LS Polls HIGHLIGHTS: Chirag Paswan's Helicopter Narrowly Avoided Crash, Says His Office
Lok Sabha Elections HIGHLIGHTS: Please stay tuned with this page brought to you by ABP Live for all the latest updates and developments on the 18th general elections of India.
Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani Thursday strongly condemned an audio statement given by Sarwar Chishti, secretary of Anjuman of Ajmer dargah, on Jain monks visiting Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer without clothes.
Anjuman is a body of khadims (clerics) of the Ajmer dargah.
A group of Jain monks accompanied by the VHP leaders on Tuesday went to the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer, an ASI-protected mosque, and claimed the monument was earlier a Sanskrit school and a Jain temple existed there before the school.
The monks led by Sunil Sagar Maharaj reached the monument from Fawara Circle via Dargah Bazaar.
Later, an audio message of Chishti surfaced on social media in which he said he had registered his protest with police while objecting to the Jain monks' visit without clothes to the monument, in which there is also a mosque.
Reacting sharply to the statement of Chishti, Speaker Devnani said he has insulted the 'Sanatan' culture by commenting on the Jain monks and he should apologise to the entire 'Sanatan samaj'. (PTI Input)
People's Conference chief Sajad Lone Thursday asked National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah to stop being a "crybaby" and come up with such lies which have a longer shelf life.
Lone's remarks came after Abdullah asked the Election Commission to direct authorities in the north Kashmir's Baramulla constituency to allow his campaign programme as per schedule.
Abdullah's letter to the EC comes a day after the Sopore Superintendent of Police Divya D issued an official directive to the additional district magistrate, outlining the rescheduling of various political activities in the area.
Abdullah and Lone are pitted against each other in the constituency for the Lok Sabha polls.
"Can we stop this TARBAAZI (lying)? We have now stooped to TARBAAZ-Pro. It seems we will need to create a special section to counter lies manufactured by you on an hourly basis," Lone said on X addressing the junior Abdullah. (PTI Input)
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday claimed that the NDA roadshow held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Vijayawada on May 8 gave jitters to the ruling YSRCP.
The opposition leader said this while addressing a public meeting at Kurupam in Parvatipuam Manyam district.
“YSRCP leaders started trembling on watching the roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Vijayawada…YSRCP leaders have come to a conclusion that they will lose power,” said Naidu.
Calling on people to teach a "fitting lesson" to the ruling party leaders with their vote, the former CM reaffirmed his commitment to provide 20 lakh jobs to youth in the coming years.
Vowing to implement more welfare schemes if the NDA alliance of TDP, BJP and Janasena forms the government in the state, Naidu said he provided various benefits for women. (PTI Input)
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (in file photo) to visit Uttar Pradesh on May 14, to address a public rally in support of party candidate Virendra Choudhary in Maharajganj Lok Sabha constituency. He will also hold a public meeting in Bansgaon Lok Sabha constituency in support of Congress alliance candidate Sadal Prasad. (ANI Input)
LJP National President Chirag Paswan's helicopter narrowly avoided a crash near the helipad in Mohaddi Nagar of Ujiarpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Punjab's chief electoral officer on Thursday asked farmers' organisations to refrain from disrupting poll campaigns for the June 1 Lok Sabha elections.
CEO Sibin C also met a delegation of farmers here at his office. During the meeting, the CEO urged the farmers' unions to maintain law and order and refrain from disrupting campaigns of candidates across the state.
This came days after Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar raised concern over the law and order situation, claiming that its party candidates were being prevented from campaigning in the state.
After the farmers' delegation met the CEO, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said it is their democratic right to pose questions to candidates.
"People have the right to question them and it is happening for the first time," Rajewal said while talking to reporters.
He said the delegation gave assurance that they would always remain peaceful. (PTI Input)
In a scathing attack against AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin, BJP leader Navneet Rana has said if police were removed from duty for "15 seconds, the brothers would not know from where they came and where they went".
Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only "15 minutes" to balance the "Hindu- Muslim ratio" in the country if the police were removed.
"The younger one (Akbarauddin) says, remove the police for 15 minutes and we will show what we can do. Let me tell the younger one, you will take 15 minutes, it will be only 15 seconds for us. If you remove police for 15 seconds, you won't know where you came from and where you went away," said Rana, the BJP's candidate from Maharashtra's Amravati Lok Sabha seat.
She shared a video clip of her making the comments on her 'X' page.
Rana was campaigning in support of BJP's Hyderabad Lok Sabha candidate K Madhavi Latha and others in Telangana on Wednesday. (PTI Input)
Opposition leader (LoP) R. Ashok 'condemned' Sam Pitroda's statement and said: "This is Congress DNA. He did not say anything about Sonia Gandhi, she came from Italy...This is the mindset of the Congress..."
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy held a meeting with the leaders, party workers, and MLAs in Bengaluru to discuss about the Prajwal Revanna and HD Revanna issues.
Congress leader and party candidate from Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, Vikramaditya Singh will file his nomination today. Ahead of filing the nomination, Singh said, "Today, with the blessings of deities especially Lord Ram, I will file my nomination. People from all corners of Mandi constituency have come to give me their blessings. I am confident that the 'sankalp' we take here will be just of development - only development oriented."
We have worked and stood with people in difficult times, especially during calamity...," he added.
Taking a dig at his BJP contender Kangana Ranaut, he said: "There are other candidates too, there is glamour and Bollywood but it will not make any difference. People of Himachal Pradesh and they support educated people."
Bahujan Samaj Party has announced candidates on two seats in UP for the Lok Sabha polls. Shubh Narayan Chauhan has been fielded from Kushinagar while Sandesh Yadav has been given a ticket from Deoria.
The Trinamool Congress has registered a complaint against BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and others, with the Election Commission of India, after leaders confess on camera that the Sandeshkhali rape accusations were concocted.
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, ""...We are defeating BJP since 40 years...in 2014 and 2019 PM Modi came but AIMIM won here...I want to ask PM, where is the money for PM care funds, in which bank is the electoral bond money?...unemployment and inflation are increasing."
"This year PM Modi wants to change the constitution so that he can end the reservation. He says that we are infiltrators and our daughters give birth to so many children, this is wrong. Will a Muslim take out the 'Mangalsutra' from a Hindu woman?. Prime Minister is frustrated," he added.
The Static Surveillance Team recovered Rs 45 lakh 90 thousand worth of cash in Jharkhand's Ramgarh from a car. The seized amount has been handed over to the Sales Tax team. The Sales Tax Department team has informed the Income Tax Department about the matter, and the Income Tax Department will take further action in the matter after investigation, the team said.
Opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders are likely to meet the Election Commission on Friday over their demand to promptly release the absolute voter turnout figures after each phase of the Lok Sabha polls, reported PTI quoting sources as saying.
Background
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I.N.D.I.A Bloc Leaders To Meet EC Today Over Voter Turnout, Other Issues
Leaders of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc are set to hold a meeting with the Election Commission on Thursday (May 9) over their demand to promptly release the absolute voter turnout figures in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls after each phase, news agency PTI reported citing sources.
They will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the BJP in their campaign, as per the report.
According to the report, the leaders from the opposition bloc will meet the full bench of the Election Commission of India on Thursday afternoon. They will submit a memorandum and also discuss the issues with the poll panel.I
It is to be noted that I.N.D.I.A bloc parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), have written to the poll panel separately so far, expressing concern over the alleged "delay" in the release of the voter turnout data in the first two phases.
Amid the opposition's allegations, the poll body had asserted that booth-wise data of the "actual number of votes polled" is available to the candidates soon after the voting ends.
The EC, in a statement issued last week, also said it attaches "due importance" to the timely release of voter turnout figures after each phase of the poll, and said not just constituency, but booth-wise data of actual number of votes polled is available with the candidates, which is a statutory requirement.
On Tuesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to leaders of various opposition parties on the issue of alleged "discrepancies" in the voting data released by the Election Commission (EC). In his letter, Kharge urged the I.N.D.I.A bloc leaders to "collectively, unitedly and unequivocally" raise their voice on the issue.
The EC officially shared the turnout figure for the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls on April 30. According to EC figures, a voter turnout of 66.14 per cent was recorded in phase one and 66.71 per cent in phase two of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
The third phase of voting took place on Tuesday, the EC's voter turnout app on Wednesday showed that 65.55 per cent of voting had occurred.
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