Election

Bhojpuri singer and actor Pawan Singh, who had earlier refused BJP’s offer to contest the Lok Sabha election as the party’s nominee in West Bengal, on Thursday filed his nomination papers as an independent in his home state Bihar.

Singh filed his papers from the Karakat Lok Sabha seat, where former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Morcha is likely to be fielded as the NDA nominee. Previously nominated by the saffron party from Asansol in West Bengal, Singh withdrew amidst controversy over some of his songs that disparaged women.

BJP sources refrained from commenting on the singer-turned-politician's decision to contest independently, although he was believed to have lobbied with opposition parties like the RJD for a ticket.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on Thursday that the Lok Sabha election is gradually slipping out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hands.

In a video message, the former Congress chief urged young people not to get distracted by the Prime Minister's propaganda.

He said unemployment is the biggest issue in the country right now and pointed out that Modi had promised that he would give employment to two crore youngsters. "He told a lie and he did note ban, implemented a wrong GST (Goods and Services Tax) and worked entirely for people like (industrialist Gautam) Adani.

“We are bringing the Bharti Bharosa scheme. On June 4, the I.N.D.I.A government is going to be formed and by August 15, we would start the work to give jobs to 30 lakh youngsters through the Bharti Bharosa scheme,” Gandhi said in his video message.

The Congress’ West Bengal president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday defended Sam Pitroda’s “racist” comment by stating that “India too has dark-skinned people akin to the N****es”.

The senior Congress leader and party's nominee from Baharampur Lok Sabha seat resonated with Pitroda who stirred a controversy by comparing people of south and east Indian origin to Africans and Chinese respectively. “According to the topography of our country, our regional features differ. In our Hindustan, we have Proto-Australian class, N***o class, Mongoloid class. I don't need to speak much on personal opinions,” Chowdhury said at the party office.

“That’s what we are taught in schools. Not everyone looks alike. Some are black, others are white,” the Congress leader said.

The controversy that followed Pitroda’s comment in the wake of the ongoing general elections drove the leader to quit as the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress.

The Congress on Thursday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use his investigating agencies like the CBI and the ED to probe the charges he has levelled against businessmen Ambani and Adani that they were distributing sacks full of black money in tempos.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed that the Prime Minister was never seen so weak and desperate that he ended up making great revelations about corruption in the country and exposing his own friends. She was referring to the charge on Wednesday made by Prime Minister who, for the first time during Lok Sabha poll campaign, accused the Congress of having a “deal” with “Ambani and Adani”, and asked if the party has received "tempo loads of black money" from the two industrialists for its leader Rahul Gandhi to stop "abusing" them.

Shrinate pointed out that Rahul Gandhi has been saying the same thing for the last 10 years that the big businessmen possessed black money but the Prime Minister was not taking action against them. “Now that it has been revealed then what is there to fear from? Get it investigated… Get raids conducted at your friends' places. The irony is that the Prime Minister is making allegations but the investigating agencies and the media are stunned. Don't be afraid... Get it checked. We will support you,” she told reporters.

Several Congress leaders put out video messages on their social media handles asking when will Prime Minister Modi order investigation against Adani and Ambani after his big allegation.

A man has been detained for alleged bogus voting after he live-streamed from inside a poll booth in the Dahod Lok Sabha constituency, officials said.

The Congress has claimed that the man, Vijay Bhabhor, is the son of a local BJP leader and accused him of “insulting democracy” by going live on Instagram from the booth.

The police in the state’s Mahisagar district detained Bhabhor and another man after the Opposition complained to the Election Commission with a copy of the video.  Though Bhabhor deleted the video after it drew criticism, the clip had surfaced online by then.

The incident of a man relaying a video live on Instagram after going to a poll booth to cast his vote is being probed, Dahod Returning Officer Nirgude Babanrao said.

BJP candidate from the Faridkot Lok Sabha seat in Punjab Hans Raj Hans on Thursday declared his total assets worth Rs 16.33 crore, according to his poll affidavit.

The BJP nominee, who is the sitting MP from the North West Delhi seat, owns four cars - Toyota Innova, Toyota Vellfire Hybrid, Ford Endeavour and Maruti Gypsy - worth Rs 1 crore. His wife also owns a car.

Hans filed his nomination papers from the Faridkot (reserve) constituency. According to his affidavit, the 62-year-old singer-politician has declared his moveable and immovable assets including those of his wife amounting to Rs 1.97 crore and Rs 14.36 crore, respectively. He has shown Rs 5.71 lakh as cash in hand.

Hans owns gold ornaments worth Rs 28.47 lakh and his wife has jewellery worth Rs 23.66 lakh, according to the affidavit.

He has declared that he has not been convicted in any criminal case. A resident of Jalandhar, Hans has shown his total income of Rs 44.56 lakh for the financial year 2022-23. Among his immovable properties, Hans has agriculture land in Kapurthala and residential properties in Jalandhar and Mohali districts.

He has declared his total liabilities to the tune of Rs 1.46 crore.

He has done his matric from the Government Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar in 1977-78.

The Trinamool Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of spreading falsehood about the incidents of Sandeskhali, after purported videos claimed that a local saffron party leader made several women sign blank papers which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault against TMC leaders.

The videos surfaced days after another clipping surfaced online, which showed a local functionary of the party claiming that the leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari was behind the episode. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of any of the videos.

“This again proves that the BJP is spreading falsehood. We have also complained to the Election Commission. This despicable act of fabrication and intimidation will not go unpunished,” senior TMC leader and state minister Shashi Panja said.

In one of the latest videos, a woman was heard saying, “We were deceived into signing on blank papers. We discovered later that rape complaints had been lodged in our names. This is a blatant lie.”

The woman said the authorities should take action against the woman BJP leader who manipulated them to sign on blank papers. Another alleged Sandeshkhali resident echoed similar sentiments in a separate video, claiming that they have become victims of a scheme orchestrated by BJP leader Piyali Das.

A third woman also levelled the same allegation against Piyali Das and said, she “has tarnished our reputation and inflicted immense suffering upon us.” CPI(M) Basirhat Lok Sabha candidate Nirapada Sardar claimed that both TMC and BJP are trying to confuse the people of Sandeshkhali by circulating videos to prove their points, but the voters have now been awakened and are now with the Left.

Without mentioning TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee by name, Suvendu Adhikari alleged that these were his handiwork and the party is planning to move court.

Adhikari also blamed I-PAC, an election strategist, for being involved in circulating the videos.

Five Left Front candidates, including four of the CPI (M), and TMC nominee Mala Roy on Thursday submitted their nomination papers here for the Lok Sabha elections.

CPI (M) and Trinamool Congress supporters engaged in heated arguments with one another when their processions came face-to-face before filing of nominations by candidates at the South 24 Parganas district collector's office at Alipore. Nominations were filed by CPI (M)'s Saira Shah Halim for Kolkata Dakshin seat, Srijan Bhattacharya for Jadavpur, Pratikur Rahaman for Diamond Harbour, Sarat Chandra Halder for Mathurapur and RSP candidate Samarendranath Mondal for Jaynagar constituency.

They arrived at the collector's office in a procession from Hazra Crossing, about a kilometre away, for submitting the documents.

TMC nominee and sitting MP of Kolkata Dakshin seat, Mala Roy, also filed her nomination papers. Supporters of the two parties engaged in heated arguments and sloganeering but a large posse of police personnel stood as a barrier between them, preventing the situation from escalating, an official said.

TMC supporters were there for the filing of nomination by Roy, who has been renominated by the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

Halim, the CPI(M) candidate from the prestigious Kolkata Dakshin constituency, went to the residence of former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and took his blessings after filing her nomination papers.

The BJP's Rae Bareli candidate Dinesh Pratap Singh has accused the Gandhi family of harbouring "hatred" for Rae Bareli-Amethi, and asked why they did not field a local leader but opted for "Priyanka Gandhi's clerk" to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Amethi.

Singh, who is taking on Rahul Gandhi in a high-profile electoral contest here, also claimed that the Gandhi scion will lose by a bigger margin than his mother Sonia Gandhi had won in the 2019 polls. Sonia Gandhi had beaten Singh in 2019 by over 1,67,000 votes. However, this was the lowest margin of victory that Sonia Gandhi has had in the five elections, including a bypoll, that she has fought from the constituency.

"People have great trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and under his leadership, the country as well as the hard-earned income of the people is safe. People of Rae Bareli also trust the prime minister," Singh told PTI in an interview in Rae Bareli.

"So, in such a scenario, I don't think the Congress candidate will be able to hold his ground before the BJP candidate in Rae Bareli," he said. Asked about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra camping in Rae Bareli and campaigning for her brother Rahul, Singh said it could be a topic of discussion for media people who have come from outside but her camping here was a non-issue for the people of Rae Bareli.

"In 2022 assembly polls, she stayed here and asked for votes in every nook and corner, but in all the assembly seats Priyanka Gandhi camped here and ran around, about 16,000 votes were bagged in assembly segments. Is it the same Priyanka Gandhi?" he said, taking a swipe at the Congress general secretary. "It can be of importance to you but she holds no importance for people of Rae Bareli. She can stay here, it will be very good. She made so many promises in the 2019 polls and till 2024, leave alone fulfilling those promises, she did not even stand with the people in their happy and sad times," the BJP leader alleged.

Speaking in local dialect, he said, "'Aaj nikli hain, humka andaza hai kauno gaon bachi na jahan belana liye mahilayein khadi na hui hain, inka swagat kare ke liye' (I have an idea that when she goes out to the villages, women would welcome her with batons in their hands)." Singh alleged that the Gandhi family has hatred for Rae Bareli-Amethi and that is why it neither fielded anyone from there in the Lok Sabha polls since 1952 nor sent any native person to Rajya Sabha.

"Rahul Gandhi ji has opened 'mohabbat ki dukaan'. So much hatred is filled in the Gandhi family's mind for Amethi-Rae Bareli. From 1952 till now, Gandhi family never gave a Lok Sabha ticket to a person born to a mother from Rae Bareli," Singh claimed.

No son of Rae Bareli was sent to Rajya Sabha and the Gandhi family did not make anyone from Rae Bareli even an MP's representative, he added. "MP's representatives have also been brought from outside. Today it is before the people. Could only a person brought from Ludhiana who is Priyanka Gandhi's clerk fight the polls from Amethi? Were there no Congress leaders in Amethi?" he said.

They have "hatred" for Amethi-Rae Bareli in their minds and this time, Amethi-Rae Bareli will give a befitting reply to them, Singh said.

Recognising the limitations of technology in remote areas, politicians of different hues have taken to weekly 'haats' to reach out to people in Odisha's Koraput and Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seats.

The two ST-reserved seats and their assembly segments will go to polls in the first phase of simultaneous elections in the state on May 13. Kausalya Hikaka, the BJD candidate for Koraput Lok Sabha seat, said, "In tribal areas like this, we cannot depend solely on hi-tech campaigning methods as many people are poor and illiterate or semi-literate with limited access to smartphones or television."

"Also, tribal villages are located at a distance from one another but people converge at weekly 'haats', where campaigning becomes easy," she said. Incumbent MP and Congress candidate for Koraput, Saptagiri Ulaka, campaigned at Kakiriguma weekly 'haat' along with the party's Laxmipur assembly segment candidate, Pabitra Saunta.

"Weekly markets offer an opportunity to effectively connect with a large number of people from varied locations, thus saving both time and money," Ulaka said. 'Haats' are held on specific days every week at fixed locations and fulfill essential needs for local residents, besides serving as vital hubs for socio-cultural interactions within tribal communities. These markets have now become the focal point for political discourse.

The sudden influx of political leaders into these 'haats' has also transformed the atmosphere as villagers accustomed to the routine of trade and social interaction are now encountering a politically charged environment.

Hemant Gouda, a resident of Lathikotar village in Koraput, expressed surprise over seeing politicians at Ranaspur haat. "No politician has visited our village due to its remoteness. But seeing them at the 'haat' was unexpected... the 'haat' now feels entirely different," he said.

Similarly, Bhima Kirsani, who attended Korkunda haat, remarked, "The 'haat' has been infused with political discussions, and we are enjoying listening to the politicians."

As per reports, there are around 200 large and small 'haats' in Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts.

The Election Commission (EC) stated on Wednesday that 695 candidates are in the fray for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls across 49 constituencies in eight states and Union territories.

The number was based on 1,586 nomination forms filed for the polls, with 749 valid after the deadline for filing papers closed on May 3. The EC stated that 695 candidates will contest the polls on May 20. Maharashtra topped the list with 512 nominations, resulting in 301 valid candidates contesting across 13 constituencies.

Uttar Pradesh followed closely with 466 nominations, leading to 147 valid candidates across 14 constituencies.

The highest number of nominations in a single constituency was seen in Maharashtra's Chatra, which received 69 candidatures, followed by Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh with 67 nominations.

The BJP in Madhya Pradesh has hit out at the Congress for appealing to voters to exercise NOTA option and said it is an attack on democracy, while a councillor of the saffron party removed a poster stuck on an autorickshaw advocating the same.

Councillor Sandhya Yadav's act on Wednesday prompted the Congress to approach the Election Commission (EC) and lodge a complaint against her. State BJP chief V D Sharma said instigating people to press `None Of The Above' (NOTA) button on the EVM was a crime in democracy.

The opposition Congress received a jolt after its Lok Sabha poll candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date of the withdrawal of nominations.

Bam later joined the BJP, prompting the Congress to appeal to the people to press NOTA during polling in Indore on May 13 to "teach the saffron party a lesson". The Congress lodged a complaint with the EC after a video surfaced on social media showing Sandhya Yadav removing a poster of an organisation named `Loktantra Bachao Samiti' asking people to support NOTA.

Asserting she will continue to do so, the BJP councillor told PTI that she fulfilled her "duty of being a conscientious citizen" and removed the poster promoting NOTA from an autorickshaw.

Promoting this voting option is not in the interest of democracy, she said. State Congress general secretary Rakesh Singh Yadav claimed angry voters were running the NOTA campaign.

He alleged that Sandhya Yadav threatened the autorickshaw driver and forcibly removed the poster. She was accompanied by goons, he claimed.

The Congress functionary said he has filed a complaint with the EC by submitting a video of the incident.

Leaders of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc are likely to meet the Election Commission on Friday over their demand to promptly release the absolute voter turnout figures in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls after each phase, sources said.

While the sources had earlier said that the meeting was scheduled for Thursday, it was later changed to Friday.

The opposition leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the BJP in its campaign, the sources added. I.N.D.I.A bloc parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), have written to the poll panel separately so far, expressing concern over the alleged "delay" in the release of the voter turnout data in the first two phases.

Amid the opposition's allegations, the poll body had asserted that booth-wise data of the "actual number of votes polled" is available to the candidates soon after the voting ends.

Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale has said he has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, objecting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's frequent claim that the BJP would change the country's Constitution.

Gandhi should be prohibited from making this claim, Athawale, a prominent Dalit leader and BJP ally, told reporters on Wednesday. "Rahul Gandhi has frequently claimed that the BJP plans to change the Constitution if it comes to power again. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refuted these charges several times," he said.

"I have filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Gandhi's frequent claims. He should be prohibited from saying it, and there should be some action against him," the Republican Party of India (A) chief said.

In a scathing attack against AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin, BJP leader Navneet Rana has said if police were removed from duty for "15 seconds, the brothers would not know from where they came and where they went".

Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only "15 minutes" to balance the "Hindu- Muslim ratio" in the country if the police were removed. "The younger one (Akbarauddin) says, remove the police for 15 minutes and we will show what we can do. Let me tell the younger one, you will take 15 minutes, it will be only 15 seconds for us. If you remove police for 15 seconds, you won't know where you came from and where you went away," said Rana, the BJP's candidate from Maharashtra's Amravati Lok Sabha seat.

She shared a video clip of her making the comments on her 'X' page. Rana was campaigning in support of BJP's Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate K Madhavi Latha and others in Telangana on Wednesday.

Asked about her comments, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said he would like to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give even one hour.

"Modi ji has power, give 15 seconds, rather take one hour. We also would like to see how much humanity is left or not. Who is scared? Who is stopping you? The Prime Minister is yours in Delhi. RSS is yours. Everything is yours. Tell us where to come. We will come," Owaisi told reporters.

A senior police officer's order seeking the rescheduling of political activities in north Kashmir's Sopore has sparked a controversy with the National Conference accusing the UT administration of bias and obstructing a fair electoral process.

Sopore falls within the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency that will go to polls on May 20 in the fifth phase of the seven phase parliamentary polls. NC leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is contesting the seat. On May 8, the office of Senior Superintendent of Police in Sopore, Divya D, issued an official directive to the additional district magistrate, outlining the rescheduling of various political activities in the area.

The order specified the postponement of a car rally from May 9 to May 18, and the rescheduling of a political rally in Rafiabad from May 10 to May 18, while no new date was provided for a May 12 gathering in Behrampora — all of which would see the participation of Abdullah, who has been actively campaigning in the region. While campaigning for the Lok Sabha seat is scheduled to end at 5 pm on May 18, the NC is planning to move the Election Commission to seek its intervention.

The order also mentioned the cancellation of a People's Conference rally in Rafiabad, to be addressed by local party workers.

Sajad Lone, who is the chief of a faction of the People's Conference, is contesting from Baramulla. Another faction of the party is led by his brother Bilal Lone, who is a part of the moderate separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference. The rescheduling directive did not cite specific reasons, but sources familiar with the situation indicated that it was due to the ongoing cordon and search operations following intelligence reports of foreign terrorists being present in the region.

Tanvir Sadiq, the chief spokesperson of the NC, condemned the administration for allegedly hindering a level playing field for party vice president Abdullah in the Baramulla constituency. Sadiq, speaking from the party headquarters in Srinagar, said the rescheduling of Abdullah's programmes was unfair and urged the EC to intervene.

He emphasised the importance of providing equal political space to the NC and asked the authorities to allow the party to conduct their rallies without any hindrances while seeking fairness and transparency in the electoral process.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday termed as an "absolute lie" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that her party will put a "Babri lock" on the Ram temple in Ayodhya if it is voted to power, saying court judgements will be honoured.

Prime Minister Modi had recently stated at a rally in Madhya Pradesh that he wants the BJP-led NDA to win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls to ensure the Congress does not bring back Article 370 in Kashmir and put a "Babri lock" on the Ram temple in Ayodhya. "This is an absolute lie ('yeh ekdum jhooth hai'). The Congress party had said a number of times that it will honour the judgement of the court. We have done this (in the past), and will do so in the future," she told reporters here.

On Modi's Adani-Ambani jibe, she said Prime Minister Modi has been forced to take their names. Rahul Gandhi, she noted, mentions the names of Adani and Ambai in his speeches every day. Modi had on Wednesday accused the Congress of having a nexus with "Ambani and Adani", and asked if the party has received "tempo loads of black money" from the two businessmen for its leader Rahul Gandhi to stop "abusing" them.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that she wants the prime minister to read the Congress manifesto before commenting on it.

"Though he is the prime minister and elder to me...my advice is that he should first read the (Congress) manifesto, and then comment on it. He has not read it. Whatever comes to his mind, he says that it is written (in the manifesto). All the things that he is saying are written in manifesto are (actually) not written."

Himachal Pradesh Public works minister and Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh on Thursday filed his nomination papers from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.

He was accompanied by his mother and the state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Congress Working Committee member and in-charge Himachal, Rajiv Shukla.

Scion of erstwhile Rampur estate, Singh is pitted against actor and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut. Mandi would be made a smart city and Jalori Jot tunnel would be constructed on the line of the Rohtang tunnel. The remote Pangi area of Chamba would also be connected through the tunnel, Singh told PTI.

"I would take forward the long and deep relation with the people of Mandi", the Congress candidate, who is the son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the 2024 election is Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi and that it is a contest between vote for development and "vote for jihad".

Addressing an election rally in Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency of Telangana, he said the election is between Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Bharatiya guarantee" against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "Chinese guarantee". Describing the Congress, BRS and AIMIM as a triangle of appeasement, he said the parties don't let Ram Navami procession to take place and that they also oppose CAA.

"These people don't allow the celebration of 'Hyderabad Liberation Day' (September 17). These people oppose CAA. These people want to run Telangana on the basis of Sharia and Quran," he said.

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being racist by bringing in skin colour in the poll debate, and said the opposition's support to Yashwant Sinha in the presidential election was not based on the colour of skin.

In a post on X, he said in the last election to the office of President of India, there were two candidates - Droupadi Murmu and Sinha.

While the BJP and its allies supported Murmu, he said 17 Opposition parties, including the Congress, supported Sinha. “Support for a candidate was not based on the colour of the skin. Opposition to a candidate was also not based on the colour of the skin. Support or opposition was a political decision, and every elector abided by the decision of his or her party,” the former union minister said.

“Why did the Hon’ble PM bring the colour of the skin into the election debate,” he asked.

“The PM's remarks are completely irrelevant and blatantly racist,” the Congress leader alleged. Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress over its party leader Sam Pitroda's comments over skin colour and asserted that the countrymen would not tolerate insult on the basis of skin colour.

Hitting out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said he has now understood that the national party sought to defeat President Murmu in the presidential poll as her “skin colour is dark”.

Chhattisgarh has recorded an overall voter turnout of 72.8% in elections to the 11 Lok Sabha seats, according to poll officials, registering an increase of 1.31% from the 2019 figure.

Polling in the 11 Lok Sabha seats of the state was held in three phases - on April 19, April 26 and May 7.

The overall voter turnout in the 11 Lok Sabha seats is 72.8%. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the turnout stood at 71.49%," state's Chief Electoral Officer Reena Babasaheb Kangale said on Thursday. The Naxal-affected Bastar constituency (reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates), where voting was held on April 19, recorded 68.29% turnout.

Rajanandgaon, Kanker (ST-reserved) and Mahasamund seats went to polls on April 26 and registered a turnout of 77.42%, 76.23% and 75.02%, respectively. In the third phase of polling, Surguja (ST-reserved) seat recorded a voter turnout of 79.89%, Raigarh (ST-reserved) 78.85%, Korba 75.63%, Durg 73.68%, Janjgir-Champa (SC-reserved) 67.56%, Raipur 66.82% and Bilaspur 64.77%.

A total of 220 candidates contested the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Raipur had the maximum number of 38 candidates, followed by 37 in Bilaspur, 27 in Korba, 25 in Durg, 18 in Janjgir-Champa, 17 in Mahasamund, 15 in Rajnandgaon, 13 in Raigarh, 11 in Bastar, 10 in Surguja and 9 in Kanker.

Five people were detained by police in north Maharashtra's Dhule district after they showed black flags to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' convoy on Wednesday afternoon and released later, a police official said in Mumbai. The incident took place at Karvand Naka in Shirpur, he said.

Fadnavis was on his way to Jalgaon to campaign after finishing a rally in Shirpur when the protesters came on the road, the official said. They belonged to Adivasi and Koli communities and wanted to protest as their long-pending demands had not been fulfilled.

They were taken to Shirpur police station and released after giving a warning, the official added.