Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, display copies of election manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)
Lok Sabha Election 2019 Highlights: BJP President Monday evening visited senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi at their residence, news agency ANI was quoted as saying. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and other top leaders including Rajnath Singh Monday released the party’s manifesto for Lok Sabha elections 2019. Calling them “75 promises for India@75,” the party said the “Sankalp Patra” reflected “people’s Mann Ki Baat.” Few of the promises made by the party include – abrogation of Article 370, annulling Article 35A, passing Citizenship Amendment Bill, forming Triple Talaq law, doubling farmers’ income by 2022, Housing for all by 2022 and doubling the length of National Highways by 2022.
While some parties like the Shiv Sena welcomed the BJP manifesto, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, NCP President Sharad Pawar and BSP chief Mayawati criticised it. The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) released its manifesto Monday afternoon, promising reservation for SC’s, ST’s and OBC’s. A Congress spokesperson said today that party president Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination from Amethi on Wednesday. In Mumbai, Milind Deora, Urmila Matondkar, Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam filed their nominations. Meanwhile, in Arunachal Pradesh, CM Pema Khandu who is seeking a third consecutive term from the Mukto Assembly seat, is the richest among 184 candidates contesting polls in the state.
Read our exclusive interview with Arun Jaitley here.
On agenda today | BJP manifesto release at 11 am; Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka’s rallies today: 11.15 am – Saharanpur, 1.45 pm – Shamli, 3.30 pm – Bijnor.
Ajit Singh, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav in Deoband. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)
Kirti Azad and Kalicharan Munda to contest for Congress from Dhanbad and Khunti in Jharkhand respectively.
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari today said that the BJP manifesto will meet the expectations of 2.5 crore people of Delhi.
A total of 82 candidates are in the fray for the five constituencies in Bihar, which will go to polls on April 23. Prominent among the candidates who filed their nominations today were Bihar chief Nityanand Rai, JD (U)'s Rajiv Ranjan Sinh alias Lalan Singh and RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
A total of 82 candidates are in the fray for the five constituencies in Bihar, which will go to polls on April 23. Prominent among the candidates who filed their nominations today were Bihar chief Nityanand Rai, JD (U)'s Rajiv Ranjan Sinh alias Lalan Singh and RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
A total of 82 candidates are in the fray for the five constituencies in Bihar, which will go to polls on April 23. Prominent among the candidates who filed their nominations today were Bihar chief Nityanand Rai, JD (U)'s Rajiv Ranjan Sinh alias Lalan Singh and RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
A total of 82 candidates are in the fray for the five constituencies in Bihar, which will go to polls on April 23. Prominent among the candidates who filed their nominations today were Bihar chief Nityanand Rai, JD (U)'s Rajiv Ranjan Sinh alias Lalan Singh and RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
Reacting to the BJP manifesto released today, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said today that it is for the first time that a government has promised a house by 2022, to every poor family. BJP has reiterated its commitment on the Ram temple issue, on Kashmir and Uniform Civil Code. The coming 5 years will be to address the aspirations of people. Adityanath further said that the opposition grand alliance is a result of the frustration of its constituents i.e. BSP, SP and RLD, as they faced defeat in the last general election.
Vadodara BJP MLA Madhu Srivastav said "If the lotus doesn't emerge victorious, I will finish off those living illegally here. I am afraid, I will do dadagiri. For years, we have sheltered you, provided water, electricity and homes."
BJP President Amit Shah on Monday evening visited senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi at their residence.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stepped up her attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him a "dacoit and liar chowkidaar" who looted public money during demonetisation. She accused Modi of not looking after farmers and middle class as he was busy touring the globe for the past four and a half years and telling lies ahead of elections. Mamata mocked Modi for making films, television serials in his name and said "Modi thinks he is bigger public figure than Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambekdar."
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Monday termed the BJP manifesto as a fresh set of 'jumlas'. Kejriwal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah did not have the courage to say why demonetisation was done and farmers were pushed towards destruction.
While the BJP manifesto was welcomed by the Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) termed it a "gimmick". Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said that efforts should be made now to construct the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the next tenure. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik asked the BJP to first give an account of the implementation of poll promises made in 2014.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, a party spokesperson said today. Congress district unit spokesperson Anil Singh said that Rahul Gandhi will hold a roadshow in Gauriganj town, the administrative headquarters of Amethi.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who is seeking a re-election from Mukto Assembly seat for the 3rd consecutive term, is the richest among 184 candidates contesting polls in the state, with his assets being worth more than Rs 163 crore. A thorough analysis of the affidavits submitted before the election office found that 131 of 184 Assembly poll candidates are crorepatis, the report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. The number of women contestants in the state has gone up to 11 in the current elections for the 60-member assembly, as against 7 in 2014 polls.
While addressing a rally in Gautam Buddha Nagar today, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said, "The ruling party has no moral rights to present an election manifesto, which they have done today. Instead of this, they should have presented an action report of the promises they made in the last election."
Congress candidates Urmila Matondkar, Priya Dutt and Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant filed their nominations for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. Urmila Matondkar rode a motorcycle to file her papers for the Mumbai North seat, where she is pitted against BJP's Gopal Shetty. Priya Dutt filed her nomination for the Mumbai North Central seat, with Poonam Mahajan being the BJP candidate. Former city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam filed his papers from Mumbai North West seat, where he faces Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar. Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale filed his nomination from Mumbai South Central seat, against Congress candidate Eknath Gaikwad.
The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) Monday released its manifesto, titled 'Pratibadhta Patra' and promised reservation for SC's, STs, EBC and OBCs in proportion of their population in the private sector and the higher judiciary. While releasing the manifesto in Patna, party leader Tejashwi Yadav said, "The ceiling - a 50 per cent cap - had been broken after giving 10 per cent quota to the weaker sections among the general category so the people belonging to these categories (SCs, STs, EBC and OBCs) should be given reservation on the basis of their population."
Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora filed his nomination for Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency with unemployed youth, mill workers, small-time businessmen as proposers to highlight Modi government's policy which created unemployment, affected business due to GST and demonetization. Unemployed youth Rishikesh Guhagar, former mill worker Vaijaynti Gawade and businessman Navin Chavda, who was affected by GST and demonetisation, paid the nomination fees for Milind Deora as support.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel attacked the BJP for its manifesto and said they should have come out with a 'maafinama'. He said, "After we presented our manifesto, we held a detailed q&A session, and immediately after BJP presented its manifesto, all their leaders went home without even taking a single question."
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah slammed BJP for its poll promises on Article 370 and 35-A. "Recently J&K Governor claimed there was no threat to Art 370 & 35-A and that parties like mine were only using them to drum up fear in the elections. I hope his colleagues in the BJP send him a copy of their manifesto," he wrote on Twitter
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calls BJP's manifesto "a fresh set of jumlas." "BJP unveils a fresh set of jumlas without telling the country what is the fate of its 2014 jumlas. Modi-Shah don't have the courage to speak on why demonetisation was done? What happened to two crore jobs? Why were farmers pushed towards destruction?" he wrote on Twitter.
BJP president Amit Shah may meet party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi on Monday, days after the party dropped both leaders as its Lok Sabha candidates. The BJP has replaced Advani, who represented Gandhinagar for many years, with Shah as its candidate from the constituency in Gujarat. Joshi has been replaced with Satyadev Pachauri in Kanpur. (PTI)
Hitting out at BJP over its Sankalp Patra the Congress said the "manifesto is full of falsehood." "The difference between BJP manifesto and Congress manifesto can be seen firstly from the cover page. Our's has a crowd of people, and BJP manifesto has face of just one man," Congress leader Ahmed Patel said.
Targetting the party over the creation of jobs, corruption, Congress said, "People have seen through BJP. They are now seeking answers for the false promises made," it said. Pushing in its campaign tagline 'Ab hoga nyay,' Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The balloon of lies will burst. People of India will reject BJP this time."Surjewala also listed out things missing from the speeches made by BJP leaders during manifesto launch - jobs, demonetisation, GST, corruption, among others.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court while hearing a petition calling for stay of release of on PM Modi's biopic said it would intervene only if petitioner brings on record what it purports to portray & his objections. The next hearing is tomorrow
Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said our manifesto aims at 'One Mission, One Direction'. "India is a diverse country with different languages and culture, which is why we have tried to make our developmental processes multi-layered," said PM Modi. He added, "we have also tried to make our manifesto multi-dimensional."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his address by thanking the people of India for their support. He said, "I would like to thank the people for supporting us for the last 5 years. It is because of you people that we could do this today."
Addressing the gathering, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, " This Sankalp Patra is one of a government that will continue in power and wants to expedite the growth of this country. This has been prepared with a strong nationalist vision. 2014 was an election in a cynical environment. There was corruption, policy paralysis. That was an election which promised hope. Our new policy of striking terror in its place of origin has received global support. Our inflation number has been the lowest. The previous government had left it in double digits. We aim to make India a land of opportunities once again. We are the first government in history which consolidated India's middle class and which brought out the fastest depletion of poverty."
On Article 370, the manifesto reads, "We are committed to overcome all obstacles that come in the way of development and provide adequate financial resources to all the regions of the state. We reiterate our position since the time of the Jan Sangh to the abrogation of Article 370. We are commied to annulling Article 35A of the Constitution of India as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir. We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state. We will take all steps to ensure a safe and peaceful environment for all residents of the state. We will make all efforts to ensure the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits and we will provide financial assistance for the resettlement of refugees from West Pakistan, Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and Chhamb."
Rajnath Singh who headed the committee to form the manifesto called it a "visionary, practical document." Citizenship Amendment Bill is also present in the manifesto. "We will try to reach consensus and will pass this bill. We, however, do not wish to target any cultural or linguistic group. We will preserve the identity of the states" Uniform Civil Code, Ram Mandir, doubling farm income by 2022 is also present in the document. "We have our full commitment on Uniform Civil Code," Rajnath Singh said.
Union Home Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh, speaking at the release of the party's poll manifesto said, "With all our promises, made in this manifesto, we are taking a step towards building a 'New India."
(Source: Twitter/BJP)
"The BJP manifesto that we are releasing today will fulfil the aspirations of people. We have 75 promises for 75 years of Independent India in 2022. We have consulted crores of people before making this manifesto. This is an election about aspiration of people and I am sure that people will help us in taking our promises to every corner," Amit Shah said.
"The Modi government has taken decisive steps. There was a time when the glory of India was reduced in the global arena. We have brought back the lost glory. We curbed black money, conducted a surgical strike against terrorism," Amit Shah said while listing Modi government's achievements.
BJP chief Amit Shah is addressing the gathering. This is Modi's first manifesto as prime minister. "I want to remind you about the 2014 polls. That time we brought you a vision of how the country would be between 2014 to 2019. The people then delivered their verdict giving us a majority government. The journey from 2014 to 2019 will be written in golden words in the history of Indian development," says Amit Shah
BJP chief Amit Shah welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the venue amid chants of "Abki Baar Modi Sarkar." Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley are present on the dais.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are present at the venue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by BJP chief Amit Shah. The Sankalp Patra is scheduled to be released shortly
In Mumbai, Congress leaders Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt will file their nomination. Sanjay Niruam will represent the Mumbai North West seat. The constituency covers tribal hamlets of Aarey, upscale localities of Juhu, Versova & Lokhandwala, and slums around Jogeshwari, Andheri East and Goregaon. Actor Urmila Matondkar will also file papers today
Apart from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, a host of other BJP leaders are also going to be present for the launch of BJP manifesto 2019. (Express photo/Neeraj Priyadarshi)
Ahead of 2019 manifesto, a look at the promises made by BJP in 2014. Issues like the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abrogation of Art 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of Uniform Civil Code were included in the BJP’s election manifesto in 2014. Several sections of the manifesto were also a throwback to the promises the party had made in Gujarat before the 2012 assembly elections. The manifesto also had three personal assurances by Narendra Modi - to work hard to the end, to never act in “bad faith”, and to never act out of self-interest.
Read BJP 2014 manifesto highlights
After Mayawati's Deoband rally, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer has sought a factual report from the Saharanpur administration over her remarks. "I am warning, especially people of the Muslim community, that the Congress isn’t in a position to fight the BJP in UP…” she said at the rally.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Dinesh Kumar Garg, Assistant Director of Information, confirmed that the CEO had taken cognisance of the speech. “The CEO has sought a report from the Saharanpur district administration on Mayawati’s speech,” Garg said. “Seeking votes on the basis of religion or caste is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, and the matter will be probed by the Election Commission (EC),” an election official said.
The high-voltage poll campaign in western Uttar Pradesh is on in full swing in the crucial seat of Saharanpur, which has a sizeable Muslim population. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a rally in the constituency, while the SP-BSP-RLD alliance held its first joint rally on Sunday. On Monday, Congress eastern UP general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and party chief Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to hold a rally in the constituency. Both the alliance and the Congress are eyeing Muslim votes. Whether the BJP would gain out of the division of Muslim votes is to be seen. The seat goes to poll in the first phase of elections on April 11.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretaries in charge of eastern and western Uttar Pradesh — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia respectively, will jointly address three rallies in the western region, starting from Saharanpur, on Monday. After Saharanpur, Rahul and Priyanka will address rallies in Shamli, which falls under Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, for party candidate Harendra Mallik and later in Bijnor from where the Congress has fielded former BSP leader Nassimuddin Siddiqui.
Welcome to Indian Express' live blog on Lok Sabha elections. The BJP will release its manifesto for the upcoming polls today. In Congress house, brother-sister duo of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka will lead the party's campaign in Uttar Pradesh. The Lok Sabha elections is spread across seven phases, beginning from April 11. The polls will conclude on May 19 and results will be declared four days later on May 23. Follow this space to track the latest news