The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls covering 96 seats across 10 states and Union territories began on Monday morning. All 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 in Telangana were going to the polling along with 13 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, eight each in West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, five each in Bihar and Jharkhand, four in Odisha, and one in Jammu and Kashmir.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, firebrand Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi were among those in the fray. The polling will coincide with two rallies of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Gandhi family pocket borough of Rae Bareli. This would be Rahul Gandhi’s first outreach in the constituency after filing his nomination this month.
Kejriwal’s emotional appeal
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked people to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to ensure he does not have to return to jail. The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail until June 1 to Kejriwal for campaigning around two months after he was arrested on money laundering charges linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case.
On the second day of his campaign, Kejriwal said he will not have to go back to jail after 20 days if his party gets maximum votes. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who accompanied Kejriwal during AAP’s roadshow, appealed voters to give them a big mandate. “You all have to vote on May 25 [when polling will be held in Delhi]. If you give such a big ‘fatwa’, then Kejriwal Sahab will not have to go to jail again. BJP’s [Bharatiya Janata Party] government is not going to be formed. AAP and INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance] are coming to power,” Mann said.
INDIA, NDA alliance equations
The Congress-led INDIA bloc is facing significant intra-alliance conflicts in the fourth phase of polling compared to the previous phase, an HT analysis shows. In contrast, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) remains largely unified, with only minor conflicts in two constituencies. Even the intra-alliance conflicts in INDIA are largely notional outside the eight parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal, where the TMC failed to partner with the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M).
TMC moves ECI against NCW chief
The TMC has lodged a complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner urging criminal proceedings against National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharm, and local BJP leaders after multiple women in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali alleged that they were deceived into filling sexual assault complaints against TMC leaders. The complaint alleges forgery, cheating, fraud, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy against women in Sandeshkhali and the wider electorate. The allegations stem from multiple purported videos shared on a social media platform earlier this week where Sandeshkhali women claimed that a local BJP leader made them sign blank papers which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault. Attempts to withdraw the complaint were allegedly met with further intimidation and threats from local BJP members, the TMC alleged.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Ambani, Adani
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s comments on Adani and Ambani have sparked a fresh controversy. In an interview with YouTube channel The Red Mike, he said if Adani, Ambani sent “tempo-loads” of money, he would not speak against them. The BJP said Chowdhury exposed the actual “hafta vasooli model” of the Congress and the INDIA bloc.
Mother’s Day
On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi posted a video on Instagram on his interactions with his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and other women during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress leader wrote, “Mother is a feeling beyond words – of affection, sacrifice, patience and strength… Today, on the occasion of Mother’s Day, I salute motherly power.” Other political leaders such as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Bansuri Swaraj, the BJP candidate from New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje posted messages on social media on Mother’s Day.
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