Lok Sabha elections updates | Congress has multiple bank accounts, just 3-4 of them attached, ‘not frozen’: BJP

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said he is ready to contest the Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the state’s Vidisha. 

“I am ready to take on Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but the party has asked me to fight the election from here (Rajgarh) so I will be in the fray from here,” the 77-year-old Rajya Sabha member told reporters in Rajgarh. 

His comment came a day after MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav questioned why Digvijaya was not fighting elections from the state capital Bhopal despite being a CM for ten years (1993-2003). - PTI

BJP candidate from South Chennai, Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed confidence that she will win from this constituency. 

She said she is back to “people’s service” after resigning as Governor of Telangana and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for permitting her to fight elections. “I am really very happy. Through hard work, we will get this seat,” she told PTI. 

Further, she was contesting from this segment not as a candidate but as a voter as she had lived here for 40 years, the senior leader added. - PTI

Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is fighting his third Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur parliamentary constituency, recorded a growth of over 100% in his wealth over the past 10 years, according to his poll affidavit.

The moveable and immovable assets of Singh’s wife Manju – a housewife whose source of income is interest from bank deposits – also increased from over ₹65.42 lakh in 2014 to over ₹1.54 crore, a comparison of his affidavits of 2014 and 2024 showed. 

The 67-year-old Singh, a retired medicine professor, filed his nomination papers including the mandatory affidavit from the Udhampur-Kathua Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday. - PTI

The opposition Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged students of a college in Mumbai’s Kandivali area were forced to listen to the speech of Dhruv Goyal, the son of Union minister Piyush Goyal, who is the BJP’s Mumbai North Lok Sabha candidate. 

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray alleged students’ IDs were confiscated to force them to attend the event where Goyal junior delivered the speech, while NCP(SP) MLA Awhad uploaded a video on X in which a student can be seen raising an objection. 

Thakur College of Science and Commerce, said the event aimed to encourage students, particularly first time voters, to participate in the upcoming general elections but added “the matter”, possibly a reference to students being forced to attend, was “under review”. - PTI

The Nationalist People’s Party (NPP) announced its first list of 29 candidates for the Arunachal Pradesh assembly polls scheduled for April 19. 

The announcement, made by the party’s national general secretary James PK Sangma, included three sitting MLAs, one former minister and three former legislators. The list also featured 22 first-time candidates. 

Among the key contenders are Thangwang Wangham, former minister Japu Deru, ex-MLA Tani Loffa and Dikto Yekar. Other significant candidates include sitting Independent MLA Karikho Kri, and sitting NPP MLA Gokar Basar. Dorjee Wangdi Karma, a sitting BJP MLA from Kalatang constituency, who was denied a ticket, will contest as an NPP nominee. - PTI

Launching a scathing attack on opposition bloc INDIA, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha asserted that ‘A’ has already departed and only ‘I’ will remain by the time Lok Sabha polls begin. 

Although Mr. Saha did not explicitly identify ‘A’, it seems to allude to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody for a week. 

“Within INDIA, ‘A’ has departed, and as elections progress, other elements will fade away, leaving only ‘I’ in place”, he told an election rally of BJP Yuva Morcha in Agartala. - PTI

The Congress has multiple bank accounts and ​just three-four of them have been attached​, “not frozen”, for non-payment of tax dues, the BJP said, accusing the opposition party of making misleading statements on the issue sensing its “imminent” defeat in the Lok Sabha poll. 

“You (Congress) can deposit money in these accounts and withdraw too, except ₹125 crore, which has been attached by the Income Tax department due to the non-payment of dues as per Income Tax rules,” BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

He said the Congress has about ₹1,000 crore in its multiple bank accounts, opened with “multiple PAN” numbers in “violation of its own party constitution”. The Congress also has a fixed asset of worth ₹500 crore, the BJP leader claimed.

He said the Income Tax Department has attached three-four bank accounts of the Congress due to the non-payment of outstanding ₹135 crore as per rules. - PTI

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP saying the party will create a record of framing people in false cases ahead of the elections but the people will shatter its pride. 

Talking about the recent arrest of Delhi’s CM Arvind Kejriwal by ED, he said, “Only accounts are not being seized, chief ministers are being seized. This is not the fear of defeat of BJP. BJP has been defeated.” Mr. Akhilesh added, “The youth, farmers and labourers of this country are going to shatter their pride by casting their vote.” - PTI

The Left Front announced the names of candidates for four more Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, including Murshidabad where CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim has been fielded. Mr. Salim is a former Lok Sabha MP from Raiganj, and prior to that, he was an MP from the Kolkata North-East constituency.

The Left Front has already announced the names of candidates for 16 seats in its first list, and of them, 13 were from the CPI(M) and one each from RSP, CPI and Forward Bloc. 

In the second list, apart from Mr. Salim, the Left Front named Alokesh Das of CPI(M) from Ranaghat, the party’s Sukriti Ghosal in the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat and CPI(M)‘s Shyamali Pradhan for the Bolpur constituency. 

Left Front chairman Biman Bose said the names were decided at a meeting of the constituent parties. - PTI

The BJP candidates from Vadodara and Sabarkantha Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat expressed their unwillingness to contest the upcoming general elections citing “personal” reasons. 

Sitting MP Ranjan Bhatt, who was fielded by the saffron party from the Vadodara seat, announced that she was not keen on fighting the elections. Her candidature had faced stiff resistance from some sections within the BJP. 

Soon after, the party’s Sabarkantha candidate Bhikhaji Thakor made a similar announcement. Mr. Thakor maintained that he was not willing to contest the elections due to personal reasons, and was not yet in a position to say anything more than what he had already stated on social media. - PTI

Union Minister of state for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar is fighting the polls from the Thiruvananthapuram seat.

The ruling front, in its recent complaint lodged with the district Collector, alleged that he was participating in many programmes including inauguration and discussions with specific groups in the constituency in his capacity as union minister even after the model code of conduct came into being. 

M. Vijaykumar, Chairman of the LDF Election Committee mentioned an interaction by Mr. Chandrasekhar scheduled in a women’s college in Thiruvananthapuram, saying that “This is a clear case of violation of the model code of conduct.” - PTI 

Jairam Ramesh has said the much-needed generational shift in the party has already been initiated in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, adding that other state units of the party will follow suit. In Chhattisgarh the party still has many experienced faces, he said.

He said that in Telangana too, “you see new people coming in. One of the reasons we won in Telangana is actually a lot of new people were projected. Our chief minister was a new person in the Congress. He joined the Congress two to three years ago.” “This generational shift has to take place. No doubt about it. New faces... But, it is difficult in the Congress because people have been in the party. It’s easier for the BJP as it is a start-up in many of these states,” he said. - PTI

In an interaction with PTI, while talking about the need for bringing in new faces, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh noted that this was difficult in the Congress because people have been in the party for long. 

“It’s easier for the BJP. Because, you know, the BJP is a startup in many states. You look upon the BJP as a startup. The Congress is not a startup. The Congress is a well-established company whose market cap (market capitalization) keeps fluctuating. But the BJP is a startup,” he said. 

“So, a startup can absorb a lot of people. The guy who does not get a ticket in the Congress joins the BJP. So in many of the states, I would say, the Congress’ disadvantage is that it has been entrenched for decades,” he said during an interaction with editors and journalists of PTI. 

One of the disadvantages of being entrenched is that one is not able to give opportunities to new people to come in, Mr. Ramesh noted. - PTI

People in power do not care about the farmers in the country, said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, claiming that the Centre has failed to keep its promise of doubling their income by 2024. 

The veteran politician was addressing a farmers’ rally at Indapur in Maharashtra’s Pune district in the presence of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders like Sanjay Raut, Balasaheb Thorat and Supriya Sule. 

MVA comprises the Congress, NCP (SP) and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and is a part of the opposition INDIA bloc. Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which elects 48 MPs, will be held in five phases between April 19 and May 20.

Mr. Pawar’s daughter and three-term MP Supriya Sule will be contesting from Baramati. - PTI

Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar said on March 23 VBA will give its full support to Shahu Maharaj Chhatrapati from Kolhapur Lok Sabha constituency. “Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi believes in and is a major proponent of the Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar ideology, and we have immense respect for the descendants of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur,” he posted on X.

On March 22, Sena Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced that Shahu Maharaj Chhatrapati, head of Kolhapur royal family, will be the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate for the Lok Sabha constituency. - The Hindu Bureau

On March 16, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the schedule for the upcoming 18th ​Lok Sabha elections​, and for the Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.

​Click here for the full schedule​

CEC Kumar announced the schedule in New Delhi for 543 Lok Sabha seats. 

​Read the full story here:​

Amar Prasad Reddy, professor and former advisor to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India, has been appointed as in-charge of the Tamil Nadu BJP’s Statewide Lok Sabha election campaign.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, after being fielded from Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency, expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Coimbatore is an important seat and he is confident that he will deliver the seat.

Speaking to ANI, the State BJP president asserted that the party is confident that in the Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu will play a very important role.”We are very thankful to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national party president J. P. Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah and senior leadership for announcing the lists. - ANI

Major Archbishop of the influential Syro-Malabar Church, Mar Raphael Thattil has appealed to the citizens to vote for the party that will protect the minorities and the Constitution, as the country gears up for the 2024 general elections.

Recently, a Delhi-based civil society organisation, the United Christian Forum (UCF), in a report claimed that there were a total of 161 incidents of attacks on Christians in the country in 2024.

“The reports on the rise in attacks are painful, especially when we have a strong Constitution which provides us our rights. The Prime Minister, when we met him, had assured stern action,” the archbishop said.

The Election Commission of India has announced April 26 as the polling date for Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha constituencies. - PTI

The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has formed a manifesto committee for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, naming Maharashtra Minister Dilip Walse Patil as its chairman.

“NCP treasurer and general secretary Shivajirao Garje will be the convenor of the 18-member committee,” the party said, in Mumbai, in a media release.

The manifesto committee includes Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil, Deputy Speaker Narhari Jhirwal, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, and former ministers Rajendra Shingane and Baba Siddiqui, who recently switched over from the Congress.

Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which elects 48 MPs, will be held in five phases between April 19 and May 20. - PTI

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said he wants to help people even in the smallest possible way and keep working for them to bring about a positive change in their lives.

Mr. Gadkari has been nominated by his party for the upcoming general elections from the Nagpur Parliamentary Lok Sabha constituency for the third consecutive time.

He said, “I believe that in public life, meeting people and helping them out in the smallest possible way is important. I want to keep working in the health and education sectors and serve the society as much as possible. I don’t believe in posters, banners and inducements. I want to keep working to bring about a difference in people’s lives.”

The Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that as part of his election campaign, he would reach out to every house, every person and every heart. - PTI

“Union Minister Nisith Pramanik, who has been renominated by the BJP in Cooch Behar seat for the Lok Sabha elections, has 14 criminal cases pending against him,” according to an affidavit filed by him along with his nomination paper.

Of the 14 cases pending against the Union Minister of State for Home, nine were registered between 2018 and 2020. The other cases were filed between 2009 and 2014, as per the affidavit.

Claiming that the criminal cases were politically motivated, a district functionary of the BJP said that most of the FIRs against Mr. Pramanik were registered after he cut off ties with the ruling TMC in West Bengal and thereafter joined the saffron party.

The cases registered against the Union Minister range from attempt to murder and rioting to house trespass and unlawful assembly. - PTI

Alleging that the Congress governments at the Centre since independence were synonymous with “misrule, corrupt practices, nepotism and family politics,” Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the INDIA bloc has “failed to integrate” the Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

In an interview with PTI, Mr. Sonowal, the Minister for Ports, Shipping, Waterways and Ayush, asserted that the BJP-led NDA’s aim of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats is “practically feasible with positive work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

‘During his 10-year tenure, PM Modi has implemented a range of developmental programmes for every section of society, such as farmers, students, tea garden workers, women, old-aged people and divyangs, with quality and also within a specific time frame,” he said.

“The successive Congress governments at the Centre since the country’s independence only made the slogan ‘ Garibi Hatao’ (eliminate poverty) but did not take up any scheme as a follow-up action or implement it,” he claimed. - PTI

“Senior BJP leader Manoj Tigga has movable assets including cash in hand of ₹27.62 lakh,” according to the affidavit filed by him.

Mr. Tigga is contesting from the Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal on the BJP ticket. Elections to the Alipurduar Lok Sabha seat will be held on April 19 during the first phase of the seven-phase polls.

In the affidavit, Mr. Tigga said the value of movable assets including cash in hand held with banks, term deposits and others was ₹27.62 lakh, while that of his spouse Pomy Tigga was more than ₹7.72 lakh.

In terms of immovable assets, he stated that the current market value of those assets was ₹16 lakh.

The affidavit mentioned that the total liabilities of Mr. Tigga stood at just more than ₹16 lakh in the form of loans taken from banks.

His affidavit stated that there were six pending criminal cases against him but he has not been convicted in any of the cases. - PTI

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh likened his party to a “well-established company” whose market capitalisation keeps fluctuating and asserted that it will stage a comeback.

In an interaction at the PTI office, Mr. Ramesh also dismissed suggestions that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma that was responsible for the BJP’s electoral performance and stressed on the importance of organisational strength.

The idea of a charismatic leader was a “dangerous concept” to believe in as one doing so, automatically believes in a “demagogue”, the Congress general secretary in charge communications asserted.

Talking about the need for bringing in new faces, Mr. Ramesh, however, noted that this was difficult in the Congress because people have been in the party for long.

“It’s easier for the BJP. Because, you know, the BJP is a startup in many States. You look upon the BJP as a startup. The Congress is not a startup. The Congress is a well-established company whose market cap (market capitalisation) keeps fluctuating. But the BJP is a startup,” he said. - PTI

AAP leaders have said that their party office in Delhi has been sealed from all sides. Delhi Minister Atishi, in a post on X, said that the party office in Delhi’s ITO “has been sealed off from all sides”. “How can access to a national party office be stopped during the Lok Sabha election? This against the ‘level playing field’ promised in the Indian Constitution,” Ms. Atishi said.

She added that AAP will seek time with the Election Commission of India to file a complaint against this.​Read the full story here​

Senior TMC leader and MP Shatrughan Sinha has dubbed opposition bloc INDIA as “filtered coffee” which is gaining momentum ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and emphasised the importance of not discounting the Congress, citing its track record of comebacks in politics.

Lauding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for conducting “krantikari (revolutionary) yatras” across the country, the Asansol MP, however, asserted that TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be a “game-changer” after the results are announced.

In an interview, the actor-turned-politician termed the electoral bond as a “major scam and extortion racket” of the BJP and said the “seven-phase elections are a boon for the opposition parties to expose the saffron camp’s extortion and blackmail racket in the form of electoral bonds.” “The BJP will be defeated in this election. If the NDA has the support of the CBI, ED, and Income Tax, INDIA has the support of the masses. Many think that INDIA doesn’t have partners, but the fact is people are its biggest ally. The opposition alliance is gaining momentum in various parts of the country,” he said. - PTI

Another BJP candidate in Gujarat, Bhikhaji Thakor from Sabarkantha seat, has now announced on social media that he is not willing to contest Lok Sabha polls due to personal reasons. 

The party had fielded him replacing a sitting MP. Read more

After protests by a section of local cadres and posters against her in a few places in the city, Vadodara BJP MP Ranjan Bhatt has suddenly announced on social media that she will not is not going to contest the upcoimg 2024 Lok Sabha polls due to “personal reasons.” 

The ruling BJP announced Ms. Bhatt as its candidate from Vadodara for the third time party has repeated her for the third time from Vadodara. Read more

The Janvadi Party (Socialist) severed ties with the Samajwadi Party on Saturday, March 23, amid the differences between the alliance partners.

Announcing the decision, founder and national president of the Janvadi Party (Socialist), Sanjay Chauhan said, “There was a dispute between the Janvadi Party (Socialist) and the Samajwadi Party over the distribution of seats.”This comes days after the Samajwadi Party split with the Kurmi OBC-based Apna Dal (Kamerawadi). 

Now, the Janvadi Party is free to declare its candidates for 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh. - ANI

Communist Party of India D. Raja informed that Awadhesh Rai will contest from the Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. “Seat-sharing talks are going on. Begusarai’s seat has been reserved for our party. District Secretary Awadhesh Rai has been chosen to contest from Begusarai. We are negotiating for one more seat,” D. Raja said.

The announcement came after CPI national general secretary D. Raja met Mr. Prasad earlier in the day. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the CPI’s candidate, former Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, was defeated by BJP candidate Giriraj Singh by over 2 lakh votes. Mr. Kumar now has joined the Congress and his name was doing rounds as the Mahagathbandhan candidate from Begusarai but CPI seemingly scuttled his chances by announcing the candidature of Mr. Rai in the traditional CPI stronghold. ​Read more​

With several ruling Congress Ministers in Karnataka having fielded their sons, daughters or relatives in the Lok Sabha election, the pressure is on them to drive the campaign from the front and ensure their victory.

This would mean that these Ministers — Ramalinga Reddy (father of Sowmya Reddy who is contesting in Bengaluru South), Satish Jarkiholi (father of Priyanka Jarkiholi who is contesting in Chikkodi), Laxmi Hebbalkar (mother of Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar who is contesting in Belagavi), Shivanand Patil (father of Samyukta Patil who is contesting in Bagalkot), and Eshwar Khandre (father of Sagar Khandre who is contesting in Bidar) — will hit the ground to ensure their victory. Read more

The BJP has fielded S.G.M. Ramesh, 48, son of the late Communist Party of India leader S.G. Murugaiyan, in Nagapattinam constituency. 

Belonging to Sithamalli near Thiruthuraipoondi, Mr. Ramesh has taken part in various agitations organised by the BJP. His father represented Nagapattinam Lok Sabha constituency between 1977 and 1979. He won the election on CPI ticket. Hailing from a family of politicians, Mr. Ramesh has been active politics for several years. He is a close relative of the Nagpattinam MP N. Selvarasu of the CPI. Mr. Ramesh holds the post of the State deputy secretary of farmers’ wing of the BJP. Before joining the party, he was with the AIADMK for a few years. He holds an engineering degree. Read more

Azad Samaj Party leader Chandrashekhar Azad and Samajwadi Party’s Manoj Kumar on Friday filed their nomination papers from the Nagina (SC) Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to questions on the Dalit leader filing his nomination for the seat, Samajwadi Party chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI that there was no electoral pact between his party and the Azad Samaj Party for this Lok Sabha election.

Two other candidates also filed their nomination papers during the day – Har Kishor Singh of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) for the Moradabad parliamentary seat and Sanjay Kumar Bharti of the Rashtriya Samaj Dal (R) for the Pilibhit seat. - ANI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed new District Magistrates in four districts of West Bengal.This decision comes after the ECI ordered the removal of the DMs of East Midnapore, East Burdwan, Jhargram, and Birbhum districtsThe new appointees are Joyoshi Das Gupta for Purba Medinipur, Moumita Godara Basu for Jhargram, K Radhika Ayer for Purba Bardhaman, and Shashank Sethi for Birbhum. The officials who were removed, including Bidhan Chandra Roy, Tanvir Afzal, Purnendu Kumar Majhi, and Sunil Agarwala, were all from the West Bengal Civil Service cadre.

Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had issued orders for the removal of West Bengal’s Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Chahal, along with some other senior officials from various states.

The ECI had also ordered the removal of certain key officials of six states in what it termed a decisive move towards upholding the principles of free, fair and transparent elections.Home Secretaries in six states-namely Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand had been asked to step down. - ANI

Senior leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) T. Harish Rao has alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is acting that the B-Team leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the matter of liquor policy case, if the response of the Congress party high command and that of Mr. Reddy is any indication.

In a statement, Mr. Harish Rao said on Friday that Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were highly critical of the functioning of the law-enforcing agencies such as Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation alleging that the Narendra Modi Government was misusing the agencies to harass its political opponents, as was being alleged by BRS all these days. ​Read more​

The Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar is abuzz with talks that party chief Lalu Prasad is likely to field two of his daughters in the Lok Sabha election.

Mr. Prasad could field eldest daughter Misa Bharti from Patliputra seat again and second daughter Rohini Acharya from Saran, said party sources. If Ms. Acharya contests the poll, she will be the sixth member of Lalu’s family to enter politics after Mr. Prasad, wife Rabri Devi, elder daughter Ms. Bharti and sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav. ​Read more​

The central election committee of the Congress on Friday cleared four of the nine Lok Sabha seats that the party would be contesting in Tamil Nadu in alliance with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

There has been no official announcement but sources said the party would be repeating Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga, S. Jothimani from the Karur Lok Sabha seat, Vijay Vasanth from Kanniyakumari, and Manickam Tagore from Virudhunagar. ​Read more​

The Trinamool Congress will get double the number of Lok Sabha seats that the BJP will secure in West Bengal, the party’s senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien asserted on Friday.

In an interaction with reporters in New Delhi, Mr. O’Brien said all signs point to the BJP’s rout in the State but stopped short of giving a number. In the 2019 general election, the BJP had won 18 seats, rising from just two it had secured in 2014. The Trinamool’s tally, on the other hand, went down from 24 seats in 2014 to 22 in 2019. ​​Read more​​