April 3 elections roundup: AAP releases party manifesto, Imran Masood out on bail

9.40 pm: Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Thursday said there is no Modi factor visible in the State ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

9.35 pm: Police on Thursday filed a chargesheet in a local court against a former Jammu and Kashmir Minister in connection with a molestation case filed against him by a lady doctor in February this year.

9.09 pm: The Election Commission on Thursday directed district magistrates and police officers to initiate prompt action against reports of poll code violations, following political parties’ complaints of slow response.

9.03 pm: Union minister Salman Khurshid, former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, UP Chief Minister’s wife Dimple Yadav and PMK president G K Mani were among the notable candidates who entered the fray today as filing of nominations for 6th and 7th phases of Lok Sabha polls gathered steam.

8.51 pm: BJP moves EC on Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with Jama Masjid Shahi Imam; says meeting aimed at polarising elections.

READ: Time to get rid of corrupt people from politics: Bhupinder Singh Hooda

8.31 pm: Accusing the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat of misusing the state machinery, Congress on Thursday approached the Election Commission, saying the administration was denying its candidates an equal footing in poll campaigning.

 8.26 pm: BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be addressing an election rally in Chandrapur on Friday in the third leg of his campaign in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

READ: Suniel Shetty campaigns for BJD minister in Odisha

8.17 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the BJP by saying that it had no right to talk about corruption, as the malaise was deep-rooted in Madhya Pradesh, a state ruled by the saffron party.

 8: 05 pm: Hooda said the time has come to get rid of corrupt people from politics by casting vote in favour of responsible and development-oriented leaders.

7: 55 pm: Arun Jaitley said the country was not in a position to compete in the international market in view of declining industrial growth and enhanced production cost.

7: 53 pm:  Modi said if elected to power, he would take all the necessary steps, including framing a law or signing pacts, and vowed to take action against anyone who has ‘looted the country.

ALSO READ: Narendra Modi vows to bring back blackmoney

7: 50 pm:  Suniel Shetty added colour and glitz to electioneering as he participated in a roadshow and campaigned for ruling BJD candidates in Odisha’s Koraput district.

7: 45 pm: Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s wishes good luck to Rajnath Singh.

7.35 pm: Having sewn up an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar with the RJD, the Congress has decided to go alone in the upcoming by-election for five Assembly seats in the state and announced its candidates for three seats today without consulting its ally.

7.34 pm: Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists came to blows outside the Old Custom House in South Mumbai today, after their respective party candidates reached there to file their nominations.

6: 50 pm: Congress  launched a blistering attack on  Modi saying the state was ‘converted into a police state’ and demanded a thorough probe into phone tappings during his regime.

ALSO READ: Congress attacks Narendra Modi over snoopgate; calls Gujarat ‘police state’

6.37 pm: 

Saharanpur (UP): Imraan Masood released on bail, says “I did no wrong” pic.twitter.com/EMKwl1HZke

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 3, 2014

6: 08 pm: Congressman Madhusudhan Mistry, arrested for tearing Narendra Modi’s posters in Vadodara.

6:07 pm: Sonia Gandhi said UPA had fulfilled ‘almost’ all the poll promises it made to people in 2004 and 2009.

6: 06 pm: Jan Lok Pal Bill should cover everyone from peon to PM: AAP manifesto

6:05 pm: AAP releases party manifesto, Kejriwal says people’s suggestions included in manifesto

5: 49 pm: Congress in AP has lodged a complaint with EC against Modi alleging that BJP leader has breached the Model Code of Conduct ‘threatening’ CM Nabam Tuki at an election rally last month.

ALSO READ:  Arunachal Congress lodges complaint against Narendra Modi for Nabam Tuki remarks

5: 42 pm: In a attack on the EC,  Jayalalithaa on Thursday deplored the restrictions imposed in calculation of poll expenses and declared her party would move the court challenging the norms.

5: 25 pm: Rajnath Singh alleged that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi lacked ‘proper political understanding’.

4: 39 pm: The fodder scam was a conspiracy hatched by the elite against me as my party works for the poor to ensure social justice, said Lalu Prasad.

4: 22 pm: Congress most communal, says Shahi Imam’s brother.

ALSO READ: Yahya Bukhari, Shahi Imam’s brother, calls Congress a communal party

4:13 pm: Modi accused Sonia Gandhi of resorting to ‘rabid communalism’ by appealing to Muslim leaders to ensure their votes are not split and sought Election Commission’s action in this regard.

ALSO READ: Modi wants EC to take action against Sonia, says Cong chief resorting to ‘rabid communalism’

3.55 pm:

Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned for a train accident, Arvind Kejriwal resigned for JanLokpal, @narendramodi did not resign even for a massacre.

— Adv. Somnath Bharti (@attorneybharti) April 3, 2014

3.45 pm: In Kurukshetra, Modi says the CBI is being misused by the Congress

3.35 pm: BJP to release its manifesto on April 7, says party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman.

3.30 pm: Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath says poll panel will take cognizance if a complaint against Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with Shahi Imam is received. 

ALSO READ:  Sonia-Bukhari meet like fox and wolf talking non-violence: Shiv Sena

3.23 pm: 

Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Kurukshetra pic.twitter.com/TQefGh7Qab

— ANI (@ANI_news) April 3, 2014

3.03 pm: Days after quitting the Aam Aadmi Party, actor Praveen Kumar, who played the famous Bheem’s role in Mahabharat, joins BJP.

2.43 pm: Close on the heels of a former state police chief embracing the ruling AIADMK ahead of Lok Sabha polls, another former DGP, A X Alexander, today took the political plunge joining the Jayalalithaa-led party.

2.38 pm: As the countdown begins for the April 10 Lok Sabha polls, candidates on the campaign trail in Kerala have also turned to advanced chat options like ‘Whatsapp’ and ‘Skype’ to get connected with their voters, especially the Non-Resident Keralite community which comprises a strong vote bank in many parts of the state.

1.50 pm: Modi targets Congress President as he says: “Soniaji has misled and divided the nation. People will never forgive this kind of politics.”

1.45 pm: Modi says Congress is making every effort to communalise the Lok Sabha elections. “Congress is defeated. The party has moved on from ‘secularism’ to open communalism,” says Modi.

1.41 pm: BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addresses Bharat Vijay rally in Ghaziabad.

1.40 pm: In Sasaram, Sonia attacks BJP, says they have their eyes on the PM chair. “They know to divide and make people fight,” Gandhi says.

1.35 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi addresses crowd during a rally in Sasaram, Bihar.

1.30 pm:

MNS-Shivsena workers clash outside Old Customs House, lathi charged by Police. Some things never change!

— Milind Deora (@milinddeora) April 3, 2014

1.20 pm: BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan  files nomination papers for Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency.

Just filed my nomination papers for Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency. The fight for a #PositiveChange has begun. Be a part of it!

— Poonam Mahajan (@poonam_mahajan) April 3, 2014

12.58 pm: Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry, who is contesting against Narendra Modi in Vadodara, has been arrested along with several party workers for vandalism.

READ FULL STORY: MADHUSUDAN MISTRY DETAINED FOR DAMAGING MODI POSTERS

12.48 pm:

Amethi’s per capita income is amongst the 10 poorest in Uttar Pradesh. #AmethiFacts

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) April 3, 2014

12.44 pm: According to reports, there is pressure on Manvendra Singh to resign from the BJP if he continues to campaign for his father Jaswant Singh, who has filed his nomination as an independent from Barmer in Rajasthan.

12.29 pm: Union Textiles Minister K S Rao has resigned from the UPA government over division of Andhra Pradesh

12.06 pm:

Sonia Ji’s meeting with Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid is a clear indication of Congress mentality which treats minorities only as a votebank.

— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 3, 2014

11.57 am: BJP president Rajnath singh is slated to address three meetings – in Aurangabad, Jamui and Karakat – along with Ram Vilas Paswan and Sushil Kumar Modi in Bihar today.

11.46 am:

AAP Manifesto for the New Delhi constituency http://t.co/pSSRCK7zhw #ISupportAAP #AAP4YouthInPolitics

— Aam Aadmi Party (@AamAadmiParty) April 3, 2014

11.40 am:

AAP’s LS candidate @medhanarmada on her way for filing her nomination #LSpolls #ElectionTracker @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/8q6MyI6nVO

— Aamir Khan (@AamirRasulKhan) April 3, 2014

11.38 am:

@ShanuAhluwalia @BJPRajnathSingh ji proposed projects worth 650 crores, the UPA govt. has been sitting on those files #vksingh4gzb

— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) April 3, 2014

11.36 am: Congress leader Ramesh Tomar has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

11.25 am: Maneka Gandhi has countered Varun Gandhi on his appreciation for Rahul Gandhi’s work in Amethi. She said that what her son had said was wrong and he should not speak before verifying facts.

10.55 am: Gujarat minister Babulal Bokharia has been exonarated by the Supreme Court in a 2005 murder case. The apex court quashed order summoning him as accused.

10.30 am: The release of BJP manifesto is likely to be delayed as some senior leaders have demanded last minute changes on some issues.

10.24 am: The Congress has defended the meeting between party president Sonia Gandhi and Imam Bukhari, saying there’s nothing wrong in meeting religious leaders.

10.10 am:

The chant is for An Ki Baar Modi Sarkar. The support is for the development candidate. #LekhiForDelhi pic.twitter.com/w9O3GweyQg

— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) April 3, 2014

10.06 am: Former judge Fakhruddin to contest against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli as an AAP candidate. Adarsh Shastri, grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri, to contest from Allahabad.

10.00 am:

RT @bcchristopher: RT pls. Acid attack victim Laxmi joins @AamAadmiParty #AAP4YouthInPolitics pic.twitter.com/2wO5NhHCWX

— aarti (@aarchie02) April 3, 2014

9.35 am: According to reports, the Amethi administration has rejected Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s residence proof application, saying he’s not even an occasional resident.

9.14 am: BSP chief Mayawati will campaign for party candidate Quadir Rana in Muzaffarnagar today.

9.08 am: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh will campaign for party candidate Ravi Gautam in Bulandshahr today

9.03 am:

Will travel from Karnavati to Trivandrum to Bhubhaneshwar to Kolkata, and later Assam before descending on UP.

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) April 3, 2014

8.55 am: BJP has filed a complaint with EC against SP’s Azam Khan and Congress’s Beni Prasad Verma for their derogatory remarks against Modi