Lok Sabha elections 2024 updates | highlights from May 5, 2024

Two days before the third round of Lok Sabha polls, Madhya Pradesh BJP chief V.D. Sharma on Sunday claimed that his party had done well in the first two phases and was poised to win all the 29 seats in the State.

In the 2019 general elections, the party had won 28 seats in M.P., with Chhindwara going to Congress’ Nakul Nath.

“We have got a good number of votes in the first two phases. We are going to lead in all the four phases in MP ending on May 13 and win all 29 seats including Chhindwara,” Mr. Sharma told reporters.

Mr. Sharma put the onus on Congress workers and their voters for the lower turnout in MP in the first two phases.

- PTI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita on Sunday alleged he was put in jail before the elections to “stifle” his voice and urged people to vote against “dictatorship” when the national capital goes to polls on May 25.

Sunita held her third roadshow in the national capital in south Delhi in support of AAP candidate Sahiram Pahalwan on Sunday.

She said her husband was put in jail since he built good government schools, mohalla clinics and promised to give ₹1,000 to every woman in Delhi. “He has put in jail just before polls to stifle his voice. Dictatorship is at its peak. Please save this country. Please cast your vote irrespective of the heat,” she added. 

“Your Chief Minister and my husband has been put in jail. No court has declared him guilty. They are saying that inquiry is going on. If investigation goes on for 10 years, will they keep him in jail for 10 years? This is sheer hooliganism and dictatorship,” she charged. 

Mr. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case. He is currently held in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.

- PTI

Prime Minister lashed out at the “dynastic politics” of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress on Sunday, saying while the opposition alliance partners work only to benefit their own families, he is building a better future for the nation’s next generations.

Referring to himself and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he said, “We don’t have children. We are working for your children.” The Prime Minister was addressing a Lok Sabha poll rally in Etawah in the home district of Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who died in 2022.

The Prime Minister also said that he is laying the foundation to ensure that India remains a powerful nation for the next 1,000 years.

“Modi is doing this because irrespective of whether Modi is there or not, the country will always remain and what are these SP-Congress people doing? They are fighting elections for their future and the future of their children,” he added.

- PTI

The Congress on Sunday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “failed” the country’s daughters by “rewarding” sexual harassment accused BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh with a Lok Sabha poll ticket for his son, and asked whether women will ever be safe in “Modi’s India”.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to Prime Minister Modi ahead of his visit to Ayodhya.

“Will women ever be safe in Modi’s India? Why did the PM lie to Ayodhya about ‘free’ electricity under the Surya Ghar Yojana? Why has UP’s youth given up on the job market?” Mr. Ramesh said on X.

Elaborating on what he said were “jumla details”, Mr. Ramesh said PM Modi has once again “failed” India’s daughters.

“Rather than punishing MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for his heinous crimes, the BJP has rewarded him with a ticket for his son Karan Bhushan Singh, from the neighbouring Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat,” the Congress general secretary said.

“This has come as a slap in the face to (of) all the women who put their careers at stake and slept on the streets for days, through sun and rain, in their fight for justice,” he said.

- PTI

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was on Sunday served a show cause notice, seeking an explanation for allegedly using a child to seek votes during campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in Rajouri district.

Rajouri is part of Anantnag parliamentary constituency which is going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25.

Ms. Mufti, a former J&K Chief Minister, is among 20 candidates in the fray from the constituency.

Additional District Magistrate, Rajouri and nodal officer for Model Code of Conduct, Rajeev Kumar Khajuria issued the show cause notice to Ms. Mufti in connection with an election rally conducted by her in the Shahdara Sharief area of the district on May 1.

“… a video has gone viral on the social media in which a minor female child is seen being used by you for political campaign/appeal to the public to vote for you (PDP) on the day of election and the same child being encouraged and appreciated by you after the culmination of her appeal,” Mr. Khajuria said in his letter to Ms. Mufti.

- PTI

ongress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh will file his nomination papers on May 9, he said in a video uploaded on his social media account on Sunday.

Vikramaditya Singh, Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister and a scion of erstwhile Rampur estate, is the Congress candidate from the Mandi parliamentary seat. He is the son of six-time chief minister late Virbhadra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh.

He is contesting against actor and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut, who will file her nomination on May 14.

- PTI

BJP president JP Nadda on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the culture of politics in India forcing all parties to talk about development.

Mr. Nadda was addressing a programme in Bhubaneswar where the BJP’s manifesto for the Odisha assembly elections was released.

“PM Modi has changed the culture of politics, as a result of which all the parties are now forced to talk about development,” he said.

Mr. Nadda claimed that during the Congress regime, manifestos were just a formality before the elections.

“But after Modi came to power in 2014, manifestos have gained importance. People are taking them as serious documents,” he said.

- PTI

The Election Commission on Sunday ordered the transfer of Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police K.V. Rajendranath Reddy with immediate effect, sources said.

The poll authority has asked the State government to submit by Monday names of three eligible Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the rank of director general to fill the vacancy, the sources said.

The reason behind the poll body’s action was not immediately known.

Elections for the 175-member assembly and the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh will be held simultaneously on May 13. The votes will be counted on June 4.

- PTI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already started feeling insecure as he was feeling the ground slipping from beneath his feet.

Addressing a public rally in West Bengal’s Malda, Mr. Kharge said, “Mr. Modi was saying things, which do not suit the dignity of a Prime Minister. He observed that the way Modi was speaking showed that he had started feeling insecure, quoting an Urdu couplet, “na raj Khatre mein hai, na Hindu Khatre mein, sirf Sultan Khatre mein hai”, relating it to Modi’s insecurity.

Accusing Mr. Modi of spreading lies, Mr. Kharge pointed out how he was saying that Pakistan wants Rahul Gandhi to become Prime Minister and calls him a Shahzada. “Don’t talk like this”, he told Mr. Modi, while warning him, “it is hate speech. Don’t instigate people”. 

“I will not allow quota on the basis of religion and theft of reservation for SC, ST and OBC till I am alive,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in U.P.’s Dhaurahra. “Be it the poor, SCs, STs or OBCs, they have separated from Congress and INDI alliance, and come to BJP,” he said. 

Alleging “politics of appeasement has become compulsion for existence of ‘shehzade’ of SP and Congress”, the Prime Minister said, “Muslim community also understands that Congress and INDI alliance have made them pawn.” 

Attacking the Congress party he said, “by announcing to bring back Article 370, Congress has disrespected B.R. Ambedkar.”

- PTI

Campaign ended on Sunday for the third phase of Lok Sabha polls in Bihar where the fate of altogether 54 candidates in five constituencies will be decided on May 7.

Voting will be held in Araria, Supaul, Jhanjharpur, Madhepura and Khagaria, all of which are currently held by the ruling NDA.

The NDA’s heavy artillery was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the biggest crowd puller of the BJP-led coalition, who addressed a rally in Araria, which party MP Pradeep Singh hopes to retain.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a rally in Jhanjharpur while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed an election meeting in Supaul.

- PTI

Reservations for SC, ST, OBCs would not end as long as there is even one BJP MP in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

Addressing an election rally at Kagaznagar in Telangana, Shah alleged that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also forwarded a doctored video of the top BJP leader.

This is a reference to the case over a ‘doctored’ video of Mr. Shah being circulated on social media.

Mr. Shah exuded confidence that the BJP would win more than ten seats in Telangana out of the total 17.

The senior BJP leader alleged that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi did not attend the Ram Temple consecration despite being invited for fear of their vote-bank.

He said the vote-bank of Congress and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is the same.

- PTI

Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani on Sunday hit out at the BJP government alleging that it had failed to restore peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The claims of the BJP on the improvement of the situation are hollow. The BJP makes claims that they have ended terrorism after removal of Article 370 but you know how many incidents have taken place in Rajouri, yesterday an attack took place at Poonch.

“Earlier, there was an attack in Kokernag, so many target killings have taken place. The truth is that they have failed in providing security to the people and restoration of peace,” Mr. Wani told reporters at the Congress headquarters in Srinagar.

- PTI

The Election Commission of India has granted permission to shift seven polling stations in Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh in response to proposals sent by the District Election Officers (DEO), officials said here on Sunday.

The decision to change the locations of the polling stations was taken to facilitate voters, an Election Commission spokesperson said in a statement.

- PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday exuded confidence that NDA is going to win all seats in Andhra Pradesh and predicted that the INDIA bloc would not get even a single seat in the state in the elections.

“Over 50,000 people have gathered here. This shows that the entire Andhra Pradesh is with PM Modi and Chandrababu Naidu. NDA alliance is going to sweep (elections) here. INDI alliance will not even get a single seat in Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Shah told ANI.

- ANI

Devendra Yadav, who formally took over as the interim president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) on Sunday, said “today, the country needs the Congress”.

He thanked the party leadership for entrusting him with this responsibility.

“I thank Congress for nominating me for this position. I am grateful to Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Ajay Maken, who have also accompanied me here,” Yadav said.

The Congress leader also expressed his gratitude towards all the party workers saying he also started his political career as a worker and has seen a lot of struggles and hardships.

“Today Congress, which is our mother, needs us. Today, the country needs Congress,” the Delhi Congress’ interim chief said.

- PTI

The NDA, if voted to power again at the Centre, will implement simultaneous election across the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while addressing a poll rally at Jammalamadugu in Kadapa. “Our commitment is that we will implement ‘one nation, one election’ in the next five years across the country so that time and energy is saved,” he said.

Hitting out at the YSRCP, Mr. Singh said people are fed up with the ruling party with the deteriorating law and order situation and assured that if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is voted to power in Andhra Pradesh, the State will be liberated from “corruption.” Taking a dig at the Congress, he said the grand old party would disappear from India’s political landscape. “After ten years you ask any child, he will say what the Congress Party is,” he said.He said though the Congress party ignored former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, the NDA awarded him with the Bharat Ratna.

Mr. Singh also highlighted the BJP’s achievements over the last ten years. - PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that India will get a permanent member seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and this would happen faster if the country has a Prime Minister to whom no one can say ‘no’.

“This is a very difficult period. And more important, who do you trust? Who do you want to see in charge of this country? Who do you think will take this country through this challenge? And you asked about the Security Council. I have confidence we will become a member. But we will become a member faster if we have a strong prime minister to whom the world cannot say no. And that is what we are trying to do,” he said during an interactive session in Cuttack. 

The BJP’s election manifesto vowed to pursue permanent membership for the country in the UNSC. - ANI

Nirmala Sapre, Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh’s Bina assembly seat, joined the ruling BJP on May 5. 

She is the third MLA to leave the Congress and join the BJP since the model code of conduct came into effect in March.

Ms. Sapre joined the party in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav during a public rally at Rahatgarh in Sagar district. Later, talking to reporters, she said she had made several promises to the people of her constituency but was not able to fulfil them.

“I joined the stream of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav,” she said. - PTI

In this exclusive interview, Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is contesting the Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency, hit out at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talking about non-issues.

The 77-year-old Congress veteran has been a vocal critic of EVMs and said that the Election Commission of India has not answered the basic questions concerning the EVMs and its software. 

‘These are not the real issues’: Digvijaya Singh slams the BJP discussing mangalsutra, machhli, and Muslims 

Digvijaya Singh interview: Digvijaya Singh, former MP CM and the Congress’ candidate in Rajgarh, criticizes EVMs, questions electoral integrity, challenges BJP and PM Modi.

PM Narendra Modi will file his nomination papers from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on May 14, the BJP’s city president Vidyasagar Rai has said. He will hold a roadshow in the constituency on May 13, and preparations for it are underway, he added. “The route for the roadshow has been finalised. On May 14, Prime Minister Modi will file his nomination from the Varanasi seat,” he said.

The Congress has fielded its Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai in Varanasi and the BSP’s Athar Jamal Lari is also in the mix. Elections in Varanasi will be held on June 1 in the seventh and last round of the general elections. - PTI

The Congress asserted that after the Lok Sabha election results, the party and its allies will leave no stone unturned in strengthening the counter-terrorism grid in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Five IAF personnel were injured in an attack in Poonch and one of them succumbed to injuries at a military hospital. Officials said a well-coordinated joint operation by the army and police is underway in many areas, including Shahsitar, Gursai, Sanai and Sheendara Top, to neutralise the terrorists.

“We strongly and unequivocally condemn this dastardly terror attack and join the nation in unitedly standing together against terrorism,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. He claimed that the Surankote terrorist attack is part of a worrying trend of terror attacks, particularly against security personnel, in the hilly Rajouri-Poonch areas situated near the Line of Control.

“It is a matter of grave concern that since January 1st 2023, 25 of our brave security personnel and eight innocent civilians have lost their lives in the Rajouri-Poonch area. In contrast, there were no major incidents of terrorism in this area between 2007 and 2014,” he said.

After June 4, the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners will leave no stone unturned in strengthening the counter-terrorism grid by fully supporting our brave soldiers, he asserted. “Our approach will also be to consistently empower the political class and civil society, transcending religious and ethnic ties, which will support the efforts of our valiant forces to mount a collective societal deterrence against terrorists in Rajouri-Poonch, an area which is vast and hilly,” he said, adding that this will make them equal partners in ensuring peace in the strategic region. - PTI

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav is confident of a comprehensive win. He believes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches are devoid of any constructive agenda and full of hatred. The Hindu caught up with him at the official residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi in Patna before he boarded a helicopter for another campaign.

RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav says PM Narendra Modi’s campaign is deeply communal and prejudiced

Tejashwi Yadav interview: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav confident of Lok Sabha win, criticises PM Modi's speeches, demands transparency from ECI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah exuded confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be heading towards the 400-seat mark after the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls. He said the number of seats gained by the BJP after the first two rounds of polling would have crossed 100. 

Addressing an NDA rally in Andhra Pradesh’s Dharmavaram, Mr. Shah said, “The first two phases of the general elections are over. In the first two phases, Modi is ahead, getting 100 seats. In the third phase, he is moving towards getting over 400 seats.”

He accused the ruling YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh of encouraging corruption and crime in the State. He added that he was in Andhra Pradesh to lend strength to the BJP, TDP, and Jana Sena alliance’s fight against corruption, crime, mafia and conversion in the State.

He said none of the INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were fit to lead the country, adding that the whole country has decided to make Mr. Modi the Prime Minister for the third time. - PTI

The Congress has changed its candidates in five assembly constituencies in Odisha. The party has nominated former minister and four-time MLA Debashish Nayak for the Bari assembly constituency replacing Arati Deo. Mr. Nayak had joined the Congress on Saturday after BJP denied him a ticket. Congress spokesperson Sudarshan Das has been nominated for the Jaleswar Assembly constituency replacing Debi Prasanna Chand. For the Athamallik assembly segment, the party has fielded Himanshu Chaulia in place of Bijayananda Chaulia, while Sujit Mahapatra has been replaced by Uma Ballav Rath for the Puri Assembly segment.

Sudarshan Sahoo is the new Congress nominee for the Athagarh Assembly segment. The party had earlier nominated Maheboob Ahmad Khan for the seat.

With this list, the Congress party has announced candidates for 145 out of 147 Assembly segments in Odisha. The Congress has left one seat for JMM and another for CPI (M). The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1. -PTI

The Congress has not fielded a single Muslim candidate in Gujarat. The party has argued that the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat, from where it used to traditionally field a Muslim candidate, has gone to the AAP as part of the seat-sharing agreement among the opposition INDIA bloc constituents. Among national parties, only the BSP has fielded a Muslim candidate from Gandhinagar for the May 7 polls in the State.

This time, 35 Muslim candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls to be held in 25 out of the 26 seats in Gujarat, compared to 43 nominees from the community in 2019, according to Election Commission data.

Most of the candidates from the community are either contesting independently or have been fielded by lesser-known parties. - PTI

Chhattisgarh will see its seven remaining seats out of a total 11 go to the polls in the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 7. In these constituencies, nationalism as a narrative has been dominant in these areas, but both the key players — BJP and Congress — have attempted to add more issues in the mix. Read the report here.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has sought the ECI to initiate action against BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda and other senior leaders for allegedly violating the model code of conduct. 

In a complaint to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, the Congress mentioned a video uploaded on X. “The BJP has been falsely accusing the Congress party of including Muslims in OBC category and with such false propaganda the saffron party has been soliciting votes during Lok Sabha elections,” it alleged.

The letter also stated that nowhere in the Congress party manifesto has it been mentioned that allocations of funds to SC, ST and OBC communities will be cut and the same will be diverted to the Muslim community.

“It is clear that the video social media post by them is to intimidate members of SC/ST community not to vote for Congress party by projecting that funds reserved for them will be usurped by Muslims,” it said. The KPCC has urged the poll body to initiate suitable action. -- PTI 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political history is based on the “Hindu-Muslim dispute” and he should do some soul-searching as to who is benefiting from it, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has claimed. 

“If you look at the political history of Modi ji, it is based on the Hindu-Muslim dispute. It would be better if Narendra Modi does some soul-searching as to who is benefiting from it and who all are suffering due to it,” Mr. Singh, who is contesting from Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, said. He asked, “Where are polls being fought on the basis of real issues?” The BJP has attacked the Congress over issues like inheritance tax. It has accused the Congress of planning to snatch the OBC quota to give it to Muslims as well as to “redistribute wealth to infiltrators”.

Mr. Singh is pitted against sitting BJP MP Rodmal Nagar, who has held the seat since 2014. Mr. Singh had won the seat in 1984 and 1991. Polling will be held in Rajgarh in the third phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 7.- PTI

Congress’ Nav Prabhat said BJP has become afflicted with a phobia due to Rahul Gandhi’s popularity. “BJP has become afflicted with a phobia due to Rahul Gandhi’s popularity. The Congress family was associated with the Rae Bareli seat in 1952 and Rahul Gandhi has chosen the same seat as Feroze Gandhi, I consider this to be the right step,” Mr. Prabhat told ANI.

While commenting on K.L. Sharma’s candidature in Amethi, he said, “As far as Amethi is considered, Kishori Lal Sharma has been working in Amethi for the last 50 years. Congress has made the right decision by choosing someone who has been playing a major role for a long time. I am confident of K.L. Sharma’s win.”

Rahul Gandhi, who currently represents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha, represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2019. His father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, too, was an elected member of Amethi from 1981 till his death in 1991. The BJP’s Smriti Irani, who defeated Mr. Gandhi in 2019 in Amethi, is seeking re-election from from the seat.

Rae Bareli was held by Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s mother Sonia Gandhi, who became a member of Rajya Sabha. Amethi and Rae Bareli are going to polls in the fifth phase on May 20. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. - ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda will arrive in Bhubaneswar on Sunday on their two-day visit to Odisha.

PM Modi is scheduled to arrive in the Odisha capital around 9.30 pm and will make a night halt at Raj Bhavan.

He will address election rallies at Berhampur and Nabarangpur on Monday, a BJP leader said.

- PTI

The tumultuous days of Maoist violence may now be a thing of the past for residents of Jhargram constituency in western West Bengal but the tribal-dominated seat sits on a powder keg of identity politics which has a direct bearing on the elections.

A long-standing demand for Scheduled Tribe status by the minority Kurmis, a traditional tiller community listed as OBCs in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, had led to sporadic violence in the recent past and has vertically divided the inhabitants of region with the majority Adivasis, enlisted STs, firmly opposing it.

Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have chosen to tread cautiously over this “extremely sensitive” issue which, some voices from the ground feel, has the “potential to explode at the slightest provocation”.

- PTI

Clad in a dhoti and a vest, a bespectacled old man walking with a stick in hand and accompanied by a handful of supporters draws curious glances in Gujarat’s Navsari city.

He is Naishadh Desai, the Congress’ candidate in the Navsari Lok Sabha constituency, and this is his way of drawing voters’ attention as he doesn’t have the “money power” to compete with the BJP.

“I am undertaking padayatras like Gandhi ji did from Ahmedabad to Dandi during the historical Salt March of 1930,” says Mr. Desai.

He didn’t always look like this, however, deciding to change his look only after his candidature was announced.

“The day my name was declared, I shaved my head and started wearing a dhoti like Gandhi ji and took up a dando (big stick). I changed my dressing style and modelled my look on Mahatma Gandhi,” Mr. Desai said.

- PTI

The contest between children of two former Chief Ministers and the presence of an expelled BJP leader in the fray has spiced up the poll scene in Karnataka’s Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.

It is for the fifth consecutive time since 2009, including a bypoll in 2018, the segment is witnessing a straight fight between the families two popular leaders and former Chief Ministers late S. Bangarappa and B.S. Yediyurappa.

The BJP has renominated MP and Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Raghavendra.

The Congress has named Bangarappa’s daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is the wife of Karnataka film star Shivarajkumar and daughter-in-law of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar.

- PTI

The theaterisation process in the military is making progress as consensus is emerging among the three services on the ambitious initiative, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in first clear remarks reflecting forward movement in the mega reform initiative.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, he said the armed forces are committed to the theaterisation initiative because it will integrate the capabilities of the three services and ensure better utilisation of resources.

Under the theaterisation model, the government seeks to integrate the capabilities of the Army, Air Force and Navy and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.

- PTI

Madhya Pradesh’s Chambal region, once the staple for Bollywood’s dacoit and gunslinger dramas, is also a massive caste cauldron where change is seeping in due to modernisation, say a section of people.

The Gwalior-Chambal region, which is in the northern part of the state, borders Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and has three seats, namely Gwalior, Morena and Bhind, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. A part of the Chambal region is in Shivpuri district and falls under Guna Lok Sabha seat.

Gwalior, Morena and Bhind (SC) Lok Sabha seats are dominated by Other Backward Classes with a sizable population of SCs.

- PTI

Former Pakistani minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain’s “praise” of Rahul Gandhi is a matter of “grave concern” and the Congress must explain the “deep love” for its leader from a country that always attempted to destabilise India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said.

In an interview to PTI, Mr. Singh also questioned the Congress’ relationship with Pakistan.

“There must be a reason behind this deep love (agadh prem) from a country that has been trying to destabilise India. It is a matter of grave concern and India wants to know what is the reason behind this love,” he said.

Mr. Chaudhry - infamous for boasting about Pakistan’s hand in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack - had on May 1 posted on ‘X’ excerpts from a speech by Mr. Gandhi with the caption “Rahul on fire” that drew sharp criticism from BJP leaders.

- PTI

A battle royal is raging between two women contestants of the BJP and Congress on diverse issues such as drinking water problem, unemployment and floods faced by people in Assam’s most prestigious Guwahati Parliamentary constituency where polls are scheduled on May 7.

BJP’s Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Congress candidate Mira Borthakur Goswami are locked in a direct contest with both making a debut in Lok Sabha polls and leaving no stone unturned to woo the over 20 lakh voters, with women marginally outnumbering men.

The Congress candidate is reaching out to the electorate in the nooks and corners of the constituency, comprising both urban and rural areas in the hills and plains, with promises of solving their immediate and long-standing problems while the BJP nominee is relying mainly on the strength of her party’s achievement during the last ten years of rule at the Centre and eight in the state.

- PTI

Growing discontent among coffee planters over unpaid dues from the government may emerge as a significant electoral issue in the Araku (ST) Lok Sabha constituency in Alluri Sitharama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh.

The YSR Congress is aiming to score a “hat trick” in the segment while the NDA is slugging it out to wrest the seat from the ruling party.

In 2019, YSRCP candidate G Madhavi won the seat with a margin of over two lakh votes.

This time the ruling party has fielded Chetti Tanuja Rani, a doctor, while former MP Kothaplalli Geetha, a BJP contestant, was pitted against her by the NDA.

- PTI

India will never give up its claim on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) but it won’t have to capture it with force because its people, on their own, would want to be part of India after seeing the development in Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, Mr. Singh asserted that the ground situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir and that a time will come when AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) will no longer be required in the Union Territory.

The defence minister, however, said the matter is under the domain of the Union Home Ministry and it will take appropriate decisions. He said elections will also be held there definitely, but wouldn’t give a timeline.

- PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that he was confident that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will cross 400 seats and the BJP will get over 370 as these projections were made after detailed assessment of the ground situation and not made only for public consumption.

- PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has no fire while his party is playing with fire by attempting to create Hindu-Muslim divide for electoral dividends, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said.

In an interview to PTI, Singh also indicated that the BJP will implement its big-ticket plans like rolling out of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and implementing the ‘One Nation One Election’ push if it retains power for the third consecutive term.

On the overall political landscape, the defence minister accused the Congress of attempting to disturb social harmony and trying to create tensions on religious lines.

- PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will campaign in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in support of the BJP candidates for the ongoing elections.

According to a release from BJP Telangana unit, Mr. Shah would be addressing three separate rallies at Sirpur Kagaznagar, Nizamabad and Hyderabad.

- PTI

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee said his party was keen on an alliance with the Congress, for which he even went to meet Rahul Gandhi at his residence at 6 a.m.

Mr. Abhishek, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and heir apparent to the party, asserted that Trinamool Congress candidates are the true representatives of the INDIA bloc in West Bengal.

“Had I not been serious, I would not have rushed to Rahul Gandhi’s residence in Delhi at 6 a.m. We were willing to have an alliance with the Congress in Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, and despite state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s barbs at our party for months, we did not react for a long time,” he said.

- PTI