Lok Sabha elections 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: Congress to release third list of candidates late tonight, say sources

The Congress party is set to unveil its third list of candidates late tonight, with expectations that over 50 additional candidates could be included in the list.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday made public data on Electoral Bonds with serial numbers provided by the State Bank of India (SBI) earlier today to the poll body.

According to the sources, UP Congress president Ajay Rai is set to contest elections from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced nine Lok Sabha candidates for Tamil Nadu. The saffron party has fielded Annamalai from the Coimbatore seat. READ MORE

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at former AIADMK minister C Vijayabaskar's residence at Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on party's Income Tax row | "The reality what I have said multiple times and our leader has said it today is that you haven't frozen our accounts (bank accounts) but the democracy of this country. Votes are going to be polled in four weeks and the accounts of the prime opposition party in the country have been frozen. Is this the level playing field? If the opposition's account is frozen while the elections are there in any democracy it's equivalent to a democracy being frozen."

Former wrestler Dalip Singh Rana alias 'The Great Khali' joins roadshow of Union minister Jitendra Singh in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir.

Jitendra Singh will file Lok Sabha nomination papers for Udhampur-Doda constituency. 

Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, BJP's Karnataka MP BN Bache Gowda has resigned. 

Karnataka | Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa is reportedly upset as his son has not been given a ticket by the party in the upcoming elections. He has targeted senior party leader BS Yediyurappa saying that he will be protesting until Yediyurappa's son BY Vijayendra resigns from the post of party's state president.

State Bank of India (SBI) has submitted all details of electoral bonds with serial numbers to the Election Commission of India (ECI), on the directions of the Supreme Court.

In the BJP bastion of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Samajwadi Party's Lok Sabha candidate Rahul Awana says he is raising issues related to farmers and homebuyers across Noida and Greater Noida to connect with the voters of the constituency. Awana says these issues have remained unresolved for long under the BJP rule. "I belong to a family of farmers. There are several issues related to farmers in Gautam Buddh Nagar which have not been resolved in a long time. They are not getting land or compensation due to them. The youngsters are roaming around jobless. Noida's flat-buyers are helpless in front of arbitrariness of the builders," Awana told media. "Overall, there is a bad situation in the district because of Dr Mahesh Sharma (sitting BJP MP). Our national president (Akhilesh Yadav) has shown confidence in me and I am confident of fulfilling it. I will work to find solution to all the problems in my district," the 39-year-old Awana said. The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday changed its candidate in Gautam Buddh Nagar and announced Awana's name as its new contender in a constituency known to be a BJP stronghold.

Akhilesh Yadav said on Kamerawadi issue- Candidates of both parties have been declared for Mirzapur seat. There was an alliance in 22, not in 2024.

(With inputs from Vishal Singh) 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said his party AAP will announce the names of candidates for the remaining five Lok Sabha seats in next five days. The Aam Aadmi Party has already announced eight candidates. Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1. In a post on X, Mann said, "In the next five days, the candidates for the remaining five Lok Sabha seats will be announced by the AAP." AAP is yet to announce its candidates from Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib. AAP was the first one among all political parties in the state that announced the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

Karnataka: BJP MP BN Bache Gowda resigned today. 

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi's seat-sharing formula and its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be announced in a day or two. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprises the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest in the country after 80 in Uttar Pradesh. Talking to reporters after a meeting of the MVA leaders at NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar's residence here, Patole said the Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) in Delhi has finalised 12 candidates.

"I have contested Lok Sabha election many times during the  Congress rule. That time, there was no other source of funds except the public. Congress used to get big funds only from public. Now people are ignoring them and their current situation is only because of that."

Another meeting of MVA remained inconclusive today. Today's meeting lasted for about two hours but no decision has been taken on the disputed seats.

Congress party is not ready to give up their claim from Sangli, Bhiwandi, North West Mumbai seats. Shiv Sena and NCP (SP) are angry with the stubborn attitude of Congress on this matter. To date, about 15 meetings of MVA have been held but no results have been achieved.

After today's meeting failed, the Congress party has said that the issue of seat sharing will be resolved in the next two days. VBA is angry for not being invited in today's meeting. 

(With inputs from Dinesh Mourya) 

Tamil Nadu's main opposition AIADMK on Thursday released its final list of 16 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and also named its candidate for the lone Puducherry Parliamentary constituency. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami announced G Premkumar, a medical doctor, as his party candidate for Sriperumbudur and S Pasupathi, also a doctor for the Vellore seat. The ruling DMK has named veteran leader T R Baalu and Kathir Anand, son of top leader and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan for Sriperumbudur and Vellore constituencies respectively. In over 10 constituencies, there will be direct fight between the ruling DMK and the main opposition AIADMK. The AIADMK top leader named G Tamizhvendan and U Rani for Puducherry Lok Sabha seat and Vilavancode Assembly constituency respectively.

According to sources, out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, Congress wants to contest elections on at least 18 seats and Congress has finalized names on about 15 seats. Congress wants Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole to contest from Bhandara Gondia.

Almost all the names discussed in CEC yesterday will be confirmed when the list is declared.

1 Amravati - Balwant Wankhede
2 Nagpur – Vikas Thackeray
3 Gadchiroli. Namdev Kirsan
4Chandrapur. Vijay Wadettiwar. Pratibha Dhanorkar
5 Ramtek. Rashmi Barve. Raju Parve
6 Bhandara Gondia. Nana Patole
7 Akola. When Abhay Patil and Prakash Ambedkar came, he
8Solapur - Praniti Shinde
9Kolhapur - Shahu Chhatrapati
10 Pune - Ravindra Dhangekar
11Nanded - Vasantrao Chavan
12 Latur – Dr Shivajirao Kalge
13 Sangli. Vishal Patil
14 Bhiwandi. Dayanand Chorghe
15 Nandurbar. Gosha Padvi. K S Padvi

The seats being discussed are North West Mumbai, South Central Mumbai, Sangli, Bhiwandi. Congress is quite adamant on Bhiwandi and Sangli seats. In Mumbai, Uddhav Shiv Sena wants to contest five seats but Congress is also demanding half i.e. 3 seats. At least two seats should be given, this is the role of Congress. If Shiv Sena agrees to UBT then MVA seat sharing formula will be announced by this evening otherwise there may be further delay.

(With inputs from Atul Singh) 

BJP appoints party election incharges and co-incharges in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and MNS head Raj Thackeray met here on Thursday, amid talk of a possible alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The meeting is underway at the Taj Lands End in suburban Bandra. Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Thackeray met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday in Delhi, in an indication that the BJP is looking to ally with him for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to boost its alliance in the western state.

Fifty three political parties had contested the first Lok Sabha polls in 1951. The number of political parties today stands at over 2,500. However, the national party count has gone down to six from 14 in over seven decades. Contesting the general elections in May to elect the 18th Lok Sabha will be six national parties. The journey of political parties all these years has been an interesting ride from mergers to the emergence of new players while some of them have ceased to exist. A total of 53 political parties contested the first election, of which 14 were considered "national parties" while the rest were considered "state" parties.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, HAM leader and former Bihar Chief Minister, to contest from Gaya. 

• There are institutions that are supposed to protect the democratic framework but nothing is happening
• All our accounts frozen, we can do no campaign work

• We are doing very best to maintain the effectiveness of our election. 
• The electoral bonds have helped BJP massively

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, said, "I don't want to mention how the BJP took money from some companies. As SC is probing the matter, I hope the truth will be before us soon. I appeal to the Constitutional institutions that if they want free and fair elections, then they should allow us to freely access our bank accounts. No political party comes under the purview of income tax. The party in power amassed funds through electoral bonds while freezing our accounts to create hurdles for us in fighting polls."

'Holding fair polls is essential, there should be level playing field; those in power should not have monopoly over resources': Mallikarjun Kharge. 

Those in power should not have direct or indirect control over constitutional bodies, added Mallikarjun Kharge. 

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference in Delhi. 

The Election Commission on Thursday transferred district police chiefs in Assam and Punjab, who are kin of prominent politicians, and shunted out "non-cadre" district magistrates and superintendents of police in some states. The poll body said the non-cadre district magistrates (DMs) and superintendent of police (SPs) have been shunted out as the posts are meant for IAS and IPS officers. The EC said it has adopted a tough stance against posting of non-cadre officers at leadership positions by transferring eight non-encadred SPs/SSPs and five non-encadred DMs in Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat and West Bengal. Wherever relatives of prominent politicians were holding charge as DM or SP, have also been transferred, it said, adding SSP Bathinda (Punjab) and SP Sonitpur (Assam) have been transferred. The EC said the officials in these two districts have been transferred as a "pre-emptive measure" to dispel any apprehensions of administration being biased or perceived to be compromised. The move comes ahead of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls starting April 19.

EC transfers 'non-cadre' DMs, SPs in some states. 

MNS President Raj Thackeray reached Mumbai's Hotel Taj Lands End to meet CM Eknath Shinde. Earlier, on Wednesday late at night, Raj Thackeray met Devendra Fadnavis. Today, MNS President Raj Thackeray has called a meeting of his party leaders at his residence.

After meeting Amit Shah in Delhi, Raj Thackeray's meeting with Chief Minister Shinde is considered as important ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

(With inputs from Atul Singh) 

DV Sadananda Gowda says that he will continue to be in BJP. My next step is to purify the BJP. When I decided to quit electoral politics, state leaders asked me to contest. But now the ticket was given to someone else. Many asked me if I got a call from Congress after I was denied the ticket. Yes, I got a call. No I'll not be joining Congress.

BJP leader and former Karnataka CM DV Sadananda Gowda holds a press conference in Bengaluru, he says, "I am upset with BJP as the election ticket (from Bangalore North seat) has been given to someone else in my place. Yes, I was invited to join the Congress party, but I will not join the Congress party. Narendra Modi should become Prime Minister again."

MVA meeting in Mumbai: There is a dispute in MVA on Sangli, Wardha, Bhiwandi, North West Mumbai seats. The discussion is going on in the meeting on these seats. Brainstorming on what should be the formula for seat sharing if Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi does not come together. 

(With inputs from Dinesh Mourya) 

"The issue of the change of president is ongoing across the state. I am also making an effort. Whether it happens or not is left up to the center. It is their duty; they should do it. They kept the party president's post vacant for six months. Yediyurappa ensured that his son Vijayendra became the party president. His actions have caused pain to the entire state party workers. They didn't make Yatnal the president, CT Ravi, who was making a lot of efforts, he wasn't made. When they didn't allow me to contest, I had asked to be given a party post. I didn't aspire for any governor post. They could have given me considering I am an OBC. If caste was an issue, they could have given CT Ravi if Vokkaliga was being considered; they could have given it to Yatnal if Lingayat was in consideration. Or they could have given it to me if the backward class was in consideration. He left everything and ensured that his son was made party president. Even for the appointment of various party posts, they didn't seek advice from any senior leader. This was questioned in the core committee meeting. He accepted it was a mistake. We won't allow these kinds of mistakes to continue. We will demand his resignation. The days are near for his resignation."

(With inputs from T Raghavan)

The Latur administration has asked the district level media certification and monitoring committee to keep an eye on the use of social media and advertisements broadcast through electronic media during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Polling for the Latur Lok Sabha seat in Marathwada region of Maharashtra will be held on May 7. Collector Varsha Thakur-Ghuge held a meeting with the monitoring committee officials here on Wednesday. She instructed the officials to carefully monitor the campaigning done through social media and take strict action if any malpractices, such as paid news and other violation of norms, are found.

In a setback to the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, state party Chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh on Wednesday announced not to contest the Lok Sabha elections from her parliamentary seat, saying that her focus is to make the party win in the by-elections for six seats which fell vacant after party legislators cross-voted in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections. Speaking to media, the Himachal PCC Chief said that she has suggested the name of Kaul Singh Thakur for Mandi to the party high command.

"We have a new challenge in front of us in the form of six MLAs who have been suspended from the party. By-elections are going to be held on these six seats and we must win on all, and it is my responsibility to make them win. This is why I withdrew my candidature from Mandi... The situation was very different earlier," she said. Singh also said that Kaul Singh Thakur is well known in the area and also has a good understanding of the ground."Winning the Lok Sabha elections was the priority of the party for which, I have visited Mandi multiple times and I am well aware of all nooks and corners of my constituency... I have suggested the name of Kaul Singh Thakur for Mandi as he is well known in the area and also has a good understanding of the ground," the Congress MP said.

(With inputs from Puneet Pareenja) 

Authorities from Latur in Maharashtra and Bidar administration in neighbouring Karnataka have held a joint meeting to ensure smooth conduct of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the two districts, officials said. Voting for the Latur and Bidar Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 7. Officials of both the districts held a review meeting here on Wednesday. "Effective use of manpower will be possible if work is done with mutual coordination for check posts and other necessary aspects in the border areas of Latur and Bidar districts," Special Inspector General of Police, Nanded Zone, Shashikant Mahavarkar said.

The Election Commission on Wednesday said Rs 5.85 crore cash and alcohol worth Rs 21.48 crore have been seized in Karnataka since the Model Code of Conduct came into force. The general elections in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 26 and May seven for its 28 constituencies. According to EC officials, since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 16, the flying squads, static surveillance teams and police authorities have seized Rs 5.85 crore cash, Rs 5.87 lakh freebies, 6.84 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 21.48 crore, 24.3 kg narcotic substances worth over Rs 15 lakh and precious metals valued at over Rs 27 crore. They have also registered 205 FIRs with regard to seizure of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metal and freebies while 47,868 arms have been deposited, 827 arms were impounded, eight arms licences have been cancelled, 2,173 cases were booked under preventive sections of CrPC, out of which 2,725 persons were bounded over.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa has asked all candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections to have separate bank accounts which will help in monitoring of poll expenditure. The CEO said a candidate can open an account using his or her name or have a joint account with an agent. “A candidate can open an account even one day before filing nomination. Bank accounts can be opened in any bank (including co-operative bank) or post office,” he said in an official release today (March 21).

The CEO added that the ECI had instructed that all banks would open a dedicated counter and allow deposit and withdrawal of funds in the account on priority basis.  “At the time of opening of the bank account for the candidate, banks will provide 200 copies of cheque book (no personalised) to the candidate. Banks are also instructed to monitor cash withdrawal from banks. Banks will inform the district election officer (DEO) in case of any suspicious transactions,” he added.

Union minister and BJP leader Dr Jitendra Singh performed puja at his residence in Jammu ahead of filing his nomination from Udhampur seat for the Lok Sabha election 2024.

The DMK announced its candidate list on Wednesday by fielding sitting MP D.M. Kathir Anand from Vellore Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Kathir Anand is the son of DMK General Secretary and Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister, S. Duraimurugan, who is a powerful leader of the party and considered a close confidant to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The 49-year-old DMK leader won the Vellore Lok Sabha seat in 2019 by a slender margin of 8,142 votes. He defeated the AIADMK candidate AC Shanmugam in a closely fought contest. Interestingly, in 2019 a bypoll was held in Vellore on August 8 as President Droupadi Murmu had rescinded the election to Vellore along with other Lok Sabha seats following recommendations by the Election Commission (EC).

The EC had said that elections could not be held along with other Lok Sabha seats as an amount of Rs 11.5 crore was seized from Thoothukudi and the accused person who was apprehended had revealed that the money was meant for influencing voters of Vellore constituency. The AIADMK has yet to announce its candidate for the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency since the first list of 16 candidates was released on Wednesday by the party.

Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting will be held in Delhi today. Lok Sabha candidates for first phase of Madhya Pradesh will be declared. Names of candidates for Balaghat, Jabalpur, Shahdol and other seats will be declared. Congress has already declared ten candidates. Khajuraho seat was given to Samajwadi Party (SP) under the agreement. Candidates for other seats will also be declared by evening today.  The party is preparing to field MLAs and former MLAs on some seats. New faces can also be given on some seats including Indore, Bhopal, Damoh and Sagar.

(With inputs from Anurag Amitabh) 

An important meeting of senior leaders of the Maharashtra Congress will be held in Mumbai today. In this meeting, there will be a discussion regarding seat sharing in MVA. Many leaders including Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, State President Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat will attend this meeting. The meeting will be held at Tilak Bhawan, Dadar at 1:00 pm.

(With inputs from Atul Singh) 

A paid holiday has been declared for all workers in private, industrial institutions and government undertakings on the voting day for the Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan. Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said that the Rajasthan government has issued a notification in this regard.

School children in Uttar Pradesh will soon be writing to their parents saying, "My future is linked with a strong democracy of the country and for this I would like you to pledge to check your names in the voter list and surely vote in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls." This is the initiative of the Election Commission (EC) under which the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer, Navdeep Rinwa, has roped in the district administration and the Education department to go all out to increase the voter turnout so as to bring it on a par with the national average. The measure is part of EC's SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) initiative, officials said. The office of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer has written to the Director General (school education) seeking help of school children of Uttar Pradesh in writing letters to their parents. Parents will also be requested to sign a "pledge letter" to ensure that they and all eligible members of their family use their right to vote in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Both parents would sign the pledge letter providing their address, mobile number and e-mail id. Pratap Singh Baghel, Director, Uttar Pradesh Basic Education, has sent a letter to all basic shiksha adhikaris (BSAs) to download soft copies of comics, which are a relevant and irreplaceable outreach medium, even in this age of digital media.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi removed 2,57,995 lakh posters, banners, hoardings and small boards from across 12 zones in line with the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election The civic body removed 2,01,364 lakh political advertisements till Tuesday and 1,30,321 lakh advertisements till Monday. The Election Commission on Wednesday asked state governments to take down all unauthorised political advertisements from government, public and private properties and send a compliance report in the next 24 hours. The highest number of posters were taken down in the City SP Zone (9,821), followed by 5,316 in the Central Zone and 4,551 in the South Zone. The Election Commission on Saturday announced the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Model Code of Conduct came into force immediately and will be in place till the results of the elections are announced.

After the Congress' Central Election Committee met on Wednesday (March 20) to finalise candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra unit party President Nana Patole said that candidates have been finalised for 12 seats. He also mentioned that Congress will hold a meeting with Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar today to finalise the remaining seats. The Congress has so far announced 82 candidates in two lists for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls beginning on April 19.