‘Kagzi CM’ Bhagwant Mann is Always Busy Marking Presence in ‘Delhi Darbar’: PM

Former Punjab Congress MLA Harminder Singh Jassi joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. According to a report by PTI, Jassi lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, saying India has progressed and its prestige has risen globally.

Amidst allegations from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Giriraj Singh that Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik was being held captive by his close associate, BJD leader VK Pandian, the Odisha unit of the BJP on Thursday appealed to the state chief secretary and DGP to "free the ruling BJD president from captivity".

As per a report by PTI, former BJP state president Samir Mohanty, at a press conference, expressed shock over video messages released by the BJD showing Patnaik in what they described as a helpless condition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday claimed that if the Congress has its way, it will arrest everyone who says "Ram Ram", and accused the party of dividing India and creating two Muslim nations to appease its vote bank, PTI reported. 

The high-pitched campaign for the third phase of simultaneous elections to six Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly segments in Odisha ended on Thursday, PTI reported. A total of 447 candidates, including 64 for the Lok Sabha seats and 383 for the assembly constituencies, are in the fray in the penultimate phase of elections on May 25.

Addressing election rallies in Purvi and Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha constituencies, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Yogi Adityanath alleged that the Congress wants to impose "jizya-like inheritance tax" so that it could distribute properties among infiltrators.

 "The spirit of Aurangzeb has entered Congress leaders... they want to levy inheritance tax on the lines of 'jizya', which was imposed on non-Muslims during the Mughal era. The Congress plans to distribute your properties among 'ghuspathiye' (infiltrators) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. But the BJP will not allow it to happen," he alleged according to a report by PTI.

BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Thursday addressed his first rally in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls in support of Maneka Gandhi and said his mother has a close connection with the people of her Sultanpur constituency.

"Elections are going on everywhere in the country...but there is only one region in the country where people don't call their MP, Sansad ji, Mantri ji, or by her name, but call her mata ji," the Pilibhit MP said according to a report by PTI. 

According to a report by PTI, Congress, on Thursday, claimed that the Modi government waived bank loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of its "crony capitalist friends" but not of farmers, and asserted that an INDI Alliance government will create a permanent commission to ensure such waiver for farmers in every state.

The Election Commission has opposed in the Supreme Court an NGO's demand to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections, contending it will "vitiate" the electoral space and cause "chaos" in the poll machinery in the midst of the general elections, PTI reported. 

A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma is scheduled to hear the plea of the NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, which has also sought direction to the poll panel that scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations be uploaded immediately after the polls.

In its counter affidavit, the poll panel said there is no legal mandate to provide Form 17C to any person other than the candidate or his agent.

Campaigning ended on Thursday for eight seats in Bihar where nearly 1.5 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 86 candidates in the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections, PTI reported. Voting will take place in Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Maharajganj, Vaishali and Gopalganj Lok Sabha seats in the penultimate phase on Saturday.

At an election rally in the Chilika assembly constituency under the Puri Lok Sabha seat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Yogi Adityanath said that if the 'double engine' government is formed in Odisha, bulldozers will be used against the mafia. He added that during the last two decades, ‘office raj’ had “pushed Odisha to 50 years back”, PTI reported.  

At an election rally in Patiala, Prime Minister Modi said there is BJP and NDA on one side and on the other is ‘bhrashtachariyon ka INDI gathbandhan’, PTI reported. 

At an election rally in Patiala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi labelled Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann as a “kagzi CM” who is always busy marking his presence in ‘Delhi darbar’, PTI reported.  

In an interview with PTI, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said he won't resign because it will set a precedent and give the BJP-led Central government a free hand to target opposition chief ministers, including Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin. And this, he said, is very dangerous for democracy.

Kejriwal, who will have to go back to Tihar Jail after his interim bail ends on June 1, said he will approach the court to allow him to fulfil his duties as chief minister of Delhi from prison.

PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Haryana's Mahendragarh on Thursday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday claimed that in the first five rounds of polling, "BJP has crossed 310" and that Congress Party is "not even getting 40 seats" this time. "INDI alliance has been wiped out in the first five phases. I am telling you, this time Congress is not even getting 40 seats and Akhilesh Yadav will not even get four seats," said Shah addressing a poll meeting in Siddharthnagar in support of Domariyaganj BJP candidate Jagdambika Pal.

Barely two days ahead of the parliamentary polls, a woman BJP worker was killed in Nandigram in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, triggering large-scale protests by the saffron party activists there on Thursday, police said. The region, which falls under the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat and is considered to be the backyard of Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, is scheduled to vote on May 25 in the sixth phase of the elections. BJP workers burnt tyres, blocked roads and pulled down shutters of shops in Nandigram, alleging that the TMC-backed criminals were involved in the killing of Rathibala Arhi (38), a saffron party worker in Sonachura village.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed the BJP government for "unemployment, corruption and inflation" in the Haryana. "There is a huge wave of Congress in Haryana. Haryana has the highest unemployment in the entire country, the price of which is being paid by the youth here. "The public is fed up with the rampant inflation, corruption and instability of the BJP and is going to bring about a big change)," she said in a post in Hindi on X.

In Sultanpur, near high-profile Amethi, BJP's Maneka Gandhi appears to be fighting a lone battle to retain her parliamentary seat with few top leaders of her party canvassing for her and no opposition biggies campaigning against her either. Sultanpur goes to polls on May 25 and Thursday is the last day of campaigning. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a public meeting in support of Maneka Gandhi in Qazipur on Wednesday.

BJP Azamgarh MP Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' said,"...Samajwadi Party had made Azamgarh 'aatank ka gadh'. But since BJP has come to power here, we have made a university and Atal residential school here. An international airport and highways will be made here. Artistes from Purvanchal will not have to go outside, all of them will get work here."

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma conducted a roadshow in support of BJP candidate from North West Delhi, Yogendra Chandolia. Yogendra Chandolia faces a contest from INDIA Alliance candidate, Congress party's Udit Raj here. All 7 Lok Sabha seats of Delhi will go to polls on 25th May, in the 6th phase of Lok Sabha Elections.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday led a roadshow to garner support for party nominee Kumari Selja for the May 25 Lok Sabha poll in Haryana. Standing in an open vehicle along with Selja and former Haryana minister Kiran Choudhary, Priyanka waved towards people during her roadshow, which lasted for about an hour. It was her first such election outing in Haryana.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "...We have the goal to win 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and BJP, along with its alliance, is going to achieve that goal. Be it SP, BSP or Congress - they are all 'bayaanveer'. They have nothing concrete on the ground. Nobody wants goons, criminals and mafia. Everyone wants good governance, security and development..."

On Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi govt, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "...He (Kejriwal) has cheated his guru Anna Hazare, so how can he win the trust of people of Delhi?...AAP has never delivered on the promises they made. Delhi government which could not provide safety to women have no right to be in power...Today, they are working as the 'B' team of Congress in INDIA alliance..." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is campaigning in Delhi's Dwarka area ahead of 25th May polling date.

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the BJP for not fulfilling the promises made to farmers' organisations and asserted that an INDIA bloc government will implement all its guarantees to the tillers, including the legal guarantee of MSP. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that elections have been held in 428 constituencies and now polling on 115 seats, including those in Punjab and Haryana, are left.

Amid the ongoing voting for the Lok Sabha Elections, BJP national president JP Nadda said, "Calcutta High Court has cancelled the OBC reservation given to the Muslims under the OBC quota subcategory. The Calcutta High Court has also cancelled OBC certificates issued In West Bengal to Muslims from 2010 to 2024. Both these judgements show how Mamata Banerjee's government was taking forward appeasement unconstitutionally or can be said that the Muslim agenda was being taken forward. PM Modi had raised this issue during the election campaigns- how Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi & other leaders of the INDI alliance are shredding the constitution."

"It is written clearly in the Constitution that reservation will not given based on Dharma...Mamata Banerjee said that she does not agree with the decision of the High Court...There is no one above the law."

Congress candidate from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, JP Agarwal said, "During the elections, you go out and meet people. I have come here, regarding that... Today, people are against the central government due to inflation and unemployment. They want to see the change. I can witness this in the elections. INDIA alliance will win all the seats in Delhi..."

DCP Election cell, Sanjay Sehrawat said, "Delhi Police has completed its preparations for the elections to be held on 25th May. There are 2628 voting centres out of which 429 are highly sensitive centres. 33,000 policemen of Delhi Police will be deployed at the polling booth and apart from this, 51 paramilitary companies will also be deployed for security and 17,500 Home Guards who have come from Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and MP will also be deployed. We have hired drones in very sensitive areas where any illegal activity will be monitored through drones. We have installed a large number of CCTV cameras on the interstate borders which will be monitored 24 hours. Since there are elections in Delhi & Haryana on the same day, therefore a joint team of Delhi Police and Haryana Police will be checking on the Delhi-Haryana border."

On the next two phases of #LokSabhaElections2024, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal says, "We are very closely monitoring the seats that are going to polls in the next two phases. Our candidates, party machinery, alliance machinery are doing very well to win maximum number of seats...We are confident of winning maximum seats in Punjab. In Haryana too  - the entire farming community and service people are in large number in these two states. Both of them are very unhappy with this government. We are very confident. In Haryana also we will get majority. In Punjab, definitely. We are going to do well in Himachal Pradesh also."

BJP National President JP Nadda will address a rally in Odisha on Thursday.
 

The Election Commission on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that "indiscriminate disclosure" of polling station-wise voter turnout data and posting it on website will cause chaos in the election machinery which is already in motion for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.The poll panel said that public posting of Form 17C - which gives the number of votes polled in a polling station - is not provided in the statutory framework and could lead to mischief and vitiation of the entire electoral space as it increases the possibility of the images being morphed. The EC also dismissed as false and misleading the allegation that the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections saw an increase of "5-6 per cent" in the voter turnout data released on the day of polling and in the subsequent press releases for each of the two phases.