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BJP) president JP Nadda has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been referring to "mangalsutra" in his election speeches to expose «thinking in Congress on wealth redistribution» and that the UPA government had said that Muslims have the first right over the country's wealth. In an interview with ANI, Nadda said the Modi government has lifted 25 crore people out of poverty, has worked for everyone and has taken steps for the empowerment of women, farmers, the poor, Dalits and other weaker sections. He accused Congress of following policies of divide and rule and not working for the integration of society. Nadda referred to remarks of former Congress Overseas Chairperson Sam Pitroda pertaining to «redistribution of wealth» and "inheritance tax" and said he was the guru of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Amit Shah on Saturday highlighted Uttar Pradesh's transformation from a state known for producing country-made pistols to one now manufacturing cannon balls. Addressing an election rally in Lalitpur in favour of BJP's Jhansi candidate Anurag Sharma, who is eyeing a second term, the Union home minister said the state started developing only after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister and Yogi Adityanath the Chief Minister. «There was a time when country-made pistols were produced in Uttar Pradesh. But PM Modi built a defence corridor in Bundelkhand, and now cannon balls are made here,» Shah said. He added that «if Pakistan makes any mistake», the shells made in Bundelkhand will be used to «destroy» the country.

D K Shivakumar and other state ministers on Saturday rubbished allegations about their role in the circulation of pen drives containing explicit videos involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. BJP leader and advocate G Devaraje Gowda, who is in custody after being arrested in a sexual abuse case and is also facing charges of video leak, on Friday alleged that Shivakumar and four other ministers are behind the circulation of the pen drives and was being fixed in false cases as he did not agree to be part of their plan. He has even alleged that he was offered Rs 100 crore by Shivakumar to «bring a bad name» to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and to tarnish the image of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy in Prajwal Revanna's obscene video case. Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar said, «Better, let him (Gowda) file a case before Lokayukta or any other agency. I think he has some problems mentally. I'm very sorry, the national and state media shouldn't have picked up such baseless allegations. A person who is in jail, how can he make such allegations? All these are baseless. I don't want to comment.»

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the INDIA bloc will come to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and BJP will «not cross the 200 mark» in the polls. She accused Congress, and CPI(M) of having entered into a nexus with BJP in the state to discredit the state government and asked the electorate not to vote for any non-TMC parties which will benefit the saffron camp. Addressing an election rally at Goghat under the Arambagh Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee said «I had coined the name INDIA and at the national level we the coalition partners are all working together to resist the autocratic, demonic Narendra Modi government. TMC will play its role in installing the INDIA bloc to power.» «See what Modi is telling now — he is no more making tall '400 paar' seats by BJP. He can read the writing on the wall already. BJP will not cross even 200 tally. BJP will bite the dust,» she said.

Lok Sabha elections on national issues rather than the local problems. Pollution and crime are among the least talked-about issues in this trader and Muslim-dominated constituency. Ironically, it is among the 13 pollution hotspots of Delhi but this finds little or no mention in the poll promises of parties. From humble 'gol gappa' sellers to big merchants in Chandni Chowk, several residents share a common view that in the general elections, issues impacting development at the national level weigh higher for voters. Ashok (53), a merchant in the Chandni Chowk market, takes out his mobile phone to show a WhatsApp forward and says, «As a true nationalist, we must vote on national issues or those that are in the wider interest of people. We need to adjust even if local issues are not met.»

Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and former Union minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi have cast their votes using the home voting facility, the Delhi poll body said. The office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi on Thursday kicked off the home voting facility for elderly voters and persons with disabilities (PwDs) and it will go on till May 24. According to the data shared by the office, 1409 voters cast their ballots from the comfort of their homes across all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi on Friday, which was the second day of the facility being started. The West Delhi constituency reported the highest number of home votes, with 348 voters participating. Among them, 299 were elderly individuals.

Adityanath on Saturday hit out at the Congress over its alleged proposal to introduce inheritance, and said Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's soul has crept into the grand old party. He said the inheritance tax is like the 'jizya' tax imposed by Aurangzeb. Addressing a rally in Malegaon town in Maharashtra's Nashik district, he said the BJP is contesting elections not merely for power but to build a developed India. «There should be no doubt that Narendra Modi is coming back once again as the prime minister,» Adityanath asserted.

Delhi BJP Saturday accused AAP leaders of circulating «edited» videos to tarnish the image of their own party MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused an aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of assaulting her. It is regrettable that «edited» videos are being circulated on social media groups since Friday in an attempt to «defame» Maliwal who is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police arrested Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar who has been accused by Maliwal of assaulting her at the CM's residence on Monday. A couple of videos from the chief minister's residence from the day of the incident have surfaced on social media, one showed Maliwal having an argument with security personnel, while the other showed her walking out of the CM's residence in the Civil Lines.

Mumbai scheduled for May 20 in phase 5, Industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata urged all the Mumbaikars to go out and vote responsibly. The fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on May 20 and will cover the seats in Mumbai. «Monday is voting day in Mumbai. I urge all Mumbaikars to go out and vote responsibly,» Ratan Tata posted on X.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inciting people and dividing society through his election speeches. Kharge was addressing a press conference of the INDIA bloc, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders were present. The opposition alliance held an election rally in the city on Friday. «No prime minister before Modi has ever indulged in inciting people like he has been doing. He speaks about democracy repeatedly but doesn't adhere to the tenets of democracy,» Kharge said. Responding to a question on PM Modi' statement that the Congress will bulldoze the Ram mandir in Ayodhya and also restore Article 370 if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, Kharge said, «We have never used a bulldozer on anyone. Modi has the habit of lying and inciting people about things which Congress will never do or the things that are impossible to be implemented.»

transgender icon of the election department of Himachal Pradesh's Solan district. Hailing from the Kothi village in Kunihar area of the Solan district under Shimla parliamentary constituency, Thakur said that the situation had become so grim that villagers started pressurising her family to «throw her out». She was perhaps the only transgender among 35 belonging to the third gender in the state, who gathered the courage to speak up. «When I used to tell my family members about the mal-treatment and discrimination in the school to an extent that I was not allowed to use the toilet, they thought I was making excuses to skip the school. Given a chance, I would like to resume my education,» she said, lamenting that she faced discrimination at «every step in life».

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the national capital, the situation is a far cry from that in Kaiserganj, where the former Wrestling Federation of India president is still viewed as a diety. «Hamare maalik, hamare bhagwan, mananiya saansad Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh ko janmdin ki shubhkamnayein’ — Nivedak, ‘saansad bhakt’ Samrat Gupta. (Heartfelt birthday wishes to our master, our god, honourable MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh — from a devotee, Samrat Gupta),» reads a poster in the Paska Bazaar area, according to a Times of India report. Singh stronghold A six-time Member of Parliament, 67-year-old Singh has been accused of sexual harassment by wrestlers following a long period of protest against him. Earlier this month, a Delhi court ordered that charges be levied against him, marking a big moment in the wrestlers' fight to be heard.

Swati Maliwal assault case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP has made allegations regarding the tampering of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence. Swati Maliwal, the former chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), shared the information on the microblogging site X on Friday evening, stating, «I have received information that now these people are tampering with the CCTV of the house.» Maliwal also tagged Delhi Police in her post.

Rajnath Singh on Friday asserted that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir «was, is and will remain ours» while also hitting out at the opposition parties for raking up the China issue. Accusing the opposition parties of spreading confusion on the China issue, he said, «India has not lost anything. We will not let India lose anything. Talks are ongoing… we are confident that a solution will be found.» Addressing an election rally in Ballia's Sikandarpur in support of the BJP's Salempur candidate Ravindra Kushwaha, Singh also asserted, «Pakistan Occupied Kashmir was ours, is ours and will remain ours.» He claimed that after four phases of elections, political analysts not only in India but across the world believe that the BJP is going to form the government by winning more than 400 seats.

Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) on Friday rejected the Nagaland government’s appeal and stated that it remained firm on its decision of abstaining from participating in the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections, scheduled on June 26. ENPO Secretary W. Manwang Konyak said that they did not receive any written appeal and only saw in the media that the state government has made an appeal not to boycott the ULB polls.“We have to go by the decision of our grassroots level people and organisation. We would abstain from participating in the ULB polls,” Konyak said. After a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, the Nagaland government on Thursday urged the ENPO not to boycott the vital ULB polls.

BJP alleged on Friday that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should be held directly responsible for the reported attack on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal and questioned his silence on the issue. The party said instead of taking action against his aide and accused Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal is moving around with him. In an interaction with the media, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the alleged attack on Maliwal as “unbelievable and unacceptable” and wondered how the chief minister could be expected to protect the women of Delhi if his own MP who was also the Delhi Commission for Women chief. “Kejriwal has not spoken a single word till today. No comparison can be made between this case and other assaults on women. It took place in the chief minister’s own house, when the chief minister was present and by a man who is considered the right hand of the chief minister. The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson was attacked. The Delhi CM does not have the confidence to make a statement. He should apologise,” Sitharaman said.

rally in northeast Delhi on Saturday, the local police has beefed up security near the rally ground and slated a deployment of a 2,000-personnel strong force on the day. Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, along with other senior officers on Friday visited the northeast district and took stock of the security arrangements. A senior officer said Modi is likely to arrive at the rally site by a chopper after addressing another election rally in Sonipat in Haryana. «Meetings were done with other agencies responsible for the PM's security. We are identifying buildings and trees on all possible routes where police personnel can be deployed to keep a strict vigil on all activities,» the officer said.

Jhansi node in the defence corridor, and the Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) have contributed to the region's progress. Bundelkhand's political landscape Bundelkhand comprises four Lok Sabha seats — Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur, and Banda. In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured all four seats, and despite whispers of anti-incumbency, the influence of Prime Minister Modi remains significant. The party highlights achievements like ending «mafia raj» and focusing on development.

India's weather bureau has warned the country was facing its second heatwave in three weeks, including in areas where millions of people are set to vote in the six-week election. Analysts have blamed a dip in turnout compared to the last national poll in 2019 on widespread expectations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will easily win a third term, as well as hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the summer. The latest round of voting in the seven-phase election will take place on Monday, including in parts of India expected to see temperatures 2-3 degrees Celsius above normal.

Arvind Kejriwal received interim bail and hailed it as a 'victory of truth,' but what awaited him and his party was a political whirlpool, an assault charge, and his image at stake amid the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. It all started when AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal went to the Civil Lines police station and alleged that a member of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's staff had misbehaved with her. Also Read: Swati Maliwal's FIR: Slapped and kicked by Bibhav Kumar at Kejriwal's residence during periods, screamed but no one helped The FIR

voting in the seven Lok Sabha seats, the Delhi electoral office has started distributing voter information slips to registered electors. The voter information slip not only contains the voter's details but also provides the address of the polling location, the polling booth number, and the serial number of the person on the electoral list. This information aims to assist people in voting smoothly without any inconvenience. The information slips are currently being distributed by booth-level officers (BLOs) in the area. This process is expected to be completed within the next few days. According to officials, the BLOs will show their photo identity cards and request the individual receiving the slip to provide an acknowledgment along with their contact details. «Voters are requested to keep the information slip safe and take it with them to the polling station to cast their vote. This will help polling staff quickly locate their names on the electoral rolls, thereby saving everyone's time,» an official told The Times of India.