Lok Sabha elections 2024 updates | As it happened on April 23

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in south India and its seats will be reduced to half in the northern parts of the country.

He said it appears that the first phase voting was good for the Opposition INDIA alliance. The first phase of the polls took place on April 19.

“The BJP will be wiped out in the south and its seats will be reduced to half in the north,” Mr. Thackeray told reporters in Pune district, where he accompanied the Sena (UBT)‘s Maval Lok Sabha constituency candidate Sanjog Waghere Patil, who filed his nomination form.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda were among the 40 star campaigners for the BJP in the simultaneous polls in Odisha.

The others on the list were Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, according to a letter submitted by the BJP to the Chief Electoral Officer of the State on Tuesday.

U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sharma are also on the list.

PTI

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was not participating in Lok Sabha poll campaign since Sunday as he was unwell, will resume electioneering on Wednesday with public meetings in Maharashtra’s Amravati and Solapur.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi will be addressing a public meeting in Amravati at 12:30 p.m. and in Solapur at 3:30 p.m.

As many as 1,351 candidates from 12 States and Union Territories are in the fray for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 7, the Election Commission said.

These include eight candidates from Betul seat of Madhya Pradesh, where the election was to be held in the second phase but was postponed to the third following the death of the BSP candidate, the EC said in a statement.

BJP candidate from Surat seat in Gujarat Mukesh Dalal has been elected unopposed. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature for all 12 States and Union Territories was April 22.

PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Congress and INDIA bloc members of betraying the country by presenting a “deceitful manifesto.” 

Speaking at a public meeting in Hasanpur, Amroha, in support of Kanwar Singh Tanwar, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated, “The Samajwadi Party has crossed the limits of shamelessness. They had the audacity to withdraw cases against terrorists who attacked Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya and the Sankat Mochan Temple in Kashi. However, the judiciary thwarted SP’s intentions.”

PTI

Karnataka’s Labour Minister Santosh Lad has alleged that the death of Hindus is ‘like a festival for BJP leaders and they make it a point to gain political mileage out of such tragedies.

Read here

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over issues of corruption, including the school jobs scam, and asserted that only the BJP can eradicate corruption and cut money culture of the TMC in the State.

Addressing a rally at Karandighi in the Raiganj constituency, Mr. Shah said the party has set a target of winning 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal.

“The Calcutta High Court yesterday gave a judgement cancelling thousands of appointments made through the 2016 teacher recruitment test. It is a matter of shame that jobs were sold for lakhs of rupees. They have taken 10 lakhs, and 15 lakhs as bribes for jobs. It means if you do not have 15 lakh rupees, how will you get a job for your brothers and sons?” he said.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that Congress encouraged violence to hide its corruption, and promised that he would “root out” Naxalism from Chhattisgarh. Mr. Modi was speaking at a campaign rally in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district, part of the Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency.

Congress and development can not go hand in hand, and wherever it was in power, corruption and violence reached their peak, the PM said. When it was in power in the North East, violent activities could not be brought under control, and as long as it ruled in Chhattisgarh, Naxalite violence kept on rising, Mr. Modi said.

Asserting that the BJP government brought both corruption and Maoist violence under control, Mr. Modi said, “Naxalism has been declining rapidly in Chhattisgarh. I give a guarantee to the parents that I will root out Naxalism. I assure mothers that the lives of their children will not go to waste. To protect your child, I assure every mother that I will eliminate Naxalism and Maoism.” Mahasamund seat, parts of which are affected by Naxalism, will go to polls on April 26.

PTI

Expressing displeasure at clashes between two communities in Murshidabad district during the recent Ram Navami celebrations, the Calcutta High Court proposed to recommend to the Election Commission deferment of Lok Sabha election in Baharampur.

Hearing two petitions seeking CBI and NIA investigations into the clashes on April 13 and 17 within Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad, the court said that if two sets of people are fighting when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force, then they do not require any elected representative “because election will cause another problem.”

PTI

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee alleged the BJP “forced” the Election Commission to organise the Lok Sabha elections over eight phases in West Bengal despite the scorching heat so that its top leaders could campaign well in the State.

Addressing an election rally in Matigara in Siliguri in support of TMC’s Darjeeling candidate Gopal Lama, Mr. Banerjee said a similar thing happened during the 2021 Assembly elections when polling was held over eight phases, following which a new wave of the pandemic struck the State.

PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP is trying to kill or imprison people who are speaking out against it.

Her reference was to Kolkata Police arresting a Mumbai resident, who had allegedly met 26/11 attack accused David Headley earlier, for purportedly conducting a recce of TMC national general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s residence and office in the eastern metropolis.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, who was speaking at an election rally in support of the party’s Birbhum Lok Sabha seat candidate Satabdi Roy, wondered why the saffron party was “intimidating opposition leaders if it was confident of winning the polls”.

PTI

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For Congress in Bihar it’s family and friends in Lok Sabha polls; senior State party leaders rue

Under Opposition mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) seat distribution, Congress got only nine seats to contest. On April 22, it announced names of candidates for five seats, out of which the party has given tickets either to dynasty or borrowed players at the cost of grass root party leaders, alleged some senior State party leaders.

In an obvious reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in which he said the Congress wants to redistribute people’s property, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said the trends of election results are visible from the BJP leaders’ speeches.

He said if the INDIA bloc government is formed after the elections, the poor will not only get the ration they are currently getting but will also be given nutritious food items.

PTI

Having started his political career as a student leader, AAP’s Malvinder Singh Kang has now thrown his hat in the Lok Sabha election ring from the Anandpur Sahib constituency in Punjab.

A former BJP leader, he quit the party over the now-repealed farm laws and is pinning his hopes on the Bhagwant Mann government’s “pro-people” initiatives to clinch the seat.

Congress leader Manish Tewari is the sitting MP from Anandpur Sahib, but this time he is contesting from the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency. The Anandpur Sahib seat was bagged by Congress’ Ravneet Singh Bittu in the 2009 polls and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Prem Singh Chandumajra in 2014.

PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is “hell-bent on changing the Constitution”, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, addressing a campaign rally of the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate for Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency Kodikunnil Suresh at Chengannur on April 23. 

Mr. Kharge said from the RSS chief to the sitting MPs and BJP candidates, everyone is making statements that once the BJP got a two-thirds majority, they would change the Constitution. “That is why they are saying Abki Baar 400 Paar (this time, above 400 seats). But this time, the people of India will teach a lesson to Mr. Modi,” the Congress president said.

“In the 2014 election, he (PM Modi) promised to bring back black money and distribute ₹15 lakh to everyone. Did anyone receive the promised ₹15 lakh? He promised to create two crore jobs every year. Did the Modi Government produce 20 crore jobs in the last 10 years? Later he promised to double farmers’ income in the country. The Modi Government failed to keep the promises it made to the people. While it failed to ensure development for all, it destroyed everything in the last 10 years,” the Congress president said, calling the Prime Minister a ‘liar’. 

Union Minister Smriti Irani described the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi as “anti-Sanatan” and “anti-national” while alleging that they have always worked to weaken Hindus.

Addressing election meetings in Amethi where she is seeking a reelection to the Lok Sabha, she said, “While opposing Hindutva, they also opposed Lord Ram and rejected the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Lala idol in Ayodhya. The one that does not belong to Ram is of no use.” 

“Be it Rahul (Gandhi), Priyanka or the Congress, they are not only anti-Sanatan but also anti-nationals. These people have made the person who had talked about breaking India into pieces the candidate of their party,” the BJP leader said. She alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Congress have always worked to weaken Sanatan and Hindus.

PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused the Congress of destroying the country’s secular fabric, and playing politics of dividing Hindus and Muslims. 

Addressing a rally at Khunti in favour of BJP candidate and Union minister Arjun Munda, Mr. Singh alleged that the grand old party was working against the welfare of the masses. “Congress destroyed the secular fabric of the nation... But the BJP refrains from any discrimination based on religion or caste,” he said.

He said India would feature among the top three global economies after the US and China in three years.

Amid a debate on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that “Congress wants to snatch women’s Mangalsutra,” the Prime Minister reiterated on Tuesday that he had put the truth before the country that Congress is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch your property and distribute it to its special people. 

Addressing a public meeting today, PM Modi said that his speech had created panic in the entire Congress and INDIA bloc. 

“When I came to Rajasthan the day before yesterday, I had presented some truths before the country in my 90-second speech. This has created panic in the entire Congress and INDIA alliance. I had put the truth before the country that Congress is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch your property and distribute it to its special people. I exposed their vote bank and appeasement politics. After all, why is Congress so afraid of the truth?” the Prime Minister said.

Read more here

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In apparent rethink, PM Modi plays down ‘400-plus’ slogan

Analysis of PM Modi's campaign shift from development to fear tactics in Uttar Pradesh elections raises questions.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced senior leader Tashi Gyalson as its candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Ladakh constituency.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an “anti-Kerala” approach and the reason may be that “the State does not accept them.”

Speaking at the ‘Meet the Leader’ event organised by the Kannur Press Club on April 23, Mr. Vijayan said “the people of Kerala did not accept them (the BJP) yesterday, they will neither accept them today nor tomorrow. It does not matter if they are upset about it.” ​Read the report here.​

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the party is exploring legal remedies as the Election Commission of India is not acting on the complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “redistribution of wealth” remarks. 

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi made hate speeches in Rajasthan. My colleagues met the EC on Monday and we have pressed charges against him. As they are not acting upon our complaint, we are looking at legal remedies,” she told PTI. 

On Sunday, the Mr. Modi triggered a political row by claiming that the Congress manifesto promised “redistribution” of wealth after conducting a survey. “We hope that it will be a free and fair election. But we see little evidence of that,” she said, asserting that the less said about the EC’s actions against the BJP, the better. - PTI

BSP chief Mayawati has promised to work for a separate State comprising districts of western Uttar Pradesh. Addressing an election rally in support of her party nominee from the Meerut Lok Sabha seat, Ms. Mayawati said that her party, if voted to power, will work to fulfil the demands and address the problems faced by the people of the region. “We will take positive steps with regards to your long-standing demand of an Allahabad High Court bench here in Meerut like that in Lucknow,” she said. “The Centre has not been paying attention to it but when we come to power at the Centre, we will take positive steps in this regard,” she added.

Referring to how her government in Uttar Pradesh had passed a resolution for a separate State, which was sent to the Centre, she said, “Since the beginning, our party has been of the view that the western region should be made a separate State for better development of the region.” “We had got a resolution passed by the State Assembly and sent to the Central Government but they did not act on it. When our party comes to power at the Centre, your western UP will be made a separate State,” she said.

Voting will be held in Meerut in the second phase on April 26, where BJP candidate Arun Govil, Samajwadi Party’s Sunita Verma and BSP’s Devvrat Kumar Tyagi are in the fray. - PTI

Launching a scathing attack on the TMC government in West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that only the BJP can end the misrule of the Trinamool Congress in the State.

Addressing a rally at Karandighi in Raiganj constituency, Mr. Shah said the party has set a target of winning 35 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal. “The Calcutta High Court yesterday gave a judgment cancelling thousands of appointments [made through the 2016 teacher recruitment test]. It is a matter of shame that jobs were sold for lakhs of rupees. This cut-money culture and corruption must end in West Bengal. The TMC can never stop it, only the BJP can stop it,” he said.

Referring to the recent incidents in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have emerged, Mr. Shah said it is a matter of shame that CM Mamata Banerjee “tried to protect the culprits.” “For years, atrocities continued right under your (Mamata Banerjee) nose. To get some votes through appeasement, you are protecting the criminals of Sandeshkhali,” he claimed. - PTI

During an election rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh Lok Sabha constituency, BJP president J.P. Nadda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign against corruption will intensify after June 4, the day of Lok Sabha poll results. 

He noted that several scams, including related to coal, telecom, submarine and AgustaWestland chopper scam, happened during the previous Congress regime and claimed that the INDIA bloc is a group of “dynastic and corrupt parties”.

“All scammers came together to save each other. When their rallies are organised, they keep two chairs vacant. They say ‘these are the chairs for our Chief Ministers who are in jail’. Wait for June 4, Modiji’s campaign against corruption will become more intense and people will be punished,” he said. 

-PTI

In a tweet, the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh has said that the SEBI has confirmed that a dozen offshore funds which invested in Adani Group companies “violated disclosure rules and breached investment limits.” He said that the party will order a JPC inquiry into the matter after coming to power in June 2024.

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah held a roadshow in West Bengal’s Malda. Hundreds of BJP supporters, who gathered to be a part of the roadshow, shouted slogans in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Shah.

The constituency will go to polls in the third phase on May 7.

In an election rally in Tonk, PM Narendra Modi said that reservations for Dalits, backward classes and tribals will neither be ended nor will be allowed to be divided in the name of religion. “This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said. 

In a sharp attack on the UPA government, he said that the Congress party indulged in appeasement and vote bank politics. ”As soon as the Congress government was formed at the Centre in 2004, its first task was to reduce the reservation for SC/ST in Andhra Pradesh and give reservation to Muslims. This was a pilot project, which Congress wanted to try in the entire country. Between 2004 and 2010, Congress tried to implement Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh four times. But due to legal hurdles and the awareness of the Supreme Court, it could not fulfil its plans,” he said.

“The Constitution is completely against it. The right of reservation which Baba Saheb [BR Ambedkar] gave to Dalits, backward classes and tribals, Congress and INDIA bloc wanted to give it to Muslims based on religion. Amidst these conspiracies of Congress, Modi is today guaranteeing you from an open platform that reservations for Dalits, backward classes and tribals will neither be ended nor will be allowed to be divided in the name of religion,” he said. - ANI

Noida was once known as “centre of corruption” but it has now transformed into “centre of business” due to efforts of the double-engine government of the BJP, senior party leader Rajnath Singh said in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Tuesday. 

Criminals once dominated this region in western Uttar Pradesh, even forcing people to migrate but all that has now become a thing of the past, the Defence Minister also said as he slammed previous non-BJP governments in the State.

Mr. Singh was speaking at an election rally at Bisaha village in Greater Noida while canvassing support for BJP’s Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha candidate Mahesh Sharma ahead of the April 26 voting. 

“You people know very well about Noida. There was a time when Noida was the centre of corruption for the politicians of Uttar Pradesh. It was said for the officers, too, that if there is any biggest centre of corruption, it is Noida,” he said.

PTI

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on April 23 dismissed a writ petition filed by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Avani Bansal and another person from Bengaluru seeking a directive to the district electoral officer to pass a reasoned order on their complaint alleging that Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, has filed a false affidavit about his assets and income along with his nomination papers. 

The Bench comprising Justice V.G. Arun and Justice S. Manu, while dismissing the petition, observed that “the question as to whether the returning officer should have passed a reasoned order cannot be decided at this point of time and no direction can be issued to him to communicate reasons for the decision on the complaint at this point of time.” 

Ruling LDF MLA P.V. Anwar on Tuesday sparked a row by saying that the DNA of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should be examined.

Addressing an election meeting in this district, the businessman-turned-MLA said the Congress leader had become a fourth-grade citizen who did not deserve to be called by the surname of Gandhi. 

“My opinion is that Rahul Gandhi’s DNA should be examined. There is no dispute in it,” Mr. Anwar said at a meeting organised by the LDF local committee at Edathanattukara here.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sharpened his attack on the Congress, saying it is difficult to follow one’s faith under the party and again accused it of hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch people’s wealth and distribute it among “select” people.

Referring to the ‘redistribution of wealth’ remarks made by him at a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on Sunday, the Prime minister said it has angered the Congress and INDI Alliance so much that they have started “abusing” Modi everywhere “I have put forth the truth before the country that Congress is hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch your wealth and distribute it among the ‘select’ people,” he said at a rally in Tonk.

“Two-three days ago, I exposed this vote bank politics of Congress as appeasement politics; this has angered Congress and its INDI Alliance so much that they have started abusing Modi everywhere,” he said while asking “why the Congress is scared of the truth and hiding its policies”.

“It is written in their manifesto that they will survey the wealth. Their leader had said in a speech that X-ray of wealth will be done,” he said, adding, “When Modi exposed the secret, your hidden agenda came out and you are trembling”.

The Prime Minister also charged that it is difficult to follow one’s faith under Congress rule. “Even listening to Hanuman Chalisa becomes a crime under Congress rule,” he said.

PTI

On a scorching afternoon in Jalore city, part of Thar desert in Western Rajasthan, saffron flags with the ‘angry’ Hanuman printed on them flutter. Amid the sea of saffron, tiny blue flags with pictures of B R Ambedkar stand out as a contrast.

“These flags speak about the politics of Jalore where the oppressed are becoming vocal about their rights amidst the wave of Hindutva,” says Richa Audichya, founder of Jan Chetna Sansthan, an NGO working for ST/SC communities in Sirohi, part of Jalore Lok Sabha constituency that will vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 26. 

In this part of Rajasthan, cases of atrocities on Dalits have hit the headlines in recent years. In August 2022, at Surana village, a nine-year-old boy, Inder Meghwal, died after he was allegedly thrashed by a teacher for drinking from a water pot ‘reserved’ for the upper caste. The incident triggered a massive outrage but the accused got a clean chit from a special investigation team. 

Sajad Gani Lone, a candidate from the J&K People’s Conference (JKPC) contesting from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, on Tuesday received a shot in the arm after Altaf Bukhari’s J&K Apni Party (JKAP) extended its support in north Kashmir. 

“I am pleased to announce that we will be supporting Mr. Lone in north Kashmir, “ JKAP chairman said.

The Baramulla Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on May 20 this year. National Conference’s Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Fayyaz Mir are already in the fray. The NC won the seat in the 2019 election and had bagged 1.33 lakh votes against JKPC’s 1.03 lakh votes. 

Post-delimitation, changes in shape and demography and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) are expected to impact the outcome in five of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam going to the polls in the second phase on April 26.

Bengali Hindus and Muslims, both indigenous and migrant, are a majority in three of these constituencies – southern Assam’s Karimganj and Silchar, and central Assam’s Nagaon. They are a deciding factor in central Assam’s Darrang-Udalguri along with tea plantation workers. Their presence in central Assam’s Diphu, one of the two seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the State, is restricted to some urban centres. Hindus and Muslims share the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley comprising Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts of southern Assam almost equally.

Earlier reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Karimganj is now a general category seat while the hitherto unreserved Silchar has been reserved for the SCs. This has opened a window for Muslims, who constitute more than 60% of Karimganj’s population, to contest the seat for the first time.

The CAA, whose rules were framed ahead of the announcement of the election, has been a talking point in the Barak Valley with the BJP defending the legislation as a necessity for persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries and the rivals slamming the BJP as having taken the Hindu Bengalis for a ride with a “nothing” Act. 

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Monday came out with a list of political leaders who had several siblings or children.

Mr. Yadav’s move was aimed at countering statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on people having “more children”. While Mr. Modi was alluding to Muslims in his speech, Mr. Kumar was referring to the Lalu family.

Speaking in Patna, Mr. Yadav said: “I want to share an information to those people who are indulging in such debate that Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar who wrote the Constitution had 14 siblings; freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose had 14 brothers and sisters; brilliant scholar and Bharat Ratna awardee former President V.V. Giri had 14 children, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had seven brothers and sisters; Chief Minister Nitish Kumar himself has five brothers and sisters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has two brothers and sisters, while Prime Minister Modi’s father Damodar Das ji had seven brothers and sisters.” 

Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday took a train to travel from Parassala to Thiruvananthapuram Central as part of his election campaign. 

He was seen interacting with locals on the platform. 

Mr. Chandrasekhar said that since lots of people use the train for their morning commute, it was a good opportunity for him to meet many people and share his ideas about the constituencies. 

ANI

Three seats in north Bengal — Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat — will go to the polls during the second phase of the Lok Sabha election in West Bengal on April 26. The three key constituencies went to the BJP in 2019.

This time, the election has thrown open an interesting contest with political heavyweights squaring off. In Balurghat, State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar is taking on State Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Biplab Mitra. The BJP’s Raju Bista is contesting from Darjeeling which has emerged as a three-cornered contest with the Congress fielding academic Munish Tamang, who has the support of local Hamro Party, and the Trinamool choosing former bureaucrat Gopal Lama. A BJP MLA from Kurseong, Bishnu Pada Sharma, has decided to contest the election as an independent candidate in protest of the nomination of Mr. Bista who according to him is not a ‘Bhumiputra’ (son of soil)’.

Since 2009, Darjeeling has been electing BJP MPs to the Lok Sabha and the seat is considered safe for the saffron party. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mr. Bista won by a margin of more than four lakh votes. This is also the first time the CPI(M)-led Left Front has not fielded a candidate from Darjeeling, the birthplace of the Naxalbari movement. 

According to a BJP worker, despite disgruntlement and the Congress’ narratives, the BJP in the south has its own vote base which cannot be exploited. 

The Congress’ “chombu” metaphor that underscores the state’s simmering discontent over perceived neglect by the central government, and the communal narrative propagated by the BJP, has set the stage for a charged battle between Congress’ Sowmya Reddy and incumbent MP from the BJP, Tejasvi Surya in Bengaluru South constituency, which has been a BJP fortress since 1991. 

While the UDF has fielded sitting MPs in the four constituencies of Thiruvananthapuram, Attingal, Kollam and Pathanamthitta, the LDF is hoping to make advantage by fielding two MLAs, a former Minister and a CPI veteran. 

The BJP is also pinning many hopes by bringing in two Union Ministers, an actor and a turncoat. 

The hillock areas from Arilova in the East Constituency to Peda Gantyada in the Gajuwaka constituency house thousands of Visakhapatnam voters. These residents constitute at least 5% of the voters in various Assembly constituencies. Most of these residents are migrant workers who settled here over the past few decades owing to the city’s high employability. 

In a strong pushback against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the Congress manifesto talks about redistributing wealth to Muslims, the principal Opposition party on Monday approached the Election Commission (EC), seeking action against Mr. Modi.

In its official representation to the EC, the Congress alleged that the Prime Minister invoked religion and religious symbols to create enmity between groups and argued that “the only remedy compatible with the principle of zero tolerance against corrupt practices is disqualification of the candidates who try to create a divide...”. 

Possibly concerned that heat wave conditions might have resulted in a dip in voter turnout in the first phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 22 formed a task force comprising officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ECI, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the Ministry of Health to review the impact of prevailing weather conditions on health and humidity five days before each phase of polling.

The poll body had last released official aggregate voting figures of 62.34% till 9 p.m. on April 19 when the first phase of polling was held, and is yet to release the final aggregate figures. 

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will be in Karnataka on Tuesday to address public meetings in Chitradurga and Bengaluru’s HSR Layout, with her campaign at the Bengaluru South constituency coinciding with Union Minister Amit Shah’s road in the same LS segment.