PM Modi addresses a rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer on Sunday. (Source: Twitter/BJP4India)Lok Sabha Election 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: Addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said, “We have placed fear in the hearts of terrorists. We compelled Pakistan to go begging around the world. You all think I did right, but Congress and its allies think it was not.” He also accused the Congress of losing the upper hand India had after the 1971 war with Pakistan by surrendering the advantage at the Shimla round table conference.
Earlier, PM Modi addressed a rally in poll-bound Patan district of Gujarat and Chhitorgarh in Rajasthan where he urged the voters to take care of the “son of soil” and “push the lotus symbol” to eradicate terrorism. “It is the duty of the people of my home state to take care of the ‘son of soil’ by giving all the 26 seats in Gujarat to me. My government will come back to power but if Gujarat doesn’t give the BJP all the 26 seats, TV discussions will be held on May 23 as to why did this happen,” he told the crowd.
In Chittorgarh, BJP leader CP Joshi has been pitted against Congress’ Gopal Singh Idwa. BJP stalwart Jaswant Singh’s son and Congress leader Manvendra will fight the elections from Barmer seat and will face Kailash Chaudhry of the saffron party. Polling in Rajasthan will be held in two phases – on April 29 and May 6. All the constituencies in Gujarat will vote on April 23.
BJP fields Shankar Lalwani from Indore
The BJP Sunday announced Shankar Lalwani as its candidate for the Indore Lok Sabha seat, a party stronghold held since 1989 by senior leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Mahajan, who turned 76 in April, had announced on April 5 that she would not contest the elections, apparently in keeping with the BJP's reported diktat that leaders above the age of 75 opt out of electoral politics.
Lalwani, who has earlier been Indore Development Authority (IDA) chairman and Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) president, is from the Sindhi community and is making his Lok Sabha poll debut.
He is pitted against the Congress' Pankaj Sanghvi. (PTI)
Odisha's Patkura assembly election postponed
The election for the Patkura assembly constituency in Odisha has adjourned due to the death of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla. The election to the seat was scheduled to be held on 29th April.
Jobs, farm distress main poll issues, not national security though it is important: Chidambaram
The Congress Sunday said national security is an important issue but the issues dominating the narrative in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections were unemployment and farm distress.
Unveiling a report on national security by a task force headed by Lieutenant General (retd) D S Hooda, the Congress said it would be "completely wrong" to say that national security was dominating the poll narrative, though it is an important issue.
The Congress unveiled the report in the presence of senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and said that its approach towards national security is "not ad hoc and not impulsive".
"As far as the election narrative is concerned, the number one issue remains unemployment. The number two issue is farm distress and the number three issue is security of various sections of the people, women, Dalits, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, forest dwellers, journalists, academicians and NGOs," Chidambaram told reporters. (PTI)
BJP names 4 candidates from Delhi
The BJP Sunday releases list of candidates for Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and UP; Dr Harsh Vardhan to contest from Delhi's Chandni Chowk, Manoj Tiwari- North East Delhi, Pravesh Verma- West Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri -South Delhi and Hardeep Puri from Amritsar.
Glimpses of election rallies in Kerala
Lok Sabha elections: Congress and NCP are paper tigers, says UP deputy CM
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma Sunday described the Congress and the NCP as “paper tigers”, who he said would be wiped out in the Lok Sabha elections which are being held in seven phases.
Addressing a press conference here, Sharma said the BJP would improve its tally of Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra under the leadership of state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
In 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 23 out of total 48 seats in Maharashtra while its ally Shiv Sena bagged 18 seats. Read more
PM Modi: Pakistan is crying in front of the whole world
PM Modi in Barmer: "Today India is hunting the terrorists in Pakistan without waging a war. Pakistan is crying in front of the whole world. The world now stands with India."
PM Modi accuses Congress of losing upper hand in '71 war
PM Modi accused the Congress of losing the upper hand India had after the 1971 war with Pakistan by surrendering the advantage at the Shimla round table conference.
PM Modi: We compelled Pakistan to go begging around the world.
PM Modi in Barmer: We have placed fear in the hearts of terrorists. We compelled Pakistan to go begging around the world. You all think I did right, but Congress and its allies think it was not.
PM Modi: I hit terrorists in their hideouts
PM Modi in Barmer: Terrorist activities were normal in India as Pakistan was given a free hand. Today terrorists killed innocent people in Sri Lanka. I have decided to teach the terror handlers a lesson; I hit them in their hideouts.
PM Modi: Your chowkidar built war memorial in Delhi
PM Modi in Barmer: From years there was a demand for a war memorial, but the Congress built memorials only for its family members. Your chowkidar made a war memorial in the memory of the soldiers who were martyred while serving the nation.
PM Modi speaks about 10% general quota
PM Modi in Barmer: "The demand to give 10% reservation to economically weaker families of the general category was going from a long time. The Congress was busy in dividing the society and it never gave any attention towards it. But your chowkidar implemented this decision without taking away anyone's rights."
PM Modi in Barmer: Ready to sacrifice my dreams to fulfil yours
Addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said, “Those who are going to vote for the first time, these elections are very important for them. One who is born in the 21st century, will vote for the 21st century. Because he has a whole century ahead of him. I am ready to sacrifice my dreams to fulfil yours.”
PM Modi addresses a rally in Barmer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Barmer district. He earlier conducted rallies in Chittorgarh in Rajasthan and Patan district in Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi will be PM if Congress wins maximum seats in Lok Sabha polls: Anand Sharma
Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister if our party gets the maximum seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Sunday.
“Leaders will decide who will be the next PM. It all depends on which party leads. If it is the Congress, then the next PM will be our chief Rahul Gandhi,” PTI quoted Sharma as saying. He also said that the party has made pre-poll alliances and will think about post-poll coalitions depending on the results. Read more
Priyanka Gandhi: Will contest from Varanasi if party wishes
Congress General Secretary from UP East Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Sunday said that she would not mind contesting from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat if Congress president Rahul Gandhi wishes. Varanasi is also the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hardik Patel in Bajrangpur: Congress fighting for people, please vote for us
Hardik Patel in Bajrangpur village: I thank you all for coming out in this hot afternoon. You're lucky that you've got chance to vote again in less than two years. You've not got water. We are here to fight on behalf of you. I request you to vote for Congress candidates.
Will form ministry to tackle water crisis, says PM Modi
Concluding his speech in Chittorgarh, PM Modi assured to form a 'Jal Shakti' Ministry to resolve the water crisis across the country.
PM Modi continues attack on Congress
"Congress has three realities 'naamdaar parivar', corruption and plenty of false promises," PM Modi said.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visits kin of Pulwama attack martyr in Wayanad
Congress lied about loan waiver in Rajasthan, says PM Modi
Do you want India to respond or bow before Pakistan, asks PM Modi
"Do you want to see an India that responds to Pakistan or the one that bows before them? An India that gives a strong reply to terrorists or an India that stays mum after terrorist attacks? A Congress that weakens the country or a BJP that strengthens it?" PM Modi told the crowd.
Congress spent time serving one family: PM Modi
Not political parties but citizens fighting polls, says PM Modi
"Not political parties but the citizens are fighting the elections. Today, the country is convinced that Modi can tackle any attack on India's soil. You can put politics at risk but you will not let the country bow down; you will not allow it to weaken," PM Modi added.
PM Modi begins speech in Chittorgarh
Taking a jibe at the Opposition, PM Modi said, "Those sitting in air-conditioned rooms have no clue about how people are gathering in large numbers under the sun to attend poll rallies."
PM Modi addresses rally in Chittorgarh
Raj govt machinery being misused against me: BJP leader Shekhawat
Rajasthan's ruling Congress is misusing the entire state government machinery against me, Union minister and BJP candidate Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is up against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav in the high-stakes electoral battle told PTI. According to Shekhawat, Vaibhav Gehlot has no identity among the people of Jodhpur and is riding on his father's shoulders. Shekhawat, who defeated Congress' Chandresh Kumari by over four lakh votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, is hoping to repeat the feat in the polls on April 29. "He (Vaibhav) is contesting elections riding on his father's shoulder… there is no magic of Ashok Gehlot in Jodhpur," Shekhawat said.
Nirmala SItharaman holds road show in Kerala's Wayanad
Youngsters join Amit Shah's road show in Ahmedabad
Shivpal Yadav calls SP-BSP combine 'a flop show'
Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) Chief Shivpal Singh Yadav today called the SP-BSP 'mahagathbandhan' "a flop show". "The SP-BSP alliance is a flop show. It has taken shape only for convenience as they knew their existence was threatened. Otherwise, they have been sworn enemies for the past 25 years. Now, how come they have come together?" Shivpal said at a rally in Uttar Pradesh. "This is opportunism at it's best. In the last Lok Sabha, the BSP won zero seats. Now if you multiply any numbers with zero, then the result will always be zero. This coalition will fall apart very soon," he added.
Congress not expected to get majority, post-poll alliance must to form govt in Delhi: Kamal Nath
Predicting a hung Parliament, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said the Congress will do “very, very well” but is unlikely to get a majority and there will have to be a post-poll alliance to form a new government in Delhi. While speaking to PTI, the Congress veteran said that the ruling BJP will not be able to occupy the power seat as it will not get the numbers and no other major political party will form an alliance with it either. "Of course, we are going to do very, very well but I do not see us reaching a majority and there will have to be a post-poll alliance and this post-poll alliance will throw up different types of combinations," Nath said.
PM Modi arrives in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh
Amit Shah holds road show in Ahmedabad
No changes needed in citizenship bill if Clause 6 implemented properly: Assam CM Sonowal
The citizenship bill does not require any changes if Clause 6 of the Assam Accord is implemented properly, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told PTI about the proposed legislation which the top BJP leadership has vowed to bring back if voted back to power. Sonowal also said that the bill will be brought after arriving at a consensus with all stakeholders. "It (amending the Act) is not a new thing as amendments were taken up nine times before this also. This is a continuous process since 1950," he said, adding the BJP will ensure constitutional safeguards to Northeast's political, cultural, social and linguistic identity.
Citing Sadhvi Pragya remarks, Ahmed Patel accuses BJP of double standards
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel also hit out at the BJP’s “double standards” by promising to fight terrorism while giving tickets to those criticizing martyrs. “The BJP has given tickets to such people. What message do you want to convey? On one side, the BJP talks about fighting terrorism. And those who are actually fighting terrorism are criticized by the BJP candidates. Why these double standards? There is a huge difference between what the BJP preaches and what it actually does," he said. Read full story here.
Such utterances are not good: Hooda on Sadhvi Pragya's remarks on Karkare
On BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur's remarks on former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, Lt General (Retd) DS Hooda told reporters, "Yes, it does hurt when such things are said about a martyr. Be it from the Army or the police, full respect must be given. Such utterances are not good." Addressing party workers on the outskirts of Bhopal late on Thursday, Thakur had said that she had cursed Karkare because he tortured her in custody, and that the inauspicious period that began with her incarceration ended when terrorists killed Karkare. Following a national uproar, she retracted the comments and apologised for her remarks. She was later served a notice from the Election Commission.
P Chidambaram addresses media on Congress' plan on national security
Either terrorists or I will be alive: PM Modi
PM Modi also said that he has decided that either he will be alive or the terrorists. Taking a swipe at NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Modi said, "Sharad Pawar says I don't know what will Modi do. If he is unaware of what Modi will do tomorrow, how will Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan know? Had Pakistan not returned our IAF Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, that day would have been 'katl ki raat' (night of murder)."
Duty of Gujarat to take care of 'son of soil': PM Modi
"It is the duty of the people of my home state to take care of the 'son of soil' by giving all the 26 seats in Gujarat to me. My government will come back to power but if Gujarat doesn't give the BJP all the 26 seats, TV discussions will be held on May 23 as to why did this happen," PM Modi told the crowd.
AAP announces names of candidates from Haryana
The Aam Aadmi Party today announced the names of candidates for three seats in Haryana - Naveen Jaihind from Faridabad, Prithviraj from Ambala and Krishan Kumar Agarwal from Karnal.