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Supreme Court on Friday verbally observed that it could consider granting interim bail to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal due to the Lok Sabha elections. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta made the oral observation after observing that the arguments on Kejriwal's plea, challenging his arrest in the Delhi excise scandal, may take time to conclude. The bench enquired about the date of polling in Delhi. «This may take time. But if the case takes time, we may consider the question of interim bail due to elections,» justice Khanna remarked orally. However he made it clear, repeatedly that the bench has not decided anything in this regard and was merely posing a query to the ED counsel to be answered on Tuesday.

RSS in Madhya Pradesh, Congress' Digvijaya Singh is leaving no stone unturned to complete the uphill task of winning this seat. He is facing a twin challenge — Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity and the organisational strength of BJP and RSS. Anti-incumbency against MP Rodmal Nagar, who is seeking a third consecutive term, may work in his favour. Rajgarh is an issue of prestige for BJP as the saffron party's ideological parent has a presence across the district including its small villages. Senior sangh functionary Suresh Soni, who played an instrumental role in naming the then Gujarat CM Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the runup to the 2014 elections, hails from Rajgarh.

Customer is king Shiv Sena MLA Sandipan Bhumre has always been targeted by his rivals for running liquor stores. But Bhumre, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar's Lok Sabha candidate, has no qualms about it. While delivering a speech in his constituency this week, a drunk person created a stir. Bhumre, however, asked his party workers not to harm the person and said «he is our customer», much to the amusement of the audience. Bhumre laughed and added: «Why lie? We have a lot of customers everywhere.» Laughing it out In Kagal, one of the speakers campaigning for Shiv Sena's Sanjay Mandlik was trying to tell the crowd that Congress' Rahul Gandhi was no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked who should lead the country. Since BJP and Sena supporters were expected to say Modi, the crowd was stunned when a youth near the stage said Rahul. Whether it was a gaffe or deliberate, it led to laughter not just from the audience, but even from those on the stage.

BJP is working hard and will win all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, sayschief minister Vishnu Deo Sai. In a conversation with ET in Korba, he says his government is examining all Congress schemes and may discontinue some and why Naxal attacks and encounters have increased since BJP assumed power. Excerpts: On prospects in LS polls We are considering all 11 seats as tough and working hard everywhere. We will win all 11 seats.

Rajnath Singh on Friday took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for having chosen Rae Bareli instead of Amethi to contest in the Lok Sabha polls and said that everyone knows what do «we call a person who runs away from the battle in between». He was addressing a public meeting in Rohtak, Haryana for BJP candidate Arvind Sharma. «Rahul Gandhi has left the battleground and ran away to Wayanad. When his party wanted him to contest elections again from Amethi, he chose Rae Bareli. We all know, what to call a person who left battle in between,» he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday urged people to remember the good things that happened to them during YSRCP tenure before casting their vote in the forthcoming elections, and listed out a slew of welfare schemes introduced by his government. The ruling party chief said this during a public meeting in Narasapuram in West Godavari district. «Think under whose tenure good things happened and under whom will that good continue. Everybody should think about it and then vote,» said Reddy. Appealing to those who did not vote for him in the past elections, he requested them to go home and discuss with family members. Terming the forthcoming elections as a 'Kurukshetra' battle, Reddy said they are not just to elect MLAs and MPs but to decide the future of every household in the next five years and the continuation of welfare schemes.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday filed his nomination from Rae Bareli, a few hours after announcing his candidature from the key constituency. The party leader was accompanied by his sister and Congress party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rae Bareli's sitting MP Sonia Gandhi. The party has decided to drop Priyanka Gandhi Vadra this time around. Congress' loyalist KL Sharma will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, the seat Rahul Gandhi lost in the 2019 general elections to BJP leader Smriti Irani.

Congress finally revealed that Rahul Gandhi will contest from the historic Gandhi family seats of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. The unexpected twist in the announcement has sparked interest and speculation among political circles. In a strategic move, senior leader Rahul Gandhi has opted to contest from Rae Bareli, a decision that deviates from the traditional stronghold of Amethi, where he faced defeat in the 2019 elections against Union minister Smriti Irani. Meanwhile, his sister and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has decided not to enter the electoral fray at this time. The nomination unveiling took place on the deadline day for filing nominations for the two constituencies, which are scheduled for polling on May 20. In Amethi, the party has put forward Kishorilal Sharma, a prominent figure representing the Nehru-Gandhi legacy in the region for over two decades. This marks the first time in 25 years that a member of the Gandhi family will not be contesting from Amethi.

Rahul Gandhi was named by the Congress as its candidate from Raebareli Lok Sabha seat, Union Minister and BJP's candidate from Amethi, Smriti Iron Friday said that Congress has conceded defeat from the constituency even before a vote was cast, adding that the opposition party would not have fielded a «proxy candidate» (Kishori Lal Sharma) if they were hopeful about the outcome of the polls. «I welcome the guests to Amethi. The fact that the Gandhis are not fighting in Amethi shows that even before a vote has been cast, they are losing from Amethi. If they had seen even a glimmer of hope, they would have contested and not put up a proxy candidate,» Smriti Irani told reporters in Amethi. Smriti Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a «victory» for the people in Amethi.

BJP) on Friday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for ditching the Amethi seat to contest the Lok Sabha elections against Smriti Irani. On Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli, BJP national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, «Rahul Gandhi has forgotten his own slogan-'Daro Mat' and ran away from Amethi. Rahul Gandhi running from Amethi has proved to the entire nation that his slogan 'Daro Mat' is loaded with double standards, cowardice and hypocrisy.» «Rahul Gandhi will be remembered as that General who left the battlefield, left his soldiers, and escaped from the very back door rather than leading from the front...Rahul Gandhi's escape from Amethi, Priyanka Gandhi's Vadra's decision not to contest the election shows that the entire Congress campaign is shivering, collapsing and shaking, and is all set to finish off at a very fast pace,» he added.

Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency, where another opposition party TMC too is contesting, CPI(M) nominee Manoranjan Talukdar feared that anti-BJP vote will be divided and it may create «some difficulties» for him. Talukdar, however, expressed optimism that he will give a «tough fight» against all opponents and will win the election from Barpeta, which has become a Hindu-majority seat after the delimitation exercise last year. «This is unfortunate and Congress is only responsible for what happened in the constituency. We had talked about contesting from Barpeta a long time ago… A wrong message has gone because of the opposition parties fighting separately,» he told PTI in an interview here. From the ruling front, AGP has nominated senior leader, former minister and sitting Bongaigaon MLA Phani Bhusan Choudhury to contest from Barpeta. Congress nominated its state Seva Dal chief Deep Bayan, while TMC has named Abul Kalam Azad for the seat.

BJD leader VK Pandian has said that he will be the heir and successor to all his values of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and he cherishes his identity as an aide who «works for Naveen Patnaik and delivers». In an interview with ANI, Pandian said that Naveen Patnaik is contesting from two constituencies in the assembly polls even as people of the state want him to contest from all the assembly seats. He said the Chief Minister selects one extra constituency every time. Asked if it is correct to assume that he will be the political heir to Naveen Patnaik, Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, said he gets love and affection from people because of his present identity.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in the alleged molestation case, former state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Friday said that this matter is a ploy of "TMC politics" and questioned how low the ruling Bengal party will stoop to insult those holding constitutional posts. «This is nothing new. This is TMC's politics. I don't know how low they will stoop. TMC is busy insulting the President, PM, Home Minister, now the Governor, and even the husband of a woman justice in our state. This is their way of politics. Now it is time for them to go,» Dilip Ghosh told ANI. Following allegations, the Bengal governor issued a statement on Thursday banning the entry of the police and Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya into the Raj Bhavan premises of Kolkata, Darjeeling, and Barrackpore «defamation and anti-constitutional media statements.»

Sakshi Malik has criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for giving a ticket to Karan Bhushan Singh, son of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, for the Kaiserganj seat in Uttar Pradesh. In a post on social media, Malik expressed her disappointment with the decision, stating that it defeats the daughters of the country. She highlighted the sacrifices made by athletes, including sleeping on the streets for many days in the sun and rain, and questioned why Brij Bhushan has not been arrested despite the allegations against him. In a post on X, Malik said that the decision of the ruling party to field Brij Bhushan's son has defeated the daughters of the country.

Thanda, Thanda; Cool, Cool: No fly-by-night operators, but night-riders! Some Lok Sabha campaigners are sweating it out at night on two-wheelers to avoid day's sweltering heat. Amethi MP Smriti Irani, who was seen riding a scooty in her constituency a few days ago, interacted with voters and took selfies with them. On Tuesday, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was seen riding his 'Triumph' for a public meeting in the area. Rangeela Varanasi Lok Sabha election in Varanasi is set to be more colorful this time as mimicry artiste Shyam Rangeela, who imitates Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has announced that he would contest from the constituency and will file his nomination papers soon.

Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha seat is sweating it out in Dhubri. He is up against Congress’s Rakibul Hussain, a prominent leader from Muslim minority community and former minister. BJP’s ally in state government, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has fielded Zabed Islam from Dhubri setting up a multi cornered contest in Dhubri.

Rupala over his remarks on erstwhile 'maharajas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the scion of the Jamnagar royal family and praised the community for its sacrifices. Rupala is the BJP candidate for the Rajkot Lok Sabha seat, which goes to polls on May 7. Ahead of his poll rally in Jamnagar on Thursday evening, Modi met Jam Saheb Shatrusalyasinhji at his residence in the city. «Upon reaching Jamnagar, went to the residence of Jam Saheb Shri Shatrusalyasinhji and had a wonderful interaction with him. Meeting him is always a delight. His warmth and wisdom are exemplary,» Modi said on X.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will never accept Bharat Ratna or any other award for his father Biju Patnaik in return for any election or political alliance with the BJP, his close associate and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader V K Pandian has said. The former IAS officer, who has worked in Odisha for over 25 years, including as private secretary to the chief minister, also hit out at the central ministers from the state for having never spoken about the highest civilian award for the 'Pride of Odisha' and inspiration for every Odiya, Biju Patnaik. «One of the biggest identities for Odisha is the courage and valour shown by Biju Babu. If you see two Odiyas in any part of the world if they speak about Odisha, they will end up speaking about Biju Babu,» Pandian told PTI in an interview here. «They will either have tears or they will have emotions. That is the connect Biju Patnaik has with the people of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter, he has done so much for the country and the state. He is the architect of modern Odisha,» he added.

Congress, ejected from the contest after its Indore candidate joined the BJP, is appealing to voters to press the 'None Of The Above' (NOTA) option, a move slammed by the ruling party as negative tactics. Akshay Kanti Bam, who had been pitted against BJP's sitting MP Shankar Lalwani, shocked the grand old party on Monday, which was the last day for withdrawal of nomination, after he pulled out of the race and switched over to the saffron party. The Indore constituency in Madhya Pradesh will go to polls on May 13 in the fourth phase of the general elections. «Voters of Indore had delivered a huge victory to the BJP in the last municipal and assembly elections. In spite of it, the saffron party murdered democracy by unfairly luring Bam. Voters must give a befitting reply to BJP by hitting NOTA,» senior Congress leader Shobha Ojha told PTI on Thursday.

Chirag Paswan on Thursday filed his nomination papers from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, where he has entered the fray to cement his position as the true heir to late father Ram Vilas Paswan's legacy. Chirag, who headed the Lok Janshakti Party floated by late Paswan till it was split by the latter's younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras, now heads the LJP (Ram Vilas). The BJP, which had initially thrown its weight behind Paras, the sitting MP from Hajipur, who was also rewarded with the cabinet berth, decided to back Chirag Paswan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year. The who's who of BJP in Bihar, including Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Nityanand Rai, the Union minister of state for Home who had headed the party's state unit in the past, drove to Hajipur, situated right across the Ganges from Patna, by way of solidarity.

Shashi Tharoor has said the alleged sex scandal involving JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna will echo in the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls not just in Karnataka but elsewhere as the BJP will have a tough job explaining its position after having campaigned for the accused in the elections. Prajwal and his father H D Revanna, former Karnataka minister, were booked by police on Sunday on charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household. Prajwal is the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and nephew of Karnataka former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. Faced with unrelenting attack from the Congress and other political parties, the JD(S), an ally of the BJP, suspended Prajwal.