Lok Sabha elections HIGHLIGHTS: BJP will 'throw away' Constitution if it returns to power, claims Rahul Gandhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, as she was afraid of offending her “infiltrator vote bank”. Addressing a rally at Memari in Purba Bardhaman district, Shah said this Lok Sabha election is about deciding whether people want "parivar raj" or "Ram rajya" in the country.

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that the PM was aware of JD (S) Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna’s "dirty acts", but went ahead to campaign for him. "He (Prajwal) made 2000 videos of helpless women who are distressed and oppressed. . . Modi went and sought votes for him. The tamasha is that when the videos surfaced he (Revanna) fled to Germany overnight,'' charged Owaisi. Several video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing hundreds of women had started doing the rounds in Hassan district in Karnataka in recent days.

Out of the electoral race after its candidate withdrew his nomination at the last moment, Congress on Tuesday said it will not support any other candidate in the Indore Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh. Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of murdering democracy, State Congress chief Jitu Patwari said voters have the option of pressing NOTA (None of The Above) button to teach the ruling BJP a lesson. Polling in Indore is scheduled for May 13.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the final voter turnout in the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, which have already concluded on April 19 and 26 respectively. According to the poll body, 66.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded in phase 1 and 66.71 per cent polling has been registered in phase 2.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday warned that if the BJP returns to power at the Centre, it will "tear apart" and "throw away" the Constitution which granted rights to the poor, Dalits, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, Gandhi, while holding a copy of the Constitution, said the ongoing Lok Sabha poll is not a normal political event, but a fight between two ideologies. The Congress's star campaigner noted that only rich people and celebrities, and not poor labourers or farmers, were present during the January 22 idol consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Samajik Nyay Navlok Party and the Gondwana Gantantra Party on Tuesday announced their support to the BJP, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit said. In a statement, the BJP said the two parties declared their support in the presence of state BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and state Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh.

Former Bihar MP Rama Kishore Singh on Tuesday announced his resignation from the RJD and vowed to work "against" the party of which his wife was a sitting MLA. Talking to reporters, Singh also dismissed suggestions that he was taking the step since the party denied him a ticket from Vaishali, a seat he had won in 2014 when he contested as an LJP candidate.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Enforcement Directorate on the timing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The apex court sought a reply from the central probe agency over the arrest of the Delhi Chief Minister.

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the "bhatakti aatma" jibe, saying his soul is "asvastha" for the cause of farmers and the common man, and ready to be restless "100 times" to highlight their plight. “There is a ‘bhatakti atma’ (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others’ good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it,” Modi had said at a rally on Monday, hitting out at Sharad Pawar without taking his name.

Bihar CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar conducted a roadshow in Madhepura, in support of party MP and candidate from the constituency, Dinesh Chandra Yadav.

According to the sources, Deepa Kaul's son Ashish Kaul might be a Congress candidate from the Rae Bareli constituency. 

The Congress on Tuesday appointed former MLA Devender Yadav as interim president of its Delhi unit, two days after Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned from the post while criticising the alliance with AAP and statements of the party's candidates in the national capital. Yadav, who won from the Badli assembly constituency in Delhi in 2008 and 2013 and lost to Ajesh Yadav of AAP in 2015, is currently the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) Punjab in-charge. "My heartfelt thanks to Sh Kharge ji, Smt Sonia Gandhi ji, Rahul Gandhi ji, KC Venugopal ji and Smt Priyanka Gandhi ji and all senior leaders of the Congress, for the faith they have bestowed in me yet again!" Yadav said in a post on X.

 Addressing a public rally in Latur, PM Narendra Modi targeted the Congress-led UPA government over terrorism. "...Before 2014 there would be announcements warning of unattended objects... In the whole country, 24 hours a day, such warnings were issued in important places... Where did these unattended objects disappear after Modi became Prime Minister?... Newspapers had headlines informing about bomb blasts every other day, but today India can protect its borders well," he said.

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, Piyush Goyal filed his nomination for the upcoming the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

West Bengal's Basirhat Lok Sabha seat BJP candidate Rekha Patra, who is the face of Sandeshkhali protests, today alleged that she was heckled by TMC workers during campaigning. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, dismissed the allegations and charged the BJP with assaulting supporters of the ruling party in the state. The alleged incident took place in the afternoon when BJP activists were campaigning in Kharidanga panchayat area in Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, of which Sandeskhali is also a part.  "When we were campaigning when all of a sudden, TMC activists attacked us. They pushed me and hit other party workers," Patra told reporters.

Weighing in on the controversy around an alleged fake video, purportedly showing Union Home Minister Amit Shah as claiming that the BJP stands against reservations, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav came down heavily on the Congress today, saying it has a history of instilling 'fear' in people's minds for the sake of votes. "The Congress has a history of instilling fear in people's minds through unfounded claims for the sake of votes. On the issue of reservation, too, the Congress is treading the same line. It was the Congress that brought amendments to our Constitution (countering the Opposition claim that the BJP-led NDA would ring in changes to the Constitution if elected for a third term). The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has worked to give reservation to the poor and the backward sections. We even moved the Supreme Court in the interest of reservations and social justice," he added. 

Former Punjab Police additional director general Gurinder Singh Dhillon on Tuesday joined the Congress in the presence of senior party leaders in Delhi. Dhillon, who recently opted for voluntary retirement from the Punjab Police, joined the Congress with his wife. He was welcomed into the party fold by Devendra Yadav, the AICC's Punjab in-charge.

A day after terming Sharad Pawar as a wandering soul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his attack on the NCP leader, saying he did not do much for farmers while being the Union agriculture minister. “When a big Maharashtra leader was Union agriculture minister, farmers used to make rounds of sugarcane commission for their arrears,” Modi said at a rally in Malshiras of Solapur district in Maharashtra. “There is a ‘bhatakti atma’ (wandering soul) in Maharashtra. If it does not manage success it spoils others’ good work. Maharashtra has been a victim of it,” Modi had said at a rally, hitting out at Sharad Pawar without taking his name.

Addressing a public gathering in Madha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a stable government takes care of the present while keeping in mind the needs of the future. "Today, we are making huge investments in railways, roadways and airways… Our annual budget for infrastructure projects is equal to Congress’ infra budget of 10 years," he added. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public gathering in Maharashtra's Madha today. Speaking at the event, he said 'People can now see the difference between 10 years of Modi and 60 years of Congress'. "Your love has become my strength. For the past 10 years, I have dedicated my life to serve you.  People can now see the difference between 10 years of Modi and 60 years of Congress...We have achieved in a decade what they could not achieve in six decades," he added. 

BJP's New Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Bansuri Swaraj filed her nomination today. Before this, he also held a roadshow in the national capital. Union Minister and party leader Hardeep Singh Puri was also present.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Congress is spreading misinformation that BJP will end reservation after crossing 400 seats. "These things are baseless and factless... I want to make it clear that the BJP is a supporter of reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs and will always play its role as protector... We will remove religion-based reservation as it is against the Constitution," he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that the BJP has crossed over 100 seats in the first two phases of elections. "After two phases of elections, based on our internal assessment we can say that BJP and its allies have crossed over 100 seats and we are confident that we are moving towards our resolve of '400 paar'...As per initial trends, BJP is getting good response in Southern India," he added. 

Amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a press conference in Assam's Guwahati today. He accused the opposition of spreading a false narrative on the 'BJP's 400 paar' slogan. 

In the upcoming third phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections, 29 per cent or 392 of the 1,352 candidates are 'crorepatis', with the average assets per candidate standing at a substantial Rs 5.66 crore, according to an analysis of details of candidates contesting the elections in the third phase by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and The National Election Watch.

Read the full story here

Congress candidate from Chandigarh seat Manish Tewari was seen going for a morning walk and greeting people as part of his election campaign. BJP has fielded Sanjay Tandon from this seat. Chandigarh will vote on June 1. 

The Congress alleged that the BJP wants "more than 400 seats" so that they can amend the Constitution and fulfil the decades-long "conspiracy" of the RSS to abolish reservation. The main opposition party said this is the first time that a political party's goal is not only to win an election but also to secure more than 400 seats. 
The Congress and the BJP have been sparring over the issue. While addressing the election rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been rebutting the Congress charge and saying even if "Babasaheb Ambedkar comes, the Constitution cannot be changed".

Only 9 per cent of the 1,352 candidates contesting in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections are women while 18 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves, the ADR said in a new report. Seven candidates have also declared prior convictions, according to an analysis of details of candidates contesting the elections in the third phase by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and The National Election Watch. The third phase of the elections will be held on May 7.

A total of 37 candidates are in the fray from Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra where a three-cornered contest is on the cards among two factions of Shiv Sena and the AIMIM. "44 candidates had submitted their nomination forms. On the last day of the withdrawal of nominations, seven candidates pulled out of the race," an election official said. Aurangabad constituency will vote on May 13 in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Repolling is underway in six polling stations in the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency today. The Election Commission of India had declared the polls conducted at six polling stations in the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency as void and announced fresh elections in these stations. Earlier, re-polling was held in 11 polling stations of the Inner Manipur constituency on April 22, after multiple incidents of violence were reported during the first phase of polling on April 19.