Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE: BJP Moves Poll Panel Against Siddaramaiah's Son for 'Hate Speech'

Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja said, "Our two MPs, Derek O'Brien and Sagarika Ghose will attend the INDIA alliance rally on March 31 at Ramlila Maidan, in Delhi."

The Communist Party of India (CPI) received a notice from the Income Tax Department sometime back regarding some discrepancy due to the use of old PAN card by some state units of CPI, said CPI General Secretary D Raja.
 

Addressing the Congress, Rajasthan BJP president CP Joshi said, "You don't have faith in your own ministers and MLAs so how will the people of the country have faith in you? You can see the number of people who have joined the BJP after quitting Congress in recent times."

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said, "Tomorrow, former CM of Bihar, Karpoori Thakur will be given Bharat Ratna by the Government of India. I would like to thank the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Bihar for such honour."
 

A case has been registered against former minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao in Hanmakonda. Congress leader Bathini Srinivas Rao filed a complaint against him for making allegations against Telangana CM Revanth Reddy. The Congress leader in the complaint stated that misleading and baseless allegations are being made by KTR disrupting peace and security. 

A zero FIR has been filed against KTR on the complaint of Congress leaders

The Congress party has released its list of 27 star campaigners including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sachin Pilot, Raj Babbar, who take charge of campaigning in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Apart from them, the Congress party has also named Congress leader KC Venugopal, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, Pawan Khera and others. 

BJP's complaint to poll body against Siddaramaiah's son for 'hate speech' against Home Minister Amit Shah

The Congress on Friday released its list of star campaigners in Rajasthan for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot feature in the list that has 40 names. The names of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sachin Pilot and Kanhaiya Kumar are also there in the list. According to the list available on the chief electoral officer's website, the star campaigners of the Congress include the party's state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, former Assembly speaker C P Joshi and senior leaders Mohan Prakash, Hemaram Chaudhary, Raghu Sharma and Harish Chaudhary.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's proposed visit to Gautam Buddh Nagar on Saturday has been deferred and he is now likely to come to the constituency on April 1, a local BJP leader said. BJP's Gautam Buddh Nagar unit president Gajendra Mavi said the chief minister was scheduled to hold a 'Prabuddh Sammelan' in Greater Noida on Saturday but the programme has now been deferred. "Chief Minister Adityanath is now scheduled to visit Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency on April 1 for the programme to be held at Greater Noida," Mavi added. A senior police officer also confirmed to PTI that the chief minister's Saturday visit stands cancelled. The UP CM is among the listed 'star campaigners' of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state. Adityanath kicked off the election campaign on March 26 with public rallies in Mathura, Meerut, and Ghaziabad on the same day. He has back-to-back canvassing programmes scheduled across Uttar Pradesh in the coming weeks.

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul said, "Criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan are to be punished for sure but I would like to ask what punishment will be given to the CM who keeps motivating for these exploitations by remaining silent?" 

On the death of Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, she said, "I pray for his soul to rest in peace. He wasn't known for his good deeds in society. He had 60 cases against him out of which he was a convicted criminal in 8 cases. Be it criminal or anyone, everyone deserves justice and I believe that everyone will get justice under CM Yogi Adityanath."

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Friday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying, "BJP is misusing agencies like CBI, ED, NIA and Income Tax. We have information from NIA sources that two BJP leaders (both are Lok Sabha candidates) met NIA officer Dhan Ram Singh at his residence and had meetings in two phases. They handed over a list of TMC workers to arrest, detain and harass."

Setback for Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Party MLA Joins BJP 

While speaking exclusively to Republic TV, BJP's Kangana Ranaut said, “the huge amount of support I got is encouraging. Pratibha Singh is a very senior politician. I have seen her contesting since childhood. The way BJP brings new people into the political arena, Congress too can follow the same.”
 

In a scathing attack on Congress over the ‘rate card’ slur, BJP Lok Sabha candidate Kangana Ranaut said, “It was beyond appalling. This is the lowest level of mindset and thinking. I am not surprised. Congress calls itself a party of liberals but they have always been confused about who they want to align with or what they want to be.” 

BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai on Friday said the election campaign of the ruling DMK appeared to be one for state-level polls and that of the main opposition AIADMK looked like an election for civil polls. The BJP leader blamed the DMK regime for the state's "huge borrowings" and appealed to the people to vote for NDA candidates for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to return to power, to ensure continuous growth. In his poll campaign from an open vehicle, Annamalai said that under PM Modi, the BJP regime has taken the nation's economy to the fifth spot from the 11th position and that India would soon be the third largest economy in the world.

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and complained about his party being ignored in seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls. Athawale told PTI his Republican Party of India (A) was not allotted a single Lok Sabha seat in the state and that he had apprised Fadnavis he was keen on Shirdi. "But Fadnavis said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde wanted Shirdi since sitting MP Sadashiv Lokhande is from the latter's Shiv Sena," said Athawale, who had contested unsuccessfully from the seat in 2009.

BRS Rajya Sabha MP Keshava Rao is set to join the Congress party. “I have decided to go back home. It’s time for- Gharwapsi,” he said. 

In the new list of four candidates, one of the accused in the Delhi liquor scam, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy who turned to be an approver for BRS MLC K Kavitha, has been given a ticket from Ongole parliamentary constituency. 

BJP's Basirhat candidate Rekha Patra, who had highlighted the plight of women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, has lodged a complaint with the National Commission for Women against TMC nominee Debangshu Bhattacharyya for alleged violation of her privacy, PTI reported.

Three-time Congress MLA and former minister Surendra Singh Bhoi resigned from the primary membership of the party after 38 years and joined the ruling BJD on Friday.

The Congress party will released its manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections on April 5, claimed party sources. 

On seat sharing in opposition alliance in Bihar, National President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and NDA candidate from Gaya - Jitan Ram Manjhi says, "'Bahut Der Kar Di Hujur Aate Aate'. People understand that they (the opposition alliance) can't get into an alliance that goes heart to heart. It's an on-paper seat-sharing, and this will definitely have an impact on elections. They don't have any vision like PM Modi has. Their only goal is who will be the PM of India and they have 6-7 candidates. Their purpose is just about greed and personal interest but not patriotism..."

In huge setback for INDI Bloc, Prakash Ambedkar is mulling of forming a third front with local parties after seat-sharing talks between VBA and MVA failed repeatedly. 

Lok Sabha elections 2024 | Himachal Pradesh: BJP candidate from Mandi and actor Kangana Ranaut addressed people as she conducted a mega road show here. She said, "...Don't think that Kangana is a heroine, that she is a star. Consider Kangana your sister, your daughter. Everyone is my family..."

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the INDI Alliance sealed the seat-sharing pact in Bihar. According to reports, RJD will field candidates on 26 seats, Congress on 9 and Left on 5.  

Lok Sabha elections 2024 | AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami says, "The campaign is going very well for us. People are supporting us everywhere we go and the coalition leaders are doing well. AIADMK alliance will win 40 constituencies. There is an AIADMK wave in Tamil Nadu. We have come out of the BJP alliance. But Chief Minister Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin are spreading slander that we are in an illegal alliance with BJP. I didn't know why they talked like this. I think they talk like this out of fear of election defeat. AIADMK is not a party like DMK. AIADMK will follow the alliance dharma. We will be loyal to the parties that join our coalition."

Lok Sabha elections 2024 | BJP candidate from Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) and actor Kangana Ranaut conducts a roadshow.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai says, "... People of Tamil Nadu are going to vote with the National perspective... Tamil Nadu will come the Modiji way... If you look at our 2019 election manifesto, we have implemented all our 295 promises. Whereas DMK, out of 511 promises they made, they haven't even implemented 20. We are demanding MK Stalin to present a white paper on all his poll promises and what he has done in the last 33 months."

Hanur (Chamarajanagar district): Congress leader Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Thursday targeted BJP leader and Home minister Amit Shah by accusing him of being a 'goonda, rowdy' and said that PM Modi has 'such persons as his associates'. In response to the ‘derogatory’ comments, the BJP has planned to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission. 

In big setback to BRS ahead of Lok Sabha polls, BRS MLA Kadiyam Srihari and his daughter Kadiyam Kavya, also a BRS warangal Lok Sabha Candidate, are likely to join Congress.

Meanwhile, BRS senior Leader and Rajya Sabha MP K Keshav Rao and his daughter Vijayalaxmi who is GHMC Mayor are also likely to join the Congress Party.

Assam BJP MLA Hemanga Thakuria says, "Going by the enthusiasm among the people in the 5 constituencies, it can be said that we will win in all constituencies by a margin of 2.5-3 lakh votes. For the first time, 40,000-50,000 people are gathering during the filing of nomination. People are stepping out to make BJP's allies...In 2nd and 3rd phase, on the remaining 9 constituencies too where our allies are contesting we will win by a margin of 2.5-3 lakh votes. That is our ground report...Our alliance can win 14 seats." He also says, "People of Assam trust the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma...At the national level, they see only PM Modi. So, Congress and AIUDF will be nowhere in the elections this time. They can even end draw a zero, maybe one seat each. But nothing more than that..."

In the first phase of nomination for Lok Sabha elections, names of 71 candidates were rejected, said the Election Commission.  

Flying Squad Team conducted vehicle checking ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, in Tiruchirappalli.

The Congress will release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election in Jaipur on April 6 in the presence of senior party leaders. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will release the manifesto at a public meeting at Vidyadhar Nagar Stadium here.