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Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday challenged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to contest against him from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency and if the BJP leader wins, he would retire from active politics.

Banerjee, who is considered the number two in the TMC, also said that Shah has two other options to make him retire from politics "If you want Abhishek Banerjee to leave active politics, then I would like you to fulfil any of the three options I am providing you today. You release the state's due of Rs 1,64,000 crore and I will retire within 24 hours. The second option is to release the funds of the PM Awas Yojana," Banerjee said at an election rally for TMC’s Mathurapur candidate Bapi Halder.

"The nomination for the Diamond Harbour constituency is yet to start. The third option: you (Shah) contest from here and defeat me. I will leave politics forever," the party’s national general secretary said. Responding to the BJP leader’s statement in Memari earlier in the day that TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee wants him to be the next chief minister of West Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee said everyone is not like him (Shah).

"You wish to make your son the BCCI president. Not all are like you. You have never been part of any agitation. You are a person who was jailed. We do not need to learn any moral values and ideology from you," Banerjee said.

The Union home minister’s son Jay Shah is the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). "You are in politics for your benefit. We do not do that. We are in politics to address the cause of the people," he said.

The Congress, CPI(M) and the TMC on Tuesday questioned the Election Commission over delays in announcing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls, 11 days after the first round of polling on April 19.

Voting for the general elections is being held in seven phases, the remaining are on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is essential for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to be timely and transparent about all election-related data, and it should come out with the figures and make them public.

"For the first time, even 11 days after the first phase of the polls and four days after the second phase, the final voter turnout has not been published by the ECI. In the past, ECI used to publish the final voter turnout immediately after voting or within 24 hours. Only approximate polling figures are available on ECI's website. What accounts for this delay," he asked in a post on X. Ramesh said that additionally, the number of registered voters in each Lok Sabha constituency and the assembly constituencies included in that Lok Sabha constituency is also not available on the commission's website.

The website only shows the total number of voters in a state and the number of voters in each booth, he said.

"It is essential for the Election Commission of India to be as timely and transparent about all election-related data," the Congress general secretary said.

Senior JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday engaged in a war of words over the alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.

Kumaraswamy, who is JD(S) second-in-command, accused Shivakumar of hatching the conspiracy of circulating the videos in public and then setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the matter. "Bringing out truth of the main accused is just one part of it. How the pen drive was circulated, and the 'great leader' (Shivakumar) who circulated it, for what reason it was circulated, for how many months the 'great leader' was aware of it. These are the questions," Kumaraswamy told reporters in Hubballi.

He attended the core-committee meeting of the JD(S) held in Hubballi which recommended the suspension of Prajwal Revanna from the party. Noting that his nephew will face the consequences if he has committed a mistake, the former chief minister said there was a need to discuss the ‘great leader’ (Shivakumar) who organised the protest against the JD(S) in Hubballi today.

Prajwal is the grandson of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and nephew of Kumaraswamy.

The Karnataka government has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) of IPS officers led by Additional Director General of Police B K Singh to probe the alleged sexual harassment to many women by Prajwal, who is said to be in Germany at present. Two days ago, an FIR was registered against Prajwal as well as his father Revanna at the Holenarasipura police station in Hassan district for sexually harassing their former cook.

Reacting to Kumaraswamy’s allegation, Shivakumar said the JD(S) first family has been remembering him for many years without which they do not get proper sleep. "Kumaraswamy had said in the television interview that the BJP high command had cautioned him that he (Prajwal) is not good and think before giving him a ticket. He also said giving ticket to Prajwal was his father Deve Gowda’s decision," claimed Shivakumar.

Terming the charges against Prajwal 'serious', the deputy chief minister said the matter here is women’s modesty. "The information I got is that nearly 200 to 300 families, their honour, their relatives, their women and daughters, JD(S) party workers and those whom they gave jobs, contractors…. I have not seen them all (videos) but people are saying this," Shivakumar said.

The deputy chief minister also took a dig at the BJP leaders for not speaking about Prajwal Revanna case. "This morning, Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave a statement asking people what the DCM is doing. He said there is no justice for women in Karnataka. You (Centre) sent a team of the National Commission for Women to Udupi when someone took photos (in a girls’ hostel), but why BJP leaders are not talking about it (Prajwal Revanna's case)?" he asked.

Senior Congress leader and sitting Madhya Pradesh MLA Ramniwas Rawat on Tuesday joined the BJP, in a fresh blow to the opposition party a day after its Indore Lok Sabha seat candidate withdrew his nomination.

Rawat (64) joined the saffron outfit in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at a rally in Sheopur district, the day when Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was in neighbouring Bhind to address an election gathering. Besides Rawat, Morena mayor Sharda Solanki also joined the BJP. Sheopur is part of the Morena Lok Sabha seat where polling will be held in the third-phase on May 7.

The CM, state BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma and former minister Narottam Mishra welcomed Rawat and other leaders into the BJP fold by offering them saffron 'angvastra' (scarf). Rawat, the sitting MLA from Vijaypur in Sheopur district, was considered close to Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh and served in the latter's cabinet when he was the Madhya Pradesh chief minister (1993 to 2003).

He resigned from the post of Madhya Pradesh Congress vice-president soon after the appointment of former minister Jitu Patwari as the party's state unit chief in December last year, a Congress leader said.

The veteran politician had been elected MLA from Vijaypur six times since 1990 except in 1998 and 2018. The Congress, which won just one seat in the 2019 polls, suffered a major blow on Monday when the party's nominee from Indore Lok Sabha constituency Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew his nomination and joined the BJP.

The opposition party saw large-scale desertions from its ranks in Madhya Pradesh in run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

Mumbai police have registered a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress' social media handle and 16 others for allegedly sharing a deepfake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, officials said on Tuesday.

In the fake video, BJP leader Shah is purportedly seen announcing the curtailment of reservation rights for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. Mumbai BJP functionary Pratik Karpe filed a complaint at the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station. The complainant claimed that the deepfake video deceitfully portrays Shah announcing the curtailment of reservation rights granted to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.

The original speech, from which the deepfake video was created, had different wordings and connotations. The complainant requested the police to take down the deepfake video and register a case against the accused persons for causing disruption, enmity, and hatred in different castes.

The case has been registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act at the BKC cyber police station. A probe is underway.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted his government has adopted a bold new approach on national security and believes in hitting terrorists by entering their homes instead of sending dossiers on them which was the practice under the Congress rule.

Addressing three election rallies on the trot for the second consecutive day in Maharashtra, the BJP's star campaigner once again targeted NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, and accused the Congress-led opposition of circulating artificial intelligence-powered fake videos on social media in its fight against the saffron party. He noted the BJP-led government's approach on tackling terror has seen a sea change to what was followed during the Congress regime.

Unlike the practice during the Congress rule of sending dossiers to Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the BJP-led government takes terrorists head on, Modi emphasised.

“During the Congress regime, the news headlines were about India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. It used to be big news. Some of our friends in the media used to clap after any such dossier was sent,” the PM said at an election rally in central Maharashtra’s Latur. “Today, India doesn’t send dossiers. 'Aaj Bharat ghar mein ghus ke marta hai' (Today, India enters homes of terrorists and hits them hard)," Modi said.

The BJP stalwart highlighted anti-terror operations undertaken by his government after assuming office in 2014 and added this approach marks the rise of a 'New Bharat'. “The headlines in Naya Bharat are: Mission LOC, India punishes Pakistan through surgical strikes,” Modi told the gathering.

The BJP leader claimed the INDIA bloc has come up with a "formula" whereby the parties in the opposition alliance will get the PM's post for one year each if they come to power."

“Some people want to make the PM in instalments. They have decided to have a PM each year,” he said.

BJP National President J P Nadda on Tuesday held a road show in Byadagi, supporting party candidate Basavaraj Bommai for Haveri Lok Sabha constituency.

Standing on a specially designed vehicle, he greeted and waved at crowds, chanting 'Modi, Modi' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogans.

People showered flower petals as his cavalcade passed through the stretch from Guttemma temple towards Subhash circle. Nadda was accompanied by former CM Bommai and Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka.

Samajwadi Party leader Maria Alam made an appeal for "vote jihad" to support the I.N.D.I.A bloc candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat, terming it as necessary in the current situation for the minority community to drive away the BJP government.

Alam, who is also the niece of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, stated that "vote jihad" is necessary for the minority community to drive away the BJP government.

Alam said, "Together do vote jihad — with intelligence, without being sentimental and with silence. As we can only do vote jihad to drive away this Sanghi government." "People say that the Constitution and democracy are under threat. But I say that insaniyat (humanity) is under threat...If you want to save the country, its beauty and 'ganga-jamuni' (composite) culture, then vote very intelligently without getting influenced by anyone," she stressed.

Alam's statement is doing rounds on social media, with Khurshid taking part as the chief guest in the public meeting.

Khurshid said generally he avoids using such words because its literal meaning is misinterpreted. "Jihad means to fight against a situation. Her intention must have been to carry out vote jihad to protect the Constitution," he said.

The BJP on Tuesday claimed that its performance in south India, a region where it has traditionally struggled outside Karnataka, will be historic and accused the Congress of running a campaign full of blatant lies and misinformation.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who contested against incumbent MP and Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, said that history will be made on June 4 when votes for the Lok Sabha polls are counted. Chandrasekhar claimed that the BJP has performed extremely strongly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and its overall tally from south India will be closer to 60 this time.

The region has a total of 131 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP having won 29, including 25 in Karnataka, of those in 2019. Meanwhile, polling in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are over.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday condemned the alleged sexual abuse of women involving Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna, asserting that the BJP will not tolerate any insult to women.

Revanna (33) is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26.

Earlier in the day, the JD(S) suspended Revanna from the party with immediate effect. “The issue regarding Revanna that has been reported in the media is very hurtful and cannot be tolerated in any way,” Shah told a press conference here.

“The BJP’s stand is very clear; we will not tolerate any insult to ‘matri aur nari shakti’ (women empowerment),” he asserted.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, were circulated in Hassan over the last few days. The home minister said Congress has been alleging that an NDA partner’s candidate is involved in the incident, “but I just want to ask a small question — whose government is there in that state (Karnataka)?”

“The Congress is in power in Karnataka, and this matter must have come to their attention. Why has it not taken any action on it so far? We cannot take any action as law and order is a state issue,” Shah said.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed 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, STs and the OBCs.

Addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, Gandhi, while holding a copy of the Constitution (book), said the ongoing Lok Sabha poll is not a normal election, but a fight between two ideologies. "The poor, STs, OBCs got several rights because of the Constitution which also gave the people MGNREGA, land rights, reservation, and other things. If the BJP comes to power, it will throw away and tear apart this Constitution," he claimed.

"The prime minister, Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) and their MPs have made up their mind that if they get elected, they will tear apart and throw this (Constitution) book. The BJP wants this book to be thrown away and 20-25 billionaires should run the country," the Wayanad MP further claimed. He also targeted the BJP government over the issue of reservation.

If the ruling dispensation is not against reservation, then why it is privatising PSUs, the Railways and other sectors, he asked.

Gandhi also said that if the Congress comes to power, it will make crores of women "lakhpati" through its Mahalaksmi Yojana. Under the scheme, the government will transfer Rs 1 lakh (Rs 8,500 per month) into the accounts of the women to make them "lakhpati", he said.

"If Prime Minister Narendra Modi can turn 22-25 industrialists into billionaires, then the Congress will turn crores of women into lakhpatis," Gandhi said.

The Congress has fielded MLA Phool Singh Baraiya from the Bhind Lok Sabha (SC-reserved) seat against BJP's sitting MP Sandhya Rai.

The Delhi High Court has directed the police to provide security to a transgender person, Rajan Singh, who is attempting to file a nomination for the Lok Sabha elections, stating that it is the duty of the State to safeguard and enforce rights guaranteed to transgender persons under the Constitution.

Singh, who is from the South Delhi Parliamentary Constituency, is seeking protection for his fundamental rights after a 'life-threatening attack' at his office in Badarpur. The court emphasised that Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equal protection of laws in all spheres of state activity, including participation in the election process. Any discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity violates this provision.

"Petition is disposed of with directions to DCP (South) to provide necessary security to the petitioner for filling up the nomination form from South Delhi Parliamentary Constituency. SHO concerned shall also share his mobile number with the petitioner for the aforesaid purpose," the court ordered.

Congress on Tuesday appointed Devender Yadav as the interim president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, following Arvinder Singh Lovely's resignation.

Lovely resigned after criticising the party's alliance with AAP and the statements of its candidates in the national capital. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed Yadav with immediate effect, and he will continue his role as AICC In-charge for Punjab, a statement issued by the party said.

In his resignation letter sent to the Congress president on Saturday, Lovely had said that he found himself "handicapped" as all unanimous decisions taken by senior Delhi unit leaders have been "unilaterally vetoed" by AICC Delhi in-charge Deepak Babaria.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President Y S Sharmila on Tuesday alleged that YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is playing to the tunes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is akin to being operated through a remote control.

The APCC chief made this assertion against Jagan, her elder brother, at Ravulapalem in Konaseema district as part of her electioneering tour across the state. "For the past five years, Jagan (Mohan Reddy) has become a remote control in the hands of Narendra Modi. He is doing whichever job Modi presses on that remote control," said Sharmila, addressing a press conference.

When riots happened in Manipur, Modi muted the remote control to make Jagan Mohan Reddy go silent, she said.

She made these remarks to rebut Jagan's recent claims that the Congress has become a remote control in the hands of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu. Sharmila, who is contesting from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency highlighted that she is fighting the election only because the YSRCP chief has fielded her cousin Y S Avinash Reddy from the same constituency.

The APCC president clarified that she would not have contested had somebody else been given the ticket as the Kadapa Lok Sabha candidate. Further, she claimed that Congress did not include the name of her father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in the various corruption cases and alleged that it was Jagan Mohan Reddy who got it added.

"This was an evil deed done by Jagan to escape (corruption) cases. He is the reason for this plot," she alleged, and called on the people of Andhra Pradesh to "think about it".

Further, she alleged that Jagan is allocating all the ports in the state to the Adani group.  The Communist Party of India (CPI), Congress and CPI (M) are INDIA bloc partners in Andhra Pradesh.

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat. He was accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

This is the first time that Goyal is contesting the Lok Sabha poll. He is currently the Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha.

Goyal claimed the Congress is a "failed" party without any leadership or policy. The Congress has not announced any candidate from the Mumbai North seat.

CM Shinde assured Goyal's victory, citing the state government's work in the last two years and the Narendra Modi-led dispensation at the Centre in the last decade.

The 'Mahayuti' ruling alliance, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP, is expected to win all six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, he added.

Ruling Biju Janata Dal president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Odisha assembly elections from Hinjili seat in Ganjam district.

Accompanied by ministers and party leaders including his close aide V K Pandian, the chief minister reached the sub-collector's office at Chhatrapur and submitted his papers for the sixth time seeking re-election from the Hinjili assembly segment. Patnaik has earlier been elected as a legislator from the Hinjili assembly segment five times in a row since 2000.

Hinjili comes under the Aska Lok Sabha seat and will go to polls on May 20.

Along with Hinjili, Patnaik, this time will also contest from the Kantabanji assembly segment in Bolangir district.

The BJP on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the JD(S) to suspend its MP Prajwal Revanna, asserting that it will push for the full might of law against the accused in the case of alleged sex scandal.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters that the BJP has zero tolerance towards crimes against women, while accusing the Congress of double standards and being selective on the issue. If the Congress government in Karnataka was aware of the case for weeks and months, then why did it not act so far against the accused, he asked.

The JD(S) on Tuesday suspended its Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna over the alleged sex scandal.

Police on Sunday booked Prajwal Revanna and his father, JD(S) MLA and former minister H D Revanna for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household. Chandrasekhar cited the Sandeshkhali case and the killing of Neha Hiremath, daughter of a Congress leader in Karnataka, and accused the party of seeking to selectively pick crimes and victims to speak on.

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. Dhillon said, "I have served my state for about two decades as a police officer. Today, I am here with the blessings of Rahul Gandhi ji."

"I met him during my two significant duties — the Punjab leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and when Rahul Gandhi ji visited the Golden Temple for 'seva (service)'," he added. Dhillon also expressed his gratitude to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders KC Venugopal, Yadav and other All India Congress Committee (AICC) members.

"I am thankful to the Congress members in Punjab who have warmly welcomed me. I will perform my duties towards the party in a dedicated manner," he also said.

A day after terming Sharad Pawar as a wandering soul, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday continued his attack on the NCP leader, saying he did not do much for farmer 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 on Monday, hitting out at Sharad Pawar without taking his name.

“This game was started by the same leader 45 years ago. It was just for his own ambition that Maharashtra has always been an unstable state. As a result, several chief ministers could not complete their full term,” Modi had said. At the Malshiras rally on Tuesday, Modi asked voters not to waste their vote by giving it to Congress and other opposition parties.

“Why waste your vote by giving it to those who are not contesting even the minimum number of seats needed for a simple majority in Lok Sabha,” he said. He asserted that when there is a strong government in the country, its focus is on the present as well as the future.

Modi said people are seeing the difference between his government’s 10 years and Congress rule of 60 years.

Congress leaders kept talking about eradicating poverty in every poll but would not do anything after that, he said. Modi said that in the last 10 years, his government was able to bring 25 crore people out of poverty and 80 crore are getting free ration.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged the Congress of spreading false information about the BJP's plans to change the constitution and end reservations if it returns to power for a third term.

“The Congress is spreading lies about the saffron party changing the constitution and ending reservations... We do not see voters as minority or majority; the BJP will win 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam,” he told a press conference here.

He criticised the Congress for practising "politics of appeasement since the very beginning”, and said it wants to save “the little of what is remaining of their support base”. “The BJP does not believe in reservations on the basis of religion... we are also in favour of implementing the Uniform Civil Code across the country and ensure that there is one law for people of all religions,” the home minister said.

Shah also condemned the Congress' promise to bring back the Muslim Personal Law mentioned in its manifesto.

Commenting on the “fake video” of Shah on reservations that was circulated on social media platforms, he said all kinds of methods were being employed by the opposition to misguide people.

RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya, who is contesting the elections from Saran Lok Sabha seat as a Mahagathbandhan nominee, has movable and immovable assets worth Rs 15.82 crore, according to the affidavit filed by her.

Meanwhile her husband has movable and immovable assets worth Rs 19.86 crore.

Acharya filed her nomination papers with her father, RJD supremo, and mother, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, along with her brother and party heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, former state minister Tej Pratap Yadav, and sister Misa Bharati. Saran will go to polls in the fifth phase on May 20.

Acharya has movable assets worth Rs 2.99 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 12.82 crore, while her husband has movable assets worth Rs 6.92 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 12.94 crore. She has Rs 20 lakh cash in hand, while her husband has 10 lakh cash. Acharya has five bank accounts and gold jewellery worth Rs 29.70 lakh and silver jewellery worth Rs. 3.85 lakh. Her husband has seven bank accounts and gold jewellery worth Rs 23.40 lakh and silver jewellery worth Rs 2.80 lakh. She also has a commercial property worth Rs 68.62 lakh in the state capital.

Acharya gained popularity for donating a kidney to her father and has been campaigning in Saran for the last few days. She is the fourth child of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi to join politics formally. She is pitted against former Union minister and BJP nominee Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran.

The Shiv Sena has nominated Ravindra Waikar as its candidate for the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, according to a party leader.

Waikar, an MLA from Jogeshwari in Mumbai, was previously a close associate of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray before joining the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Party secretary Sanjay More confirmed that Waikar has been nominated by the Shiv Sena for the Mumbai North West seat.

He will take on Amol Kirtikar of the Shiv Sena (UBT). In 2019, the BJP and its then ally Shiv Sena (undivided) won three seats each out of the total six in Mumbai.

The BJP has this time denied renomination to all its three sitting MPs in Mumbai.

Congress' Indore Lok Sabha candidate Akshay Bam was "threatened and tortured" following which he withdrew his nomination, the opposition party's Madhya Pradesh chief Jitu Patwari has claimed while targeting the BJP.

Bam withdrew his nomination on Monday, which was the last day for the process. "Three days ago, IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) was added to an old case against Bam. He was threatened. He was tortured in different ways for the whole night. And today he has withdrawn his nomination," Patwari alleged at a rally in Patwari on Monday.

Bam, his father Kantilal and others are accused in a case that was registered in October 2007. On April 5 this year, the victim filed an application in the court of the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) seeking adding of section 307 after alleging that one of the accused had fired on him.

The plea was accepted on April 24 and Bam and his father have been asked to appear in a sessions court on May 10. "What is the message in all this? Don't people from Indore have the right to use their vote? If you believe in democracy, please stand up against this dictatorship. This is not just about Congress and BJP. Anyone who wants to vote, and keep reservations and the Constitution strong must stand up," Patwari said.

"Democracy and the Constitution are under threat," he asserted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to speak at a campaign rally in Chilver Village, Medak district of Telangana today, according to BJP sources. This marks Modi's second visit to the state since the announcement of the election schedule last month.

Telangana holds significance for the BJP's electoral strategy, as the party aims to secure a significant number of seats in the southern states to meet its ambitious goal of 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier set a target of winning double digit seats out of the 17 in Telangana.

Shah will be campaigning on May 1 for the party’s Hyderabad contestant Madhavi Latha, who has been fielded against sitting MP Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM.

In another blow to Congress after the Surat fiasco, its Lok Sabha candidate from the Indore constituency, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination on Monday, ahead of the May 13 polling, amid indications that he is headed to the Bharatiya Janata Party camp.

After Bam opted out of the race, the Congress in Delhi said there was a “threat to democracy”.

Interestingly, the decision of Bam comes five days after a court in Indore had asked for adding a 307 (attempt to murder) charge in a 2007 case related to a land dispute against him, his father and others. The BJP marked its first victory in Lok Sabha polls last week from the Surat seat in Gujarat after the nomination form of the Congress’ candidate Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected over discrepancies and other contestants also opted out of the race, which ensured BJP nominee Mukesh Dalal getting a walkover.

Indore’s Collector Ashish Singh verified Bam's withdrawal of nomination, a process that was documented via videography to uphold transparency. Today was the last day of withdrawal of nominations.

“Three candidates, including Congress’ Bam, withdrew their nominations today as per the due procedure. The process has also been videographed,” Singh said. A photograph released by the BJP on social media captured Bam's presence alongside MP Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda, state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, and other prominent party figures, indicating his imminent move to the BJP camp.

“Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Indore Akshay Kanti Bam is welcome to the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party national president J P Nadda, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state President V D Sharma,” Vijayvargiya said.

Accompanied by local BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola, Bam formally withdrew his candidacy at the collector's office, opting not to engage with questions from the press on his way out. Mendola’s association with Vijayvargiya underscored the political dynamics at play, with the latter extending a warm invitation to Bam to join the BJP ranks under the leadership of top party figures.

Sources within the BJP confirmed Bam's intention to join their ranks, marking a strategic move on the last day for withdrawal of nominations in the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where elections are slated for May 13.

Delhi Police has summoned Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on May 1 for questioning in a case of a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah circulated on social media.

Notices have been issued to five members of the Telangana Congress, including its chief Reddy, who posted the video on X, sources said, adding that a team of Delhi Police's Special Cell handed over a notice to the Chief Minister's Office on Monday. They have been asked to appear with their mobile phones, laptops, tablets or any other electronic device through which they have created, uploaded and tweeted the video on their X accounts, the sources said.

Addressing a Congress rally at Sedam in Karnataka,Reddy said "no one here is afraid" of such notices and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now using Delhi Police to win elections. On Monday, the BJP also lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the Congress, alleging that it circulated the “deep fake and morphed” video of Shah to derail the poll process and demanded strict action against the party.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had on Sunday registered an FIR after the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, filed a complaint about the doctored video of Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious ground in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating scrapping of all reservations.

One Reetam Singh was arrested on Monday for allegedly sharing a “fake video” of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

The arrested person, 31-year-old Reetom Singh, is associated with the Assam Congress and functions as the party's 'War Room Coordinator', according to his X profile.

The Guwahati resident's arrest was made on a day when Shah is in the state capital to campaign for BJP candidate for Guwahati Lok Sabha seat - Bijuli Kalita Medhi. A Congress spokesperson said the party is not aware of any fake video and “it must have been shared in his personal capacity”.

Later, Assam Police Chief Public Relations Officer Pranabjyoti Goswami said in a statement that a case was registered at Panbazar police station based on a complaint regarding the circulation of a “distorted and motivated” post on X about Shah.

He said police have seized two mobile phones and one laptop from Singh's possession. “Further investigation is being carried out,” the CPRO said.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jamnagar Lok Sabha candidate Poonam Maadam is the richest in the poll fray in Gujarat with assets of Rs 147 crore, as per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

At the other end of the list is Bahujan Samaj Party's Rekha Chaudhari, contesting from Bardoli (Scheduled Tribe) seat, who has declared assets of just Rs 2,000.

Of the 266 candidates fighting on 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state, 'crorepatis' stand at 68, or 26% of the total, the ADR said on Monday. Mukesh Dalal, the BJP candidate who won unopposed from Surat, has assets of more than Rs 17 crore, said ADR, an apolitical and non profit organisation working on electoral and political reforms.

Maadam, who is seeking re-election from the seat, has seen her declared assets rise from Rs 42.7 crore in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to Rs 147 crore in 2024, comprising movable assets of Rs 60 crore and immovable properties of Rs 87 crore. 

These include assets of her own, her spouse and those of Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). Among the Union ministers contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Gujarat, Parshottam Rupala has declared assets of more than Rs 17 crore, of which Rs 11.5 crore is movable and Rs 5.9 crore immovable, as per ADR.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has declared total assets of more than Rs 7 crore, including Rs 3 crore movable and Rs 4.95 crore immovable ones.

Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil, who is seeking re-election from Navsari, has declared assets of over Rs 39 crore. Among Congress candidates, Bharat Makwana from Ahmedabad (West), a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, is the richest with assets of over Rs 25 crore.

The BJP leads with 24 'crorepati' candidates, followed by 21 from the Congress, and four belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party.

As per details shared by ADR, 19 out of 266 candidates are women. Out of 266 candidates, 16 are in the age group of 25-30, while 61 are in the 31-40 segment, 88 between 41-50 years, 60 in the 51-60 bracket, 35 are between 61 and 70, and six are above 70.

Only 9% of the 1,352 candidates contesting in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections are women while 18% 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. Among the 244 candidates with criminal records, five face charges related to murder while 24 have been booked in cases of attempted murder.

Additionally, 38 candidates have been linked to crimes against women and 17 declared cases related to hate speech.

The analysis, based on the self-sworn affidavits of the 1,352 candidates, has shed light on trends in criminality and wealth accumulation among political aspirants. The prevalence of criminal cases varies significantly across major political parties, with figures highlighting concerning trends among candidates from prominent parties such as the the BJP, Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

The report also highlighted the disparity in the candidates' financial backgrounds.

It disclosed that 29% or 392 candidates are "crorepatis", with the average assets per candidate standing at a substantial Rs 5.66 crore. The top three candidates in terms of declared assets possess wealth ranging into hundreds of crores, with the highest declared assets surpassing Rs 1,361 crore.

Since filing of the nominations and the affidavits, the Congress nominee from Indore has withdrawn his candidature.

The analysis also delves into the educational and demographic backgrounds of the candidates. The report indicates that 47% or 639 candidates have educational qualifications from classes 5 to 12 while 44% or 591 are graduates or possess higher educational qualifications.

Agewise, 30% or 411 candidates fall within the 25-40 years bracket while 53% or 712 are aged between 41 and 60.

The report also highlights gender disparity in candidate selection with only 9% or 123 women contesting the elections in the third phase. In response to these findings, the ADR has proposed stringent measures to address the criminalisation of politics, including permanent disqualification of candidates convicted of heinous crimes and cancellation of tax exemptions for political parties fielding "tainted" candidates.

The report underscored the pressing need for accountability and transparency within India's political landscape, emphasising the importance of electoral reforms to uphold the integrity of the democratic process.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Y S Sharmila on Monday alleged that YSRCP President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP head N Chandrababu Naidu are stooges of the BJP.

Sharmila made the allegation at Kakinada during a public meeting as part of her election campaign for the May 13 simultaneous polls for the 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state. “The state did not witness even a single step forward in the past 10 years. No benefit with Babu (Naidu) and Jagan. Both are hand in glove with the BJP. One is in alliance and other is a stooge,” alleged Sharmila.

According to Sharmila, BJP has dealt an irrecoverable blow to the southern state. She said the saffron party promised 10 years’ special category status to Andhra Pradesh but cheated it. Further, the APCC president alleged that BJP has neglected the Polavaram Project and added that despite these realities, Naidu and Reddy are tagging along with the saffron party.

She claimed that “only Congress can develop” Andhra Pradesh and also vowed to accord 10 years' special category status if the INDIA bloc is voted to power.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took potshots at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, saying the leader who had called himself an "accidental Hindu" should talk about great Hindu kings and the destruction of temples in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura by Mughal emperors.

On the Congress's objection over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Adityanath said it is an issue of humanity and alleged that the opposition party's protest is due to "pressure" from "radical elements". Gandhi makes "baseless" comments because he does not have proper knowledge of India's history and geography, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader told reporters in Lucknow.

"Rahul Gandhi remains in discussion because of his baseless comments," he said.

"The one who had called himself an accidental Hindu will sound funny if he talks about India's history and culture," Adityanath added, taking a dig at the former Congress chief. While delivering speeches, Gandhi should have mentioned great Hindu rulers, such as Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Maharaja Bhoj, Prithviraj Chauhan, Chhatrapati Shivaji and Jhansi ki Rani, among others, who contributed in the making of India, he said.

Adityanath further claimed that Gandhi has forgotten about the "atrocities" committed by Mughal emperors in the medieval period. "He should have said who was responsible for destroying temples in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura," the chief minister said, adding that the Congress leader should also make references to those responsible for causing destruction in the Nalanda and Takshila universities in the past.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi abuses the Gandhi family because he does not have any achievements to his credit.

Congress is leading in the two phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, which has worried Modi, Kharge said during a public meeting in this town in Yadgir district. Kharge's son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kalaburagi, which is going to polls on May seven.

Gurmitkal is part of this constituency.

"Everyone knows what was there before and after Modi's birth in this country but he still abuses Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lalbahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and me because he has nothing to his credit", he said. "Modi says out of frustration that Congress is taking away everyone's property and distributing it among Muslims. This is neither written in the Constitution nor mentioned in our manifesto anywhere," the 81-year-old said.

He explained that Congress has only said that it will give to the poor whatever is due for them but "never spoke about Hindu-Muslim".

The BJP on Monday claimed that it is the Congress and its allies which intends to change the Constitution to give reservation to Muslims on religious grounds, as the ruling party accused them of misleading Dalits and other disadvantaged Hindu groups against the Modi government.

BJP MP Brij Lal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated time and again that no one can change the Constitution, as envisaged by Bhimrao Ambedkar. The former IPS officer, who comes from the Scheduled Castes, told reporters that it is the Congress which has amended the Constitution the most number of times and even suspended its provisions to impose the Emergency in 1975.

The Congress and its allies are spreading this narrative to mislead people, especially Dalits, that the BJP will end reservation, Brij Lal said, speaking on an issue over which the two main contenders for power have been targeting each other during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Brij Lal, who headed the parliamentary panel that scrutinised the three criminal laws later passed by Parliament, cited comments of Jawahar Lal Nehru to claim that the first prime minister was not a votary of reservation and added that Rajiv Gandhi had argued that the Constitution can be changed if needed.

It is the Congress that provided reservation to Muslims in undivided Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on religious grounds, in violation of the Constitution, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Opposition “I.N.D.I alliance” wants to give the PM’s post to its leaders for a year each, and asked the people if they support such an idea.

“There is a great war going on about who will be the leader of the I.N.D.I alliance. Can you hand over such a big country to someone whose face is not known,” Modi said, addressing an election rally in Solapur. Modi claimed that if the I.N.D.I alliance comes to power, it will work with the “one year, one PM” formula during its five-year term.

“These people have been dividing the country to grab power. Now a new formula has been brought in, that of five prime ministers in five years. One PM every year,” he said.

“While you have seen each and every aspect of Modi in the last 10 years, there is war on who will be the leader of I.N.D.I alliance,” he said.

Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani on Monday filed nomination papers from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

Accompanied by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and other leaders, Irani held a road show from the BJP office in Gauriganj before filing her papers.

The road show was stopped about 200 metres before the collectorate as per the orders of the district magistrate. Uttar Pradesh minister Mayankashwar Sharan Singh and Irani's husband Zubin Irani also participated in the road show. Irani had won the seat, regarded as the stronghold of the Gandhi family, by defeating Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019.

The Congress has not yet announced its candidate from the seat, though partymen here believe that Rahul Gandhi will contest from the seat again.

Amethi is scheduled to go to polls in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on May 20.

Jailed Jharkhand ex-CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana on Monday filed her nomination as the JMM candidate from Gandey Assembly seat in the state.

The seat was vacant after the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad. Bypoll to the seat is scheduled on May 20 along with the parliamentary elections in the state. Kalpana, 48, a homemaker with MTech and MBA qualifications, completed her school education from Baripada in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district and obtained her engineering and MBA degrees from separate institutions in Bhubaneswar.

She began her political journey at the 51st foundation day celebration of the JMM in Giridih district on March 4, claiming a conspiracy had been orchestrated by Opponents since the coalition government came to power in 2019.

Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Monday filed nomination from the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth and Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami to the collectorate.

Singh is seeking a third term in Lucknow.Polling in Lucknow will begin in the fifth phase on May 20.

A BJP MLA in Tripura was served notice by the District Election Officer for allegedly manhandling a polling officer during voting for Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency while an FIR has been lodged against BJP district unit president for reportedly assaulting a presiding officer on April 26, an official said on Monday.

BJP MLA of Bagabassa Assembly constituency Yadav Lal Nath was served a notice by the District Election Officer (DEO) on April 28 for allegedly manhandling a booth level officer (BLO) at a polling booth in North Tripura district, the official said. The BJP MLA and his associates had entered the booth under Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency and allegedly manhandled BLO Chinmoy Das during polling on April 26, he said.

Based on the allegation, the District Election Officer, Debapriya Bardhan issued a notice to MLA Yadav Lal Nath asking him to explain why he barged into the booth by flouting the ECI guidelines and manhandled the BLO, said the official.

An FIR has been lodged against BJP’s North Tripura district president Kajal Das and his followers for allegedly thrashing a presiding officer at the same booth during polling on April 26. “A good number of voters were seen scattered in front of the booth under the Bagbassa Assembly segment around 5 pm. The presiding officer asked the voters to line up and collect tokens so that they could vote after 5 pm. By this time, BJP North Tripura district president Kajal Das accompanied by his followers came to the scene and allegedly forced the presiding officer out of the booth and thrashed him,” said the official.

“An FIR has been lodged against the attackers including Kajal Das for assaulting a presiding officer. Accordingly, a notice was issued to the accused person by the authority of Kadamtala police station. An investigation was underway,” said the officer.

Unlike other political parties, winning or losing elections does not matter to the Mera Adhikaar Rashtriya Dal (MARD), which has jumped into the electoral battle to be the voice of the ‘mard’ and to defend men’s honour.

MARD has lost deposits on all seats it has contested so far since it was formed in 2018 but its leaders say they are undeterred by elections losses. The party has released its ‘MANifesto’ for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls with the slogan "Beton ke samman me, ‘mard’ utre maidan me" (In honour of sons, men have stepped on to the battleground).

The party has so far announced candidates for three seats - Lucknow, Ranchi and Gorakhpur. The MARD party has previously contested in seven different elections – Lok Sabha polls in Varanasi and Lucknow in 2019, bypoll in Bangarmau assembly seat in 2020, assembly polls in Bareilly, Lucknow North, Bakshi Ka Talab (Lucknow) and Chauri Chaura seats in 2022.

"We have jumped into the fray in honour of men, to raise the voice for those who are harassed and exploited in the name of women’s security. Winning and losing does not matter to us," MARD party national general secretary Ashutosh Kumar Pandey said.

When asked about the fate of his party candidates contesting polls this time, he candidly accepts, "This time too, they can lose their deposits." "We don't have a lot of resources and we also do not take donations. Our candidates contest on their own expenses. The benefit of contesting the polls is that now more parties are coming to raise the issues of men," Pandey said.

Kapil Mohan, the party’s national president, said men are "suppressed" in a bid to "empower half the population”. The party wants to highlight this issue so that people pay attention to it, he said.

In the party ‘MANifesto’, the party has promised that a separate Men's Welfare Ministry and National Men's Commission will be created so that before any policy or law is formulated, the point of view of men is taken into account. "It will help in formulating schemes keeping in mind the health, security and honour of men," Pandey added.

The party has also promised a Men's Security Bill to save men from exploitation by “laws made for women”.

To ensure that men's side is heard, Pandey said the party has promised for a "Men power line" on lines of Women power line – a helpline which provides immediate assistance to women in cases of harassment, stalking, etc. The party has also promised to promote self-reliance of women so that men are not “harassed in the name of alimony”, Pandey said.

Pandey claimed over 200 men commit suicide every day “as they are not heard properly” by anyone. People will be more aware about men's rights slowly and that was their objective, he said.

The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking inspiration from Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels while speaking about the party's Nyay Patra for the Lok Sabha elections.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "For his MA in Entire Political Science, Mr. Narendra Modi must definitely have read Joseph Goebbels on the value of propaganda and taken inspiration from him." He noted that Goebbels had stated that "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Ramesh said he also wrote in 1941 that "The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big and stick to it."

Goebbels was the propaganda minister of German ruler Adolf Hitler. "In his latest interview to a TV channel, which is being headlined, the outgoing PM has yet again blatantly, brazenly and shamelessly lied about the Congress's Nyay Patra. It once again proves that Mr.Modi's motto has always been 'Asatyameva Jayate.' Truth is slaughtered every time he speaks," the Congress leader alleged.

The nomination process for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 25 in which 57 constituencies, including seven from Delhi, will go to polls commenced on Monday.

The Election Commission issued a notification on behalf of the President starting the nomination process. May 9 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature.

Besides Delhi, elections in this phase will be held in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal. So far, two phases of Lok Sabha elections have been completed.

Re-polling will take place on April 30 at six booths of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency that had voted in the second phase, the Election Commission announced on Saturday after reports of EVM destruction.

The Hindu had reported that amid polling on Friday, unidentified miscreants damaged EVMs in the Ukhrul, Chingai and Kharong Assembly segments. Allegations of voter intimidation had also come up at some polling stations in Ukhrul. “The security forces are standing there mutely as our democracy is hijacked,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said in a post. “These are the most important elections of our lifetime.”

This would be the second round of re-polling in the state after re-elections were also held on April 22 at 11 polling stations in the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency where incidents of vandalism and booth capturing were reported in the first phase. 

Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday said that the AAP is sure that the Supreme Court will allow Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear today, a plea by Kejriwal challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam. Kejriwal presented his side before the Supreme Court through an affidavit. The AAP Leader said that in his affidavit, Kejriwal has referred to the ED and CBI and said that the job of the investigating agencies is to present the truth before the court.

He said Kejriwal is the "most vocal voice of the opposition" and had he been out of jail, he would have campaigned for all the parties of the INDIA bloc.

"We are sure that to save democracy in this country and to protect the election system, the Supreme Court will definitely allow Arvind Kejriwal to campaign," he added.

A group of Congress workers on Sunday held a protest near the office of party’s North East Delhi’s candidate for Lok Sabha polls Kanhaiya Kumar, demanding a local person to be nominated from the seat. The protest was held near the Maujpur metro station.

Navdeep Sharma, one of the protesters, said they want a local candidate from the seat. "We want our own candidate or leader to fight, otherwise, we should have a meeting so that we can express our feelings with the high command. We need a local candidate from among us; we don't want an outsider. Our dissatisfaction is not with anyone; we don't have any problem with anyone,” Sharma told PTI.

He added if there is an outsider candidate, their local politics will be neglected. Another protester said that they had raised objections earlier, but their voices were allegedly not heard, so now they have taken to the streets as they don't like Kanhaiya Kumar.

Candidates like Arvinder Singh Lovely, Sandeep Dikshit etc should be given the ticket because they understand the local problems, he said.

When asked about the development, Kumar said, “I don’t know. I don’t have any information. Let me gather information from the party and then I will tell you.”

The AAP on Sunday claimed the Election Commission has "banned" its Lok Sabha campaign song "Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se Denge", but officials of the Delhi poll body said AAP was asked to modify the contents of the song since it violated EC's guidelines and advertising codes.

The over two-minute campaign song, penned and sung by AAP MLA Dilip Pandey, was released at the party headquarters on Thursday. In a statement, the Delhi Chief Electoral Office said the Media Pre Certification Committee headed by Delhi's joint chief electoral officer made certain observations about the advertisement in line with guidelines of the Election Commission. The statement added the party can file an appeal before the state-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee.

Earlier, the Delhi poll panel said certain images and phrases are "slanderous" remarks and "criticism of the ruling party on the basis of unverified facts" and also cast aspersions on the judiciary and police. Addressing a press conference, AAP senior leader Atishi accused the Election Commission of becoming a "political weapon of the BJP" and turning a blind eye to its violations.

She also asserted that the campaign song does not mention the BJP and does not violate the Model Code of Conduct.

The surprise elevation of Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar — a close confidant of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif — as the deputy prime minister was in reality “pre-planned”.

The 73-year-old a chartered accountant and a veteran politician from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, was appointed as deputy prime minister by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday “with immediate effect and until further orders”. Shehbaz Sharif and Dar are currently in Saudi Arabia for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) special meeting.

According to the ‘Dawn’ newspaper, Dar's new appointment "took many by surprise, but drew hardly any criticism from its allies".

Dar being “awarded” the “rarely filled” slot of deputy prime minister has raised many questions, the report said. The main talking point is that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif wants to have his “confidant” in a key position in the federal cabinet to “compensate him for the loss of the finance portfolio”, it said.

The move was also seen in the context of Nawaz Sharif taking over the reins of the ruling PML-N party as its president, a position he had lost following his conviction in the Panama Papers case, the report said.

Dar is considered close to Nawaz Sharif due to matrimonial links between the two families, as his son is the son-in-law of the elder Sharif. An insider claimed that the move to appoint Dar as deputy prime minister was “pre-planned”, the report said. At the time of the formation of the coalition government, it was decided that Dar would become the Deputy Prime Minister.

However, according to a 'Geo News' report, the appointment of a four-time finance minister as foreign minister suggested a ramped-up role for economics in the nation's diplomacy as the cash-strapped country tries to secure another International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deal and shore up external financing from foreign capitals. Dar served as finance minister from 1998 to 1999, then from March to May 2008. He again led the finance ministry from 2013 to 2017 and then from 2022 to 2023. 

He has also served the country as minister for industry and investment from February 1997 to July 1997 as well as commerce from December 1997 to October 1999.

According to the ‘Dawn’ report, when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister, Dar was acting as the de facto deputy prime minister, heading dozens of government and parliamentary committees as its chairperson.  Although there is no provision for a deputy prime minister in the Constitution, Dar is the second lawmaker to hold the post.

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi served as Deputy Prime Minister when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was in power from June 25, 2012, to June 29, 2013. 

His role at that time was mostly symbolic as he was rewarded by then-President Asif Ali Zardari for supporting the PPP-led government. Elahi is currently president of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and is in jail due to allegations of corruption.

Interestingly, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the main ally of the PML-N-led government, did not raise any objection to Dar's new appointment. 

PPP Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi said his party had no objections to the appointment of Dar as the deputy premier.  Meanwhile, Khan’s PTI on Monday reacted strongly to Dar’s appointment as the deputy prime minister.

“The Sharif family is distributing important national posts among themselves,” Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister For Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said.

Reacting to Dar’s appointment, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob termed the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government's move “an extra-constitutional step that carries no substantial value”.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti asked the voters of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday to register their unhappiness over the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution through their votes in the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

Addressing a roadside meeting in the Larkipora area of Anantnag district, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said, “This is not an Assembly election. This is not about whether the PDP, the National Conference or the Congress will win. This election is about sending a message that the decisions taken in 2019 and what followed are not acceptable to the people.” The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370, which gave special rights to Jammu and Kashmir, in August 2019 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into Union territories.

Mufti said Jammu and Kashmir has been through very tough times in the past and the present situation is also a difficult one.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have witnessed tough times in the past. Those did not last and neither will this (situation), but only if we fight it together through peaceful and democratic ways,” she said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday warned that a victory of the Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, “even by mistake”, will lead to a scramble among top leaders of the alliance for the Prime Minister’s post.

Addressing a rally in Jhanharpur Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar, Shah claimed that leaders like M K Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad and Mamata Banerjee may agree to a year each of premiership, by turns, and “Rahul baba (Rahul Gandhi) will have to settle for whatever is left of the tenure”. In contrast, he said, “a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead to elimination of corruption from the entire country, including Bihar, and eradication of casteism in the state”. “Modi’s return to power is certain. But, suppose, even by mistake, if the I.N.D.I.A alliance comes to power, what will happen? Who will be the Prime Minister? Will it be Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee or Rahul Gandhi? They will all settle for sharing the top post for a year each. Is it how the country can be run?” Shah said. India wants a “mazboot” (strong) PM, not a “majboor” (weak) Prime Minister, the senior BJP leader asserted.

Slamming Gandhi for his “new-found concern for OBCs”, the home minister said “the Congress party has always been against the Other Backward Classes. It had opposed the Mandal Commission. Modi has emerged from among the OBCs and the community has been empowered during his tenure as never before”.

Attacking the Modi government over key issues in Karnataka, the Congress on Monday questioned the “delay” in the vital Bagalkote-Kudachi Railway line project and also asked when it is going to pay the state’s MGNREGS workers their wages.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rally in Bagalkote in Karnataka. “Why has the Modi Government failed to deliver the Bagalkote-Kudachi Railway line? Why is the Modi Government holding up the Upper Bhadra and Mahadayi projects? When will the PM pay Karnataka’s MGNREGA workers?” Ramesh said in a post on X.

Elaborating on what he said were “jumla details”, Ramesh said the Bagalkote-Kudachi line of the South-Western Railway has now been delayed by more than eight years. As of today, only 33%, or 46 km of the 142 km line has been completed, he said.

“Originally sanctioned in 2010-11 at an outlay of Rs 986 crore, the project has now seen its cost balloon to Rs 1,649 crore. Originally supposed to be completed in March 2016, the project is now slated for completion in 2027,” Ramesh claimed.

Despite the Karnataka government providing the land for the project free of cost, and contributing 50% of the construction cost, the Modi government has “failed” to deliver on this project, he said. “Why is this vital rail project facing an 11 year delay? Is it attributable to the Modi Sarkar’s incompetence or to its anti-Karnataka tendencies?” Ramesh said.

He further said that in last year’s Union Budget, the Modi government had proudly announced a 5,300 crore grant for the Upper Bhadra Project but more than a year later, state Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has revealed that not a “single paisa” of this grant has been released.

“During his Assembly election campaign, PM Modi had also claimed to resolve long-standing issues with the Mahadayi-Kalasa Banduri Nala Project. Yet, earlier this year, clearance for the project has been deferred by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change,” Ramesh said.

Repolling is underway at one polling station in Indiganatha village of Hanur, which falls under Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka on Monday, amid elaborate security arrangements.

Polling began at 7 am and will end by 6 pm. The repolling was ordered by the Election Commission following reports that electronic voting machines were damaged at the polling booth in Indiganatha village in Chamarajanagara district on April 26 during a clash between two groups of people over whether to vote or not in the Lok Sabha elections.

According to the district administration, the villagers had earlier decided to boycott the polls citing lack of adequate infrastructure development. However, after assurances and efforts by the local officials, polling was underway. As per preliminary information, one of the groups wanted to vote while the other was keen to boycott, leading to clashes between them during which they damaged EVMs, and also indulged in stone-pelting, the officials said.

In a letter addressed to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, the EC had stated that based on the reports submitted by the Returning Officer and General Observer for Chamrajnagar Constituency and after taking all material circumstances into account, it declared that polling held at polling station number 146 under the Hanur Assembly Constituency on Friday was void.