Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP president Nadda targets Congress for 'appeasement' politics

An independent candidate from Diphu (ST) constituency withdrew his nomination on Monday, leaving 61 nominees in the fray for the five Lok Sabha constituencies scheduled that go to the polls in the second phase in Assam on April 26, according to an election official. Bikram Hanse, the independent candidate, withdrew his candidature, reducing the number of contestants to five from the seat. The remaining candidates are Joyram Engleng of Congress, Jotson Bey of Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), BJP's Amarsing Tisso and an independent. Initially, a total of 65 candidates had filed their nominations for the Karimganj, Silchar (SC), Diphu (ST), Nagaon, and Darrang-Udalguri constituencies, out of which three were rejected during scrutiny.

Leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) sat on a 24-hour dharna outside the Election Commission's office here, demanding that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed. A delegation of the TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, met a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) over their demands. The TMC has been alleging that the central probe agencies have been targeting opposition parties at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) named its candidates for three more Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in its second list for the election, fielding slain gangster Jaipal Bhullar's father from Ferozepur. The Simranjit Singh Mann-led party fielded his son Emaan Singh Mann from the Amritsar seat and Harpal Singh Baler from Khadoor Sahib. Bhupinder Singh Bhullar, whom the SAD (Amritsar) fielded from the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat, is a retired inspector of the Punjab Police.

BJP president JP Nadda today accused the Congress of pursuing appeasement politics and working against the majority community, as he asked the opposition party to make it clear as to who it intends to benefit by promising to raise the reservation cap from 50 per cent. In a statement, he echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the Congress' manifesto bears the imprint of the Muslim League, which had spearheaded the pre-independence movement for Pakistan. The League had worked for reservation on religion lines in 1929 and the Congress is doing the same, Nadda alleged.

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Chaudhry Birendra Singh will join the Congress Party. Announcement about his joining likely to be made tomorrow. His son and former BJP leader Brijendra Singh had joined Congress Party recently.

The Congress was left red-faced after a video surfaced on social media, showing a picture of Union Minister and BJP candidate Faggan Singh Kulaste on a banner at Rahul Gandhi's rally in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla Lok Sabha seat on Monday. While the Congress termed the goof-up a "human error", Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the opposition party had accepted defeat even before the elections. The purported video showed a picture of Kulaste on a banner serving as a backdrop of the stage at the rally scheduled later in the day at Dhanora, some 80 km from Seoni district headquarters under the Mandla Lok Sabha seat.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday hit back at the BJP leadership, alleging that their "ideological ancestors" supported the British and the Muslim League against Indians in the freedom struggle. Kharge's reaction came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress, charging that its poll manifesto bore the imprint of the Muslim League and utterances of its leaders showed hostility towards national integrity and Sanatan Dharma. In a post on X, Kharge said, "Modi-Shah's political and ideological ancestors supported the British and the Muslim League against the Indians in the freedom struggle."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that an "exodus" of Congress leaders began after Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' passed through the state. Sarma slammed Gandhi for raking up topics such as caste census and Manipur violence in Assam without having a proper briefing on the ground situation. He claimed that more leaders of the grand old party will join the BJP after the Lok Sabha elections.

Former Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday addressed a press conference in which he alleged that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut is the kingpin of Khichdi scam.

"Rahul is an impatient man, doesn't take briefings before coming to Assam", says Himanta Biswa Sarma.

AAP on Monday launched the theme 'Jail ka jawab vote se' in protest of the arrest of Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Senior AAP leader Atishi will be on a three-day visit to Assam starting Monday to campaign for her party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. She will be campaigning in Dibrugarh and Tezpur districts, according to the AAP. "Kejriwal's revolution will come to Assam as well. For the next three days, I will be in Assam and share Kejriwal ji's dream of a developed India and his fight against dictatorship with everyone," Atishi said.

MVA leaders will hold a joint press conference tomorrow at 11 am at Shiv Sena (UBT)'s headquarters Shivalaya, Mumbai.

After resolving the seat-sharing dispute, for the first time, leaders of all three parties will address the media together.

A ten-member TMC delegation will visit the Election Commission of India and meet the full bench of the EC, in Delhi, today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a rally in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district on Monday, a government official said. The BJP has nominated the state’s Forest, Cultural Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar from Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency. Polling in the seat, located in the Vidarbha region, will be held in the first phase on April 19.

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress, both part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, on Sunday traded allegations against each other on various issues, including CAA and the recent Kannur blast, as the Lok Sabha poll campaign intensified in the state. Polling will be held in the state on April 26. At a LDF public meeting in Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituency, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reiterated his accusations of Congress being silent on the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and various central government policies that are against the interests of the state.

A day after the public meeting of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge here, several party leaders including former MLA Gangajal Meel and PCC vice president Sushil Sharma left the party and joined the BJP on Sunday. Hanuman Meel, who contested assembly elections on Congress tickets from Suratgarh, former PCC vice president Ashok Awasthi and several others joined the BJP in the presence of BJP leaders including Onkar Singh Lakhawat, Narayan Panchariya and Arun Chaturvedi. Sushil Sharma alleged there is disappointment among the dedicated workers of the Congress due to factionalism. He claimed he worked for the Congress for years but now there was no one to listen to the party workers.

The Congress manifesto was a reflection of the aspirations of the people, the party's in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh said on Sunday as he launched the house-to-house distribution of the 'guarantee card' in the state. Singh said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the people during his two Yatras crisscrossing the country was reflected in the party's manifesto, named 'Nyay Patra'. "The 'Nyay Patra' is a reflection of the aspirations of the people. One can say that the people have written it," he stated.