Lok Sabha elections updates | BJP releases 3rd list of candidates; Annamalai to contest from Coimbatore, Tamilisai from Chennai South

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said his party will rally behind Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, to make him victorious in the Lok Sabha polls.

Though the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is yet to finalise its seat-sharing arrangement for the April-May polls, Thackeray said Shahu Maharaj will be the opposition alliance’s candidate from Kolhapur in southwestern Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are constituents of the MVA, a state-level grouping which is part of the INDIA bloc.

“There is a deep connect between the Thackeray family and Shahu Maharaj since the days of my grandfather. I am sure this relation will remain intact in the current and future generations too,” said Thackeray after meeting Shahu Maharaj in Kolhapur.

“I am sure Shiv Sainiks will make Shahu Maharaj victorious from the Kolhapur Lok Sabha seat because it is a matter of Maharashtra’s pride,” said the former CM.

-PTI

The BRS in Telangana has received Rs 1,322 crore through 2,188 electoral bonds and about half of the amount (Rs 661 crore) was encashed on four different days from October 11, 2018 to September 30, 2023.

The data submitted by the BRS to the EC showed that the party got Rs 218 crore on July 13, 2023, Rs 268 crore on April 12, 2022, Rs 85 crore on October 8, 2021 and Rs 90 crore on Apirl 11, 2022 (totalling Rs 661 crore).

The BRS had submitted its reply to the Election Commission on November 14, 2023, in response to a communication from the poll panel.

-PTI

Mizoram’s main opposition party Mizo National Front (MNF) will field sitting Rajya Sabha MP K Vanlalvena for the state’s lone Lok Sabha seat, a senior party leader said on Thursday.

Vanlalvena, 54, was elected to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Mizoram in June 2020.

Incumbent Lok Sabha member C Lalrosanga of MNF has opted not to contest, he said.

The senior MNF leader said the party will officially announce the name of its candidate on Friday at 11 am.

-PTI

The Congress’ Central Election Committee met here on Thursday to finalise Lok Sabha poll candidates for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the first time that the panel, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, took up discussions on the candidates for the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.

There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi, besides his declared seat of Wayanad in Kerala, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Raebareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi. Both the seats in UP are considered bastions of the Gandhi family and the local units of the Congress have demanded that the two scions of the Gandhi family should contest from there.

-PTI

A total of 10,970 polling personnel will be deployed for duty in the eight Assembly constituencies in the district during the Lok Sabha polls. District Election Officer and Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara said there were 2,222 polling stations in the constituencies of Erode (East), Erode (West), Modakkurichi, Perundurai, Bhavani, Anthiyur, Gobichettipalayam and Bhavanisagar (SC).

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday exuded confidence that the BJP will win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats from the state and Narendra Modi will become the prime minister for the third term.

Speaking to reporters at the residence of former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Karnal, Saini said, “We will win all 10 seats.” Along with the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, from where the BJP has fielded Khattar as the party candidate, Saini said “we (the BJP) will win the remaining nine seats also with a big mandate”.

He said there is a great enthusiasm among the people to vote for the BJP, he said.

-PTI

The Congress on Thursday fielded Lalbiakzama, a retired Mizoram Police Service officer and former state home secretary, as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the northeastern state.

Polling for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state is scheduled on April 19.

State Congress chief Lal Thanzara announced Lalbiakzama’s name in the presence of party leaders and journalists at the Congress Bhavan here.

Lal Thanzara said protection and preservation of Mizo culture and religion would be the party’s primary focus during the campaign, which is set to commence on March 28.

-PTI

The Congress will announce names of its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand after the festival of Holi, a senior party leader said on Thursday.

He said allies of the opposition bloc INDIA will announce their candidates separately.

“The names of the party candidates for Jharkhand Lok Sabha seats will be announced after Holi, either on March 27 or March 28,” Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Alamgir Alam told PTI over the phone from New Delhi.

The announcement will be made from the Congress headquarters in the national capital, he said.

-PTI

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kerala has come out with a handbook on the green protocol to be followed strictly by the campaigners and election officials during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul released the handbook by handing the first copy to Suchitwa Mission Executive Director U.V. Jose. Additional Chief Electoral Officers Adeela Abdullah, Sharmila C., and Premkumar V.R. were present.

‘Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Green Protocol Compliance Doubts and Answers’ was prepared in collaboration with the Suchitwa Mission and Haritha Keralam Mission. It guides stakeholders on using eco-friendly materials during the electioneering to minimise polluting garbage being generated.

Alleging misuse of state resources for the poll campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Thursday complained to the Election Commission against “Modi Parivaar” and “Modi ki Guarantee” advertisements and sought their immediate removal and action against those behind it.

A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Supriya Shrinate met the Election Commission and handed over a set of complaints about alleged violations of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls and demanded immediate action.

With the 2024 Lok Sabha polls being the second longest elections ever held in India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said it puts the opposition parties in a disadvantageous position.

In an interview to PTI, while stating that the Election Commission has the right to take a decision on the election dates, he questioned the wisdom behind it.

Asked about the 82-day duration of the general elections -- the process of which started on March 16 with the announcement of the polls and will conclude on June 4 when the results are announced -- he said it is a “matter of concern”.

“It is a matter of concern. We recognise and accept that the Constitution gives the entire right, the sole right to the Election Commission on these matters. And they are the only ones who are mandated by the Constitution of India. So they have the right,” Yechury said.

“But we question the wisdom of it.” he told PTI.

-PTI

The Election Commission has filed a complaint with Chikkamagaluru police against former Karnataka minister and BJP leader C.T. Ravi over his objectionable tweet on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

K. Jayalakshmamma, the assistant returning officer, filed the complaint with Chikkamagaluru Town police on March 20, following a direction from the Nodal Officer, Social Media Monitoring Committee, at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bengaluru.

The Nodal Officer, in a letter on March 18, told the District Election Officer of Chikkamagaluru that C.T. Ravi’s statement on his X account was prima facie a violation of the model code of conduct. The DEO was told to look into the issue, take legal action, and also submit an action-taken report

Union Minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje has been booked for alleged model code violation over her recent remarks on the people of Tamil Nadu, Election Commission officials here said. The move comes a day after the EC directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK’s complaint regarding the violation by Karandlaje, who is BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from the Bangalore North constituency. The poll panel also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.

DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, had sought action against Karandlaje for alleging that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1. In its complaint, the DMK said that the minister’s statement generalised the people of Tamil Nadu as “extremists”.

According to the CEO, the Bangalore District Election Officer has filed an FIR against Karandlaje under sections 123 (3A), 125 and 123 (3) of the RP (Representation of the People ) Act at Cottonpet police station.

-PTI

The Congress on Thursday announced the first list of 34 candidates for the upcoming assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh, scheduled for April 19.

Among the candidates are three former ministers and three women nominees, with the majority being first-time contenders.

Notably, the names of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president and former chief minister Nabam Tuki and APCC vice-president Bosiram Siram were absent from the list.

Party insiders claimed both Tuki and Siram would contest as Lok Sabha nominees from the Arunachal West and East parliamentary constituencies, respectively.

-PTI

Alleging misuse of state resources for the poll campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Thursday complained to the Election Commission against “Modi Parivaar” and “Modi ki Guarantee” advertisements and sought their immediate removal and action against those behind it.

A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Supriya Shrinate met the Election Commission and handed over a set of complaints about alleged violations of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls and demanded immediate action.

The Congress delegation also lodged a complaint against the BJP’s “false advertisements” invoking the 2G allocation issue and alleged that the party was pursuing a decade-old narrative that had been thoroughly discredited through a comprehensive judicial process.

The party prayed for removal of the advertisement and action against its authors and publishers.

-PTI

Union Minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje has been booked for alleged model code violation over her recent remarks on the people of Tamil Nadu, Election Commission officials in Bengaluru said.

The move comes a day after the EC directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK’s complaint regarding the violation by Ms. Karandlaje, who is BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from the Bangalore North constituency. The poll panel also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.

“The names of the party candidates for Jharkhand Lok Sabha seats will be announced after Holi, either on March 27 or March 28,” Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Alamgir Alam told PTI over the phone from New Delhi.

Leaders of the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand have claimed that a seat-sharing agreement has been finalised for all the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.

Former Karnataka chief minister and sitting MP D.V. Sadananda Gowda on March 21, who is upset with the BJP, said he is not quitting the saffron party to join the Congress, and would work towards “purification” of the party’s state unit.

The 71-year-old leader is “upset” over being denied the ticket to contest again in the Lok Sabha polls from Bangalore North.

“Yes, I’m pained and upset over not getting a ticket. Yes, I got an invitation from Congress. But, no, I will not join Congress. My future step will be towards purification of Karnataka BJP,” Mr. Gowda said. - PTI

The Trinamool Congress on Thursday alleged that the transfer of four district magistrates in West Bengal by the EC ahead of the Lok Sabha elections vindicates its stand that the BJP was using the poll panel after facing people’s rejection in the previous State elections.

The EC on Thursday shunted out non-cadre district magistrates and police superintendents of several States on grounds that the posts were meant for IAS and IPS officers respectively. The list included DMs of Purba Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum districts in West Bengal. - PTI

BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe will be the party’s incharge and party national secretary Vijaya Rahatkar and Parvesh Verma the co-incharges for the parliamentary polls in Rajasthan, according to a party release.

For the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, BJP president J.P. Nadda has appointed Satish Punia as the incharge and Surendra Singh Nagar as the co-incharge.

BJP national general secretary Arun Singh has been appointed as the party incharge for the Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh and party leader Siddharth Nath Singh will be the co-incharge. - PTI

The BJP hit back at Rahul Gandhi again for his remarks, saying when his comments created chaos in the whole country, he was talking about ‘asuri shakti’.

“Two days ago, Rahul Gandhi said that there is a power in the Hindu religion, and we will fight against that. When it (Rahul Gandhi’s remark) created chaos in the whole country, now he is talking about ‘Asuri Shakti’,” BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

Mr. Gandhi’s “fight against Shakti” remark had sparked a controversy on Monday and drew a strong retort from Modi who said every mother and daughter was a form of “Shakti” for him and that he will sacrifice his life for their security. - PTI

The Congress is fighting a “hate-filled asuri shakti”, former party president Rahul Gandhi said on March 21, days after his “fight against shakti” remark sparked controversy and drew a strong retort from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Humari ‘asuri shakti’ se ladaai ho rahi hai, nafrat bhari ‘asuri shakti’ (We are fighting a demonic power, hate-filled demonic power),” Mr. Gandhi told reporters while leaving the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi after addressing a press conference.

The ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK will be in a direct contest against each other in a total of 19 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

Chennai North, Chennai South, Kancheepuram (SC), Arakkonam, Arani, Salem, Erode, Theni, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Pollachi, Thoothukudi, Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi and Perambalur are the segments in which the two main Dravidian parties will face off against each other.

Since DMK’s ally Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) will contest on the ruling party’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol in Namakkal constituency, the total number of seats in which the DMK and AIADMK will be in a direct fight is, in effect, 19. - PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on March 21 said the BJP does not have a problem with dynastic politics but has issues with those families that oppose the saffron party.

Mr. Abdullah cited the BJP’s tie-up with Chirag Paswan in Bihar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with Raj Thackeray amid speculation of an alliance in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha polls and asked if these were not examples of ‘parivarvad’ or family politics. - PTI

The Congress government in Karnataka has “sacrificed” the drinking water needs of the state’s farmers and citizens for the “selfish” coalition politics of INDIA alliance, state BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra alleged on March 21, following DMK’s promise to stop construction of Mekedatu dam in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.

Voting for the Congress would be detrimental to the interests of the State, he said, as he took a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government in a post on “X’ with “#WeakestCM #NammaKaveriNammaHakku (Our Cauvery Our Right).” Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, a key constituent of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto released on Wednesday promised stopping construction of Mekedatu dam. - PTI

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Anand Sharma on March 21 has written a letter to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge opposing caste census, and saying, “Though caste is a reality of Indian society, Congress has never engaged or endorsed identity politics.”

Mr. Sharma has said the party’s recent emphasis on caste contradicts the position taken by former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

“In my considered view, a Caste Census cannot be a panacea nor a solution for the unemployment and prevailing inequalities,” the letter reads.

“In my humble opinion, this will be misconstrued as disrespecting the legacy of Indira ji and Rajiv ji...,” it further said.

The letter, written on March 19, was sent to all CWC members, leaders of the Congress Legislature Party and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on March 21 said the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s seat-sharing formula and its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be announced in a day or two.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the MVA leaders at NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s residence here, Patole said the Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi has finalised 12 candidates. - PTI

Responding to Congress’ account freeze charges, BJP leader Ravi Shankar on March 21 said, “Congress has sought to create alibi in utter desperation over its imminent defeat.”

“Gentle advice to Congress is the more you allow Rahul Gandhi to speak the more ground you lose,” he said.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda has said that the Congress is “blaming their irrelevance on financial troubles” in a retort to the opposition party, after its leaders held a press conference to allege that a systematic effort was under way by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ‘cripple Congress financially’.

“Congress is going to be totally rejected by the people and fearing a historic defeat, their top leadership addressed a press conference and ranted against Indian democracy and institutions. They are conveniently blaming their irrelevance on ‘financial troubles’. In reality, their bankruptcy is moral and intellectual, not financial,” Mr. Nadda wrote on X.

“Instead of correcting their own errors, Congress is blaming authorities for their troubles. Be it the ITAT or the Delhi HC, they have asked the Congress to comply with the rules, pay the taxes due but the Party never did so,” he added.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on March 21 launched a door-to-door campaign from Sepahijala district for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the State.

Accompanied by BJP leader Nabadal Banik and several party activists, the chief minister commenced the campaign from the Kanchanmala area in Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency and handed over copies of a letter written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to voters. - PTI

The Supreme Court on March 21 stayed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s March 20 notification establishing the Press Information Bureau Fact Checking Unit (PIB FCU) to act as a “deterrent” against the creation and dissemination of fake news or misinformation regarding the “business” of the Centre.

Weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the IT Ministry on March 20 notified the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check Unit (PIB FCU) as the designated body to flag misinformation about Central Government departments to social media platforms.

Under the IT Rules of 2021, social media platforms could lose the legal liability protections they enjoy for content posted by users, if they choose to keep notified misinformation available online.

The Election Commission on Thursday transferred district police chiefs in Assam and Punjab, including the brother of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and shunted out “non-cadre” district magistrates and superintendents of police in some States.

The EC said it has adopted a tough stance against posting of non-cadre officers at leadership positions by transferring eight non-encadred SPs/SSPs and five non-encadred DMs in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat and West Bengal. - PTI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to immediately halt delivery of “Viksit Bharat” messaging over WhatsApp.

A Compliance report in the matter has been demanded immediately from MeitY, according to sources.

Several people in India — and some abroad — have received messages since March 15 from “Viksit Bharat Sampark,” a series of verified WhatsApp Business accounts with different phone numbers, with a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Income Tax (I-T) Department’s action on the Congress party, former party chief Sonia Gandhi accused Mr. Modi of carrying out “a systematic effort to financially cripple the party”. 

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that such action points to the absence of a level playing ground. On questioning why constitutional authorities have not intervened so far, former party president Rahul Gandhi said the assertion is that India is a democracy is a “lie”. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS head Raj Thackeray met in Mumbai on March 21, amid talk of a possible alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The meeting is underway at the Taj Lands End in suburban Bandra.

Earlier on Tuesdya, the MNS chief had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, in an indication that the BJP is looking to ally with him for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to boost its alliance in the western State. - PTI

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on March 21 said his party AAP will announce the names of candidates for the remaining five Lok Sabha seats in next five days.

The Aam Aadmi Party has already announced eight candidates. Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.

AAP is yet to announce its candidates from Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib. - PTI

We can do no campaign work because all our bank accounts are frozen, said former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

“It is criminal action against Congress, it is criminal action by PM and home minister,” said Rahul Gandhi on freezing of party’s bank accounts.

“20% of India vote for us and we are not to pay ₹2 for anything. We can’t book slots for advertisement or even buy a rail ticket for our leaders to travel,” said Rahul Gandhi.

This is not freezing of the Congress party’s bank accounts but freezing of democracy, he added.

“Can you imagine, what happens when your bank account, your ATM card and your entire financial identity is erased. If this happens to a family, they will starve to death. If this happens to a business, they will be crippled. This is what they are doing to the Congress,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on March 21. 

“This is a criminal action on the Congress party by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” he further added.

“We need to book slots in newspaper and TV channels. We need to print posters. How can you we contest impartial elections. The income tax department sent us a notice from Sitaram Kesari’s tenure of 1994. Maybe they will dig up something from Mahatma Gandhi and Jamuna Lal Bajaj tenure as well,” said Ajay Maken. 

A systematic effort underway to cripple the Congress financially. Money is being forcibly taken from us, said Sonia Gandhi during Congress presser.

“In order to ensure level-playing field, the authorities should defreeze our bank accounts. This issue doesn’t affect Congress alone, but the fundamentals of democracy,” said Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on electoral bonds case.

The Prime Minister is trying to cripple the party, she further accused.

Look at the expenses made by BJP. They have monopolised advertising. They have dominance in media too. This has not happened in 75 years, said the Congress chief. 

On one hand the ruling party got 1000s of crores from electoral bonds, which the Supreme Court has called unconstitutional, on the other hand the bank accounts of Opposition parties have been blocked. There is no level-playing field here. It cannot be called as free-and-fair elections, said Mallikarjun Kharge during the address.

“56% of electoral bonds have gone to the BJP, Congress got only 11%,” he further added.

Need level playing field in the electoral process to uphold democracy, said Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on March 21 during a press conference. 

The AIADMK released the final list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and named candidate for Vilavancode bypoll.

A meeting of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders got underway at the residence of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Thursday and the allies are likely to finalise their seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Balasaheb Thorat, who were in Delhi for the party’s Central Election Committee meeting, returned to Mumbai for the meeting. - PTI

Union minister Kiren Rijiju has asserted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ will have no impact on the BJP’s electoral prospects, and the NDA will win the Lok Sabha polls with a thumping majority.

“Wherever Rahul Gandhi went during his yatra, the Congress will lose all the seats there as nobody takes him seriously. If he refrains from campaigning, there is a probability that the grand old party might win a few seats,” Mr. Rijiju, the Union Earth Sciences and Food Processing Industries Minister, told PTI in an interview.

The BJP leader also slammed Mr. Gandhi for his “hate speeches” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contending that it reflects a “deep-seated animosity”. - PTI

The Congress on March 21 asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he has any intention of upholding his “guarantee” to the people of Ladakh on grant of Statehood and self governance.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said “since the prime minister has put off his Bhutan photo-ops today, we hope he can devote some time to Ladakh”.

“Since February 3rd, when there was a complete shutdown of Ladakh by the locals, the people of Ladakh have been protesting in large numbers against the Modi Sarkar’s heavy handed ‘rule by bureaucracy,’ which has made a mockery of local elected institutions,” he said. - PTI

Ahead of filing nomination for the Udhampur-Kathua Lok Sabha seat which is set to go to polls in the first phase of elections on April 19, Union minister Jitendra Singh on March 21 performed a puja at his residence in Jammu.

Mr. Singh, whose candidacy was announced in the BJP’s first list on March 3, performed a puja at his residence in Trikuta Nagar area of the city in the presence of friends and relatives.

The notification for Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency was issued on Wednesday along with 102 seats in 17 States and four Union territories where polls will be held in the first phase. - PTI

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court dismissed a public interest writ petition against sitting Rajya Sabha MPs and MLAs contesting Parliament elections without resigning from their respective posts.

The petition was filed by K.O. Johney of Kochi. According to him, some of the sitting Rajya Sabha members and MLAs were contesting in the Lok Sabha elections without completing the tenure in those respective posts. If the sitting members contest and win the elections, byelections would have to be held entailing huge expense. Read more

The Income Tax Department has sent summons to Congress candidate from Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat Ganesh Godiyal asking him to appear in person at its office in Thane in Maharashtra on March 22.Godiyal received the notice from the I-T department on Tuesday. 

Speaking to ANI, Ganesh Godiyal said that the Income Tax department has sent three notices to him, his wife and his firm on March 19, asking them to appear at the Income Tax office in Thane, Maharashtra, on March 22 at 11.30 am.”We have some previous Income Tax cases that are now pending in the court. Now, just at the time of elections, pressure is being created by making new cases,” he added. - ANI

If Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan’s latest accusations against Congress were anything to go by, counterfeit technology appeared to have made its arguably first foray into Lok Sabha electoral politics in Kerala on Wednesday.

Mr. Jayarajan accused Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan of propagating falsified photographs of his family with Union Minister of State for IT Rajiv Chandrasekhar to mislead voters into thinking they had a shady business association. The Kannur police have taken cognisance of the alleged offence. Read more

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Sudhir Kumar Murolli on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency Kota Srinivas Poojary had four more years in office to serve the people.

Instead of Mr. Poojary, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, some other prominent leader, including Pramod Madhwaraj, C.T. Ravi, Uday Kumar Shetty or Halady Srinivas Shetty, could have been given the BJP ticket, he told reporters at Udupi. Read more

BJP senior leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who has turned rebel by deciding to contest against party candidate and B.S. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Raghavendra for the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat, on Wednesday upped the ante by remarking that Mr. Yediyurappa’s other son and BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra would have to step down after the announcement of Lok Sabha poll results in June.

Addressing a gathering of his supporters in Shivamogga, Mr. Eshwarappa asserted that there was no question of him withdrawing from the poll contest and expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious. Read more

The Supreme Court agreed to list for hearing on Thursday, March 21, a PIL against the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections, a significant development that comes ahead of general elections beginning April 19.

The PIL also seeks a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties. Read more

In a jolt to the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, State party chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh on Wednesday announced that she has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha election as the ground situation was “not favourable” and workers were disheartened. Read more

West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on March 20 said that the party has decided candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats in the State. “We have decided candidates on seven seats and accordingly the candidates have been informed,” Mr. Chowdhury said.

According to the Baharampur MP, senior Congress leader Nepal Mahato will be contesting the Lok Sabha election and Miltan Rashid will be contesting from Birbhum. Mr. Chowdhury said that the All India Congress Committee has confirmed the name of Mortaza Hossain from Jangipur and his name from Baharampur. Read more

Uncertainty continues to prevail in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadre and leaders over the constituencies they will be contesting.

BJP State president D. Purandeswari was summoned to New Delhi to “finalise the candidates and constituencies a day ago. But, there has no been no progress so far,” say party sources. Read more

The Delhi police arrested a 22-year-old Haryana resident for trying to smuggle 20 cartons of liquor into the city, a senior officer said on Wednesday. The vehicle used to transport the liquor was also seized.

The police have intensified searching of vehicles along the city’s borders to prevent the illegal supply of liquor and cash after the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the officer added. Read more

Terming the current political scenario similar to that of 1977, National Conference Vice President Mr. Abdullah said, “In 1977 too, the Janata Party was joined by local parties and religious leaders to defeat us. The results are before us. Let the A team and the B team (of the BJP) join hands. We are prepared for this test. We are ready for the elections.” 

Mr. Abdullah accused New Delhi of “using its full might to defeat the NC” in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “Every time it is a tough game. In the last elections, militancy was used against us to sideline NC. None of the elections are easy. I contested elections in 1998-99 amid boycott calls (by separatists and militants),” Mr. Abdullah said. Read more

The Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), led by Krishna Patel, a Samajwadi Party (SP) ally, on March 20 announced its decision of contesting the Phulpur, Mirzapur, and Kaushambi Parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh under the umbrella of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. Read more