Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Strongly protesting the Election Commission’s decision to stop disbursement
of funds to farmers under Odisha government’s Kalia scheme, Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday went to office of the chief electoral officer to lodge a complaint.

Addressing a rally in Mysuru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned Rahul Gandhi’s move to contest from a seat in Kerala (Wayanad) and not in Karnataka, where the Congress is in power with JD(S). “When Deve Gowda ji was the prime minister, he was backstabbed by Sonia Gandhi. Congress doesn’t trust JD(S) and, hence, naamdaar hasn’t dared to fight elections from Karnataka,” he claimed.

Addressing a rally in Gaya, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, “Modi had promised special status for Bihar. I’ll tell you, he meant that he wanted to give the special status of unemployment to Bihar. You (the people of Bihar) go to Gujarat, his partymen tell you to go back. You go to Mumbai, there, too, you’re told to go away. There should be job opportunities in Bihar.”

Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in a rally on Tuesday said, “(Narendra) Modi wakes up every morning, applies make-up, or wax to get a shine on his face and sits in front of cameras.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his appeal to the first-time voters in his rally in Karnataka’s Chitradurga. “If all the youth of the country vote for me, if you give me your valuable vote, I will be able to do much more work,” the prime minister said.

Modi in his second rally in Karnataka’s Chitradurga, said that the electorate will need to choose a “strong government” in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted a “challenge” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, inviting him to “debate on corruption”.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday asserted that “Kashmir is, was and will always be an integral part of India and thus it cannot have its own prime minister.”

Rajnath said in an interview, “Kashmir will never be separated from India. Kashmir was, is and always will be an integral part of India. There cannot be two prime ministers in the country. It is absolutely clear in our election manifesto that if we form government Article 370, Article 35A will be removed.”

The home minister’s comments came almost a week after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, in a speech in Kashmir’s Bandipora, pitched for the revival of the posts of prime minister and president for Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday addressed a rally in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district. Shah said that the people have “already” decided that Narendra Modi will be the next prime minister of India.

Narendra Modi spoke directly to first-time voters in his rally in Maharashtra on Tuesday. “I want to appeal to the first-time voters today. It’s a historic moment, one that is always remembered. I want to ask you, do you want to vote for the brave soldiers who struck in Balakot? Do you want to vote for the soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama? Or do you want to vote for an indecisive government?

“Take a step for your future and for the country’s future,” Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his rally in Maharashtra, said that BJP went beyond the promises that were made in the manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Modi also said, “PM-Kisan scheme is now depositing money directly into the accounts of 1.2 crore small and marginal farmers today. The BJP in its ‘Sankalp Patra’ has declared that the scheme will be extended to all farmers after the election when our new government gets elected.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress for its manifesto promise on Article 370. He said that the Congress manifesto was “in accordance” with what Pakistan wants, especially when it says that Article 370 will never be scrapped. “Congress wants to give an open license to anti-nationals…this is exactly what Pakistan wants…how can you trust such a party?” he said.

For the Lok Sabha election, of which the first phase is scheduled for 11 April, the BJP and Sena announced to contest 25 and 23 seats, respectively, in Maharashtra which has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies. The two parties went separate ways after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections held later that year on their own.

Rahul Gandhi has called the BJP manifesto, released on Monday, the ‘voice of isolated man’. In a scathing criticism of the ruling party’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Congress chief also said the document was “short sighted” and “arrogant”. Congress has maintained that its own manifesto was the product of extensive ground work and research, involving grassroots-level political participants.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is scheduled to hold a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur on Tuesday. On Monday, Priyanka and Congress president Rahul Gandhi had planned to hold rallies in the state, but they were cancelled due to bad weather, reports said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address rallies in Assam, Bihar and Odisha on Tuesday. He will hold public rallies in Bihar’s Gaya, Kandhamal in Odisha and Hailakandi in Assam.

With the first phase of the Lok Sabha election scheduled for 11 April, Tuesday is the last day of campaigning for all political parties, reports said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will share the stage at a rally in Maharashtra on Tuesday, for the first time after their parties joined hands, once again, for the Lok Sabha election. They will address a public gathering at Ausa in Latur in support of the alliance’s candidates in the district, where polling will be held on 18 April.

Modi and Thackeray last shared the dais in Mumbai in December 2016 at a function to lay the foundation stone of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial off the Arabian Sea.

The prime minister will also address rallies in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, while BJP president Amit Shah is scheduled to hold public meetings in Telangana, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be on the campaign trail in Assam, Bihar and Odisha on Tuesday. He will hold public rallies in Bihar’s Gaya, Kandhamal in Odisha and Hailakandi in Assam. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will hold a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, a day after her joint rally with Rahul was cancelled due to “bad weather”.

West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee will also be on the campaign trail in the state’s Raiganj.

On Monday, the BJP released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha election. Several Union ministers, including Modi, addressed the gathering during the event. Modi said “nationalism was the BJP’s inspiration, inclusion its philosophy and good governance its mantra”. He added that the party aimed to make India a “developed” nation by 2047, 100 years after Independence.

The “Sankalp Patra” (document of resolve) has 75 definitive, time-bound targets for the country, Modi said after releasing the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls starting 11 April.

“The manifesto highlights three major points — nationalism is our motivation, inclusion is our philosophy and governance is our mantra. We want people to hold us accountable. Hence, we have set out 75 goals to be achieved by 2022,” he said.

The BJP manifesto was a “multi-layered and multi-dimensional” document that addressed the expectations and aspirations of all sections of the society, the prime minister said, adding that it contained “jan ki mann ki baat“. “We want to fight poverty rather than sit inside air-conditioned rooms. Nationalism is our inspiration and inclusion and good governance is our mantra.

“We first addressed the needs of the people, now we will fulfil their aspirations,” Modi added. He further said, “Our sankalp (resolve) is to change India from a developing country to a developed country. This should turn into a mass movement. We have kept the common man at the centre of our manifesto and our promises.”

Rahul reacted to the BJP’s manifesto on Tuesday and said that it was a document “created in a closed room”. “The Congress manifesto was created through discussion. The voice of over a million Indian people it is wise and powerful. The BJP Manifesto was created in a closed room. The voice of an isolated man, it is short-sighted and arrogant,” he tweeted.

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