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Lok Sabha polls, with political activists saying it reflects a deeper issue of gender bias and that the talk of empowering them rings hollow. In the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, there were 135 women candidates while in the second phase, there were 100 women candidates, bringing the combined total for the first two phases to 235 women candidates. Of the 135 women candidates in phase 1, Tamil Nadu had the highest share at 76, but they account for just 8 per cent of the candidates in the state, while Kerala has the maximum women candidates at 24 in phase 2. Party-wise, the Congress has fielded 44 women till now while 69 women have been fielded by the BJP in the first two phases.

Karnataka's Congress government on Sunday in a rally in Belagavi, saying it has bowed to the pressure of appeasement politics instead of giving justice to the family of Neha Hiremath, the young student murdered in her college in Hubballi two weeks ago. Neha, the daughter of Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death on the campus by accused Fayaz Khondunaik. The BJP has been cornering the ruling Congress on the issue, taking the ‘Love Jihad’ angle. “What happened with our daughter in a college campus in Hubli shook the entire nation. They don't value the lives of our daughters like Neha. All they care about is their vote bank…ever since the Congress government came to Karnataka, the situation of law and order in the entire state has deteriorated significantly,” the PM said.

Trinamool Congress worker was killed in Baguiati area adjoining Kolkata allegedly in a clash between two factions of the party, police said on Sunday. A confrontation took place in Arjunpur West Para in Baguiati on Saturday night, escalating into brick-batting by both sides, in which one person, identified as Sanjeev Das aka Potla, was severely injured and was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, a police officer said. Eleven cases, including those related to the Arms Act, were earlier registered against Das, she said. A total of 13 people have been arrested in connection with the incident, the officer said, adding further investigation is underway.

AAP on Sunday claimed the Election Commission (EC) has imposed a ban on the party's Lok Sabha campaign song, 'Jail ke jawab mein hum vote denge', stating that it shows the ruling BJP and central investigation agencies in a bad light. There was no immediate response from the poll panel to the AAP's claim. Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader Atishi said, «It is probably the first time that the EC has imposed a ban on a party's campaign song.» According to the EC, she said, the song shows the ruling party and investigation agencies in a bad light.

industrialisation still remains a key issue in the Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency where two cine stars, contesting on TMC and BJP tickets, pledge to revive industry in the region. Hooghly district, home to Singur area, rose to national prominence in 2006-2007 due to the anti-land acquisition movement against the erstwhile Left Front government that eventually caused the regime's downfall, catapulting agitating TMC to power in the state. But even after 16 years, the issue of the lost opportunity of industrialisation continues to dominate poll narratives of all parties in the fray. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has fielded political greenhorn Rachana Banerjee, the charismatic host of the long-running hit TV show 'Didi No 1', to challenge the incumbent MP and noted actor Locket Chatterjee, representing the BJP.

Lok Sabha polls, several Samajwadi Party leaders joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Lucknow on Sunday. Former Samajwadi Party MLA Jai Choubey and several other leaders including Balram Yadav, and Jagat Jaiswal joined the BJP in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak. «Former MLA and several district presidents have joined our party today. Welcome, and congratulations to all of you. Those working at the block level are also coming along with them, they have a big responsibility in their hands,» Pathak said.

Mumbai North Central MP Poonam Mahajan, who has been denied renomination by the BJP this time, has said people from the constituency treated her like a family for 10 years and she hopes the relationship would always continue. In a post on X on Saturday, Mahajan, who has been replaced by prominent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, also thanked the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving her an opportunity to serve the people of Mumbai North Central constituency for 10 years. «I wish to continue on the path of 'nation first' shown by my late father Pramod Mahajan. I hope to walk on that path always,» she said. The BJP on Saturday denied ticket to Mahajan and instead picked Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor in Mumbai terror attack and 1993 serial blasts cases, as its nominee from the Mumbai North Central seat.

Akali Dal is all set to contest the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat on party symbol 'takdi' or scales for the first time since 1996 as it braces for a showdown with its former ally which has used star power to clinch the seat on numerous occasions. The Shiromani Akali Dal had joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1996. As part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab, the BJP used to contest from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. The SAD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. The SAD walked out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said the PM has imagined a Congress manifesto written by one of his ghost speech writers and he should debate the real issues included in the document. Chidambaram's remarks come amid repeated attacks by the prime minister over Congress leader Sam Pitroda's 'inheritance tax' comments amid the row on the issue of 'wealth redistribution'. «The Hon'ble Prime Minister continues to discover and read in the Congress' manifesto words and sentences that are not there! He has imagined a Congress' manifesto written by one of his ghost speech writers,» Chidambaram, who was the chairman of the committee that drafted the Congress manifesto, said. The phrase 'inheritance tax' does not occur anywhere in the manifesto, the former finance minister said in his post on X.

BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday asked if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to win the Lok Sabha elections by scaring and threatening people as he hit out at her government over the seizure of arms and ammunition by the CBI in Sandeshkhali. In a statement, he expressed confidence that the BJP will win over 35 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and conveyed his party's solidarity with the Sandeshkhali women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by former Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates. Sheikh, now suspended from the TMC, is in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody and is also accused of land grab by locals. The CBI on Friday seized arms and ammunition, including a police service revolver and foreign-made firearms, during searches at two premises of an associate of Sheikh.

Karnataka government has decided to form a Special Investigation Team to probe an alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. Prajwal is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. He was the NDA candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26. The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year.

K Annamalai. That name, however, goes beyond the Saffron party leader's popularity as it has a deep connection to Tamil Nadu's history and socio-cultural dimensions. During the Quit India movement, a foot soldier of Gandhiji, a young man with patriot zeal was at the forefront of the struggle in southern Tamil Nadu. Chinna Annamalai (1920-1980), a star of the freedom movement, cast a spell on people by his oratory. «When he was arrested in 1942 during the Quit India movement, people stormed the prison at Tiruvadanai (Ramanathapuram district) and got him released,» recalls S Ramachandran, noted epigraphist and historian, adding several people were killed in police firing in connected incidents. Subsequently, Chinna Annamalai was jailed and it was C Rajagopalachari who appeared on his behalf in court and he was eventually released from prison. Writer and a pioneering publisher, he was opposed to the Dravidian movement.

Congress' Delhi president Arvinder Singh Lovely resigned from the post citing discomfort with party's decision to ally with the Aam Aadmi Party for the upcoming elections, as per a letter quoted by ANI. «The Delhi Congress Unit was against an alliance with a Party which was formed on the sole basis of leveling false, fabricated and malafide corruption charges against the Congress Party. Despite that, the Party made a decision to ally with the AAP in Delhi...,» Lovely said in a letter. «Not only did I publicly back the decision, I also ensured that the full State Unit fell in line with the High Command's final order. On instructions from AICC General Security, I even went to the extent of visiting Arvind Kejriwal's resident on the night of his arrest along with Subhash Chopra, Sandeep Dikshit, despite the same being against my position on the matter,» Lovely said.

Election Commission of India declared the polls conducted at six polling stations in the Outer Manipur Parliamentary Constituency as void and announced fresh elections in these stations on April 30. «The Election Commission of India has, under Sections 58(2) and 58A(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, directed that the poll taken on April 26, 2024 (Friday) in respect of 6 polling stations listed in the table below of 2- Outer Manipur (ST) Parliamentary Constituency to be void and appointed April 30, 2024 (Tuesday) as the date for taking fresh poll at the said polling stations with hours of poll from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM,» an official statement said. Chief Electoral Officer, Pradeep Kumar Jha further appealed to the voters of these polling stations to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Minister Atishi stated that the BJP imprisoned Kejriwal to prevent him from campaigning, but «lakhs of Arvind Kejriwals» have hit the streets to campaign for him, which demonstrates the love of Delhiites for the AAP supremo. Speaking to amidst the campaign, Atishi said, «BJP put Arvind Kejriwal in jail thinking that they can stop him from campaigning but now lakhs of Arvind Kejriwals have hit the streets for campaigning. This is the love of the people of Delhi.» The Delhi Minister resonated with the people in the campaign and said, «Today the people of Delhi have come out in such large numbers to bless Arvind Kejriwal Ji.»

Madhya Pradesh that went to polls on Friday in the second phase of general elections recorded a voter turnout of 58.59 per cent, according to data released by the Election Commission on Saturday. Of the 1.1 crore eligible voters in these seats, 61.61 per cent of men and 55.46 per cent of women electors exercised their franchise, officials said. «The voter turnout in the previous (2019) Lok Sabha elections was 67 per cent in these six seats,» the state's Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said. Hoshangabad recorded the highest voting at 67.21 per cent, while Rewa stood at the bottom of the list with a turnout of 49.42 per cent, official numbers showed.

second phase of polling for five Lok Sabha constituencies, officials said on Saturday. The Nagaon seat registered the highest polling percentage at 84.97, followed by Darrang-Udalguri at 82.01, Karimganj at 80.48, Silchar at 79.05 and Diphu at 75.74, they said. Altogether 77.26 lakh electors were eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase of polling held on Friday, the election officials said. Women voters recorded a higher turnout of 85.55 per cent compared to the polling percentage of men at 84.41 and the third gender at 16.47.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday claimed that the BJP is conspiring to change the Constitution and abolish reservations in the country and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are doing a "surgical strike" on SC, ST and OBCs. The RSS, when it was founded in 1925, had decided to announce the nation as a «Hindu country» and to scrap the reservations in 100 years (by 2025), he claimed. «The reason for (BJP's slogan of) '400 paar' (above 400) is because they want to change the Constitution completely, abolish reservations and make India free of reservations,» he told reporters here. «Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are doing a 'surgical strike' on the natives of this country, the Dalits, STs and OBCs.They (BJP) have decided to make this elections as the ground for their surgical strike,» Reddy said.

voter turnout in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections has touched the 66.7 per cent mark, which is less than the figures of the 2019 parliamentary polls. Both phases of the ongoing polls have seen a dip in the voter turnout as compared to the last general election. The 66.7 per cent figure is approximate, sources said. The Election Commission is yet to come out with the polling percentage formally. Phase two of the Lok Sabha elections was held on Friday across 88 constituencies spread in 13 states.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has selected lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as its candidate for the Mumbai North Central constituency, replacing Poonam Mahajan. Nikam, known for his role as the prosecutor in the 26/11 attacks case, will contest against Congress' Varsha Gaikwad. Who is Ujjwal Nikam Ujjwal Nikam was born in Maharashtra's Jalgaon on March 30, 1953, to lawyer Deorao Madhavrao Nikam and Vimaladevi, a well-known freedom fighter. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and obtained his law degree from SS Maniyar Law College in Jalgaon.

Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress should apologise to the country for doubting the integrity of the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Speaking at an election rally here, he also said Goa was a model of the BJP ''saturation approach'' to the implementation of the central government's schemes, which was true secularism and means of doing social justice. Congress lied about EVMs and tried to instigate people, but the Supreme Court has held in its recent ruling that there was nothing wrong with EVMs, the prime minister said, adding that Congress should apologise to the country for its stand. «Goa is a model of the BJP's saturation approach (to welfare scheme) which has benefited farmers, the poor, fisherfolk, women. Modi lives to fulfill your dreams and aspirations,» he said, The coastal state is the land of patriots and known for its magnificent temples and churches, Modi added.