Lok Sabha elections 2024: Hemant Soren's sister Anjani to contest from Odisha's Mayurbhanj | Highlights

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) declares former CM Hemant Soren's sister, Anjani Soren as the party candidate from Odisha's Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha constituency.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on upcoming Lok Sabha election | "They (BJP) did nothing in the last 5 years and when we did the work and brought schemes to reach even the last person of the society, they are constantly trying to topple our govt...even after 4th June, we will be in power and we will serve the people for next three and half years..."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered prayers at Simhavahini Sri Mahankali temple in Telangana's Hyderabad. | Watch

BJP candidate from Chhattisgarh's Korba Lok Sabha constituency Saroj Pandey on upcoming election | "Party has given an opportunity and it is very important for me. We will definitely win in Korba. It has been Congress here for the last many years. There are many villages here that don't have roads, electricity or schools... The aim is to bring PM Modi's schemes on the ground so that people are benefitted and the area is developed..."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah conducted a road show in Hyderabad in support of BJP candidate Madhavi Latha. | WATCH

Around 12 Congress workers, close aides of party leader Govind Singh, joined the BJP in Lahar, in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday.

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Guna Lok Sabha seat, Jyotiraditya Scindia conducts a roadshow in Shivpuri. | Watch

Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi on upcoming Lok Sabha election in Delhi | "People of Delhi have made up their mind, they have decided that BJP needs to be defeated in all 7 seats because they put Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in jail in fake case... people have decided to they will give the reply to jail with vote."

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) President and former CM Farooq Abdullah addressed a public rally in Rajouri. | WATCH

Election Commission of India bans former Telangana CM and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao from campaigning for 48 hours, starting 8 pm today, 1st May for making "derogatory and objectionable statements" against Congress in Sircilla.

Amit Shah in Karnataka's Haveri | On his 'deepfake and morphed' video on quotas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "They are desperate and are fearing their defeat. So, they are promoting deepfake videos."

"If you want to form a government, then at least 272 seats are required. Except for the BJP, no political party in the country is contesting 272 seats, and then they are saying they will form the government. Even the royal family of Delhi is not going to vote for Congress... There is no Congress candidate where they vote... Ahmed Patel's family in Bharuch will not vote for Congress... A big Congress leader who votes in Bhavnagar, will not be able to vote for Congress. This is the condition of the Congress...," said PM Modi in Banaskantha's Deesa.

"In the 2024 elections, I have come with the experience of 20-25 years... I have come with a guarantee based on the capabilities of the country... My guarantee is that in the third term, we will make India the third-largest economy in the world. This will not just benefit the current generation, but also the future generations...," said PM Modi in Gujarat's Banaskantha.

PM Modi at election rally in Gujarat's Banaskantha | "In 2019, it was being said that the (Modi) government won't retain power. Several conspiracies were hatched to stop us. However, you (people) gave us a bigger mandate in 2019... It is my guarantee that the country would become the world's third-largest economy in my third term.

BJP candidate from Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, Tashi Gyalson filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha Election 2024 | Watch

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at an election rally said that there are apprehensions of manipulation of results by BJP, several EVMs missing.

PDP workers led by senior party leader Naeem Akhtar on Wednesday held a protest against the Election Commission of India's decision to defer the polling in Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat from May 7 to May 25. The PDP demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir administration's report which led to the postponement of the poll be made public. The Election Commission on Tuesday postponed polls to the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat to May 25, citing logistical issues due to adverse weather conditions. Former chief ministers of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah (National Conference) and Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) had urged the Election Commission last week not to postpone polls.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal will campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party candidates in Gujarat on May 2, said the party on Wednesday. The AAP has fielded candidates in Bharuch and Bhavnagar in Gujarat, in an alliance with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc constituent Congress. "Sunita Kejriwal will participate in road shows of the party candidates in Bharuch and Bhavnagar seats on Thursday," the AAP said in a statement. In absence of her husband lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case, Sunita Kejriwal has taken reins of the AAP's Lok Sabha campaign. Recently, she held road shows in East Delhi and West Delhi Lok Sabha seats where AAP has fielded its candidates. She is also scheduled to campaign for AAP in Punjab and Haryana, the party said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to campaign for the BJP candidates in Odisha’s Berhampur and Nabarangpur Lok Sabha constituencies on May 6, a leader of the saffron party said on Wednesday. Modi will address his first public meeting at 10 am in Berhampur while the Nabarangpur rally will be held at about 12.30 am on Monday, Odisha BJP vice-president Golak Mohapatra told a press conference. Berhampur and Nabarangpur go to polls on May 13. The Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha.

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to allow arrested political leaders to campaign through virtual mode for the Lok Sabha polls, terming the plea as "highly adventurous" and against the fundamental principles of law. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora said courts do not take policy decisions and that it is for Parliament to decide on such issues. "We can't allow someone who is in custody to run a campaign. Otherwise, all rapists, murderers will start floating political parties just prior to the elections," the bench said. The high court warned the petitioner of imposing costs but later agreed not to do so as the arguing counsel pleaded that the petitioner was a student.

Congress candidate from North East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar met Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita in Delhi today. 

Kanhaiya Kumar with Sunita Kejriwal

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said the Congress was using all types of tricks -- fear, confusion, rumour and now deepfake -- for its propaganda. He refuted the Congress' charge that democracy was under threat or that reservations will be taken away by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. "It was during the Congress regime that democracy was finished by imposing Emergency," Thakur told PTI Videos at Lucknow airport.

A plea was mentioned before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday against circulation of deepfake videos during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday, if the petition is in order. Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, while mentioning the plea for an urgent hearing, said it was being filed by a lawyers' body seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to stop the circulation of deepfake videos during elections.

A day after quitting the Congress, former MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy on Wednesday joined the AAP in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Goldy resigned from the Congress days after he expressed his "displeasure" over denial of party ticket from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. While welcoming Goldy into the party fold, Mann described him as a a hardworking youth.

Prime Minister Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Gujarat where he will start the Lok Sabha poll campaigning on the 'Gujarat Foundation Day'. He will first address a public meeting at 3:30 p.m. in Banaskantha and then another public meeting at 5:15 p.m. in Sabarkantha.

A delegation of senior AAP leaders on Tuesday met the Election Commission (EC) over the Delhi poll panel asking the party to modify its campaign song, and asserted that there was "nothing objectionable" in its lyrics.  The party on Sunday had claimed that the commission has "banned" its Lok Sabha campaign song "Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se Denge", but officials of the Delhi poll body had said the AAP was asked to modify the contents of the song since it violated EC's guidelines and advertising codes.

Representatives of 18 political parties from 10 countries will interact with a host of BJP leaders, including party president J P Nadda and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during their visit to India on the ruling party's invitation to get a first-hand experience of the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP said the foreign leaders will also be given insights into the party's election campaign and will be briefed about its strategies and the overall electoral process. They will meet Nadda on Wednesday and also interact with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged that the Congress government in Telangana is collecting ‘RR tax' from industrialists and contractors and sending a part of this black money to Delhi. Addressing a public meeting in the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency, PM Modi, without naming anyone, appealed to the people of Telangana to elect the BJP nominees to put a check on ‘RR tax’. He also cautioned people that if ‘RR tax’ goes unchecked, it will destroy Telangana to the extent that it will not be able to rise again. It needs to be mentioned that the abbreviation of the name of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is RR. “Earlier, the TRS/BRS destroyed Telangana and now RR tax is destroying it,” he said.

BJP President JP Nadda on Tuesday held a mega roadshow in Karnataka's Byadagi for former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is the party candidate for the Haveri Lok Sabha seat. Karnataka's Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka joined the BJP President and the former Chief Minister in the roadshow. Addressing the gathering, BJP chief Nadda appealed to the people to do not give votes to I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders, who are on bail or are in prisons. To make the country a developed nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people must vote for the BJP, he added. Urging the crowd to vote for the BJP, Bommai said that the Congress is trying to "take away the inherited property".

Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not fulfilling his electoral promises like reducing petrol prices within 100 days of power and giving jobs to 2 crore youth."In 2014, PM Modi had said that inflation was on the rise. It was true. In 2014, PM Modi promised to reduce petrol prices within 100 days but it's been more than 3,000 days, and the prices have not reduced...It is the same with LPG cylinders. He makes fake promises but he never fulfils them," Sharad Pawar said speaking at a public rally at Pune on Tuesday.

Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has accused Opposition leaders of misleading people on the issue of reservation. The BJP MP from Bihar's Patna Sahib on Tuesday said, "Congress and RJD leaders are claiminig that the BJP will cancel the reservation and change the Constitution if it comes to power again. This shows the disappointment of the opposition parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs will remain as it is in the country and there is no doubt about it." "They are repeatedly saying that if BJP comes to power, the reservation will end. I want to say that there can be no bigger lie than this," he added. "They (Congress leaders) have made Muslim people OBCs in Karnataka and now they will implement the same in Telangana...," he said, adding that B.R. Ambedkar was against the religion-based reservation in the country.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday requested all party candidates and leaders to carry a copy of the Constitution with them during nominations, meetings, and public events. "Blessing for the Poor, Respect for the Deprived, and Pride for Every Citizen - Our Constitution! I urge all candidates and leaders of the Congress to carry the sacred Constitution during nominations, campaigns, speeches, and outreach," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on 'X'.