Highlights: Govinda joins Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena ahead of LS

Lok Sabha polls 2024 latest news: Catch all the latest updates on the announcements related to the General Elections here

9:53 PM

Kharge, Sonia, Rahul Gandhi to release Congress poll manifesto in Jaipur on April 6

The Congress will release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls here on April 6, party's Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said Thursday. He said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will release the party's manifesto at a public meeting in Jaipur. Randhawa was talking to reporters after the meeting regarding election strategy in the Congress' 'War Room' here.

9:50 PM

Congress MP Adhir praises economist, Sitharaman's husband Parakala Prabhakar for his views on electoral bonds

West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury on Thursday heaped praise on Parakala Prabhakar, eminent economist and husband of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for his views on the electoral bonds saying that he should be thanked for it. Chowdhury also came down heavily on the BJP government at the Centre saying that "electoral bonds were a systematic way to extort money". "He (Prabhakar) has spoken the truth. I would like to thank him for that. He is an honest, upright and determined person and that is why he could say this. He deserves to be praised lavishly," Chowdhury told reporters. "We in Congress as well as Rahul Gandhi have been saying this (what Prabhakar said) for a long time... since the day when electoral bonds issue was passed in Parliament along with the Financial Bill (in 2017). We had protested against it. We understood that the electoral bonds were a systematic way to extort money," he added.

8:37 PM

Lok Sabha Polls: 71 nominations of 155 nominations rejected in UP's first phase seats

Seventy-one of 155 nominations filed for eight Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, that will go to polls in the first phase of elections, were rejected, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said on Thursday. Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur, and Pilibhit will vote in the first phase on April 19. Thirteen candidates filed nominations from the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat. During scrutiny of nomination papers, one nomination was rejected and the remaining 12 nomination papers were found valid, the officer said.

7:53 PM

LS polls: Savitri Jindal quits Congress, joins BJP days after son Naveen switched sides

Former Haryana minister Savitri Jindal quit the Congress and joined the BJP in Haryana's Hisar on Thursday, days after her son and industrialist Naveen Jindal switched parties. The 84-year-old Savitri Jindal joined the BJP along with her daughter Seema in the presence of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other BJP leaders.

6:05 PM

To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress culture: PM Modi on lawyers writing open letter to CJI

To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture, said PM Modi on lawyers writing to CJI against 'vested interest group' trying to defame courts. 

5:01 PM

NDA govt changed telecom policy after getting Rs 150 crore donation via bonds, alleges AIMIM chief Owaisi

The central government  has changed the telecom policy after receiving electoral bonds worth Rs 150 crore from a company, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi alleged today.

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP wrote in a post on X that the Modi government got electoral bonds worth Rs 150 crore from a company and the government changed its telecom policy. You can understand who benefited from the change in policy.

4:58 PM

Money laundering case: ED questions AAP's Goa unit chief, 3 others

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today started questioning Aam Aadmi Party's Goa unit president Amit Palekar and three others in connection with a money laundering case. The probe agency had summoned Palekar, AAP leader Ramrao Wagh and two others - Dattaprasad Naik and Ashok Naik - for questioning in a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

4:55 PM

General Elections 2024 updates: Rs 1.76 crore cash sized in Gondia amid pole code

Officials in Gondia district in Maharashtra has caught cash worth Rs 1.76 crore cash from two places ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, officials said.

Cash worth Rs 1.71 crore was seized at the check-post of Soni village and Rs 5 lakh from the Murdoli village check-post. 

4:52 PM

Himachal BJP workers welcome Congress rebel Rajinder Rana

Ex-Congress member Rajinder Rana, now the saffron party' s candidate for the Sujanpur assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district, faced black flags from the NSUI activists but he also received a welcome from his supporters on visiting his constituency Thursday. Rana, a three-time MLA came into limelight by defeating former Chief

3:46 PM

Padma awardee Dr Damayanti Beshra and former BJD leader Sidhant Mohapatra join BJP, meet party chief JP Nadda

3:30 PM

We hope that Prakash Ambedkar will continue discussions with us: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi

3:26 PM

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Former BJD MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sidhant Mohapatra join BJP

Ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Odisha, senior leader and MP Bhartruhari Mahtap had resigned from the primary membership of the BJD on March 22.

 

2:39 PM

Congress to announce remaining candidates for Jharkhand LS seats by April 1

The Congress will declare the names of its remaining candidates for the four Lok Sabha constituencies of Jharkhand by April 1, a party official said.

"Congress will announce the remaining candidates for four seats by April 1, while a consensus on seat-sharing is likely by tomorrow," a party leader said.

2:37 PM

Prajwal Revanna of JD(S) files nomination papers in Hassan for Lok Sabha polls 2024

2:17 PM

Ex-Haryana minister and industrialist Savitri Jindal quits Congress

Industrialist Savitri Jindal has severed links with the Congress, days after her son and industrialist Naveen Jindal left the party to join the BJP.

The 84-year-old Savitri announced her decision to quit the Congress on a social media post late Wednesday night.

"I represented the people of Hisar for 10 years as an MLA and have served Haryana state selflessly as a minister. The people of Hisar are my family and on the advice of my family, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Congress today," she posted in Hindi.

1:04 PM

"If BJP wants, then I will contest (from Patiala)": Preneet Kaur

1:02 PM

Cong will attain victory all 6 seats in by-elections, says Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that State Congress is ready for the Lok Sabha elections, adding Congress will win all six Assembly seats in by-elections. The bypolls will be held in Himachal Pradesh as six Congress legislators resigned from the party and joined the BJP.

12:59 PM

What Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on ED case against Kerala CM's daughter

"Justice will have to take its course...Many of my party members have pointed to certain anomalies in these transactions. Therefore, if there is a case, it should be proceeded against. This is somewhat different from a case in which a sitting Chief Minister was himself arrested. This is a matter involving a private citizen and certainly, the law must take its course," Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said. 

12:48 PM

AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar arrives at ED office in Panaji

AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar arrived at the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) office in Panaji on Thursday, March 28, after being summoned by ED in connection with Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.

12:13 PM

Lok Sabha polls LIVE: HAM(S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi files nomination from Gaya

National President of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and NDA candidate Jitan Ram Manjhi has filed a nomination from the Gaya Lok Sabha seat.

10:52 AM

TMC leader Mahua Moitra to campaign in Bengal's Krishnanagar today, skip ED summons

Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has said she will campaign in her Krishnanagar constituency today. I will be out for campaigning in the Krishnangar constituency in the afternoon, Moitra told reporters. The Enforcement Directorate had summoned Moitra to appear for questioning at the ED office in New Delhi.

10:49 AM

General Elections update: Filing of nominations for 1st phase of Lok Sabha polls in UP concludes

The filing of nominations for eight seats of Uttar Pradesh that will go to polls in the first phase of General Elections ended on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said. A total of 155 nominations have been filed in the eight Lok Sabha seats, of which 109 were filed on Wednesday, according to-information provided by the state election commission.

10:43 AM

Lok Sabha polls 2024 updates: BJP leader Topon Kumar Gogoi files nomination from Assam's Jorhat

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Jorhat Parliamentary constituency (Assam) and sitting MP Topon Kumar Gogoi filed his nomination papers at the Jorhat district commissioner office on Wednesday for the first phase of the parliamentary elections.

 

The Congress party has fielded its party MP, Gaurav Gogoi, from the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency in Assam.

10:25 AM

Lok Sabha polls 2024: Congress releases list of 16 candidate for 4 states

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Grand Old Party released its eighth list on Wednesday of candidates for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand.

10:23 AM

Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu, 4 others set to get elected to Assembly unopposed

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and four other BJP candidates are set to get elected as legislators unopposed as no other candidate has filed nomination from their assembly seats on the last day of filing papers on Wednesday.

8:59 AM

Filing of nominations for second phase of Lok Sabha polls begins today

The process of filing nominations for 88 parliamentary seats across 12 states in the second phase of the Lok Sabha poll started today. The notification for the second phase of the LS polls -- to be held on April 26 -- was issued by the Election Commission on behalf of the president early on Thursday.