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Waheed Ur Rehman Para, the PDP's Lok Sabha candidate from Srinagar, on Monday said violence in the erstwhile state has reduced significantly over the last five years.

Lok Sabha elections is underway, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday announced that the party will provide financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the women of poor households.

polling booths in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Allu Arjun, known for his role in 'Pushpa,' was dressed in a white t-shirt and black jeans, while NTR Jr, famous for 'RRR,' chose a blue shirt and trousers for the occasion.

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies in Maharashtra, NCP leader Sharad Pawar seems to have managed to field the toughest candidates against BJP. A case in point is Ahmednagar where former Parner MLA Nilesh Lanke is taking on BJP MP Sujay Vikhe Patil. When NCP split last year, Lanke had joined the Ajit Pawar faction. However, in the run up to Lok Sabha polls, Sharad Pawar lured him back into his fold and offered him a Lok Sabha ticket. Sujay is son of state minister and Shirdi MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil who was the opposition leader of Congress in 2019 before joining BJP. The Vikhe Patils are considered pioneers of cooperative movement in the state. Lanke, on the other hand, is known as a 'Covid warrior' who is highly popular in Ahmednagar.

Kanpur between the BJP, the incumbent party for two terms, and the Congress, which has fortified itself by joining forces with the Samajwadi Party. Kanpur, one of the oldest major industrial and commercial centres of Uttar Pradesh which has in the past sent heavyweights such as Murli Manohar Joshi and former Union minister Shriprakash Jaiswal to Parliament, is currently held by the BJP's Satyadev Pachauri, 76, who is not contesting this time. Both the main parties have fielded lesser-known faces. The BJP's candidate is journalist Ramesh Awasthi, a non-political, non-local figure who is banking largely on the Modi factor. The Congress has fielded educationist Alok Mishra, who has unsuccessfully contested assembly elections in the past.

constituency that Ajit Pawar has taken a keen interest in, it is Shirur. This contest is seen as a personal one for Ajit as the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP has repeated its MP Amol Kolhe against Ajit's NCP candidate Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil. Kolhe, an actor famous for the role of Maratha warrior King Shivaji in tele serials, was present at Raj Bhavan when Ajit rebelled and took oath along with 8 NCP MLAs to join hands with BJP government. Kolhe, however, changed sides within two days which was taken as a personal insult by Ajit. The latter has since then publicly vowed to ensure that Kolhe will be defeated. The Ajit faction has given a ticket to Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, a former three term MP from Shiv Sena, defeated in 2019 by Kolhe.

Nashik Lok Sabha seat was in the news because of the prolonged tug of war among the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit) over who should get the seat. The BJP first wanted the seat claiming that Sena MP Hemant Godse would not be able to retain the seat. However, after a seat exchange deal with NCP (Ajit), the BJP offered the seat to the latter. However, with Godse not willing to vacate the seat, CM Eknath Shinde refused to hand over the seat to the NCP(Ajit). Shinde kept dragging the issue till the date of filing of nomination after which the Ajit camp withdrew its claim for the seat. While Godse has got the seat, his job is only half done. He is now facing a tri-cornered contest with Rajabhau Waje from the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), an independent candidate Shantigiri Maharaj and Karan Gaikar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi.

BJP and Congress in the upcoming election on Pune Lok Sabha seat, which was once the stronghold of the BJP over the past two Lok Sabha elections. However, a strange quirk of fate has altered the political equations here. In the 2019 assembly elections, BJP won five of the six assembly seats of the Pune Parliamentary constituency. It all looked like a cakewalk for the party. However, two incidents in March 2023 changed the dynamics of the constituency. Pune's MP and senior BJP leader Girish Bapat died after a prolonged illness. Before becoming an MP in 2019, Bapat was the MLA from Kasba Peth constituency, a BJP stronghold which the party didn't lose since 1995.

Odisha this time as there was a buzz before polls that former allies and top parties of the state — Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the BJP — may come together but now they are ghting to outscore each other. Elections for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats of Odisha will be held simultaneously over four phases starting from May 13. ET takes a look at factors playing out in the state: In 2019, BJP emerged as the main challenger to BJD and won eight Lok Sabha seats. However, in the assembly polls, it was Naveen Patnaik all the way, showing that Odiyas have different preferences for different polls. In between these two players, Congress is trying hard to make space for itself.

Voting will be held in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across nine states and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir in the fourth phase of the general elections on Monday. With this round, polling exercise in 70% of the Lok Sabha seats will be completed. Voting will be held simultaneously in all 175 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 assembly seats of Odisha.

Preparing for the D-day Social media narrative notwithstanding, ruling BJP is confident of coming back for a third term at the Centre. The government machinery is working towards a specific date — June 10 for swearing in and the first Cabinet meeting. The government is also working towards rolling out a 100-day agenda after a full-body Niti Aayog meeting on June 24. Campaign stuck due to traffic Pune traffic is turning out to be a nightmare for Lok Sabha candidates, especially during the second half of the day. Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had a first-hand experience when he reached the city to campaign for BJP candidate Murlidhar Mohol. While Fadnavis was somehow able to reach the designated venue on time, Mohol arrived late as he was stuck in city traffic.

Elections for 96 Lok Sabha seats spread across nine states and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir will be held in the fourth phase on Monday. Voting will be held simultaneously in all 175 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 assembly seats of Odisha. This phase is crucial for Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. In 2019, his YSR Congress Party had won 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats and registered a thumping victory in the assembly elections. TDP-led NDA is posing a serious challenge to Reddy's popularity this time. It is contesting polls in alliance with BJP and Jana Sena Party. Congress is led by Reddy's sister YS Sharmila.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien on Sunday tore into claims made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at poll rallies in West Bengal, saying two videos that have come out on the Sandeshkhali issue have exposed the "conspiracy to malign" the state. On a day when Modi addressed four rallies in support of the BJP's Lok Sabha poll candidates in West Bengal, O'Brien shared a fact-check report on X and called the prime minister the «Lyin King». «We often fact check Narendra Modi… 'The Lyin King' just ended his third and fourth speeches. So much of deceit, falsehood and hate, that even our fact check meter broke down,» the TMC leader said in a post on the microblogging platform. «Two Sandeshkhali videos exposed BJP's conspiracy to malign Bengal and humiliate women. Concocted by Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikhari. Bribed and forced women to sign a blank paper and file false rape complaints. BJP shelters molesters: Brij Bhushan Singh, Prajwal Revanna. Unnao, Kathua, Hathras,» the document shared by O'Brien read.

Sandeshkhali is on the boil again as fresh protests erupted in the area with women and BJP supporters protesting on Sunday over allegedly making «fake» videos and giving «false allegations» against women of taking money. Women have allegedly beaten up local Trinamool Congress leaders with sticks for making fake videos. Local Trinamool leaders Dilip Mullick and Tatan Gayan were beaten up by women for making «fake videos» by women, supporting BJP, in presence of local Trinamool MLA Sukumar Mahato. A scuffle broke out between BJP and police during Sandeshkhali police station gherao and agitation programme today afternoon over illegal arrest of a BJP worker and demanding action against the miscreants who were engaged in dacoity yesterday in Sandeshkhali.

Lok Sabha polls continues to remain dismally low, as only about 12 per cent of the candidates in the fray in the fifth phase are female, according to an analysis by poll rights body ADR. The ADR analysis also showed that nearly 23 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves and about 18 per cent have serious criminal cases pending. Out of the total 695 candidates in the fifth phase on May 20, only 82 of them are women, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. In the first phase of the elections, 135 (8 per cent) female candidates contested while 100 (8 per cent) women candidates fought in the second phase. Similarly, in the third phase of the elections, 123 (9 per cent) female candidates contested while in the fourth phase, as many as 170 (10 per cent) such candidates are in the fray.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Sunday said 1.6 lakh new Electronic Voting Machines will be used in 46,389 polling stations for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state on May 13. Besides these, another 20 per cent more EVMs have been kept ready, he said. In a release, Meena said, «Initially, it was estimated that 1.45 lakh EVMs would be sufficient for 46,165 polling stations. However, the addition of 224 auxiliary polling stations necessitated the procurement of another 15,000 EVMs.» He also noted that the Election Commission is striving to increase the polling percentage in the southern state to 83 per cent, compared to the 79.83 percentage registered during the 2019 polls. Further, he requested the voters of Andhra Pradesh to come forward and exercise their franchise, a right enshrined in the Constitution.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed in Raj Bhawan last night and he should have asked Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to resign from his post but he didn't utter a single word, amid allegations against Bose over molestation. «The Prime Minister comes to Bengal and stays in Raj Bhavan. The PM should have asked him (Governor) to resign from his post but he didn't utter a single word,» Banerjee said on Sunday during a public rally in North 24 Parganas Amdanga. «There is a Constitutional crisis. No women is ready to enter Raj Bhawan after some shameful deeds recently came to light,» Banerjee said while speaking at an election rally on Sunday. «PM should have asked him to resign from his post but he didn't utter a single word.»

Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the country need not have to wait till September 2025 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not remain at the helm after June 4, when results of Lok Sabha polls will be declared. Tharoor's comments come a day after AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal claimed Modi is asking for votes for Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be his successor after Modi «retires» on turning 75 in September 2025. «A new government will come to power at the Centre in June. There is no need to wait till September 2025,» Tharoor said while responding to a query on Kejriwal's remarks. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, the Thiruvananthapuram MP alleged Modi has lowered the standard of public discourse and the language being used by him is not good for the country.

Prashant Bhushan on Sunday alleged that companies used electoral bonds to bribe political parties to secure projects worth lakhs of crores of rupees. He said a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the alleged nexus between political parties and companies for corruption through electoral bonds. «The Rs 16,500 crore electoral bond donations that companies gave to political parties were merely bribes or kickbacks in exchange for which contracts or projects worth lakhs of crores were given to the companies in quid pro quo arrangements,» Bhushan alleged in a press conference here. Bhushan and social activist Anjali Bhardwaj were in Ranchi as part of their awareness campaign regarding electoral bonds and bringing transparency in political funding. Bhushan said they have visited 11 states before Jharkhand.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow in Delhi on Sunday said if people choose Aam Aadmi Party on May 25, he won't have to go back to jail. Accompanied by his Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal held a roadshow in Moti Nagar in support of party's New Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Somnath Bharti. «I have to go back to jail after 20 days. If you choose jhadu (AAP's symbol), I won't have to go back to jail,» the chief minister said. The AAP national convenor is out on interim bail till June 1. He has to surrender on June 2.

Union minister Raosaheb Danve, BJP leader Pankaja Munde and actor-turned-politician Amol Kolhe are among the prominent candidates. More than 2.28 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to seal the fate of 298 candidates in the fourth phase of elections in the state. The 11 constituencies — Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi and Beed — are spread across the central Marathwada as well as northern and western regions of the state. Voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm at 23,284 polling centres, according to data provided by the office of the state's chief electoral officer.