Lok Sabha election updates on March 31, 2024 | Country has only seen trailer of development, making roadmap for next five years: PM Modi

Edappadi Palaniswami accuses national parties of meting out ‘step-motherly’ treatment to T.N.

AIADMK leader accuses Congress and BJP of neglecting Tamil Nadu, urges support to protect state's rights in elections.

Addressing a public meeting canvassing votes for the DMDK Lok Sabha election candidate from Cuddalore constituency Sivakolunthu at the Manjakuppam grounds, Mr. Palaniswami charged both the national parties simply forget the State and the welfare of its people after coming to power.

“As far as the AIADMK is concerned, we stand Independently and pay attention to the well being of the people. This is the reason for us to go without any alliance in the upcoming general elections,” he said.

Congress candidates in both the Raichur parliamentary constituency and the Shorapur Assembly constituency where bypolls are being held, are literally sweating it out during campaigning in the rural areas of the two constituencies under scorching heat, while reaching out to people as they are facing their first election battle in their political career.

G. Kumar Naik, a 1990 Karnataka cadre IAS officer, is contesting in Raichur the parliamentary constituency, and Raja Venugopal Naik, an engineering graduate, is contesting in Shorapur, which is facing byelections due to the demise of Member of Legislative Assembly Raja Venkatappa Naik.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on March 31 declared its Rajasthan unit general secretary Damodar Agarwal as the party’s candidate at the Bhilwara seat for the Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Agarwal has replaced the sitting three-time BJP MP Subhash Baheria, who had defeated his Congress rival with the biggest margin of six lakh votes in 2019.

With this, the BJP has announced its candidates for all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan. Mr. Agarwal told journalists that the contest would be interesting as Bhilwara was his hometown, and he had served the people in the region as a social activist and as a worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP for several years.

Senior Congress leader K. H. Muniyappa said the party should have found a compromise formula and chosen a local to contest from the Kolar seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Mr. Muniyappa, who is seemingly upset after his son-in-law was denied a ticket from Kolar, claimed that the two factions led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar were unable to resolve their differences and hence selected a “third person” to contest from the seat.

“The high command had given the ticket.. they had decided in favour of Chikka Peddanna (his son-in-law), but as there were some differences among us (Kolar unit), they had left the decision to the Chief Minister and the state president (of Congress).”

The Congress yesterday announced a ‘neutral’ candidate, K V Gowtham, sending out a message to the two factions of the Kolar Congress: one led by Mr. Muniyappa, and another by former Speaker Ramesh Kumar, both vying for supremacy in the district.

- PTI

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, speaking at a public meeting in Kachnariya, Susner, Madhya Pradesh, said he was making efforts to get 400 people to file nominations so that polls will be held through ballot paper.

He asked if the people wanted elections to be held through EVMs or ballot papers. Responding to the crowd shouting ballot paper, Mr. Singh said, “There is only one way for this (election through ballot paper). If 400 candidates fill nomination forms. I am preparing for this. Candidates in the general category will have to submit security deposit of Rs 25,000, while those in reserved categories will have to give deposit of Rs 12,500.”

Each EVM can have a maximum of 384 candidates, including NOTA, per constituency. A total of 16 candidates, including NOTA, can appear on one ballot unit and 24 such units can be connected simultaneously to the control unit.

In neighbouring Chhattisgarh, a BJP leader from Durg had written to the Election Commission of India seeking action against former CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel for speaking about such a move to overwhelm EVMs.

- PTI

Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan announced Chennuboina Srinivasa Rao (Vamsi Krishna Yadav) as the candidate for Visakhapatnam South Assembly constituency.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao was YSR Congress Party MLC from Visakhapatnam. He joined the JSP in late December 2023, after which he was disqualified (as MLC) for indulging in anti-party activities.

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While launching the BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh from Meerut, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took on the Opposition, saying that he is fighting against corruption. “I am fighting against corruption, that is why the corrupt are behind bars today,” he said, adding that some people were rattled by his actions. 

Making a pitch for development, Mr. Modi said that poverty would be eradicated and the middle class would provide strength to the country when India becomes the world’s third largest economy. 

“You have only seen the trailer of development till now,” he said at the election rally. ”The 2024 Lok Sabha election is not just for making a government, but to make ‘Viksit Bharat’,” he said. - PTI

Amid the Election Commission of India’s persistent calls to electors to exercise their franchise, the voter turnout in Kolkata Uttar Lok Sabha constituency has dipped, a poll official has said. 

In the 2014 and 2019 general elections, nearly 1,000 out of over 1,800 booths in the constituency reported below-average voter turnout, the official added. While the turnout in the constituency was 9,55,778 in 2014, the figure came down to 9,50,639 in 2019. “The decrease in turnout in the constituency started from the 2014 general elections,” the ECI official told PTI.

In 2019, the voter turnout in the constituency, comprising seven assembly segments — Chowranghee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala, and Kashipur-Belgachhia — was slightly over 65%, down from 67% in the 2014 elections.

This trend was also evident in the last two Assembly elections in 2021 and 2016, the official added. In the 2021 Assembly polls, voter turnout in Chowranghee was around 53% compared to over 56% in 2016, the officer said. Similar declines were observed in the other six assembly constituencies.

Migration of voters to other parts of the city and youth taking up employment opportunities outside the State are reasons for the dip, the official said. ”The addition of new voters in these assembly constituencies is not significant enough to offset the declining turnout,” the official added.

To address the situation, the ECI has initiated various awareness campaigns, including showcasing street plays, distributing leaflets, and setting up posters, to educate people about their democratic rights through the polling process. - PTI

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is confident that the BJP will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the State. “This government, which works for the people, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has worked to directly benefit the people, which is evident from the enthusiasm and energy seen among the people. In the upcoming elections, we will win in all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and it will play a crucial role in PM Modi becoming Prime Minister for the third time,” Nayab Singh Saini said. 

“I am going to different regions of Haryana, and I can see the enthusiasm and excitement among the people...This government has addressed the concerns of every section, whether it is women, farmers, youth, or the poor, and the result is evident. It is the first time in these 10 years that more than 25 crore people have crossed the poverty line,” he said.

“This government, which works for the people, under the leadership of PM Modi, has worked to directly benefit the people, which is evident from the enthusiasm and energy seen among the people,” he added.

The BJP won all 10 seats in Haryana in the last elections. - ANI

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said Union Home Minister Amit Shah is holding a roadshow at Channapatna in the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment, as workers of BJP and JD(S), who are fighting the polls in alliance, are not united there.

Mr. Shivakumar’s brother and sitting MP D.K. Suresh is the Congress candidate in Bangalore Rural, while the BJP has fielded noted cardiologist Dr. C.N. Manjunath, who is the son-in-law of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, on its ticket.

Mr. Shah will kick off his campaign in Karnataka on April 2. He is scheduled to hold a roadshow at Channapatna in the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment.

“Why they have selected Channapatna is because BJP and JD(S) are not united there, their workers are not united there. BJP and JD(S) workers who have fought each other day in and out, and even during local body polls, are not working together. So, Amit Shah is starting his campaign from there,” Mr. Shivakumar said.

“They [BJP-JDS] want to show their strength and that they are united by bringing Amit Shah there. Why didn’t they hold both parties’ joint workers’ meetings till now? Just because the leaders have come together will the workers come together?” he asked, as he expressed confidence about his brother’s win from the segment once again. — PTI

Senior Punjab Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa slammed the BJP, accusing it of not having been able to find its own party men for fielding them from the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

His remarks came a day after the BJP announced its first list of six candidates for Punjab, fielding three turncoats’ Preneet Kaur, Sushil Kumar Rinku and Ravneet Singh Bittu, and former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Besides, the saffron party also fielded singer and MP from North West Delhi Hans Raj Hans and former MLA Dinesh Singh Babbu.

“On one hand, the BJP has given a slogan of ‘ab ki baar 400 paar’ and on the other hand, it has not been able to find its own party members who can be fielded for fighting from Punjab,” Mr. Randhawa said reacting to the BJP list. — PTI

Two groups in the BJP allegedly clashed over the selection of Bharat Sutariya as the candidate from Amreli Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat after a meeting organised in Amreli to resolve the issue of differences between them over his nomination.

The incident took place on March 30 night after the meeting was organised in Amreli under the leadership of former State Cabinet Minister and BJP’s cluster in-charge for Amreli Bhupendra Chudasama, as per some party members.

No police complaint has been filed so far in connection with the incident.

Mr. Chudasama said there was no discontent and that Mr. Sutariya will remain the BJP’s candidate from Amreli. — PTI

The BJP on March 31 declared its Rajasthan general secretary Damodar Agarwal as its candidate for the State’s Bhilwara Lok Sabha seat.

With this, the BJP has announced candidates on all 25 seats in Rajasthan.

The Congress has fielded former speaker C.P. Joshi from Bhilwara. — PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday mocked the BJP’s target of winning 400-plus seats in the Lok Sabha polls and challenged the saffron camp to win at least 200 constituencies.

“The BJP is saying ‘400 paar’, I challenge them to cross the 200 seats benchmark first. In 2021 assembly polls, they gave a call of 200 plus seats but had to stop at 77,” she said. “The CAA is a trap to turn legal citizens into foreigners. We would allow neither CAA nor NRC in West Bengal,” she said while addressing her first rally in the election season after her injury earlier this month.

“There is no INDIA alliance in West Bengal. The CPI(M) and Congress are working for the BJP in Bengal,” she said while addressing an election rally at Krishnanagar in support of TMC candidate Mahua Moitra. “Our MP Mahua Moitra was maligned and expelled from the Lok Sabha as she was vocal against the BJP,” she added. — PTI

The BRS in Telangana suffered another jolt as its sitting MLA and former Minister Kadiam Srihari and his daughter Kadiam Kavya on March 31 joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister and TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy.

Congress leaders have earlier invited Mr. Srihari to join the party.

“For various reasons, people are moving away from the BRS. So, to serve the people and to do something for the constituency, [I] will take a call [on joining the Congress party],” Mr. Srihari had said.

Ms. Kavya, who was BRS candidate from Warangal, also announced her decision to opt out citing recent allegations of corruption and phone-tapping against the previous K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime. The allegations have lowered the party’s prestige, she had said. — PTI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said the ECI is striving to increase the polling percentage in about 20 urban Assembly constituencies where it is lower than the national average of 68%. 

Visakhapatnam, Nellore, Kurnool town, Rajamahendravaram and Vijayawada are some of the constituencies ‘exhibiting urban apathy’ towards exercising franchise.

“Our (overall) per cent of polling is on the higher side at 79%, but still there are certain urban areas where it is below the national average. We are now trying to increase the percentage in these places so that our overall voting percentage also goes up. We appeal to the people to vote,” Mr. Meena said.

He also said that the poll body has done all the planning needed to conduct the elections, such as keeping the required number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) ready and also completed the first level check. Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and counting of votes is slated for June 4. - PTI

Avowing confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of 370 seats, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari says the additional seats to its current strength of 288 will come from gains in southern India in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

Mr. Gadkari said there is “no doubt” in his mind that the BJP-led NDA alliance will cross 400 seats and that Modi will take over as prime minister for a third term because of the solid work done by the government in the last 10 years.

He dismissed allegations that the Modi government is “weaponising” central probe agencies such as the ED and the CBI to weaken the opposition, saying BJP’s rivals should make efforts to overcome adversity by winning the confidence of the people.

“Is it our responsibility to make the Opposition weak or strong? When we had just two MPs and were weak, we never got any package out of sympathy,” he asked. He said the party has emerged stronger over the years due to the sheer hard work of its workers and the Opposition too has to make efforts to earn the people’s confidence. “The nature of democracy is such that this keeps changing. Whatever role you play, you always have to make efforts and overcome adversity. This is important for any opposition party,” he said.

When asked how the BJP will its taget of winning 370 seats by itself and and more than 400 seats for the National Democratic Alliance, given that they have already maxed out in their stronghold States, he said, “There is no need to make a state-wise analysis. This time we will taste success in the South. The work we have done in the South and the northeast over the last 10 years under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership… we have started getting results of the same,” he said.“We have worked hard in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We had very little presence in these states. This time we will do well in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. We have been performing well in north India. So, I feel the BJP will alone get 370 seats and the NDA will cross 400,” Mr. Gadkari said. - PTI

Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah has asserted that the Opposition’s attempt to contest the Lok Sabha polls unitedly in the State fell apart “due to national politics”. 

“We had formed the United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA) eight months before the INDIA bloc was constituted. Ours is a 16-party forum and out of these, three are contesting the Lok Sabha polls directly. But it is not due to my leadership or politics in the State, but due to national politics,” he said. Of the total 14 seats in the State, the Congress is contesting 13, leaving one for the UOFA member Assam Jaitya Parishad (AJP). AAP, TMC and the CPI(M), who are part of the alliance, have put up candidates in the State.

Mr. Borah pointed out that the AAP and the Congress have a seat-sharing arrangement in Delhi, but are fighting in all seats separately in Punjab. “The AAP had announced candidates for three seats in Assam, but fortunately they withdrew their nominee from Guwahati. I had requested (AAP state president) Bhabesh Choudhury that they should not contest alone and we were ready to give them one seat, but they insisted on three,” he said, adding, “I think this will be the biggest political blunder for AAP as after results, it will be proved that they are nobody in the State.”

He said that TMC is a “regional party based in West Bengal,” and there is no alliance with the Congress in the neighbouring State”. “If they are not ready to give a single seat in their stronghold, how can I, as the state president of Assam, sit with the TMC president here and give them seats? The starting point is West Bengal and not Assam with them,” he said.

As far as the CPI(M) is concerned, the Left party is fighting against the Congress in Kerala and has fielded a candidate in Assam, he said. “Although these three parties are not in the same view in the State, all are part of the opposition bloc INDIA against the BJP. I have also decided that I will not speak a single word against these parties,” he added.

Assam will go to polls in three phases on April 19, 26 and May 7. The Congress has three MPs in the outgoing Lok Sabha, while the other UOFA members don’t have any representation from the State. The ruling BJP has nine MPs from Assam, while one each is held by AIUDF and an Independent. - PTI

Ahead of his first Lok Sabha election rally in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the people of the country as his family members and said his government has given a new flight to their aspirations.

In a post on X in Hindi, PM Modi said, “In the last 10 years, our government, through its work, has given a new flight to the aspirations of my family members across the country. To give further speed to this, the countrymen have once again made up their mind to go with the BJP-NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.” “Will get the privilege of receiving blessings from the public around 3.30 pm today in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

- PTI

In the run-up to the April 26 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing intense political fight, with the Congress striving to maintain its hold, while the BJP and CPI(M) are aggressively vying to secure the key southern seat.

With Anto Antony as its candidate, the Congress is banking on its success from the previous election, aiming to replicate its performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

On the opposing front, the BJP has nominated its national secretary Anil K Antony, son of Congress stalwart and former Union minister A K Antony, whose candidacy received a significant boost with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the southern district on March 15, rallying behind him.

- PTI

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently parted ways with the Samajwadi Party, on Sunday said he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kushinagar as a candidate of his Rashtriya Shoshit Samaaj Party.

Claiming that he held talks with the INDIA bloc constituents from Uttar Pradesh over seat sharing but got no response, Maurya also announced that S N Chauhan will be his party’s candidate from the Deoria Lok Sabha seat.

The names of other candidates of the party would be announced soon, he added.

- PTI

For the first time in Telangana, all 24 liquor production points have been brought under CCTV surveillance to keep a check on the illegal flow of alcohol in the run-up to the May 13 Lok Sabha elections.

Chief Electoral Office Vikas Raj said to prevent unwarranted liquor distribution during the elections, the state Excise Department is monitoring the sale of alcohol and will inform the Election Commission if there is a spike of more than 20 per cent in its production.

The official said all the belt shops (unauthorised satellite shops) of liquor were shut down and the illegal network of distribution was stopped to a large extent.

- PTI

Some people pelted stones and damaged several cars during an election rally in support of the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate and Union minister Sanjeev Balyan in Khatauli area of Muzaffarnagar district, police said.

Balyan was addressing an election meeting when the cars parked in the vicinity were damaged.

Balyan is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Muzaffarnagar parliamentary constituency, voting for which will be held in the first phase on April 19.

- PTI

Bhojpuri stars are making it big in national politics but they seem conspicuous by their absence in the electoral battle in Bihar, the very springhead of the language spoken in places as far-off as Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Manoj Tiwari, who hails from the state’s Atarwalia village in Kaimur district, has made Delhi his political “karma bhoomi” while in Uttar Pradesh, Ravi Kishan and Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ are seeking re-election from seats close to their native places.

In the run-up to Lok Sabha polls, there was a lot of buzz around Pawan Singh, a native of Arrah, entering the fray. He got a ticket, but, surprisingly, from West Bengal, and withdrew from the contest following a controversy. Speculations are rife that internet sensation Neha Singh Rathore would get a Congress ticket ever since she attended a number of party events, including Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

“Several Bhojpuri superstars are in the fray for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but none has been fielded from Bihar, the epicentre of the regional film industry, or neighbouring Jharkhand”, said Gunjan Kumar, the lone popular Bhojpuri/Magahi singer who has thrown his hat in the ring from Bihar.

Political parties in Jharkhand are leaving no stone unturned to woo nearly 71 lakh voters in the age group of 18 and 29, who could play a significant role in electing candidates.

Ruling JMM is banking on a slew of schemes, ranging from providing education loans to imparting skills, launched by the state government for the youth.

The BJP claimed that youths would be one of the major focus areas in the election manifesto of the party, while the Congress said that its leader Rahul Gandhi has already announced five promises to the youth, including filling up 30 lakh vacant government posts across the country, including Jharkhand.

Of the 2.55 crore electors eligible to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha polls, 70.83 lakh are young voters and of them, 34.85 lakh are women, according to the state electoral rolls.

Of the total young voters, 22.33 lakh electors, including 11.39 lakh women, are between the age group of 18 and 22 and will exercise their franchise for the first time in Jharkhand where parliamentary and assembly polls were held five years ago.

- PTI

The Nagaland Cabinet and legislators of the eastern region of the State appealed to the ENPO to take part in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) has stuck to its decision not to participate in the Lok Sabha polls until its demand for a separate state carved out of Nagaland is fulfilled by the Centre.

The BJP nominated Bhartruhari Mahtab from the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat from where he was elected on a BJD ticket five years ago but joined the saffron camp this month.

The saffron party also fielded Rabindra Narayan Behera, a former director of the National Informatics Centre, from Jajpur, a reserved seat for scheduled caste, while Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi, associated with the Sangh Parivar for a long time, got a BJP ticket for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency.

Mahtab, a six-time MP, had on March 22 resigned from the BJD and joined the BJP on Thursday.

Panigrahi has been fielded from Kandhamal after Kharabela Swain, the BJP’s candidate in 2019, refused to contest from the same seat. Swain was interested in the Balasore Lok Sabha constituency. Five years ago, Swain had lost to BJD’s Achyuta Samanta by a margin of 1,49,216 votes.

- PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party has released names of leaders who will campaign for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in the State of Tripura (Schedule-1A) and bye-elections to the 7-Ramnagar Legislative Assembly Constituency.

The names of campaigners include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP Chief JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Raod Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The list further includes Sarbananda Sonowal, Arjun Munda, Smriti Irani, Kiren Rijiju, Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Manik Saha, Rajib Bhattacharjee, Biplab Kumar Deb, Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma, Rabindra Raju, Sambit Patra, Pratima Bhoumik, and Jishnu Dev Varma.

- ANI

The ruling Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday officially announced the name of Mr. Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, as the Mahayuti’s candidate for the high-stakes Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district.

While Ms. Sunetra Pawar’s name was long expected, it was formally announced by NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) State chief Sunil Tatkare.

Ms. Sunetra will be pitted against Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, the incumbent Baramati MP.

Gold, drugs, alcohol and various goods worth around ₹140 crore and more than ₹7 crore in cash were seized in West Bengal since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced this month, an officer said.

According to data released by the Election Commission, the amount of cash seized till Saturday was around ₹7.87 crore.

The EC also seized 12.7 lakh litres of alcohol with a market value of ₹33.86 crore, he added.

“Drugs weighing around 3.5 kg worth ₹18.28 crore were also seized,” he said.

The poll body also seized the yellow metal worth ₹27.32 crore during this period, the official said.

- PTI

The Election Commission has issued an order barring the Andhra Pradesh government’s ward and village volunteers from carrying out their activities such as disbursing welfare benefits, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said.

The Commission has also asked the state government to refrain from releasing the results of Andhra Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (APTET) and conducting the Andhra Pradesh Teacher Recruitment Test (APTRT) while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force.

On the Election Commission’s order on ward and village volunteers, Meena said they should not be engaged for extending government schemes and welfare benefits, disbursing pensions and other related activities during the elections.

“Cell phones, tabs and other devices given to the volunteers should be immediately deposited with the respective District Electoral Officers,” he said in a press release.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart his Lok Sabha election campaign in Uttar Pradesh with a rally in Meerut where the BJP has fielded actor Arun Govil of TV serial ‘Ramayan’ fame as its candidate.

According to sources, apart from Govil, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary, who recently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, will share the dais with the prime minister.

Prime Minister Modi’s Meerut rally will prove to be a milestone in western Uttar Pradesh, senior BJP leader and MLC Govind Narayan Shukla said and asserted that the party and its allies would win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

- PTI