Congress Engaged in Conspiracy to Eliminate Hindu Faith: PM Modi at Maharashtra Rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Odisha and Jharkhand on Saturday, May 11, to attend public meetings amidst the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The PM's itinerary is as follows:

10:30 am - Public Meeting in Kandhamal, Odisha 

12:15 pm - Public Meeting in Bolangir, Odisha 

1:45 pm - Public Meeting in Bargarh, Odisha 

5:00 pm - Public Meeting in Chatra, Jharkhand.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and accused the opposition party of furthering Pakistan's agenda by questioning surgical strikes and the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Addressing a rally in Poonch, Chugh said every inch of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India.

PTI

BJP candidate from the Amritsar seat and former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Friday declared total assets worth Rs 39.92 crore, according to his poll affidavit. Sandhu, 61, on Friday filed his nomination papers in Amritsar for the June 1 Lok Sabha polls. According to his affidavit, Sandhu declared moveable and immovable assets owned by him and his wife to be Rs 10.88 crore and 29.04 crore, respectively.

PTI

"When an opposition leader is arrested the opposition says that democracy is in danger. When the Supreme Court grants bail to an opposition leader, the verdict is welcomed. When SC upholds the decision of Article 370, the opposition says that democracy is in danger...I request the opposition to first decide if there is democracy in the country or not...," said Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora, while speaking to ANI.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said while speaking to the media in Delhi, "As Speaker of the Lok Sabha, I tried to maintain the dignity and reputation of democratic institutions and that everyone gets adequate opportunities, maximum bills are passed, discussions are held on those bills...Congress is fighting elections on lies and BJP is fighting elections on development, poor and welfare".

BJP's Chitra Wagh questioned actress Renuka Shahane's “political motive” after her post urging citizens to not cast their vote in favour of those disrespecting the Marathi language.

The Congress submitted a memorandum addressed to Haryana governor on Friday with a demand to dismiss the "minority" BJP government in the state and order fresh elections under the President's rule.

PTI

The Election Commission on Friday reprimanded Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his allegations on voter turnout data, calling it an "aggression" on the vitals of live conduct of elections and a deliberate attempt to spread confusion, and said it can have a negative impact on voter turnout. The commission also said allegations in Kharge's letter to leaders of opposition parties on the 'delay' by the EC in sharing voter turnout data was an attempt to "push a biased narrative" under the guise of seeking clarifications. In a five-page response with a series of annexures, the poll panel rejected charges of mismanagement and delay in the release of voter turnout data in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections. It termed Kharge's allegations "unwarranted", "without facts" and "reflective of a biased and deliberate attempt to spread confusion".

PTI

Bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader VK Pandian on Friday asserted that he would quit politics if party president Naveen Patnaik does not become the chief minister of Odisha for the sixth time in a row after the assembly elections. Pandian, a close aide of Patnaik, challenged union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to announce that the BJP leader would also take political 'sanyaas' if the saffron party failed to come to power in the state.

PTI

Hyderabad Liberation Day will be celebrated every year on September 17, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday accused the JMM-led coalition government in Jharkhand of looting the people of the state and appealed to voters to give them a befitting reply in the Lok Sabha polls. Speaking at a rally in Singhbhum, Sai alleged that corruption within the JMM-Congress coalition government was the reason for Jharkhand's stagnation.

PTI

BJP leader Gangadhar Koyal from Sandeshkhali has moved the Calcutta High Court, claiming that technology-aided videos mimicking his voice were being circulated in a bid to defame him, and for security to be provided to him by central agencies. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal had earlier this week shared a video of an alleged sting operation featuring Koyal.

PTI inputs.

Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh has filed for nomination as Independent Candidate from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat for the ongoing General Elections 2024. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), Amritpal Singh's affidavit and nomination form was submitted today. The affidavit mentions 12 FIRs registered against him in Punjab and Assam. The affidavit also reads that Singh has only Rs.1,000, while his wife Kirandeep Kaur has assets worth Rs.18.37 lakh.

Former Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Friday squarely blamed nephew Chirag Paswan for his non-participation in the poll campaign in Hajipur, the seat he currently represents but is now being contested by the latter. Paras also said Chirag, the son of late Ram Vilas Paswan, has "never bothered to come and seek blessings" from his uncle. "I have never been invited", was the curt reply of Paras, when he was asked about his absence in Hajipur from where Chirag has filed his nomination.

BJP candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Friday filed their nomination papers for the June 1 elections.

Sandhu held a roadshow before filing his papers in Amritsar and was accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other BJP leaders.

Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Karakat seat as an independent candidate, owns movable and immovable assets worth Rs 16.75 crore, according to an affidavit filed by him to the Election Commission.

Singh, who had earlier refused a BJP ticket from West Bengal, on Thursday filed his nomination papers from Karakat in his home state Bihar, amid the party maintaining a deafening silence over his entry into the fray against an NDA candidate.

 Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday filed his nomination papers from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency.

The TMC second-in-command is contesting for a third consecutive term from the seat in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district. Banerjee filed his papers at the district collector's office in Alipore. 

"I want to say it with utmost responsibility, be it SC, ST or OBC, ‘vanchit ka jo adhikaar hai, Modi uska chowkidar hai. Jab Modi jaisa chowkidaar ho, kisne apni maa ka doodh piya hai jo aapka hak chheen sakta hai’," PM Narendra Modi said at Nandurbar rally.

While addressing a public meeting in Maharashtra's Nandurbar, PM Narendra Modi said, "See the mindset of Congress. In the country of Ram, they are calling the Ram temple, anti-national. Those people who organise 'sarkari iftari', beautify the graves of terrorists for appeasement are calling our lord Ram, his temple and us, who go to Ram temple, as anti-national..."

Union Minister & BJP candidate from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, Piyush Goyal held a roadshow in the constituency. "Sharad Pawar can see that they are going to lose in Baramati. After that there will won't be much which will remain of their party as only 2-4 people will be left in it...," said Goyal on NCP-SCP.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday campaigned for BJP candidate from Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency Anirban Ganguly, in Kolkata. Ganguly will file nomination for Lok Sabha elections today. He said, "There is an atmosphere in favour of Modi ji and BJP in the entire West Bengal. The people have made up their minds to make Modi ji the Prime Minister for the third time with a huge majority .

BJP national president JP Nadda held a roadshow in Haryana's Panchkula on Friday.

"Ye maha aghadi, aarakshan ke maha bakshan ka maha abhiyaan chala rahi hai', whereas to protect the reservation of SC, ST and OBC, Modi 'aarakshan ke maha raksan ka maha yagya kar raha hai'. I have been challenging Congress for the last 17 days, I had asked them to give it in writing that they won't cut the reservation of SC, ST and OBC into pieces and give one piece to Muslims, but they aren't replying. Congress's silence on my challenge shows they have a hidden agenda...," said PM Modi during Maharashtra rally.

“There is a wave in favour of BJP and PM Modi in the entire country. The victory of the BJP in this election will be much more grand compared to 2014 and 2019," said BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed a public rally at Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

BJP candidate from Chandigarh, Sanjay Tandon and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini conducted a roadshow in the city. Sanjay Tandon is filing his nomination for Lok Sabha Elections 2024, today.

"The people of Uttar Pradesh have rejected Congress and Samajwadi Party. They never formed the government in the state based on their popularity. No one even notices their roadshow. BJP will win all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh," said UP Minister & BJP leader Swatantra Dev Singh.

If one acknowledges the seismic shift within the TMC owing to the re-emergence of the 'old versus new' debate that symbolises a larger power struggle between party veterans and its second rung leaders, there’s perhaps no better place to look for it than at the prestigious Kolkata North Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. Encapsulating contemporary dynamics within the state’s ruling dispensation, seasoned parliamentarian and sitting TMC MP for the last three terms, Sudip Bandopadhyay, will take on his prime challenger, Tapas Roy, erstwhile four-time TMC MLA-turned-BJP candidate, whose departure from the Trinamool Congress catalysed the 'old versus new' discourse.

Repolling is underway at four polling booths in Madhya Pradesh's Betul on Friday.

Repolling is underway on Friday at two polling booths in Bihar's Khagaria Lok Sabha seat, amid tight security arrangements, an official said. The voting began at 7 am at booth numbers 182 and 183, falling under the Beldaur assembly segment of the Khagaria parliamentary constituency, and will continue till 6 pm, he said. Repolling was ordered at these polling booths as voting was disrupted on account of the vandalisation of EVMs on May 7 during the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

"They have lost balance. They have lost their confidence. They have lost the ground beneath their feet. They see just Eknath Shinde day in and day out. They can't even digest that I became the Chief Minister...People are with me and love me. But they can't digest it. So, they speak nonsense every day. The level of accusations has lowered. This is not the culture of Maharashtra, Balasaheb Thackeray didn't teach us that. They have sold the ideology of their father, so what can be expected of them. So, I don't respond to their accusations. I answer accusations with my work. I keep working hard day and night..."

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari on Thursday attacked the Congress over Sam Pitroda's recent remarks and said the party wants to break the country on the basis of race. Pitroda stoked a major controversy with his remarks during a podcast where he cited ethnic and racial identities like Chinese, Africans, Arabs and Whites to describe the physical appearance of Indians from different parts of the country. The veteran Congress leader was an advisor to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Rahul Gandhi.

To create a “festival-like environment” on the day of voting, poll authorities in Srinagar district have prepared 32 theme-based polling booths that are colour-coordinated as per its message. Polling booths in pink, red, blue have been prepared as per their theme i.e women voters, PwD voters and young voters. Eight polling booths have also been set up to go with its theme of environmental sustainability.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Narayanpet and LB Stadium in Telangana to address public meetings as a part of BJP's campaign for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 today. He will also visit Odisha to hold a roadshow in Bhubaneswar on May 10.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and all four members of his family contesting the Lok Sabha polls will lose and the opposition party will not be able to open its account in the state.

The chief minister addressed election rallies in Gola in favour of the BJP candidate from the Kheri Lok Sabha seat Ajay Mishra and in Lakhimpur Kheri's Mohammadi for the party's Dhaurahra Lok Sabha candidate Rekha Verma.

"The defeat of the Samajwadi Party chief's family members on all five seats is certain. The SP's account will not be opened in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election," Adityanath said in Gola.

On former Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda's controversial remarks, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde says, "He has lowered the level of politics. These personal, caste-based accusations, discrimination...the public will answer this in the elections ..."

Congress leader and party Lok Sabha candidate from Wayanad and Raebareli seat Rahul Gandhi and CM Revanth Reddy traveled in an RTC bus after the Jana Jathara Sabha in Hyderabad.