much to be desired.”

- ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an election rally in Bihar’s Nawada district on April 7.

This will be his second rally in the state after the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

“Once again, a massive wave of BJP-NDA is being seen in Bihar. I will have an opportunity to meet my family members, who are excited about voting, in the public meeting in Nawada around 11 am today,” Mr. Modi posted on X ahead of the rally.

- PTI

Union minister and BJP candidate Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has claimed that he got budget worth thousands of crores sanctioned by the Centre for water works in Rajasthan but the previous Congress government in the state failed to utilise it.

While trashing Congress candidate Karan Singh Uchiyarda’s reported remarks that he could not get water for the region despite being the Jal Shakti minister, the BJP leader said he was saddened by the endorsement of the same by BJP workers.

“I allocated thousands of crores of budget to the Rajasthan government for water, but if the government didn’t work, what can I do? Even the Central Government has its limitations; water is a state government matter, and it was their responsibility to work on it, but they didn’t and indulged in corruption”, he said.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off the BJP’s campaign for Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh when he will lead a roadshow in Jabalpur constituency.

He will address a rally in Balaghat on Tuesday, party leaders said.

The roadshow along the 1.2-km route will start from Shaheed Bhagat Singh crossing on Sunday evening and culminate at Adi Shankaracharya crossing in Gorakhpur locality of Jabalpur, BJP city president Prabhat Sahu told PTI.

Come May 13, many interior areas in the Maoist den of Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand will witness voting for the first time, or after decades-long gap, as polling teams and materials will be air dropped from helicopters to enable people living in Saranda, Asia’s densest Sal forest, to exercise their franchise.

As many as 118 remote booths will be set up by personnel and materials dropped from choppers.

“We are committed to ensuring that no voter is left out... we have identified many areas where polling will be conducted for the first time or after nearly two decades as these locations were badly affected by Maoist insurgency,” West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner cum District Election Officer Kuldeep Chaudhary told PTI.

At a time when the Election Commission of India is leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum participation in the Lok Sabha elections, a few people whose job is to run the daily ferry service in the world’s largest river Island of Majuli, will miss the voting as they cannot leave their work for a single day.

On these 25-odd people’s expertise, the entire communication to the river island is dependent as they are the only ones who drive the ferries between Jorhat’s Nimati Ghat and Majuli every day. The ferry service connects the river island to the mainland.

Though these nine twin-engine ferries are run by the Inland Water Transport (IWT) Department of Assam, all of them have their masters and drivers from a private firm in West Bengal.

- PTI

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win both the North Goa and South Goa Lok Sabha seats in the coastal state.

The BJP has fielded sitting MP Shripad Naik from North Goa seat and Pallavi Dempo as its candidate from South Goa.

The opposition Congress has announced the names of former Union minister Ramakant Khalap and Viriato Fernandes as its candidates for the North and South Goa seats, respectively.

The South Goa seat is currently held by Francisco Sardinha of the Congress.

- PTI

Tragedies unfolding due to riverbank erosion and central and state governments’ apathy to effectively tackle the issue are likely to dominate voters’ minds in West Bengal’s Malda Dakshin seat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Among the two remaining Congress-held Lok Sabha seats in the state – the other being Baharampur in neighbouring Murshidabad district – Malda Dakshin candidates, cutting across parties, are also expected to factor in the influence of former Congress patriarch ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, whose legacy continues to influence the region even 18 years after his demise.

The Congress has passed on the representation mantle from an indisposed Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, Ghani Khan’s brother who won the seat without a break from the 2006 bypolls, to his son Isha Khan Choudhury.

- PTI

Even after the passage of the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill aimed at bolstering women’s participation in electoral politics, the ground reality speaks of a different narrative in Arunachal Pradesh. Only a few women are taking part in the simultaneous polls to two Lok Sabha seats and 50 assembly constituencies to be held in this northeastern state on April 19.

Toko Sheetal, a greenhorn representing the Gana Suraksha Party, is the only woman among the total 14 contestants for the two Lok Sabha seats – Arunachal East and Arunachal West.

Only eight women filed nominations for 50 assembly seats. The ruling BJP has fielded four, the opposition Congress nominated three, while there is one independent candidate. 

- PTI

Banaskantha is the only Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat where both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress have fielded women candidates.

Two-term MLA Geniben Thakor of the Congress will take on BJP’s Rekha Chaudhary, an engineering professor making her poll debut, in the upcoming parliamentary polls.

- PTI

Also Read: In Gujarat, BJP drops nearly 50% of sitting MPs

In anticipation of intense heat during the Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand, comprehensive measures have been put in place to mitigate the effects of heat waves on voters, officials, and security personnel.

These include extending poll timings, setting up makeshift sheds, providing ORS and lemon water, and deploying medical teams and ambulances, an election official said.

The elections will be conducted in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, with Jharkhand’s voting taking place on May 13, 20, 25, and June 1 for its 14 seats.

- PTI

When their political rivals were engaged in intense discussions to finalise their candidates, the Kerala Congress (M), a key coalition partner in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), declared in mid-February that its MP Thomas Chazhikkadan would contest again from the Kottayam constituency.

After suffering countless splits in recent years, the Kerala Congress factions seemed to be switching their associations with the CPI (M)-led LDF and the Congress-headed UDF.

While local MP and LDF candidate Chazhikkadan is the nominee of the Kerala Congress (Mani), former Lok Sabha member Francis George is the candidate of the Kerala Congress (Joseph), an ally of the opposition UDF.

- PTI

With barely two weeks left for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, poll graffiti and wall paintings are becoming common across West Bengal, demonstrating its unmatched power to grab the attention of voters.

In Siliguri, a mural by Trinamool Congress portrays a figure resembling Prime Minister Narendra Modi being cautioned by Lord Ram to maintain a safe distance and win the elections on his own merit.

Hundreds of miles away in Kolkata’s Jadavpur, a graffiti by CPI(M)‘s student wing SFI compares TMC to the “demon” of Sandeshkhali and BJP to a “dacoit”, urging voters to reject both.

- PTI

“We will reduce prices of commodities,” may be the standard refrain of every political party fighting an election. However, in Andhra Pradesh, opposition TDP is wooing the avid booze lover with the promise of better quality spirit at reduced prices, if voted to power.

Simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are scheduled in the southern state on May 13.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) the main opposition, is also accusing the YSRCP Government of setting excessively high prices that do not align with the quality of the liquor.

- PTI

The Lok Sabha polls 2024 is a litmus test for AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the party’s electoral performance will have a considerable bearing in improving the fortunes of the outfit two years later when the state will go for Assembly polls.

When Mr. Palaniswami expelled his former colleague and ex-Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam from the party in 2022, it was the beginning of several other steps that followed to cement his position as the undisputed party chief and partly to prepare the AIADMK for the 2026 Assembly election.

By snapping ties with the BJP in September last year, the AIADMK expected at least a couple of DMK’s allies including the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi to join the alliance led by it.

However, that did not materialise and Mr. Palaniswami who often spoke of a “mega alliance” for the LS polls could only cobble up an alliance with Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam founded by the late actor-politician ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth and a couple of smaller outfits.

- PTI