Election Commission makes electoral bonds data public on its website | Updates

The government appointed former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as election commissioners on Thursday, setting the stage for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification announcing the appointments of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu to the Election Commission (EC). READ MORE

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced that it has uploaded, on its website, the data on Electoral Bonds provided by the State Bank of India. READ MORE

Speaking on the possibility of an alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "I can't say anything officially on this today, a lot of discussions are going on, but I will let you know when a decision is taken. There is no delay regarding seat sharing in Mahayuti, we will declare all the candidates of Mahayuti soon."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday distributed loans under the PM SVANidhi scheme to 1 lakh street vendors (SVs), including 5,000 SVs from Delhi, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of two additional corridors of Delhi Metro’s Phase 4 during the programme at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Sources have said that BJP and Janata Dal (United) (JDU) have finalised seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Here's how seats will be divided among parties: 

• BJP - 16 
• JDU - 16 
• LJP R (Chirag) - 05 
• RLM (Upendra Kushwaha) - 01 
• HAM (Jitan Ram Manjhi) - 01 
• VIP (Mukesh Sahni) - 01 

If an agreement is not reached with Mukesh Sahni, his share of the seat will be given to Upendra Kushwaha. In such a situation, Upendra Kushwaha will get two seats.

Mukesh Sahni has said that he will join NDA on the condition of making an announcement regarding the inclusion of Nishad caste in Scheduled Caste.

Mukesh Saini's-led VIP is in talks with the BJP, reports said.

On seat sharing in NDA and Bihar cabinet expansion, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "Everything will be done soon... we will inform about everything ..."

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been declared elected unopposed to Bihar Legislative Council. 

On the CAA and ending the alliance with PAGD, People's Conference J&K Chairman Sajad Lone said, "I think that CAA is discriminative. I believe that Human rights are based on human beings, not on religion... I don't think that persecution should be defined by any religion, it should be defined by persecution... We have come out of the alliance (PAGD) as it is not for people; it is just to empower and make themselves look relevant.."

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) released its second list of candidates for Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections. Taking to X, TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu said, "The first list of candidates contesting on behalf of the Telugu Desam Party in the upcoming 2024 elections has already been placed before the public. Now we have brought you the second list with 34 more candidates. As always in the selection of candidates, public opinion has been given priority in this list as well. I request the people of the state to bless all the TDP candidates and make them win"

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) released its second list of candidates for Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections. Taking to X, TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu said, "The first list of candidates contesting on behalf of the Telugu Desam Party in the upcoming 2024 elections has already been placed before the public. Now we have brought you the second list with 34 more candidates. As always in the selection of candidates, public opinion has been given priority in this list as well. I request the people of the state to bless all the TDP candidates and make them win"

Lok Janashakthi Party (LJP) MP Prince Raj stated that his party is an integral part of NDA. "Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is the leader of the country as well as ours and his decision is paramount for us." he wrote on X. 

Suspended Congress MP  from Patiala and wife of BJP leader Amarinder Singh Preneet Kaur joined the BJP on Thursday (March 14) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The discussion has intensified between BJP and MNS leaders concerning South Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency. According to sources, there could be a consencus between BJP and Raj Thackeray on this seat.  Additionally, there are indications of forthcoming talks regarding allocating seats to MNS. Senior MNS leaders are expected to travel to Delhi shortly to engage in discussions.

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the BJP leader has "A-grade record" of governance in the past 10 years and has devised a plan for the next quarter-century to propel India to the path of becoming a developed country by 2047. In an interview with ANI, Home Minister Amit Shah also lauded PM Modi's efforts for implementing the announcements and promises made by the government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stressed that the Citizenship Amendment Act will never be taken back and the Centre will not compromise on the sovereign right to ensure Indian citizenship in the country. Shah’s remarks came days after the government notified the rules of the CAA, in the fulfilment of its poll promise made in the 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto.

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Union Minister Amit Shah alleged that all opposition parties are indulged in the politics of "lies."  He made these remarks on opposition parties raising questions on the timing of CAA notification. "All opposition parties including Owaisi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and Mamata Banerjee are doing politics of lies. There is no question of timing. BJP said in its manifesto in 2019 that it would bring CAA and give citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan...In 2019, it was passed by Parliament but got delayed due to Covid...The opposition wants to do appeasement politics and wants to consolidate their vote bank. They have been exposed and the people of the country know that CAA is the law of this country. I have said 41 times in the last 4 years that it would be implemented before the elections…" Shah said in the ANI podcast. 

With the possibility of a pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the BJD still lingering, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has convened a meeting of his party's senior leaders on Thursday afternoon, party sources said. The BJD, which had on March 6, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Odisha, held a meeting of its senior party leaders, decided to go for another round of discussions on the matter as no news was coming from the BJP side, a senior BJD leader privy to the development said on condition of anonymity.

The Election Commission (EC) is likely to announce the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections today, according to media reports. Earlier, the EC asked its observers to ensure polls free of coercion and intimidation and pushed for judicious use of central and state forces keeping in mind that their deployment should not favour any particular party.