Election News: Amit Shah Lambasts Congress After SDPI Extends Support; Congress Fields YS Sharmila From Kadapa

The schedule for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 was announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16. The poll body announced that voting for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will take place in seven phases, starting April 19, while the counting of votes will take place on June 4.

While voting for Phase 1 will take place on April 19, polling for Phase 2 to Phase 7 will take place on: April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

Detailed Schedule Here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be kicking of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lok Sabha poll campaign in Uttarakhand today by addressing a rally in Rudrapur, which is part of the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency.

More than one lakh people are expected to attend the rally, state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt said. "Uttarakhand lives in the heart of the prime minister. The people of Uttarakhand also look forward to his visits eagerly," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.

BJP president JP Nadda will begin his tour of the state tomorrow with public meetings in Pithoragarh under the reserved Almora Lok Sabha seat and Vikasnagar under the Tehri Garhwal constituency. On April 4, Nadda will hold a roadshow in Haridwar.

Home Minister Amit Shah will be in Karnataka today to participate in road shows. During his day-long busy schedule, Amit Shah will address the Sakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan at Palace Ground in Bengaluru in the morning.

The event is aimed at bolstering grassroots leadership and organizational strength ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

Following the engagement, Shah is scheduled to convene a Core Group Meeting of the BJP in Bengaluru to discuss key policy matters and strategies for the region.

While voting for Phase 1 of the Lok Sabha election 2024 will take place on April 19, polling for Phases 2 to 7 will take place on: April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

A total of 102 constituencies from 21 states/UTs will vote in Phase 1, while 89 constituencies from 14 states/UTs will vote in the second phase. The third phase includes 94 constituencies from 12 states/UTs, 96 constituencies from 10 states/UTs will vote in the fourth phase, 49 constituencies from eight states/UTs in fifth, 57 constituencies from seven state/UTs in the sixth and 57 constituencies from eight states/UTs will vote in the last phase on June 1.

Click Here To Know Voting Day For Your Constituency

Former Union Minister and Sultanpur MP Maneka Gandhi on Monday said that there was no doubt about her contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls but deciding on the constituency led to delay in announcement of her candidature. She said she is grateful to the BJP to have come to Sultanpur again.

Interacting with newspersons on her arrival in her constituency after being fielded by the BJP for the second time, the BJP nominee was asked about the delay in ticket distribution.

"Mera chunav ladna tey tha, kis jagah se ladna hai isi ko lekar deri hui (It was already decided that I would contest the election but from which constituency is what caused the delay)," news agency PTI quoted Maneka Gandhi as saying.

The arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 have dominated the news headline lately as his party claims the move is orchestrated by the BJP-led central government to jeopardize its poll performance.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 'scam'. He is in judicial custody till April 1.

Kejriwal's party AAP has slammed the central government over his arrest ahead of the general polls and asserted that he would continue to function as CM from custody.

Jammu and Kashmir DGP RR Swain said on Tuesday that several steps are being taken to create a safe and secure environment for the conduct of elections.

“We are taking several steps to create a safe and secure environment. Considering candidates’ rallies, the authority is working 24 hours for planning and execution. We are making sure to do our duty professionally while maintaining coordination with the central government,” said Jammu and Kashmir DGP RR Swain.

Varun Gandhi has not been fielded by the BJP this time from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat which has been represented by him or his mother Maneka Gandhi for over two decades. Varun Gandhi had first won the Pilibhit seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket. He was succeeded by Maneka Gandhi in 2014 and went on to again win the seat in 2019 general polls.

When asked whether Varun Gandhi will fight elections, Maneka Gandhi on Monday said that he and his wife were presently unwell and that is why he is resting.

ALSO READ | LS Polls: Varun Gandhi Dropped, Actors Fielded, Sandeshkhali 'Victim' Given Ticket - BJP's 5th List A Surprise Bag

When asked if Varun Gandhi can be fielded as the Congress candidate from Rae Bareli or Amethi, she said, "I am in the BJP and not a leader of any other party who can give you information about it."

LISTEN HERE:

Days ahead of the announcement for Lok Sabha elections schedule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a whirlwind tour of South India, holding roadshows, rallies and public meetings where him and his leaders aggressively bid for the ‘Abki baar 400 paar’ campaign – i.e the party’s high target of winning more than 400 seats in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The southern states send about 130 MPs to the Lok Sabha, and the BJP managed to win only 29 of them in the last general elections – 25 in Karnataka and four in Telangana.

The party did not win a single seat from Andhra Pradesh where the political field is largely a bipolar fight between the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Chandrababu Naidu, while on the other hand in Telangana, the saffron party has been making gains at the cost of the regional party formed and led by former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for over a decade.

At a time when regional parties continue to dominate the discourse in this region, how will the fight for power play out in this Lok Sabha election? Read Full Report Here

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced names of 419 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, voting for will take place in seven phases from April 19 till June 1.

Among the key leaders of the BJP, whose government is currently at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been fielded from Varanasi, the seat he currently represents in the Lower House of the Parliament. Meanwhile, the BJP has also fielded actors Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil and Rekha Patra, reportedly a Sandeshkhali 'victim'.

Click Here For Full List Of BJP Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Candidates For All States

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur today to kickstart BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign in the state, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the sounding of election bugle by the PM will be "historic".

"The sounding of the election bugle by the Prime Minister today, will be historic. We welcome him to the Devabhoomi. He resides in the minds of the people of Devabhoomi and it resides in his heart. His arrival fills people with enthusiasm, energy and zeal. People always await his arrival," CM Dhami said.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was holding a roadshow in South West Nagpur on Tuesday along with Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.

Nitin Gadkari is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Nagpur Constituency.

Samajwadi Party released another list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Monday. The party changed its Meerut candidate and fielded Atul Pradhan from the constituency.

Rohini Acharya, the RJD leader and daughter of party Supremo Lalu Yadav who is party candidate from Bihar's Saran, sought blessings while leaving for a political campaign on Monday.

"We took blessings of Baba Harihar Nath yesterday and my family. Now I'm going among people. You should also bless me," she said.

The Congress on Monday named Kadiam Kavya, daughter of former Telangana Deputy CM Kadiam Srihari, as its candidate from Warangal in the Lok Sabha polls.

Kavya and Srihari, who is a sitting BRS MLA, joined the Congress on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister and state Congress president A Revanth Reddy.

West Bengal: Sudip Bandyopadhyay, TMC candidate from Kolkata Uttar constituency performed puja on Monday at Shiv temple as he began his election campaign.

The Election Commission of India has appointed special observers in states to ensure level playing field in upcoming general elections

“It’s my first election rally in ‘dev-bhoomi’ Uttarakhand. However, I am unable to decide if it’s a campaign rally or a victory rally. The pandal turned out to be smaller for people than we thought. I am thankful to everyone here for their love,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he kickstarted BJP's Lok Sabha campaign with a rally in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur on Tuesday.

LISTEN IN

Addressing a BJP rally in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur on Tuesday, PM Modi said that Congress wants to push India towards anarchy and instability, adding that a party leader in Karnataka "spoke about dividing the country".

PM Modi was referring to Congress MP DK Suresh who sparked controversy with his "separate nation for South India" remark.

"After staying out of power for just 10 years, they (Congress) have started talking about igniting fire in India. Will you punish such people? This time don't let them be in the field. Congress doesn't have faith in democracy now. Congress wants to push India towards anarchy and instability. In Karnataka, a Congress leader spoke about dividing the country into two parts. Shouldn't those who talk about dividing the country be punished? Instead of punishing him, the Congress gave their leader an election ticket...," PM Modi said.

Actor Arun Govil filed his nomination from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut as a BJP candidate on Monday. On the occasion, UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "There is great enthusiasm among people and workers. I am confident that we will win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 400 across India. PM Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister once again. We are not arrogant but we think that there is no competition."

Addressing a BJP meeting in Karnataka's Bengaluru on Tuesday, Home Minister and party leader Amit Shah said PM Modi ensured Ram Lalla is shifted from tent to grand temple.

Amit Shah said the whole country is "unitedly standing with PM Modi."

The BJP in Kerala on Tuesday urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to explain his stand over the support offered to the UDF by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India.

A day after the SDPI state leadership said that they have decided to support the Congress-led UDF in the Lok Sabha elections, BJP state chief K Surendran alleged that it is an organisation that is trying to break up the nation.

Surendran is the BJP candidate contesting against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.

The BJP leader accused the SDPI and the PFI of openly declaring to kill Hindus and Christians, destroy temples and churches and attack BJP leaders and religious heads. "Now the SDPI has openly declared support for the Congress party in all 20 constituencies. We all know why the PFI was banned. Such a party has declared support to the Congress," he pointed out.

"This is extremely shocking and the Congress should explain this. Rahul Gandhi must make his stand clear. The Wayanad MP who speaks about secularism day and night should explain his position," the BJP leader added.

(via PTI)

Congress candidate and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday filed his nomination from Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat in Chhattisgarh and expressed confidence that voters in the constituency will make him emerge victorious.

The seat is currently held by Bharatiya Janata Party's Santosh Pandey, who defeated Congress' Bholaram Sahu by a margin of 1,11, 966 votes in 2019

Elections to the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will be held in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7 and votes will be counted on June 4. Polling in Rajnandgaon will be held on April 26. READ MORE

BJP sitting MP and candidate from Gorakhpur, Ravi Kishan, was seen preparing tea at a shop in his constituency earlier today, as part of 'Jan Sampark Abhiyan'.

Congress on Tuesday released list of 17 candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024. As per the list, the party has fielded Mohammad Jawed from Kishanganj, and Tariq Anwar from Katihar.

Click Here For Full List Of Congress Candidates For All States/UTs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remark suggesting there would be a "conflagration" in the country if the BJP gets a third term.

Kicking off BJP's Lok Sabha campaign in Uttarakhand from Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district on Tuesday, PM Modi said staying out of power has made the Congress desperate and asked the people to wipe out the party from everywhere.

"Congress' shehzada has threatened, there will be fire if Modi gets another term in office. Staying out of power has made them so desperate that they are now talking about setting things on fire. Would you let them do it? Wouldn't you punish them?" news agency PTI quoted PM Modi as saying as he accused Congress of trying to push the country towards instability and anarchy.

At a rally in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi had said that if the BJP wins the election through "match-fixing" and changes the Constitution, then the country would be "set ablaze" and it would not survive.

Congress on Tuesday released list of 78 candidates for the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election.

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday took a jibe at the BJP led Centre government saying “what about the illegal occupation of Indian territory by China?”

His remarks came in backdrop of BJP cornering Congress over its government’s decision to handover Katchatheevu Islands to Sri Lanka in 1974, when Indira Gandhi was the country’s Prime Minister.

During a presser in Delhi, Tewari said: “Those who are raising the issue of Katchatheevu which happened in 1974 should then first explain their own track record. What about the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh? Why did you give much more territory than you got from Bangladesh? What about the illegal occupation of Indian territory by China? Which is a continuum for the last 47 months."

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said BJP is trying to weaken the constitutional institutions in the country.

He said: “The BJP is trying to weaken the constitutional institutions, and we are trying to strengthen the Constitution and democracy. We want to bring forward those who are deprived, we want to give MSP guarantee to the farmers. I don't the country's voter appreciates that elections be fought on Hindu-Muslim, and temple-mosque. No matter how hard the BJP tries, it has no monopoly on a religion or God, Ram is everyone's."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday addressed rally in Budaun ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Adityanath during his address said: "We have undertaken significant infrastructure projects to fulfil the needs of the people, including highways and railways. In Badaun, compressed bio gas plants have been inaugurated, and the Ganga expressway is waiting to be inaugurated. These initiatives could never have been accomplished by Congress and BSP, which is why we are here."

The Congress on Tuesday released a list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party has fielded its Andhra Pradesh state unit chief YS Sharmila Reddy from the Kadapa constituency.

The party’s latest list includes eight candidates from Odisha, five from Andhra Pradesh, three from Bihar, and one from West Bengal.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, LJP chief Chirag Paswan on Tuesday claimed that the Opposition-bloc INDIA is fighting over seating while NDA’s election campaign is in full swing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed a rally in Rajasthan’s Kotputli.

During his address, he said: "The mass gathering and the excitement among people here is indicative of (what will happen on) June 4 (election counting day).”

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted Congress, saying that the party “searches for ways to loot the country” and it also considers family bigger than the country.

During his address in Rajasthan Kotputli, he said: "The politics of the country in these 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections is divided among two sides. On one side, there's BJP which focuses on country first, while we have Congress on the other hand which searches for ways to loot the country. On one side, there is BJP which considers the country as its family. Meanwhile, there is Congress which considers its family as bigger than the country.”

He also said: "We are getting a glimpse of the intentions of the INDI alliance, which has already lost in the people's court. This is the first election in which a big leader of Congress is unsure whether they will win or not, but he threatens the country - if the BJP wins, the country will be set on fire,"

BJP’s candidate from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday targeted Congress saying the party cannot respect women.

During her rally in Shivabadar, Ranaut said: "It is a matter of great fortune for me that I have been selected as a candidate from Mandi. PM Modi is not an ordinary man. So, when he chose his representative, it was this daughter of Mandi. On this also, Congress said ill words about the daughters of Mandi. Those who can't respect women, can they work for our welfare? The PM has worked a lot for the empowerment of women."

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday filed his nomination for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Rajnandgaon seat.

RJD leader Rohini Acharya on Tuesday lambasted BJP saying the party has a long list of ‘parivarvad’ (familism) and it shouldn’t talk about it.

She said:"BJP should not talk about 'parivarvad' because if we look at them, there is a long list of 'parivarvad'.”

Former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to contest Lok Sabha polls from Anantnag-Rajouri seat.

The Congress delegation on Tuesday held meeting with Election Commission of India (ECI) officials and urged them to remove Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s advertisement from the government schemes.

After the meeting, Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the hoardings and advertisements showing faces of the CM of the respective state should have been covered after the Model Code of Conduct was enforced.

"One point was that on the hoardings & advertisements, the schemes have the faces of the CM of the respective state. After the MCC was implemented it should have been covered...," he said.

Congress’ candidate from Kadapa for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections YS Sharmila on Tuesday urged the Andhra Pradesh people to vote for Congress if they want special status and funds for Polavaram.

Actor turned politician Arun Govil on Tuesday filed nomination for the Lok Sabha polls from Meerut seat.

After filing his nomination, the actor famous for his role in Ramayana serial, said it is the beginning of a new innings.

The Congress on Tuesday lodged a complaint with Election Commission of India (ECI) against the BJP for its alleged malicious attempts to link the party's campaign to George Soros, the controversial billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist.

“This complaint covers other examples of false propaganda that target the INC as well. Not only are these materials patently false, they are also mala fide and knowingly defamatory. The ECI was requested to take immediate action against the authors of this low-level campaign, as well as issue instructions for its recall,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

He said the party lodged a complaint against the BJP’s alleged use of cropped and distorted videos to malign the Congress.

He added that they urged the poll panel to take immediate action against the authors of this “low level campaign.”

Former chief of the Aam Aadmi Party's Chhattisgarh unit Komal Hupendi on Tuesday joined the ruling BJP along with his supporters.

The tribal leader, who resigned as state AAP chief and quit the party in January, joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai at an event in Kanker district.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held roadshow in Karnataka's Ramnagara ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

Makkal Neethi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Tuesday campaigned in support of Durai Vaiko, MDMK’s candidate from Tamil Nadu's Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday targeted BJP, saying the party should tell about its developmental it has done, instead of “false campaigning”.

During a presser in Kannauj, he said: "They (BJP) say '400 paar,' but why are they worried? Why are they doing false campaigning? Tell us about the developmental work that they (BJP) have done."

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday addressed a public gathering in Vellore.

BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi seat Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday held campaigning in Shivabadar.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election, BJP president JP Nadda on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government brought the Muslim women in the mainstream by ending the triple talaq.

Addressing a public gathering in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, he said: "We (BJP) are an ideology based party. None of the leaders had the courage to remove triple talaq. However, it was the Modi government that brought the Muslim women in the mainstream by ending the triple talaq.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kerala BJP chief and party's Wayanad candidate K Surendran on Tuesday targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he is not a “serious” MP.

He claiming that the people of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency will do the same with him as the people of Amethi did to him.

"He (Rahul Gandhi) is not a serious MP, and he is not doing anything for Wayanad... I am 101 per cent confident (of winning). What people did to him in Amethi in 2019, they will do the same to him in Wayanad in 2024," he said.

AAP candidate from Hoshiarpur Raj Kumar Chabbewal on Tuesday thanked the party’s supremo Arvind Kejriwal for choosing to field him from the seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"I thank our party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak for giving this responsibility to me. I promise them that I will fulfill my responsibility with my full dedication," he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress after banned radical outfit Popular Front of India's political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) extended support to the grand old party-led United Democratic Front.

Shah said:"I have received information that the SDPI has supported the Congress. If this is true, then how will the people of Karnataka stay safe under the Congress rule?"

The manufactures in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Tuesday lamented below expectations demand for election campaign material.