Lok Sabha elections 2024: PM Modi says Congress is a 'wrong delivery party'

Dhubri, Assam: AIUDF leader Nazrul Hasan said, "Our party President Maulana Badruddin Ajmal has been winning from the last three times, he will win a fourth term as well. Inflation and unemployment are two issues which we will fight on... Congress has ruled the country for more than 55 years now and has not worked at all for the minority... Congress has developed no infrastructure in the region."

"Badruddin Ajmal raised this issue in the Parliament 36 times, and the current BJP government and Nitin Gadkari have made construction of this bridge possible," he added. 

ECI orders transfer of Sujata R Kartikeyan, Commissioner cum Secretary, Department of Mission Shakti, Odisha to a non-public dealing department with immediate effect. Action taken based on complaints of alleged misuse of public office: Sources

Under the banner of INDIA Bloc, Aam Aadmi Party's Organizational General Secretary Sandeep Pathak has appointed one leader at the state level and one leader each at the level of Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi for the upcoming election campaign coordination with the Congress party. The responsibility of coordination at the state level has been given to Durgesh Pathak, MLA and MCD in charge of the party and PAC member. At the level of Lok Sabha constituencies, Rajesh Gupta will be the coordinator for New Delhi, Naresh Balyan for West Delhi, Dinesh Mohania for South Delhi, Pawan Sharma for Chandni Chowk, Mukesh Ahlawat for North West, Sanjeev Jha for North East and Dilip Pandey for East Delhi.

Addressing a public rally, UP CM Yogi Adityanath says, "Be alert of the Congress and SP alliance. It is here to do two things. If they come to power, they will give a part of ST, SC and OBC reservation to Muslims... With the intention of Islamization of the country and implementing the Talibani system, Congress is pushing the country towards partition... On the other hand, they are saying that they will give minorities the freedom to eat whatever they want. What is it that the minorities want to eat and is objectionable to the majority? It is beef. Cow slaughter is prohibited in UP... Any vote given to Congress-SP would be a reason for a sin..."
 

Addressing a public rally in Bihar's Saran, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "...As Defence Minister of this nation, I want to say that India's border is fully safe. India can hit within and if required then across the border as well..."
 

Prajwal Revanna sex videos row: A Congress leader who is a minister in Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's cabinet created a row after he compared disgraced JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna with Lord Krishna. Revanna, a parliamentarian seeking re-election from Karnataka's Hassan constituency, is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. He is accused of sexually assaulting a number of women over the last few years. The tapes purportedly showed these assaults were recently disseminated across Karnataka amid India's raging summer of elections. 

Repolling started on Thursday at a polling station in Rajasthan's Ajmer. Speaking to the news agency ANI, Ajmer District Collector Bharti Dixit said, "As the polling officers misplaced some election related documents, polling is being conducted again at polling booth number 195 in Masuda Vidhan Sabha region in Nandasi village, Ajmer."

In 10 years, we gave tap water connections to 14 crore houses, while Congress gave it to just 3 crore houses in 60 years, said PM Modi while addressing a rally in Gujarat.

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Porbandar, Gujarat Mansukh Mandaviya pays tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar during his roadshow in Porbandar.

Ex CBI officer VV Lakshmi Narayana has floated a political party and is now contesting assembly polls from Visakhapatnam (North).

Following his removal from the post of the TMC's West Bengal general secretary, Kunal Ghosh has claimed that the party was aware of the school recruitment scam even before the 2021 assembly polls.

The damaging statement from Ghosh, considered close to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, came amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, as the SSC scam has escalated into a significant issue in the polls.

Ghosh was removed from the post hours after he shared a stage with a BJP Lok Sabha candidate and praised him on Wednesday.

"The party was well aware of the fact that large-scale corruption and extortion in lieu of jobs was taking place in the school education department. The party was aware of it even before the 2021 assembly polls," he said in an interview with Bengali news channel ABP Ananda.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced six more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The party has declared Saurabh Mishra as its candidate for the Gonda Lok Sabha seat and Mohd Nadeem Misra from the Dumariaganj seat.

In, the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat, the BSP candidate will be Narendra Pandey while in Sant Kabir Nagar, Nadeem Ashraf will contest on party symbol.

The BSP has fielded Shiv Kumar Dohre from the Barabanki Lok Sabha seat and Mashoor Ahmad from Azamgarh.

So far the BSP has announced around 50 candidates in Uttar Pradesh. The party, however, has changed candidates in over a dozen seats in the state.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming his speeches were not based on facts and reality. 

Talking to reporters, Pawar alleged that PM Modi doesn't talk about the basic issues that people face and diverts their attention. "I have never seen a prime minister earlier whose speeches were not based on facts and reality. He is satisfied with targeting me and Uddhav Thackeray."

Wondering why Maharashtra was voting in five phases in the current Lok Sabha elections, he said, "It is because Modi can campaign here as much as possible...Those in power are worried." 

He also alleged that PM Modi's frequent remark that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc would bring reservation based on religion, was an attempt to create social tension. "We have never said this. This is Modi's creation," he said. 
 

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address one public meeting each in Gujarat's Anand, Surendranagar, Junagadh and Jamnagar on Thursday. The public meeting in Anand will take place at 11 am, followed by another one in Surendranagar at 1 pm, third one in Junagadh at 3:15 pm and later a fourth public meeting in Jamnagar at 5:15 pm.

- Home Minister Amit Shah will address three public meetings in Uttar Pradesh -- one in Bareilly at the Ramlila Maidan (12:30 pm), another in Badaun at the Islamia Inter College Ground (2:15 pm) followed by one in Sitapur at Leherpur (4 pm).

- BJP National President J.P. Nadda will address three public meetings in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. He will address two public meetings in Bihar -- one in Araria at the Dharmaganj Mela Maidan (11:25 am) and another in Muzaffarpur at the Kerma Stadium (1:40 pm). Later, he will address a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district at the Naya Bus Stand, Sironj (5 pm) and then another public meeting in Gujarat's Mehsana district at the Open Maidan, Godhra Road (at 8:45 pm).

- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address an election rally at Karnataka's the Freedom Park in the district headquarters town of Shivamogga at 1 pm. He will then fly to another district headquarters town of Raichur for the second event at 4.25 pm.

- Congress National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address a 'Nyay Sankalp Sabha' each in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. She will first address a public meeting in Korba (Chhattisgarh) at 12 pm, followed by another public meeting in Morena (Madhya Pradesh) at 3 pm.

- Jailed Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will hold a roadshow in Gujarat's Bhavnagar at 12:30 pm and a second roadshow in Bharuch district of Gujarat at 4:30 pm asking people to support her husband and AAP.

- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Uttar Pradesh and hold a roadshow in Mainpuri at 11:20 am, followed by a public meeting in Etah at 1 pm and later another public meeting in Firozabad at 2:25 pm.

In Jaipur's Ajmer, repolling started at 7am. The repolling was necessitated by a misplaced voters' register at the booth.

The Election Commission of India had declared polling held at this booth in the second phase on April 26 void after 17-A register (of voters) got misplaced by the presiding officer and announced repolling.

Elaborate security and other arrangements have been made for the repolling.

"Voting at the polling booth in Nandsi in Ajmer parliamentary constituency began at 7 am, which will continue till 5 pm," said a spokesperson of the election department.

A total of 753 voters will exercise their franchise in the repolling. Webcasting of this polling booth is also being done.