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Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of accommodating corrupt leaders and taking no action in cases against them once they join the ruling party. The allegations came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in Maharashtra and ahead of his rally in Goa. It also raised the plight of onion farmers and giving clearance to projects to select corporate groups, asking if the prime minister is working for the people or his «crony businessmen friends». In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the BJP's deluxe brand washing machine has been reserved for Goa.

Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday said he has given his assent to five Bills passed by the state assembly which had been pending for long. The bills include the Land Assignment Amendment Bill, Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment), the Paddy Wetland Amendment Bill, the Dairy Cooperation Bill and the Abkari Law Amendment Bill. Governor Khan who met the media said the assent was given a few days ago and the details were revealed today as the General elections in the state had concluded yesterday. «We had received many petitions (against the bills). So we had to send it to the government and seek their comments. Then other petitions also came in favour of the Bills. It takes time to evaluate everything and make a decision,» Khan said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted the Congress-led INDI alliance, saying it is mulling to have five prime ministers in five years if voted to power. Addressing a rally at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, Modi said the opposition bloc cannot even reach a three-digit figure or «at the doorstep of forming a government, but has plans to have one prime minister every year if they get a chance». «In Karnataka, Congress has planned to rotate the post of the chief minister by handing it to the deputy chief minister after 2.5 years. They had this arrangement in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well,» he said. Modi said the Congress wants to extend the «Karnataka model wherein Muslims were inducted in the 27 per cent quota for OBCs», in the entire country.

Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday staged a demonstration at the BJP headquarters against the postponement of the election for the mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. According to an official statement, over a dozen AAP MLAs and volunteers, including MLAs Rakhi Birla and Ajay Dutt, along with mayoral candidate Mahesh Khichi were detained by the police during the protest. The AAP accused the BJP of «conspiring» with the Lt Governor VK Saxena to «cancel» the mayoral elections fearing the win of the AAP candidate in the polls. The AAP alleged that the BJP wanted to stop a person from the Dalit community from becoming the Mayor of Delhi.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday received minor injuries while getting into her helicopter on Saturday from Durgapur on her way to a public rally in Asansol Constituency's Kulti for BJP candidate Shatrughan Sinha. Meanwhile, Banerjee slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a «jumla» and «Jhhuta» PM who brought CAA and NRC to Bengal to throw people out of the country. The West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly stumbled on board of her chopper while on her way to a campaign in Kulti on Saturday afternoon from Durgapur. The nature of her injury is not known yet. However, the injury was minor and she went to her scheduled rallies in Kulti and Asansol. Demanding Prime Minister's resignation from her rally, Banerjee said in the Kulti public rally, «I have never seen such a „jhhuta“ (Liar) PM. He wants to malign us. He wants to sell the country. BJP government has brought CAA, NRC and wants to throw people out of the country. But people want 'Roti Kapda Makaan' and jobs for the people, not their lofty speeches.»

Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that it was due to a «misunderstanding» that a leader from Maharashtra had expressed his resentment over the party not fielding any Muslim in the Lok Sabha polls in the western state. Without naming the disgruntled party leader, Kharge said that he would be «compensated», maintaining that Rajya Sabha and assembly elections in Maharashtra were also due. «To say that no Muslim candidate was fielded is wrong. It is a three-party alliance there (in Maharashtra) and mutual decisions were taken,» the Congress chief said at a press conference here. He was reacting to a question on the Maharashtra Congress leader (Naseem Khan) criticising the party for not naming any Muslim candidate in the western state, where the Congress is fighting the Lok Sabha polls as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with Udhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, on Saturday set out to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Saturday's roadshow is her maiden political apperance. «Your Chief Minister is a sher, nobody can break him or make him bow down,» Sunita Kejriwal said at the roadshow. She said the Delhi Chief Minister was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics.

BJP) has fielded Ujjwal Nikam, who was a special public prosecutor in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack, from Mumbai North Central in the Lok Sabha elections. Nikam, a senior public prosecutor, has appeared for the government in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack case. Ujjwal Nikam will be contesting the polls against Congress's Varsha Gaikwad.

Election Commission on Saturday updated the total polling percentage of the April 26 Lok Sabha polls to 71.16 percent in Kerala. The final official figures of the general election in the state would be made available later, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said here in a statement. As per the latest update, a total of 1,97,48,764 (71.16 per cent) of the total 2,77,49,159 voters exercised their franchise in the Friday elections. Among the constituencies, Vadakara had recorded the highest poll percentage, 78.08, while Pathanamthitta registered the lowest at 63.35 per cent. The polling percentage in other constituencies are: Thiruvananthapuram (66.46), Attingal (69.40), Kollam (68.09), Pathanamthitta (63.35), Mavelikkara (65.91), Alappuzha (74.90), Kottayam (65.60), Idukki (66.53), Eranakulam (68.27), Chalakudy (71.84), Thrissur (72.79), Palakkad (73.37), Alathur (73.20), Ponnani (69.21), Malappuram (72.90), Kozhikode (75.42), Wayanad (73.48), Vadakara (78.08), Kannur (76.92), Kasaragod (75.94).

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hit out at the Narendra Modi government over jobs and inflation, saying the unemployment rate is the highest in the country. Addressing a campaign rally at Udgir in Latur district for the Congress candidate, she said 30 lakh posts are lying vacant in the Central government which have not been filled in the last ten years. «Hardships (of the people) and unemployment have risen in the last ten years. 70 crore people, youth are unemployed,» Gandhi said. The AICC general secretary also said GST (Goods and Services Tax) has been imposed on every (piece of) agricultural equipment and promised to abolish it after Congress comes to power.

Amit Shah on Saturday said people must not make the mistake of voting for "urban Naxals" and asserted that the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were «anti-tribals». Addressing a rally in Gujarat's Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency, where the AAP has fielded a candidate as part of its alliance with the Congress, he urged the people to vote for BJP's sitting MP Mansukh Vasava. «You will never get a public representative like Manuskh Vasava. If you make a mistake, then some urban Naxal will take his place (as MP) and destroy this tribal region,» Shah said. Mansukh Vasava is pitted against the AAP's sitting MLA Chaitar Vasava in Bharuch, which is part of south Gujarat that has a sizable presence of tribals. «The Congress and AAP have come together to loot people. I have no hesitation in saying the Congress is an anti-tribal party and AAP will exploit tribals after getting their votes,» Shah asserted.

YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday released the party manifesto for the coming elections and promised to gradually hike welfare pensions from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month and govern the state from Visakhapatnam. The chief minister noted that welfare pensions, which are currently at Rs 3,000 per month, will be raised to Rs 3,250 from January 2028 and subsequently to Rs 3,500 from January 2029. «Immediately after YSRCP forms the government in 2024, Visakhapatnam will be made the executive capital as the seat of the government. It will be developed as the growth engine for the state,» said Reddy, addressing a press conference.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said Narendra Modi has undermined the dignity of the Prime Minister's post with lies and inflaming people's sentiments. «Narendra Modi is very good at lying. They have marketed lies. He is trying to harm the dignity of people by saying irrelevant things, inflaming people's feelings, polarizing them, which undermines the dignity of the post of Prime Minister,» Siddaramaiah said, while addressing a press conference. He said Congress has complained about this to the Election Commission. «We have complained to the Election Commission regarding his speeches on reservation and 'Mangalsutra' issues. No action has been taken yet. Notice has been given to them. We look forward to taking action,» the Chief Minister said.

Congress on Saturday slammed as «false propaganda» Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'snatching quotas' remarks and alleged that it was the BJP that was against reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the reality is that since 1950, reservation in education and employment has been possible when there have been Congress prime ministers and Congress governments at the helm. In a video statement, Ramesh said, «The prime minister is repeatedly indulging in the false propaganda that the Congress is against the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and wants to snatch it away. This is absolutely false.» «The reality is that the provisions in the Constitution for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were made because of B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other Congress leaders. So, this was the contribution of the Congress,» Ramesh said.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to weaken the democracy in the country and has pressurised every institution in the last 10 years to not comment against it. Addressing an election rally in Valsad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, «They (BJP) want to weaken the democracy and people of the nation. Institutions that protect your rights be it media have been weakened. Media used to ask us every day but nothing of that sort is happening today.» Referring to remarks of BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde on «rewriting constitution», Priyanka Gandhi said that it is a «dangerous» trend.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday filed his response on the Enforcement Directorate’s affidavit in the Supreme Court. He said that the mode, manner, and timing of his arrest just before when the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes about the arbitrariness of the ED. Kejriwal also said that there exists no proof or material demonstrating that the AAP received funds or advanced kickbacks from the South group, let alone utilising them in the Goa election campaign.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the names of party candidates for prestigious Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in a «few days». Addressing a press conference here, he claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are «put on the lap» and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly. «You have to wait for a few more days… when the names of candidates come from people to me and I sign the notification, it will be announced,» he said when asked about candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies. «Those questioning Congress leaders for changing constituencies must also tell me how many times have (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee and (Lal Krishna) Advani changed their seats,» Kharge said, when asked about the BJP criticising Rahul Gandhi for fighting the elections from Kerala's Wayanad instead of Amethi.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee encountered a minor injury while boarding her helicopter on Saturday in Durgapur. This incident occurred as she was enroute to a public rally in Asansol. Banerjee proceeded with her scheduled activities after receiving first aid.

Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal stating that the CBI had «deliberately carried out an unscrupulous» raid at an «empty location» at Sandeshkhali during the second phase of polling in the state. The TMC said that while elections were going on at Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday, the central agency carried out an «unscrupulous» raid at an empty location at Sandeshkhali. 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 now-suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali. The searches were conducted in connection with the January attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team by a mob that was allegedly instigated by Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in the case.

Bengaluru's apathy towards voting continues in 2024 as well. On Friday, nearly half of the voters in India's Silicon Valley did not turn up to cast their franchise despite numerous efforts by the Election Commission. Voting for Lok Sabha polls was held in 14 constituencies in Karnataka on Friday, where a 69.23 percent voter turnout was recorded. However, the percentage dropped significantly in three urban constituencies in the city, namely Bangalore Central, Bangalore North, and Bangalore South. The approximate voter turnout in Bangalore Central was 52.81 percent, in Bangalore North it was 54.42 percent, and in Bangalore South it was 53.15 percent. However, the voter turnout in Bangalore Rural was approximately 67.29 percent. Mandya and Kolar had a voter turnout of 81.48 percent and 78.07 percent, respectively.

Madhya Pradesh's longest-serving chief minister and BJP stalwart Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to play an important role in national politics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling an election rally recently that he wanted to «take him to Delhi (Centre)». Chouhan, who was the chief minister from 2005 to 2023, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from his stronghold Vidisha, an ancient city incidentally located on the Bhopal-Delhi train route. The BJP candidate is up against Pratap Bhanu Sharma, a Congressman who won the seat in 1980 and 1984 on the back of the post-Emergency Indira Gandhi juggernaut and later, the sympathy wave caused by her death. These were the only two occasions when the Congress won the seat since it was created in 1967.