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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of giving the country's «entire wealth» to "four or five rich people". Addressing a rally in support of her brother and Congress' Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat candidate Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi said, «Narendra Modi is the MP from Varanasi for the last 10 years but he has not visited any village there or asked a farmer how he is living.» She also said, «Privatisation is not bad in itself but if the prime minister gives the entire wealth of the nation to four or five rich people, then that is not right.» Today coal, electricity, ports and airports of the country are all with the friends of the prime minister, the Congress leader alleged.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying while the BJP has been «counting the notes» it got from «tempo wale billionaires», his party will conduct a caste census to ensure equality. The former Congress president was reacting to Modi's remarks on the Congress receiving cash loaded in tempos from Adani and Ambani. In a post on X, Gandhi said, «They have been 'counting notes' they got from 'tempo wale billionaires' for the last 10 years. We will X-ray the country through 'caste census' and ensure equitable share for every section». He also shared a party advertisement which takes on the government over the caste census issue.

Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna to the CBI, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he reposed faith in the Special Investigation Team of the state police, which is investigating the case. Questioning BJP's locus standi to make such a demand, he asked the opposition party as to why it doesn't trust the police. He also hit out at the saffron party for making misleading statements aimed at causing confusion in the minds of the people about SIT, which is conducting a «fair probe». «We are getting the probe done by our police (SIT), we have belief and faith in our police. They are efficient,» Siddaramaiah said in response to a question on BJP demanding a CBI probe.

Narendra Modi has not yet «mustered the courage» to accept the invitation for a debate with Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday, a day after Gandhi accepted the invite. Justice (Retd) Madan B Lokur, Justice (Retd) Ajit P Shah and N Ram had written to former Congress chief Gandhi and the prime minister last week inviting them to a platform for a debate on the key Lok Sabha election issues. «Day 1 of Rahul Gandhi's letter accepting an invitation to debate the prime minister. The 56-inch chest has not yet mustered the courage to accept the invite,» Ramesh said in a post on X. He also called as «farce» the interviews being given by the prime minister.

Voting for the fourth of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Monday for eight seats in Madhya Pradesh where BJP's sitting MP Shankar Lalwani is in the fray from Indore and Congress strongman Kantilal Bhuria from Ratlam. Of the total 29 seats in MP, polling is over in 21 in the first three phases of the general elections. On Monday, polling will be held in the ST-reserved constituencies of Ratlam, Dhar and Khargone, SC-reserved seats of Dewas and Ujjain, and Mandsaur, Indore and Khandwa. Voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm for which 18,007 polling stations have been set up in the eight constituencies, as per officials.

TMC and said the goons of the ruling party are threatening the tormented women of Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have surfaced, to protect the culprits involved in the heinous crime. While addressing back-to-back rallies in Barrackpore and Hooghly, Modi alleged that under the TMC rule, Hindus have turned into second-class citizens in West Bengal and asserted that «as long as Modi is here, no one can repeal the CAA law.» Suggesting that the performance of the Congress would be at an all-time low, the prime minister claimed that the grand-old party will get fewer seats than the age of its 'shehzada' (Rahul Gandhi) in the Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi is in his early fifties.

PM Narendra Modi was continuing to «peddle lies» about Sandeshkhali, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday questioned why he was maintaining a stoic silence on the allegations of molestation against Governor CV Ananda Bose and not asking him to resign. Addressing an election rally in North 24 Parganas' Amdanga, which is a part of the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee said the PM should be ashamed that "BJP's conspiracy" about Sandeshkhali has become public. «The PM is still peddling lies about Sandeshkhali. He should be ashamed as the BJP's conspiracy has now become public,» Banerjee said, apparently referring to a purported video in which a local BJP leader was heard saying that over 70 women had received Rs 2,000 each for taking part in protests against TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh who is accused of sexual assault and land grab. In an earlier clip, a man resembling BJP's Sandeshkhali mandal president Gangadhar Kayal was heard saying that the «staged» protests were done at the behest of Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari who was behind the «whole conspiracy».

Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC's Shatrughan Sinha, Mahua Moitra and Yusuf Pathan, BJP's S S Ahluwalia and Dilip Ghosh will be among the candidates whose fates will be decided in the EVMs as eight Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal will go to the polls in the fourth phase on Monday. Spread over Murshidabad, Nadia, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman and Birbhum districts, the problems flagged by voters in these constituencies vary from migrant labour, drinking water supply and drying up of industries, while the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) notification is a bone of contention between the TMC and BJP in some places. Polling will be held in Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat (SC), Bardhaman Purba (SC), Bardhaman-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur (SC) and Birbhum in West Bengal in the fourth round of the Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee held several public meetings and roadshows in support of their party candidates in these seats.

Delhi gears up for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 25, Union Minister General VK Singh exuded confidence that PM Modi's government will come to power for the third time in the ongoing elections. Speaking to ANI, General VK Singh said, «We have to give a message to the people of Delhi that PM Modi's government will come to power for the third time and the Sikhs are also standing in support of him.» When asked about being criticised by the opposition over BJP's slogan, 'Abki baar, 400 paar', Singh said, «Everybody has a different mindset. For some, it is negative but we think positively. We will win.»

Campaigning for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections ended on Sunday, with 10 states in the fray in this leg of the polls. Scheduled for Monday, May 13, the fourth phase will see 96 constituencies, across 10 states and union territories, vote in the general elections. In this leg of the polls, there are 4,264 candidates in the fray, with the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone accounting for 1,103 and 1,488 candidates.

Trinamool Congress and said that infiltrators are flourishing under the Mamata Banerjee rule and guaranteed to the people of West Bengal that nobody can stop the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state. Addressing a rally in Barrackpur, PM Modi gave five «guarantees» to the people of West Bengal. «I want to give five guarantees to the people of Bengal: — Nobody can give reservations based on religion. Reservations for SC, ST, and OBC will not be touched. Nobody can stop you from celebrating Ram Navami. The judgement of the Supreme Court on Ram Mandir will not be quashed. Nobody can stop the implementation of CAA,» PM Modi said.

Amit Shah on Sunday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can be scared of «atom bomb» but the BJP is not, and that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir belongs to India and «we will take it». He was referring to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan having an atom bomb. Addressing an election rally in Pratapgarh in support of BJP candidate from Kaushambi (SC) Lok Sabha seat, Shah said, «Rahul baba, if you want to be scared of the atom bomb, then be scared, we are not scared. Pakistan occupied Kashmir belongs to India and we will take it.» In a video which had gone viral, Aiyar was heard saying that India should give respect to Pakistan as it is a sovereign nation and engage with it as it also possesses an atom bomb.

Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh): Considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party, Kannauj is set for a fierce battle between SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Bharatiya Janata Party's incumbent MP and perfume trader, Subrat Pathak. Kannauj seat has been considered a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party since 1998, but the seat witnessed a significant shift in the 2019 election when BJP's Subrat Pathak managed to secure victory. Kannauj known as the 'perfume capital of India' will go to polls in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 13. The counting of the votes will take place on June 4.

Secunderabad, which has a history of a two-sided contest between BJP and Congress, is set to see a three-way contest with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) fielding Padma Rao Goud, a former minister and a sitting BRS MLA. Secunderabad has been under the control of either the BJP or Congress since 1957, except for a 10-year period starting from 1967 when M M Hashim from Telangana Praja Samithi won two consecutive terms. In the last twenty years, the voters in this area have switched their allegiance, giving two terms to Congress when the state was undivided and two terms to the BJP in the state of Telangana. BJP's journey towards dominance began in the early 1980s when their candidate, Bandaru Dattatreya, now the Haryana governor, narrowly lost to Congress's T Anjaiah, a former Chief Minister of the undivided Andhra, by around 8,000 votes.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after he walked out of Tihar Jail post the Supreme Court decision to grant him interim bail till June 1, BJP leader and former Haryana minister Anil Vij said «neither he can use the Chief Minister's signature nor he can go to the Chief Minister's office.» «The one who was arrested and who went to jail was Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. But bail has been granted, only to Arvind Kejriwal. The Chief Minister is still inside because neither he can use the Chief Minister's signature nor he can go to the Chief Minister's office,» the former Haryana minister told ANI. Meanwhile, CM Kejriwal will hold a meeting with the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs in the national capital on Sunday. This will be his first meeting with legislatures after he walked out of Tihar Jail.

Purulia Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal with lack of industrialisation and corruption allegations dominating the poll narrative in the backdrop of the omnipresent local Kurmi struggle for Scheduled Tribe status. The stage in this Kurmi-majority seat looks all set for a fierce three-cornered battle between incumbent BJP MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, TMC's former state minister Shantiram Mahato and Congress's old war horse Nepal Mahato, all of who are represent the Kurmi scheduled caste community. While the BJP perceptively earned the Kurmi confidence to dislodge the TMC from the seat in 2019, the latter, in its bid to regain the community's support in the region, has announced in its poll manifesto that it will stand by its demand for ST status and pursue the Centre for its approval. Even smaller parties like SUCI (Communist) have fielded candidates from the same community in the form of young student leader Sushmita Mahato.

Lok Sabha constituency Visakhapatnam is one of the twenty-five Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh. It will go to polls on May 13. The results will be declared on June 4. Ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP's) candidate Botsa Jhansi Lakshmi faces a tough battle in Visakhapatnam against Telugu Desam Party's Sri Bharat and Congress's P Sathyanarayana Reddy. Botsa Lakshmi is the wife of the State Education Minister and YSRCP senior leader, Botsa Satyanarayana.

Voting for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh covering 13 parliamentary constituencies will take place on Monday, with all eyes on the prestigious Kannauj seat from where SP president Akhilesh Yadav is seeking a re-election. Another prominent candidate in the fray in this round is Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, who is contesting from Kheri. Voting will take place in Shahjahanpur (SC), Kheri, Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Hardoi (SC), Misrikh (SC), Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah (SC), Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur and Bahraich (SC). A total of 130 candidates are in the poll fray in this phase.

Arvind Kejriwal will hold a meeting with the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs in the national capital on Sunday. This will be his first meeting with legislatures after he walked out of Tihar Jail post the Supreme Court decision of granting him interim bail till June 1. In a post on X, CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote, «11 am — MLA meeting 1 pm — press conference at party office, 4 pm — Road Show — New Delhi Lok Sabha — Moti Nagar 6 pm — Road Show — West Delhi Lok Sabha — Uttam Nagar. All of you have to come.» Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti organised the 'Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se' cyclathon in the national capital.

Arvind Kejriwal over his «retirement at 75 years of age» remark on Prime Minister Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that knowing their defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, desperate opposition making futile attempts. Earlier, Kejriwal claimed that PM Modi after turning 75 next year will make way for Home Minister Amit Shah and also alleged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be left out in the cold after the general elections. In his post on X, CM Yogi said, «The entire propaganda of the opposition has failed in the face of the immense public support that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi ji is receiving from East to West and North to South. Knowing that its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections is certain, the desperate opposition is making futile attempts to launch attack by using the excuse of Modi ji's age.»

BJP would not be able to win Odisha in the next 10 years, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday claimed his BJD would return to power for the sixth consecutive time after the assembly elections. Patnaik was reacting to PM Narendra Modi telling an election rally earlier in the day that the swearing-in ceremony of a «BJP chief minister» will be held in Bhubaneswar on June 10. «Nothing will happen on June 10. BJP will not be able to win the hearts of the people in the next 10 years, forget about June 10,» the chief minister said, maintaining that the BJD will form the government in Odisha for the sixth consecutive time. He also questioned why Biju Patnaik was not being considered for Bharat Ratna.