Lok Sabha elections April 8 updates : Congress mother of all problems in country, says PM Modi

TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, "What happened today in broad daylight in Delhi is extremely painful and unfortunate. The way democracy has been muzzled, and killed in broad daylight is for everyone to see. This is BJP's new India."

"Ten members from the TMC delegation including five MPs went to submit a memorandum and a representation on how the central agencies are being used and are being paid puppetry to their masters in Delhi and working on BJP's behest," he added. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to attend a mega rally in Lakhimpur Lok Sabha and a roadshow in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh Lok Sabha, tomorrow.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted that the NDA will win the Lok Sabha polls comprehensively while lashing out at former ally RJD for claiming credit for job creation in the State.

Mr. Kumar, who is also the national president of the JD(U), was briefly interacting with journalists during a routine visit to the party office here.

Asked about NDA’s campaign, Kumar, who recently shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a couple of rallies and is likely to hold roadshows in the next few days, said, “Everything is going fine. We will win all seats in Bihar. We do not engage in self-publicity, but people know what we have done for them”. 

(With inputs from agencies)

A total of 15 candidates are in fray from Gautam Buddh Nagar seat in western Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls on April 26 in the second phase of the general elections 2024. "No candidate from Gautam Buddh Nagar parliamentary constituency withdrew his nomination till the time fixed for withdrawal of nomination today, April 8," the district information office said in a brief statement.

PM Modi in Maharashtra rally: "Who was responsible for delay in construction of Ayodhya's Ram Temple? The leaders of which party questioned the existence of Lord Ram? Which party didn't attend the Ram Temple 'pran pratishtha' ceremony?" 

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on April 8 launched ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’ campaign, seeking support for the jailed Delhi Chief Minister. Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MPSandeep Pathak said, “Mr. Kejriwal was arrested as part of a big conspiracy. It is the first time that a sitting Chief Minister has been arrested during the Lok Sabha polls. We are launching the campaign ‘Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se’ and we want you to empower Mr. Kejriwal.”

The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in alliance, with each fielding candidates in three seats.

At a joint press conference here, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said the Congress would contest in Udhampur, Jammu and Ladakh Lok Sabha seats while the National Conference would field candidates in Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla.

“I want to formally announce that the National Conference and Congress will jointly contest the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with three candidates for each of the two parties,” Abdullah said, “The National Conference will support Congress candidates in Udhampur, Jammu and Ladakh seats. The INDIA bloc with contest the polls to help fulfil the aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and truly represent them in Parliament,” he said. 

(With inputs from agencies)

"We have been protesting against the manner in which the central agencies - ED, CBI, IT, NIA - are acting on behalf of the BJP in the general elections of 2024," said TMC leader Sagarika Ghose as a delegation of her party protested outside the Election Commission's office in Delhi. 

She added, "We have just met the full bench of the Election Commission, and we have demanded that the Election Commission urgently intervene and protect the sanctity of the election process."

"The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be a contest between stability and instability. On one side, there is the BJP-led NDA which takes big decisions for the country, and on the other, there is Congress and the INDI alliance," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Chandrapur, Maharashtra.

He added, "The INDI alliance has only brought instability in the country." PM Modi also went on to call Congress the source of all problems in the country and said that the party has lost public support due to its deeds. 

Speaking about the seat-sharing formula for the upcoming elections, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that his party and Congress will each contest three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. 

"Chaudhary Lal Singh to contest from Udhampur, Raman Bhalla to contest from Jammu & Mian Altaf Sahib to contest from Anantnag. The candidates for the remaining seats will be announced soon," said Abdullah, as quoted by ANI. 

Congress lodged a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the Election Commission of India (ECI) after he called the opposition party's manifesto an ‘imprint’ of Muslim League.

"The Congress manifesto completely bears the imprint of the Muslim League, and whatever part of it is left is completely dominated by the leftists," said PM Modi at rallies in Saharanpur and Ajmer, last week. 

"My colleagues @salman7khurshid, @MukulWasnik, @Pawankhera and @gurdeepsappal have just met with the Election Commission and presented and argued 6 complaints, including 2 against the PM himself," said Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X. 

He added, "This is the time for the Election Commission to demonstrate its independence by ensuring a level playing field for all parties."

"We live in hope that the Hon’ble Commission will uphold its Constitutional mandate. For our part, we will continue to pursue all avenues, political and legal, to expose this regime," said Ramesh. 

Amid Prime Minister Modi's criticism of the Congress manifesto, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah said that the manifesto would make the nation strong and secular.

"I think the manifesto is to make the country strong and to keep it secular. That is what it is. And if anybody thinks otherwise, then they are already dividing the nation in their own ways." On PDP contesting elections, he says, "People know what we stand for. And beyond that, I don't need to express anything..." Abdullah told the news agency ANI

Political strategist Prashant Kishor has said that the ruling BJP is unlikely to win 370 seats on its own in the elections. However, he pointed out that the BJP is poised to significantly increase its seats and vote share in the eastern and southern regions of India, where its influence has been weak or nonexistent, a report by the news agency PTI said. 

Actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut denied the allegation of consuming beef and called herself a 'proud Hindu' on her social media handle.

Taking to X, she refuted the allegation that she consumes beef. The actress wrote, “I don’t consume beef or any other kind of red meat, it is shameful that completely baseless rumours are being spread about me, I have been advocating and promoting yogic and Ayurvedic way of life for decades now such tactics won’t work to tarnish my image. My people know me and they know that I am a proud Hindu and nothing can ever mislead them, Jai Shri Ram."

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In this period of intense glory, when more than 1.43 billion people are set to decide who will remain in power and who will fall from the throne, astrologers become the bridge that links the present scenarios to reflect what the future is likely to have in store for them.

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Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram is gearing up for an unprecedented electoral contest between the serving Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor of the Indian National Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajeev Chandrasekhar, also a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. 

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Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde hit out at his former party colleague Uddhav Thackeray, saying that despite holding the top job in the state, he performs all the duties of a party worker, as there is no concept of boss or servant in his faction of the Shiv Sena.

"I am a CM, but I work as a worker even now. There is no boss or any servant in our party. We are all working in cooperation with each other," Shinde said while speaking at a public meeting in Nagpur on Sunday.

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has alleged that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government has made Andhra Pradesh the "drug capital" of the country.

Speaking at an election rally in Andhra Pradesh, Kalyan said: "The YSRCP regime went on to weaken youth power and make youth addicted to ganja. We will put an end to such a rule and drag this YSRCP government, which has turned the state into a drug capital, out of the state."

"My aim is to protect the state. I say, as the witness of Anakapalli Nukalamma's mother (deity of Nookambika Ammavari Temple), that we will protect the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is said that any personality emerges when given power. It is only now that the people of the state have realised the meaning of giving power to this Chief Minister (YS Jagan Mohan Reddy)," he added.

He also said that his party has aligned with the BJP and TDP to ensure that anti-YSRCP votes should not be divided.

A Delhi Court has denied interim bail to BRS leader K Kavitha, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case connected with the alleged liquor policy scam.

Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed Kavitha's interim bail plea. A detailed order is awaited.

On March 26, Kavitha was remanded to judicial custody till April 9. She was arrested on the evening of March 15 by the ED hours after the agency and the Income Tax department conducted searches at her Hyderabad residence.

India's Supreme Court has included 'right against adverse effects of climate change' as part of the right to life, in an unprecedented leap forward to recognise the impact of climate change on human life in the world's most populous democracy. 

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Aside from Narendra Modi's visit to Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Rahul Gandhi's visit to Madhya Pradesh, these are the major political events scheduled to unfold across India today:

- BJP President JP Nadda will address public meetings in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Monday. The BJP chief will seek votes for BJP's Rampur Lok Sabha seat candidate Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi at 11:00 am, after which he will proceed to Dhampur to address a public meeting for Nagina seat candidate Om Kumar at 12:30 pm The BJP President will also address a public meeting in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh at around 4:30 pm.

- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold multiple public meetings in Maharashtra. He is scheduled to address public meetings in Wardha at 2:30 pm, Bhandara (4:30 pm), and Nagpur at 6:30 pm.

- BJP leader General (retd.) VK Singh will be on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand starting today. During the visit, he will hold public meetings in Mussoorie, Dhalwala, and Almora.\

- Congress leader Sachin Pilot will address four public meetings in Rajasthan. He is scheduled to campaign in Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Jaipur Rural and Alwar Lok Sabha seats.

- Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma will hold a public meeting in support of BJP's Barmer Lok Sabha seat candidate Kailash Chaudhary.

- BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain will be on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand starting today to campaign in support of BJP candidates for Haridwar and Nainital parliamentary constituencies. He will participate in multiple programmes during the visit.

- BSP National Coordinator and party chief Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand will address a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi will visit Madhya Pradesh on Monday to address public meetings at Dhanora (Seoni district) and Shahdol. The Dhanora meeting is scheduled for 2 pm. At Shahdol, the Wayanad MP will reach at 4 pm to seek support for Congress's Mandla Lok Sabha seat candidate Omkar Singh Markam. Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari and veteran party leaders will be present during the meetings.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Bastar and Maharashtra's Chandrapur on Monday (Apr 8) to campaign for BJP Lok Sabha poll candidates.

As per IANS, Modi will address a public rally in support of BJP candidate Mahesh Kashyap at 1:30 pm (IST) in Bastar. 

Following that, he will hold a public meeting for Union Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in Chandrapur at 5:00 pm (IST).