Lok Sabha Election 2024 news: Rahul Gandhi files his nomination from Wayanad

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lumbaram Choudhary on Wednesday submitted his nomination papers for the Jalore Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan, gearing up for Lok Sabha elections.

Choudhary, representing the BJP, is set to contest against Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Ashok Gehlot and the Congress candidate for the Jalore Lok Sabha seat.

Meanwhile, BJP leader PP Chaudhary also filed his nomination papers for the Pali Lok Sabha constituency in Rajasthan on the same day. His nomination was completed in the presence of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

Chaudhary, a two-time incumbent MP from Pali, is vying for another term in the Lower House in the upcoming general elections.

Ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sanjay Tandon rallied party functionaries in Himachal Pradesh, emphasizing the importance of the "Booth Vijay Sankalp Abhiyan" (Booth Victory Resolve Campaign). During his address at a gathering of party workers and leaders in Nagrota Surian, within the Kangra parliamentary constituency, Tandon urged them to leave no stone unturned in securing a resounding victory for the BJP across all four Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Tandon, who serves as the co-in-charge of the BJP's Himachal Pradesh unit, underscored the need for a concerted effort to ensure the party's triumph with substantial margins in the upcoming polls. The hill state will go to the polls in the final phase on June 1, marking the culmination of the seven-phase general elections.

Congress nominated Mukesh Dhangar from the Mathura Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Dhangar will be contesting against sitting BJP MP Hema Malini.

The Congress party launched a scathing counterattack against the BJP's criticism of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In a strongly worded statement, the opposition accused the ruling party of selectively targeting Singh's tenure while conveniently overlooking the economic woes of the past decade.

Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, defended Singh's legacy, asserting that his government's policies catalised transformative changes in India's economic and social landscape. However, Ramesh alleged that the subsequent years under the BJP's watch have plunged the nation's economy into a "dark decade" marred by stagnation and policy missteps.

The Congress' rebuke came in response to Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT cell, lambasted Singh's prime ministerial stint and accused him of presiding over a corruption-riddled administration and policies that purportedly impoverished the masses.

It will be a clash of political heavyweights in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency in South Kerala that is set for a triangular contest between a Union minister, an MP and a legislator.

Attingal, like many other parliamentary constituencies in Kerala, has a mix of hills, midlands, and coastal regions, and poses quite a challenge for candidates to reach out to the people to seek votes.

Sitting MP Adoor Prakash of the Congress is facing a tough fight from the LDF candidate, CPI(M) MLA V Joy, and BJP's V Muraleedharan, who is the Union Minister of State for External Affairs.

Attingal Parliament constituency had been an LDF stronghold throughout, but in 2019, Prakash wrested the seat from sitting MP A Sampath.

PTI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, along with party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, is scheduled to campaign in Maharashtra for the initial phase of the Lok Sabha elections, as announced by the party. Rahul Gandhi plans to campaign in the Bhandara-Gondiya constituency on April 13, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit Chandrapur on April 15, as per Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe. Kharge is expected to be in Ramtek on either April 8 or 9. The first phase of elections in Maharashtra will cover Ramtek, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Bhandara-Gondiya, and Gadchiroli-Chimur constituencies on April 19. Except for Ramtek, where former Congress MLA Raju Parwe is contesting with Shiv Sena's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the BJP and Congress face off in the other four seats. Prominent candidates include Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur and state BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar in Chandrapur. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, and elections will be held in five phases from April 19 to May 20, PTI reported.

The Election Commission (EC) issued directives on Wednesday to the chief secretaries, directors general of police of all states, and heads of central agencies to ensure a peaceful and inducement-free Lok Sabha election. They emphasized maintaining strict vigilance along inter-state and international borders to prevent the influx of illicit liquor, cash, drugs, and arms.

The meeting also discussed preemptive measures to address communal tensions based on past incidents. Securing porous borders against illegal activities was highlighted as crucial, PTI reported.

Additionally, the recent violence in Manipur and its impact on electoral conduct were discussed. The EC stressed the need for swift action to aid internally-displaced persons and ensure their participation in the electoral process.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are expected to travel to Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for the party's candidates. The state is gearing up for elections to the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies on April 19.

While the Congress has finalized a list of campaigners for Arunachal Pradesh, the specific dates and locations for their visits have not been confirmed yet, according to party sources citing a list issued by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal.

Union Minister Smriti Irani criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday following the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) extending support to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Lok Sabha elections.

During a nomination rally supporting Madhya Pradesh BJP President and Khajuraho candidate VD Sharma in Panna, Smriti Irani cautioned the Wayanad MP, stating that "If you threaten to defame the country, it will not tolerate and won't forgive you."

Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, there is no discrimination in respect to East, West, North and South. There is lotus blooming all around. In 2014, we gave the slogan of '272-plus', the BJP alone won 283 seats back then. In 2019, we gave the slogan of 'abki baar 300 par', and the BJP alone won 303 seats. You will not believe this now, but on June 4, you will see that the BJP will win 370-plus seats and the NDA will win 400-plus seats.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Modi Ki guarantee" is described as "unsuccessful" and not reaching the people, alleged Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday during the launch of his party's "Ghar Ghar Guarantee" initiative.

The initiative aims to reach out to eight crore households across the country. Kharge inaugurated the initiative from Usmanpur, Kaithwada in the North East Delhi parliamentary constituency and distributed pamphlets on the Congress's "Paanch Nyay Pachees Guarantee".

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor filed his nomination from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

In a setback for the INDIA bloc, People's Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti declared on Wednesday that her party will contest the Lok Sabha elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir alone.

Mufti's announcement followed National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah's statement that his party would field candidates across all three parliamentary seats in the Kashmir region.

The decisions by the two key regional players cast doubts over the unity of the opposition bloc ahead of the crucial national polls.

Vijender Singh, India's inaugural Olympic boxing medallist and a Congress leader, is poised to switch to the BJP.

Singh, who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election unsuccessfully under the Congress banner from the South Delhi constituency, has been a speculated candidate for Mathura, PTI reported. This seat is currently held by actress and sitting MP Hema Malini. Hailing from the influential Jat community in Haryana, Singh's move may have political ramifications in regions like western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan as well.

Congress Garhwal candidate Ganesh Godiyal on Wednesday said he needs financial support to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party which "enjoys" massive wealth and shared a QR code on his social media to seek donations from the public.

Godiyal in a video message, said, "I want to make an appeal to brothers and sisters of Garhwal constituency....you must have heard a 'jumla' that echoed in the Parliament in Delhi...that was 'Ek akela sab par bhaari'. With your strength, support and blessings, this is clearly reflected in the Garhwal constituency. The BJP has massive wealth power...with it, they want to influence the elections. I don't want to be alone in this form as well. I have opened a bank account to contest the election, I expect your contribution in it in the form of blessings as per your competence, so that I can fight their wealth power as well. Even your one rupee is precious to me."'

He further wrote, "It is a fight between people of Garhwal and the central government. It is a fight to ensure justice for the Pauri Garhwal murdered receptionist girl, youths by abolishing Agniveer scheme, disaster affected people in Joshimath, implementation of strict land laws and domicile criteria."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launches party's 'Ghar ghar guarantee' initiative in Delhi, says aim to take 'Panch Nyay Pachees Guarantees' to people

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi files his nomination papers from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti today said party will announce candidates on three Kashmir Lok Sabha seats in coming days blames Omar Abdullah for arrogance.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "It has been an honour for me to be your member of Parliament. I don't treat you and think of you like an electorate. I treat you and think of you the same way I think of my little sister Priyanka. So in the houses of Wayanad, I have sisters, mothers, fathers and brothers. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that."

Election Commission will hold a meeting with top state and Union territory officials and central agencies guarding the borders on Wednesday to assess the security along the borders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

During the meeting, scheduled to be held at the Election Commission headquarters here, the law-and-order situation and vigilance along the borders in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be reviewed.

Officials from states and Union Territories are scheduled to join the meeting through video conference.

Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate from Wayanad, Annie Raja filed her nomination against Congress' sitting MP and candidate Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

Raja also held a roadshow in the constituency ahead of filing her nomination.

"You can see the LDF workers and cadres, and the general public. We are all happy that today is a very important day of the election - filing of nomination," Raja said speaking to ANI while participating in the road show.

On Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad, CPI candidate from here, Annie Raja says, "I am not here to examine whether Rahul Gandhi is afraid or UDF is afraid. I am here as a Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate to go to the people and understand what they expect from me. We have been doing this for more than a month. In my interaction with people, what I understand is that people are really disappointed because they are going through a very difficult situation because of the human-animal conflict or night travel curfew - whatever may be...They are very disappointed with the performance of the sitting MP..."

She further says, "With the interaction with the people, I understand that he has taken the people for granted..."

An FIR has been registered against a local Samajwadi Party leader for violating the model code of conduct for elections by making objectionable comments against incumbent BJP MP Subrat Pathak, police said on Wednesday.

Manoj Dixit, a local SP leader, allegedly made the comment in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday against the BJP MP who is seeking reelection from the Kannauj seat.

According to the police, the FIR was registered based on a complaint by a video surveillance team of the Election Commission.

Among the 80 candidates in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data.

The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious.

Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will go to polls in the first phase on April 19.

Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed.