India
The spotlight this year is on two major political coalitions - NDA and the INDIA bloc. The INDIA bloc consists of parties like the Congress, AAP, and TMC, while the NDA includes the BJP, PMK, and JDU among its members.
Updated : Mar 29, 2024, 11:26 PM IST | Edited by : Riddhima Kanetkar
The Lok Sabha polls 2024 in India are all set to take place in seven phases, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. As election day comes closer, political parties are in the fray to announce their list of candidates with political campaigns already underway to attract voters.
In the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, voters will choose representatives for the 543-member Lower House of the Indian Parliament. The results will be declared on June 4.
The spotlight this year is on two major political coalitions - NDA and the INDIA bloc. The INDIA bloc consists of parties like the Congress, AAP, and TMC, while the NDA includes the BJP, PMK, and JDU among its members.
NDA is looking for a third consecutive term and is eyeing more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Apart from the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has also announced Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Odisha, along with assembly bypolls for 26 vacant seats.
Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Phase-wise schedule
Phase 1: April 19
Phase 2: April 26
Phase 3: May 7
Phase 4: May 13
Phase 5: May 20
Phase 6: May 25
Phase 7: June 1
Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Results: June 4.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thakrey, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav among others will attend the 'Maharally' on March 31.
Congress General Secretary organisation KC Venugopal has directed all the state units to demonstrate at PCC headquarters and at district Congress Committee headquarters on the issue tomorrow.
Congress to stage a nationwide protest on the Income Tax notice to Congress Party Congress General Secretary organisation KC Venugopal has directed all the state units to demonstrate at PCC headquarters and at district Congress Committee headquarters on the issue tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/PL63SCz61d
— ANI (@ANI) March 29, 2024
"When the government changes, action will definitely be taken against those who 'disintegrate democracy'! And such action will be taken that no one will have the courage to do all this again. This is my guarantee," he said.
जब सरकार बदलेगी तो ‘लोकतंत्र का चीरहरण’ करने वालों पर कार्रवाई ज़रूर होगी!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 29, 2024
और ऐसी कार्रवाई होगी कि दोबारा फिर किसी की हिम्मत नहीं होगी, ये सब करने की।
ये मेरी गारंटी है।BJPTaxTerrorism pic.twitter.com/SSkiolorvH
"No one can separate me from the Congress' flag. I welcome the decision of Congress leadership to strengthen the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. I will go amidst the people with the resolve of establishing the flag of Congress in Purnea," he said.
VIDEO Here's what Congress leader Pappu Yadav (@pappuyadavjapl) said on Purnea Lok Sabha seat being given to the RJD.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 29, 2024
"No one can separate me from the Congress' flag. I welcome the decision of Congress leadership to strengthen the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. I will go amidst… pic.twitter.com/vUPll6MYR8
"Its in no way going to be a free and fair election...The democracy is under attack," said Ajay Maken, Congress leader.
LIVE: Special Press Briefing | AICC HQ | New Delhi https://t.co/86ZEHEoQK5
— Congress (@INCIndia) March 29, 2024
The Congress on Friday sharply reacted to the Income Tax Department's notice to the grand old party to pay a penalty of over Rs 1,750 crore and said the officials were being used as the ''gundas'' of the ruling BJP. Addressing the media here, AICC general secretary in-charge of the organisation, K C Venugopal, lashed out at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and accused it of trying to ''financially strangulate'' the opposition parties during the election time.
Venugopal said the Modi government was trying to make the Congress party bankrupt.
Multiple layers of barricades have been set up and a large number of police personnel deployed on roads leading to the BJP headquarters here in view of the opposition INDIA bloc's protest on Friday against the arrest of AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Besides police personnel, paramilitary forces have also been stationed at many places in Central Delhi, including on the DDU Marg and around the ITO area. Kejriwal, who is in the Enforcement Directorate's custody, was arrested by the agency on March 21 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday had said members of the bloc will demonstrate against Kejriwal's arrest as well as on the electoral bonds issue at the BJP headquarters on DDU Marg.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will contest on 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, while its ally AJSU will participate from one Giridih seat. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday decided to pitch its Odisha unit chief Anjani Soren as the party’s candidate from Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat, said JMM Odisha spokesperson Shivaji Moulik. The CPI(M) on Thursday released its first list of 44 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Highlighting the importance of a single vote, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said it can change the fate of the country. Addressing a conference of intellectuals organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Muzaffarnagar district, the chief minister said when this one vote went into ''wrong hands'', an ''atmosphere of anarchy'' was created in western Uttar Pradesh, but when the saffron party secured that one vote, it brought ''respect to the faith''.
Criticising the opposition, the BJP leader spoke about the potential of an individual vote, and said, “You will see how much your one vote is worth. How can one vote change the destiny of the country? Whenever one of your votes went into the wrong hands, a curfew was imposed in Muzaffarnagar for months. When your one vote goes to the correct place, Muzaffarnagar is today not known for curfews, but for the Kavad Yatra.”