Lok Sabha Election 2019 LATEST updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Karnataka made a mistake in the state Assembly polls. He urged people to ‘correct’ that ‘mistake’ in the Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking at his second rally in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah, notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the invocation of Armymen in campaign speeches, brough up the Pulwama massacre and said, the Air Force, upon Narendra Modi’s direction, went to Pakistan to conduct “surgical strikes” as revenge.

BSP chief Mayawati said on Saturday that she has neither apologised to the Election Commission over her remarks asking Muslim voters in Deoband not to vote for a particular party, and nor was she going to. She has, however replied to the EC’s showcause notice in this regard.

Speaking in Karnataka’s Kolar, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said that if voted to power, Congress will make sure that no farmer will go to jail for defaulting their loans. “The keys of the banks that Narendra Modi gave to Anil Ambani and Mehul Choksi will be taken from them and given to the youth of Karnataka. Prime minister doesn’t speak of jobs or corruption anymore because he has not delivered,” he said.

At his Ramanathapuram rally, the prime minister turned the lens on neighbouring Kerala, where he said, the “Congress, communists and the Muslim League” were playing a dangerous “game” with the Sabarimala temple. “They are using brute force to strike at the root of faith and express. Sadly for them, till BJP is there no one will be able to destroy our faith and culture,” Modi said.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram, in his second rally on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the Congress for stopping many of his government’s efforts and made renewed promises for a water ministry. He made the pitch for a second NDA government, asking voters to note that voting the Congress-DMK alliance into power will mean giving a free hand to terrorists.

Speaking at Tamil Nadu’s Theni, in Saturday’s searing heat, prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the likes of Jayalalithaa and MGR and slammed Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti.

“What have we been witness to? Father becomes the Finance Minister and son loots the country. Whenever they are in government, they always loot,” he said, on the Congress leader.

For the second day running, two of the most visible campaigners for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress will be addressing multiple rallies across south India on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing four rallies in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Saturday, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also be holding public meetings in three districts of Karnataka.

Modi will visit Tamil Nadu’s Theni and Ramanathapuram and Karnataka’s Mangaluru and Bengaluru cities. Rahul will address rallies in Kolar, Chitradurga, and Mysore districts in Karnataka. The state will see polling for the first time as part of the Lok Sabha polls’ second phase on 18 April. Polling will also be held on 23 April.

Rahul will be making the trip to Kolar from Amritsar, where he paid tribute at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial on the centenary of the massacre.

Badaun, incidentally, is also where BJP president Amit Shah will address public meetings as well. Shah, who will also address a rally at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday described the recent Maoist attack in Dantewada, where a Chhattisgarh BJP MLA was killed, as “political conspiracy” and sought a CBI probe into it.

“Our MLA Bheema Mandavi was killed in the Naxal attack. I pay my tribute to him and pray that the departed soul rests in peace. It was not a normal incident and it seems to be a political conspiracy,” Shah had said.

Union minister Maneka Gandhi, meanwhile, has been given a notice by the Election Commission, after she told Muslims to vote for her as they will “need” her once the Lok Sabha elections are over, at an election rally in Sultanpur on Thursday.

“We are not Mahatma Gandhi’s children that we keep giving and not get anything in return,” she had said in Sultanpur’s Muslim-dominated Turabkhani area. Maneka, the BJP candidate from Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency, claimed she is all set to win and told the Muslim audience that “you might need me tomorrow.”

<!–

Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.

–>

Your guide to the latest election news, analysis, commentary, live updates and schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on firstpost.com/elections. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or like our Facebook page for updates from all 543 constituencies for the upcoming general elections.