Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Kannauj

Khalistani terrorist and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh is set to contest from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib constituency in the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate, claimed his counsel on Wednesday (Apr 24).

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Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj, the seat that has sent him to parliament three times. 

Akhilesh Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, will file his papers at noon on Thiursday, according to the SP. He won from this seat three times. His wife, Dimple Yadav, and father, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, also contested this seat in the past.

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Defence Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh said, "You (people of Andhra Pradesh) are very lucky that in Andhra Pradesh, Parliament and Assembly elections are happening simultaneously."

"When Parliament and Assembly elections happen simultaneously, time and resources can be saved and development will get a push...we have decided that and have mentioned in our election manifesto that when we form govt in 2024, within the next 5 years, we will implement such a system so that 'One Nation, One Election' happens," he added. 

Addressing a public rally in Betul, PM Narendra Modi said, "...The dangerous hidden agenda of Congress has now been exposed. Congress, which does vote bank politics in the name of secularism, has also killed the basic spirit of social justice. Now it has become clear how much the Congress party hates Dalits, backward classes and tribals..."

"FIR lodged by FST team of Malleswaram Assembly Constituency against a tweet posted in 'X' by BJP's official handle on 23rd April titled "Congress Manifesto or Muslim League Manifesto" at Bengaluru's Malleswaram Police Station. FIR under RP Act and 153 of IPC is booked for promoting hatred and enmity between different groups & classes of citizens," said Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka.

PM Narendra Modi said during a rally in Betul, "It is the vote that has guaranteed the country's rapid development in the last 10 years. Your one vote made India the 5th largest economy in the world. We were at number 11 in the world and in such a short time we reached number 5...It happened because of your vote, this is the power of your vote. Your one vote made India proud in foreign countries, your one vote stunned the enemy who was eyeing us from the border and it is your one vote that installed Ramlala in the grand temple in Ayodhya after 500 years..."

While speaking at the Vijay Sankalp Shankhnaad Maharally in Surguja, Chhattisgarh, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Congress says that it will impose an Inheritance Tax, and it will also impose tax on the Inheritance received from parents."

"The property you have accumulated through your hard work will not be given to your children. The claws of Congress will snatch that too from you...As long as you are alive, Congress will impose higher taxes and when you are no longer alive, it will burden you with Inheritance Tax. Those people who considered the entire Congress party as their ancestral property and handed it over to their children, now do not want Indians to pass on their property to their children," he said. 

The Congress went into a firefighting mode on Wednesday (April 24) after it landed into trouble because of a remark made by its senior party leader Sam Pitroda over inheritance law. 

The remarks of Pitroda added fuel to the BJP's allegations that the Opposition party has been sketching a plan for the redistribution of wealth. Read More.. 

Reacting over Congress Sam Pitroda's remark, India's Home Minister Home Minister Amit Shah said, "After Sam Pitroda's remark, Congress party is completely exposed. First of all, mention of 'survey' in their manifesto, Manmohan Singh's old statement which is Congress' legacy - that minorities have the first right over resources of the country, and now Sam Pitroda's remark citing the US that there should be deliberations on the distribution of wealth...Now when PM Modi raised this issue, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and the entire Congress party are on the backfoot that it was never their motive."

"But today, Sam Pitroda's statement has made Congress' motive clear before the country. They want to survey the private property of the people of the country, put it in government property and distribute it as per decision during UPA's regime. Congress should either withdraw it from their manifesto or accept that it is indeed their intention...I want people to take Sam Pitroda's statement seriously. Their intention is now in the open, its cognisance should be taken by people..." he added.

BJP IT Cell Chief, Amit Malviya, slammed the Congress party's stance on wealth redistribution following comments by Sam Pitroda, Chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, advocating for inheritance tax. 

On the social platform X, Malviya claimed, "Congress has decided to destroy India. Now, Sam Pitroda advocates a 50 percent inheritance tax for wealth redistribution. This means 50 percent of whatever we build, with all our hard work and enterprise, will be taken away. 50 percent, besides all the tax we pay, which too will go up, if Congress prevails."

Highlighting the differences in inheritance laws in the US and India, Pitroda had said: "In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That's an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair."

"In India, you don't have that. If somebody is worth 10 billion and he dies, his children get 10 billion and the public gets nothing...So these are the kinds of issues people will have to debate and discuss. When we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programs that are in the interest of the people and not in the interest of the super-rich only," he had said.
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Calling the subject of wealth distribution strictly a 'policy issue' and he said he felt concerned about Prime Minister Modi after his remarks on Congress manifesto.

"This is a policy issue. Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better. We don't have a minimum wage (in India). If we come up with a minimum wage in the country saying you must pay so much money to the poor, that's the distribution of wealth. Today, rich people don't pay their peons, servants, and home help enough but they spend that money on vacation in Dubai and London...When you talk about the distribution of wealth, it is not that you sit on a chair and say I have this much money and I'll be distributing it to everybody."

In preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Nanded district administration in Maharashtra has enforced a ban on the broadcast of election-related content on the radio. The local All India Radio (AIR) station and other radio channels have been restricted from airing such material during the 48 hours before the polling day.

The directive was issued by Collector Abhijit Raut the returning officer for the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency. 

This measure is based on guidelines from a handbook by the Election Commission of India, which "prohibits display of election matter through TV or similar apparatus." According to the order, radio will be treated as "other similar apparatus," and hence, broadcasting any election-related information is prohibited.

Failure to comply with this mandate will result in legal consequences, warned the collector. The polling for the Nanded Lok Sabha seat is scheduled for April 26.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj will meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail this afternoon.

This comes as the Delhi chief minister, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case on March 21, refused to step down. The Aam Aadmi Party has also asserted that he will continue to run the government from jail.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Mallikarjun Kharge has said as the first round of voting of the Lok Sabha polls was over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of invisible voters and that's why he is always criticising the Congress party.

If the Congress is nothing, why is the Prime Minister bothered about the grand old party, Kharge asked at a press conference here.

He said he had travelled to nearly 10-12 states and that the party was getting a very good response from voters there.

"I hope the undercurrent, that I can say, is not visible but Modiji is afraid of these invisible voters, and that's why he is always criticising the Congress," Kharge said at the press conference.

Accusing the Prime Minister of acting like a "petty politician," the AICC president also wanted him to read more about this country's history and learn how to keep the nation united.

- Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge will hold a press conference in Kerela at 9:30 am. He will also hold public meetings in Karnataka — Kalaburgi (Afzalpur) at 2:30 pm, and two in Bidar (Aland) at 5:30 pm.

- Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi will attend a Samajik Nyay Sammelan at Delhi's Jawahar Bhavan at 10 am. He will also address public meetings in Maharashtra — Amravati at 12:30 pm, and Solapur at 3:30 pm.

- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is campaigning in Kerala's Wayanad district, there she will be a part of public meetings in Kamblakkad at 12:40 pm, Wandoor at 2:00 pm, Nilambur at 3:30 pm.

- Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi will hold public meetings in Bihar — Kishanganj at 11:30 am and 1:00 pm, and West Bengal's Raiganj at 2:30 pm.

- Rashtriya Lok Dal National President Jayant Chaudhary will hold public meetings in Uttar Pradesh — Amroha at 12:15 pm, Aligarh at 2:00 pm.

- Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot (Congress) will take part in public meetings in Rajasthan's Tonk at 12:00 pm.

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold multiple public meetings and a roadshow across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh today. He will start his day with a meeting in Surguja, Chhattisgarh at 10:45 am, followed by two meetings in Madhya Pradesh — in Sagar at 2:45 pm and Betul at 5:15 pm. He will conclude today's campaign activities with a roadshow in Bhopal at 7:15 pm, where he will be accompanied by Madhya Pradesh BJP leaders.

- Home Minister Amit Shah will speak in Kerala's Alappuzha at 11 am and Maharashtra's Amravati at 2:30 pm. He will also inaugurate a BJP office in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi at 5:30 pm. 

- BJP National President JP Nadda is in Bihar for a series of public meetings — Bhagalpur at 12:30 pm, Gogri Jamalpur at 2:00 pm, and Rajnagar at 3:55 pm.

- Film actress and BJP leader Kangana Ranaut will participate in a roadshow in Rajasthan in support of BJP candidate Kailash Chaudhary in Barmer, Jaisalmer, and Balotra.

Repolling is currently taking place at eight polling stations across four assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh. The need for repolling arose after incidents of violence and damage to electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the elections on April 19. 

The Election Commission has mandated repolling in specific areas of East Kameng, Kurung Kumey, Siang, and Upper Subansiri districts. Polls opened at 6 AM and will close at 2 PM, with provisions to allow all voters in line at closing time to cast their ballots.