Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Mediapersons On Poll Duty Allowed To Vote Using Postal Ballots, Says EC; Hemant Soren’s Sister-In-Law Joins BJP

As the nation is gearing up to elect the next government, on March 16, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar along with the the newly appointed Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar, announced the seven-phase-long schedule of thee 17th Lok Sabha polls. As per the announcement, the polling will go on till June 1 while the counting of votes across the 543 Lok Sabha seats will take place on June 4.

This year, the Congress leaders' pre-poll spree of joining the saffron camp has left the grand old party in a chaotic state. So far, a long list of Congress leaders, including Ashok Chavan, Milind Deora, Baba Siddique, Rajendra Yadav, Lal Chand Kataria, and Suresh Pachouri, have left the grand old party to join hands with the saffrom camp. Speculations were also rife around Congress patriarch and former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath quitting the party. However, later they were dismissed.

The National Democratic Alliance on Monday announced details on the seat-sharing deal in Bihar where 17 Lok Sabha seats were given to Bharatiya Janata Party while 16 seats went to Janata Dal (United) along with other parties including Lok Janshakti Party.

As per reports, cutting out his estranged 71-year-old uncle Pashupati Paras, the BJP picked Chirag Paswan, who once described himself as devoted as "Hanuman" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and gave him five seats of the six he aspired for.

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The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is scheduled to hold meeting today over the party's poll manifesto.

Right ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, speculation are rife that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray is likely to join the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance in Maharashtra.

As per media reports, Thackeray is on his way to Delhi to attend a meeting in presence of Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

Rumours say Thackeray is likely to demand two seats for his party- South Mumbai and Shirdi.

Read the full report here.

In a bid to discuss seat sharing in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, state BJP President K Annamalai and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Anbumani Ramadoss convened a meeting on Tuesday morning.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday held core committee meetings to discuss on candidates for various states

As per media reports, the states discussed in the meeting were Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Sikkim, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Kickstarting the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Haryana, the newly appointed CM Nayab Singh Saini said, “Election campaign is beginning from today (for the Lok Sabha Elections). I want to appeal to all of you to consider the work PM Modi has done in the last 10 years, and vote for us on 10 Lok Sabha seats (in Haryana).”

The chief minister is currently holding a roadshow in Ambala.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday arrived at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi to attend the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. Earlier, it was confirmed that a meeting would be held today to discuss the party's manifesto.

Right ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ketan Inamdar on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the state assembly.

As per reports, the three-term MLA from Savli seat in Vadodara district, submitted his resignation to legislative assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary.

In the letter, Inamdar said he was resigning after listening to his "inner voice", without elaborating further.

A Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is currently underway at party headquarters in Delhi. The meeting reportedly is to discuss and approve the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday holds a roadshow in Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala.

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of turning the Election Commission of India (ECI) into the "party office to target opposition, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien on Tuesday demanded a "Supreme Court monitoterd elections".

Slamming the central probe agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) for still running investigation on the Delhi Excise Policy scam, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai said on Tuesday, " From the things that are happening across India including Delhi, it is understood that ED is working as a BJP worker rather than an independent agency...BJP's credibility has been lost...this case is fake (Excise Policy scam), they have been conducting raids for two years but haven't found any evidence so far."

Convening a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday morning to discuss the party manifesto, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge today urged the party leaders to take every issue raised in party manifesto to every village, household across the country.

A day after the announcement of the seat-sharing deal between the BJP and Pashupati Paras' nephew Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the 71-year-old union minister resigned on Tuesday.

"I worked for the NDA with full honesty. I am thankful to PM Modi. However, injustice has been done with me and our party. Hence, I am resigning as Union minister", Paras said after resigning today.

Sita Soren, the MLA of Jharkhand's Jama constituency, resigned from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party on Tuesday. According to the MLA's office, she has already sent the resignation letter to party supremo & her father-in-law Shibu Soren.

Amid speculation of him joining the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde Faction) alliance in Maharashtra ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray and BJP leader Vinod Tawde on Tuesday arrived at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in Delhi.

Shortly after reaching Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, MNS chief Raj Thackeray and BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde were seen leaving Shah's house.

The details of the meeting are yet be disclosed.

However, there are speculations on Raj Thackeray joining hands with the BJP-Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance in Maharashtra before the Lok Sabha Polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday targeted Opposition-bloc INDIA over ‘shakti’ remark, saying “INDI alliance people repeatedly deliberately insult Hindu faith”.

Modi while addressing a rally in Tamil Nadu’s Salem said: “At Mumbai meeting, INDI alliance displayed their ill-intentions by announcing to destroy 'Shakthi'.”

He added: “INDI alliance people repeatedly deliberately insult Hindu faith; every statement made by them against it is well thought out.”

“In Hinduism, Shakthi means Matru shakthi, naari shakti; INDI alliance which has Cong & DMK says they will destroy this,” he added.

He said “INDI alliance of DMK and Congress doesn't target any other faith, but doesn't waste a second in abusing Hinduism”.

He also said the public support for BJP in Tamil Nadu is being discussed all over India.

Taking a dig at DMK, he said this support and blessings disturbing the party’s “sleep”.

“Tamil Nadu has made up its mind to vote for BJP-led NDA,” he said.

He also said BJP led NDA got new energy following seat-sharing deal with PMK.

Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday directed West Bengal government to appoint Sanjay Mukherjee as DGP.

Jharkhand MLA Sita Soren on Tuesday joined BJP at the party's headquarters in Delhi.

Earlier, Jama legislator Sita Soren tendered her resignation from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) citing allegations of being sidelined along with her family.

She is the sister-in-law of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Congress leader GA Mir on Tuesday said a discussion was held to include the demand to reinstate the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir in the party’s manifesto.

"On January 30, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had said that the party will fully support the demand to reinstate the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. A detailed discussion was held on the party's manifesto today,"he said.

India's former Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Tuesday.

"In the last 10 years, I have worked closely with PM Modi's leadership, especially in the relationship with the United States and Sri Lanka...PM Modi is development focussed...Development is very much needed today and...this development should reach Amritsar too. So, I thank the party president, the Prime Minister, Home Minister who encouraged me for the new path of service to the nation that I am entering...," Sandhu said after joining BJP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday broke down while remembering BJP Tamil Nadu general secretary 'auditor' V Ramesh, who was allegedly hacked to death in Salem in 2013.

Addressing a public rally in Tamil Nadu's Salem on Tuesday, the PM Modi said that V Ramesh worked day and night for the party.

"Today I am in Salem, I remember Auditor Ramesh... Aaj Salem ka mera vo Ramesh nahi hai. Ramesh worked day and night for the party. He was a dedicated leader of our party. He was a great orator and a very hardworking man. I pay homage to him," PM Modi said.

BJP state general secretary 'auditor' V Ramesh, 54, was hacked to death by an unknown gang inside the compound of his house in Maravaneri area in Salem town in 2013.

On former JMM leader and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's sister-in-law Sita Soren joining BJP, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar says, "I think Sita Soren has made a huge mistake. We cannot say under what pressure she has gone."

"The people of Jharkhand are with Hemant Soren and they will not forgive how the BJP sent an Adivasi leader to jail in false cases... ED and CBI are the bouncers of the BJP... In the electoral bonds, money extortion was going on during raids. ED and CBI are money extortion gangs of the BJP. We don't know what they did to Sita Soren...," he told news agency ANI.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted permission to the Sharad Pawar faction to use the name 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in India. Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan also allowed this NCP bloc to use the symbol 'man blowing turha' (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari).

The Election Commission instructed the removal of the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand to ensure fair competition in the Lok Sabha elections. EC also directed the transfer of the West Bengal Director General of Police.

New Home Secretaries are:

Jharkhand - Vandana Dadel

Gujarat - AK Rakesh

Uttarakhand - Dilip Jawalkar

Bihar - Pratyaya Amrit

Himachal Pradesh - Onkar Sharma

After BJP's Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in as the new chief minister in Chandigarh following the resignation of his predecessor, Manohar Lal Khattar, and the entire cabinet, 8 MLAs take oath as ministers on Tuesday.

Only 24 hours after naming Vivek Sahay as West Bengal DGP, the Election Commission appointed Sanjoy Mukherjee for the same role making Sahay the shortest-serving DGP of the state.

In March 2021, the ECI had suspended Sahay, then serving as director of security, following an incident in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suffered a leg injury in Nandigram while campaigning for the assembly election in the state.

The ECI on Monday instructed to move Rajeev Kumar to a “non-election related assignment”, and, as an interim arrangement, post an officer immediately junior to him as DGP, the Bengal government had named Sahay as replacement.

In Madhya Pradesh out of 64,523 booths around 3,500 'pink' booths will be managed exclusively by women government personnel and 250 by divyangs are expected to be set up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

There are 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state that will be held in four phases- on April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13 and votes will be counted on June 4.

The Election Commission on Tuesday shared its notification with all state chief electoral officers regarding the categories of "absentee voters on essential service", identified for voting through postal ballots.

"Mediapersons to whom authorisation letters have been issued with the approval of the commission to cover polling day activities" are among the various categories identified for the use of postal ballots, reported PTI.

JD(U) national general secretary Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi quit the party on Tuesday, stating that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's recent alliance with the BJP has 'shocked him'.

Fatmi, who was previously a member of the RJD, did not dismiss the idea of rejoining that party. He also expressed his interest in running for a seat of his 'choice' in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to PTI, Fatmi reportedly said, "I had started my political career in the late 1980s when (RJD president) Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and I were all together. Whatever may have taken place in between, I was pleased to see the two having sunk their differences and our party chief virtually declaring Tejashwi Yadav as his successor."

"A fine coalition government was in place and Nitish Kumar was gaining traction as one of the leaders taking up cudgels against the BJP's hegemony. But, when he made the volte-face in January, I was shocked. He did not even devise any convincing reason for the step,” he said.

Congress MLA from Khariar in Odisha's Nuapada district Adjiraj Panigrahi resigned from his party on Tuesday.

Panigrahi was a first-time legislator who submitted his resignation letter to state Congress president Sarat Pattnayak and reportedly wrote, "I hereby tender my resignation from all positions, including primary membership of the Indian National Congress, with immediate effect," as he thanked the Congress leadership for the opportunity he got to 'serve people'.

According to PTI, the Election Commission on Tuesday declared six of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha constituencies as "financially sensitive" as they directed investigative agencies of the state and the Centre to keep a constant vigil on them.

These six constituencies are Darjeeling, Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Asansol, Bangaon and Kolkata North, he said.