Lok Sabha Elections 2019: After Advani, BJP asks Joshi not to contest

BJP President Amit Shah and UP CM Adityanath will address rallies in UP and Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be in Rajasthan. Catch LIVE updates on campaigning for Lok Sabha Elections 2019

11:40 PM

Congress pits Sanjay Kapoor against BJP's Jaya Prada in UP constituency

Congress has announced three more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, pitting Sanjay Kapoor against BJP's Jaya Prada in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur constituency.

11:39 PM

Prominent candidates's nominations found valid for first-phase Lok Sabha polls

Nomination papers of all prominent candidates were found to be valid after scrutiny for the first phase of polling to be held on four Lok Sabha seats of Bihar on April 11.

11:18 PM

Mamata targets BJP for sidelining L K Advani, says old is gold

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of sidelining its senior leader Lal Krishna Advani and denying him Lok Saha ticket from Gandhinagar parliamentary seat in Gujarat.

 

"It is my personal feelings. I am feeling bad. Advani was the actual mentor for the BJP. They have forgotten the old days because of the new crop of leaders. But old is gold. It is an insult to him. But this is my personal feeling. They may not agree to it," the Chief Minister said.

Mamata Banerjee

10:36 PM

Supporters of  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hold cutouts of party president Amit Shah with the party symbol during a public rally in Ahmadabad | Photo credit: PTI

10:32 PM

Lok Sabha polls: EC appoints special observers for eight states

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday appointed four special observers, two retired IRS and two IPS officer, to spearhead its efforts to check the abuse of black money and illegal inducements to voters and monitor deployment of security forces in select sensitive states during the Lok Sabha polls.

Representative image of a VVPAT machine

10:10 PM

Congress announces candidates for Navsari, Kutch Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat

Congress on Tuesday announced names of leaders from Dalit and Koli communities from Navsari and Kutch Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat. With the announcement of candidatures of Naresh Maheshwari from Kutch, a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), and Dharmesh Patel from Navsari, the total number of candidates declared by the party has reached six.

9:50 PM

BJP will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana: Manohar Lal Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a roadshow on Tuesday and exuded confidence that the ruling BJP will win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Khattar said the BJP will seek votes on the basis of development work undertaken by both the state and the central government.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

9:36 PM

Indian Armed forces left without anything during UPA regime: Sitharaman

Attacking the previous Congress-led UPA regime for 'not buying even one thing' for the armed forces during its 10 year tenure, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the personnel did not even have bullet proof vests, leave alone Rafale jet, which was never bought. "I want to ask why during the UPA period not even one thing was bought for our armed forces", said Sitharaman.

9:25 PM

EC appoints 'Special Expenditure Observers' in several states for elections

8:49 PM

Consulted 'big economists' including Rajan for minimum income scheme: Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said his party consulted "big economists" including former RBI governor Rahuram Rajan before it came up with the idea of minimum guaranteed income to the poorest 20 per cent households in the country.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Photo: @INCIndia

8:43 PM

Congress will give complete exemption to entrepreneurs for 3 years: Rahul Gandhi

8:35 PM

PM Modi 'only' PM to respond to Pakistan like US: Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah claimed that Narendra Modi was the "only" prime minister who had responded to terror activities in Pakistan like the United States.

"We attacked Pakistan without any delay after the Pulwama attack, while the Opposition leaders were insisting for negotiation, Shah said at a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district. The Bharatiya Janata Party chief alleged that the Opposition was insulting the soldiers who died in the Pulwama attack by asking questions on the number of casualties in the Balakot airstrike.

8:21 PM

Election 2019: Facebook rolls out 'Candidate Connect' feature

Facebook has launched a feature 'Candidate Connect' through which Lok Sabha candidates can record their poll promises in 20-second videos. Facebook has already started removing fake accounts and "bad actors who mislead people" and has brought in transparency in political advertisements.

8:13 PM

Happy that women will benefit under NYAY scheme: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said she's happy that women will receive Rs 72,000 per year directly into their bank accounts under the minimum income guarantee scheme announced by party chief Rahul Gandhi.

8:06 PM

Thankful to PM Modi, Amit Shah for having confidence in me: Jaya Prada

7:40 PM

BJP denies ticket to Ananth Kumar's wife in Bangalore South

In a surprise move, the BJP on Tuesday fielded party's youth wing leader Tejaswi Surya from its bastion of Bangalore South from where the widow of union minister Ananth Kumar, a six-time MP from this prestigious Lok Sabha constituency, was denied the ticket.

7:06 PM

Shatrughan Sinha to join Congress on March 28

Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has been associated with BJP for about three decades, will join Congress on March 28.

7:00 PM

Samjawadi Party releases candidates' list of Uttar Pradesh

6:33 PM

Former BJP chief Murli Manohar Joshi dropped from Kanpur

Former BJP chief Murli Manohar Joshi dropped from Kanpur, UP minister Satyadevi Pachauri fielded from Kanpur

6:33 PM

Congress releases another list of candidates for Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh

6:30 PM

AAP failed to fulfill its pre-poll promises: Rajnath Singh

 

Hitting out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the AAP government has "failed" to fulfill its pre-poll promises and asserted that it cannot form the government every time by fooling the people. Addressing the party's 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' in northeast Delhi parliamentary constituency, Singh said the Narendra Modi dispensation always does what it says.
 

6:24 PM

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Sheila Dikshit during a press conference at DPCC office, in New Delhi | Photo credit: PTI

6:22 PM

6:18 PM

BJP releases list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

6:08 PM

BJP President Amit Shah with party leaders during 'Vijay Sankalp' rally, ahead of Lok Sabha elections, in Moradabad | Photo credit: PTI

6:04 PM

Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Bhupender Yadav presents the membership slip to veteran actor and former MP Jaya Prada as she joins BJP | PTI

5:53 PM

Allot a common symbol to AMMK candidates: SC to Election Commission

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission to make "all endeavour to ensure" allotment of a common symbol to the 59 candidates of the Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) party. The 59 candidates in question are contesting 40 seats for the Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and 19 for the by-elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, according to PTI.

5:40 PM

Priyanka to visit Amethi, Rae Bareli, Faizabad in next leg of campaign

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to visit the party bastions of Amethi, Rae Bareli and Faizabad on Wednesday in her next leg of campaigning in Uttar Pradesh.

 

5:00 PM

Congress' Hardoi candidate booked for violating model code of conduct

A case has been filed against Congress nominee from Hardoi Parliamentary seat, Virendra Verma, for alleged violation of model code of conduct.

4:34 PM

Actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada joins BJP

Former Samajwadi Party MP and actor Jaya Prada joined the BJP on Tuesday and may be fielded as the party's candidate from Rampur constituency to take on her bitter rival and SP nominee Azam Khan. A two-term Lok Sabha member from the SP, she is a close associate of Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh.