Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Highlights: Congress announces second list of 43 candidates for LS polls

The live blog session has concluded. For more news, views and updates, stay tuned with Moneycontrol.com.

Here's what NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Supriya Sule said about electoral bonds. "Everything that's going to happen is obviously going to be connected to Lok Sabha. This (CAA) might be an attempt to cover up electoral bonds and the Paytm issue, but it won't be covered. People want to know who's behind the electoral bonds and the Paytm issue and what the truth is."

Here's what Congress leader Phool Singh Baraiya said on announcement of his candidature from Madhya Pradesh's Bhind seat.

"I believe that the INDIA bloc will form a government and save the country. I will contribute by winning one seat of Bhind."

Here's what Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on the implementation of CAA. "CAA grants citizenship; it does not take it away. It provides citizenship to minorities in neighbouring countries who are persecuted, raped, and forced to convert religion and marry. There are many people in the country who have been waiting for citizenship for the past 70 years, which was not granted by Congress and has finally been enacted by BJP."

The BJP will elicit suggestions from people for preparing the 'Sankalp Patra' (manifesto) for the Lok Sabha polls and eight vehicles with suggestion boxes, two each in all four constituencies, are moving across Himachal Pradesh, party general secretary Bihari Lal Sharma on Tuesday said. Suggestions are being sought on the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that there is participation of every section, religion, caste and community in the Sankalp Patra of the NDA, Sharma said, adding any person can give his suggestion in the suggestion box and this option would be available till March 20, 2024.

The BJP leader said that with mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas and Sabka Prayas", the Sankalp Patra would be document of viewpoint of the entire nation. Prime Minister Modi's focus has been on four sections namely the poor, women, youth and farmers, he added.

"The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) made some demands over Lok Sabha seats, but BJP won 10 seats in the state. The JJP leaders must have discussed with the central leadership and likely decided something, although nothing official has been confirmed yet. However, we have received information indicating that they (JJP) have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls separately," says former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

CAA has nothing to do with Indian Muslims, they have equal rights as their Hindu counterparts: Home Ministry

Here's what Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary said on CAA.

"The CAA is not for taking anyone's citizenship, but instead to give citizenship to people. Whether the minorities are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh, this (CAA) is to give them citizenship."

All Assam Students' Union and several other organisations held a torch rally in Guwahati against the Centre's decision to implement CAA.

Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar says, "...The 10 seats in the state were won by the BJP. The JJP leaders must have talked to the central leadership...There is nothing official but they (JJP) have decided that they will fight the Lok Sabha seats separately and accordingly the decisions have been made..."

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal says "In this list, out of the 43 candidates, 10 are General candidates, 13 OBC candidates, 10 SC candidates, 9 ST candidates and 1 Muslim candidate."

Cong's second list for LS polls: Gaurav Gogoi to contest from Jorhat, Nakul Nath from Chhindwara, Vaibhav Gehlot from Jalore

Here's what Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said at a press conference in Delhi.

"We have provided four guarantees. The first is to ensure justice for the people. Secondly, for farmers, we will enact the MSP guarantee law. The third guarantee is the 'Yuva Nyay' guarantee, which involves filling vacant job positions after the formation of our government. Lastly, the fourth guarantee is the 'Adivasi Nyay' guarantee."

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday described the invitation of Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray to contest Lok Sabha elections as Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate as "immature and ridiculous", saying the BJP has a system of selecting candidates for the elections.

Responding to a query on the statement of Thackeray, Gadkari dismissed the suggestion, asserting that the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader need not worry about BJP leaders.

Here's what JD(U) leader Gulam Rasool Balyawi said on Centre announcing implementation of CAA.

"They should tell how many have come (referring to refugees), and those who have come, where are they? Where would they live? They (Government of India) should talk about their settlement, and employment."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on March 12 announced that his party has introduced the ‘Adivasi Nyay Guarantee’ in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, emphasising that tribals are facing displacement from forests and justice must be served. Read more.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath says, " Our resolution is a developed nation and for a developed nation, developed Uttar Pradesh is very important...to achieve this goal, remember, Modi govt should come to power in 2024, people need to align with the resolution of Modi govt..."

On not getting an election ticket, TMC MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh says, "The people of Barrackpore elected me. Unfortunately, all this happened, it was shocking news for me...I am not going to leave Barrackpore and go anywhere..."

- I assure there is no provision in CAA to snatch away anyone's citizenship: Amit Shah in Hyderabad

- Owaisi, Kharge, Rahul Gandhi are lying that minorities will lose citizenship due to CAA, Amit Shah hits out at opposition

On the CAA notification, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla says "The opposition has some concerns regarding CAA. Centre should make things clear, there is a lot of confusion and people have a lot of doubts. People are not able to understand what exactly is this. It was the government's duty to sit with the opposition leaders and discuss things..."

On ML Khattar's resignation as Haryana CM, he says "The situation in Haryana is uncertain. Things have changed suddenly. Our party leaders are taking stock of the situation in the state and we will take decisions accordingly..."

On implementation of CAA, Congress leader & Kerala LoP VD Satheesan says, "This is a step taken to divide the country. This is a step by the BJP govt, just ahead of Lok Sabha elections, to reap political benefits. We will strongly oppose this...we will make all efforts to oppose this legally as well. We will never support such steps that decide citizenship according to the religion of people"

Thousands of Matuas danced to the beats of drums at Thakurbari, their holy abode in North 24-Parganas’ Thakurnagar, after the Centre notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, on March 11, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

This had been a long-pending demand of Matuas along with the Rajbanshis and Namasudras. While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the timing of the implementation, Union minister Shantanu Thakur rushed to the state BJP office in Kolkata with sweets to celebrate the “historic event”. The implementation of CAA was part of the BJP poll promises in 2019. More here.

Congress will ensure that tribals who constitute 8 pc of India''s population, get proportionate stake in development: Rahul Gandhi

Nandurbar: Rahul Gandhi takes part in 'Adivasi Nyay Sammelan' during last leg of his yatra in Maharashtra

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Bharatsinh Solanki on Tuesday said he does not wish to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and rather wants to focus on campaigning for the party.

The 70-year-old former Gujarat Congress president, however, also said he will accept whatever decision is taken by the party leadership.

"My family and I have been given a lot by the Congress party over the decades. Considering my current responsibility as AICC in-charge Jammu & Kashmir and to be able to effectively campaign for the party in Gujarat, I humbly convey to the high command of my wish not to contest this election," the former Lok Sabha member said on X.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister and ousted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O Panneerselvam faction has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to allocate it 15 seats. Read more.

BJP MP Nayab Saini meets Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya and stakes claim to form the government in the state.

"Will you (people) hand over your future to the BJP for just one vote, or just two seats? They (BJP-led central government) are bluffing and remember that they will lose everything," says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on implementation of CAA.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau opposes notification of rules under CAA, says it violates secular principle of citizenship enshrined in Constitution

Haryana BJP president and OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini was on Tuesday picked at the next chief minister, hours after Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet ministers submitted their resignations.

Saini, who is an MP from Kurukshetra, was unanimously elected as the leader of the state BJP legislature group and will be sworn in later in the day, party MLAs Subhash Sudha and J P Dalal told reporters. (PTI)

Haryana BJP president Nayab Singh Saini chosen unanimously as leader of party's legislature group, says party MLA Subhash Sudha.

Tamil Nadu opposition parties have voiced concerns about the implementation of CAA in the state, saying that the law will divide the people on religious lines. Communist Party of India -Marxist (CPI-M) State Secretary K. Balakrishnan on Tuesday said that the party would not allow the implementation of CAA in the state.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) also said that it would oppose the CAA and join hands with the other progressive political parties.

Haryana's Hisar MP Brijendra Singh, who left BJP and joined Congress on March 10; says, "...We have been continuously saying about this alliance publicly and on party forums for the last 1.5 years that this alliance is very dangerous...I think since I resigned the day before yesterday, perhaps they have started to realise that things have gone out of control."

(ANI)

There is no question whether his Yatra will benefit anyone. The question is whether it would benefit him. Everyone knows of the results of wherever he went. Jahan jahan paon pade Santan ke, wahan wahan banta dhaar.

PM Modi is as per the Constitution of India to ensure justice for all. Congress and INDIA alliance levels false allegations and tries to mislead people in the country during elections.

Yesterday the Home Ministry notified the rules of CAA. Peace committee meetings have been organised and it has been told that there is no threat to Indian Muslims from this law, it is only about giving citizenship. So no one has to fear...police are keeping a close watch and surveillance is also being done through drones, social media is being monitored.

The Act essentially provides for giving citizenship to a group of minorities in those countries who have been facing oppression and who want to apply for Indian citizenship. It has nothing to do with Indian citizens per se. So, I don't think there is any reason to read more meaning into this. This was clarified in the Parliament at that time and the BJD had also supported it at that time..."

JJP is already making efforts to strengthen its organization and its party...We also want Dushyant Chautala to become the CM of Haryana. We have been working for the welfare of the people of Haryana state for the last 4.5 years...Everything will become clear in some time, now we will also have a meeting, and after that, the statement will be issued officially.

Political Analyst & Consultant Tehseen Poonawalla tweets: "The BJP broke the BJP-JJP alliance obviously and obviously the BJP dont want to take Dushyant Chautala along. Now what will be interesting to watch after the resignation of the chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is

A) will the governor invite Manohar Lal Khattar ji to once again become CM (BJP is the single largest party in Haryana)
B) will the Haryana assembly elections be clubbed with the LokSabha elections 2024."

"I think when the oath ceremony takes place today, Manohar Lal Khattar will take oath as CM again. I don't want to comment on why this alliance (with JJP) broke. This is the decision of the party high command. Observers are coming and if they ask us, our support is with Manohar Lal Khattar and he will take oath as CM for the third time and then later after the assembly elections, he will take oath for the fourth time.

In October 2023, Nayab Singh Saini was appointed as the new state unit president of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Haryana's Kurukshetra. Saini is an OBC member and Lok Sabha MP, and his appointment is believed to have increased the BJP's influence within the OBC community in the state. He replaced Om Prakash Dhankar in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. It is expected that Khattar will contest from Karnal in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Currently, the BJP holds 41 out of 90 seats in the House, while the JJP has 10. The ruling combine also has the support of six out of seven independents.

When asked who will become the CM, Haryana BJP leader Kanwar Pal Gujjar says, "Bilkul thik hain, CM sahab hi CM sahab rahenge."

(Agencies)

It is being reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to form a new government in the state of Haryana with the help of Independent Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The frontrunners to replace Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister are said to be Nayab Singh Saini, a BJP MP from Kurukshetra constituency, or Sanjay Bhatia, a BJP MP from Karnal. Union Minister Arjun Munda and BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh have been appointed as observers for Haryana. The observers will hold talks with the MLAs and the new Chief Minister will be announced thereafter. More, here

We have an adequate Police force. Besides this, we have also received Central force. We are making all the arrangements. Notification has been done, and I would like to tell you that this is an enabling provision. It provides for the granting of citizenship to all such people who have come here after facing religious persecution in neighbouring countries. It has no provisions for stripping off of the citizenship of any Indian citizen. So, I don't think that there are going to be any issues. But our people are in touch with religious leaders and influencers in the social community...The feedback is positive. Everything is normal everyone. Police is alert as a precautionary measure. 179 companies of PAC and 100 companies of CAPF have been deployed. All our equipment like fire service vehicles, body-borne cameras abnd riot drill equipment are being used in a proper manner by our field teams. Regular patrolling is being done. Discussion with all stakeholders is being done.

We are against this religious polarisation. The people of Assam will not support CAA and they will vote against this govt in Lok Sabha elections.

BJP leader Kanwar Pal Gujjar says, "CM and cabinet ministers have resigned and the Governor has accepted the resignations

Supreme Court lists on March 18 (Monday) the plea of six rebel Himachal Pradesh Congress leaders challenging the Assembly Speaker's decision to disqualify them as MLAs.

Sources to News18 suggest that the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, and his cabinet may resign today. Several media reports indicate that Nayab Saini or Sanjay Bhatia may replace him as the new Chief Minister of Haryana. These developments come at a time when there are rumors in political circles of the BJP ending its alliance with JJP. Khattar has called for a meeting of BJP and independent MLAs backed by the government at his residence at 11:30 am today. The party is likely to finalize its strategy on forming a government with the support of independent MLAs, according to sources. Dushyant Chautala of JJP has also called for a meeting of party MLAs in Delhi at around 10:30 am. Sources say that Chautala is likely to make some major decision in this meeting as BJP has refused to give him seats. JJP reportedly wants to field its candidates from Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats. Brijendra Singh, the current MP from Hisar, left the BJP and joined the Congress on Sunday. Read here

At an event of inauguration and foundation stone laying of several Railway projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "This day is a living proof of willpower. Youth of the country will decide what kind of country and Railway they want. Ye 10 saal ka kaam abhi toh trailer hai, mujhe toh aur aage jaana hai."

That is a law which was passed by Parliament, rule and regulations being made. This is nothing but a logical progression of the governance system...Bengal deserves peace and harmony, which is the message being given by the deployment of Central forces here. Rowdyism going on in certain pockets will not be allowed.

Indian Union Muslim League applies to the Supreme Court to stay the implementation of CAA. A batch of over 200 cases challenging the validity of the CAA are already pending in the apex court. This application has been filed in the case.

Some reports suggest, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge may skip the Lok Sabha Elections this year and this is because he ‘wants to focus on the country and not just one constituency.’

On December 11, 2019, the Lok Sabha passed this act, then in 2019 the (Kerala) assembly convened as a special session and unanimously passed a resolution (against CAA in the state). We had also approached the Supreme Court against CAA as it is anti-constitutional and against the basic structure of our constitution... Earlier, our chief minister had correctly stated that it should not be implemented in the state of Kerala. Today, he reiterated the same position, and that is the position of the government.

PM Modi has implemented CAA in the country. It will help the people who have come to India after facing atrocities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. They will be able to get Indian citizenship through this.

If you had protested against triple talaq...I would have been happy...You don't have the heart to provide for the minorities of your country...You don't wish to educate them in your constituency however blackmail them over religion. You want to suppress them so that you can rule.

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be addressing a meeting of BJP polling booth workers at the LB Stadium here on March 12.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates and lays the foundation stone of several railway projects from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

"India is a young country, a large young population resides here. I would like to tell the youth that the today inaugurations that happened today are for your present. The foundation stone layings that happened today have come with the guarantee of your bright future. The governments that came after independence gave priority to political selfishness. Indian Railway is a major victim of that...The first that I did was to include Railway into the Budget of the Government, due to that funds of the Government are now used for the development of Railway," said PM Modi.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, CM Bhupendra Patel and state BJP chief CR Paatil also present.

Why are you considering only Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan? Why did you not include Sri Lanka? There are several such questions. But my question is why did you take 4 years and 3 months? Why did the rule not come earlier?...Now, when there is an atmosphere of elections in West Bengal and Assam - to create polarisation there, this has been done...They have just one goal, polarisation at the tine of election...Hum Ram pujari hain, wo Ram vyapari hain. I have two 'Ram' in my name, we are all devotees of Lord Ram.

It is a good decision. It was needed for a long time. The minorities of the neighbouring will get justice in India respectfully. Bangladeshis and Rohingyas trespassing will also stop.

The Govt of India has implemented the CAA law. I welcome this law. This should have been done much earlier... There are a lot of misunderstandings among the Muslims regarding this law. This law has nothing to do with Muslims. Earlier there was no law to provide citizenship to the non-muslims coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who faced atrocities based on religion... Hence this law has been made... Crores of Indian Muslims will not be affected by this law at all... This law is not going to take away the citizenship of any Muslim... In the past years, it has been seen that there were protests, it was because of misunderstandings. Some political people created misunderstandings among the Muslims... Every Muslim of India should welcome the CAA.

What is CAA? Who has to be granted citizenship - they have brought a law for that. But there was no need for it. The Centre can grant citizenship even today if someone seeks it. So, what was the need for CAA?

It took them 4 years and 3 months to bring this rule. The Bill was passed in December 2019. The law should have been formed within 3-6 months. Modi Government sought nine extensions from the Supreme Court and took 4 years and 3 months before notifying the rules last night. These are just for polarisation - to influence the elections in Bengal and Assam. If they were doing it honestly, why did they not bring it in 2020? They are bringing it now, one month before the elections. This is headline management...This is the strategy for social polarisation.

According to reports, Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and ex-deputy CM Sachin Pilot may not contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. However, according to party leaders quoted by media agencies, Gehlot's son Vaibhav might contest the elections. This is based on deliberations at the second meeting of the party’s central election committee held to select candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and Uttarakhand.

Guwahati police gave a legal notice to the Political parties who have called for a 'Sarbatmak Hartal' in Assam to protest against the CAA.

"Any damage to public/ private property including Railway and National Highway properties or injury to any citizen caused due to 'Sarbatmak Hartal', legal action under appropriate provisions of law including Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 will be initiated against you and the total cost of damage to public and private properties will be recovered from you and your Organization," the notice says.

We have to keep two seats for JDS. But, it has not been decided which seats would be given. A discussion on all 28 seats took place

Understand the chronology. Look at the timing. Dates are going to be announced, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are going to take place and the government suddenly thinks of notifying it. What was it doing for 5 years? Why not bring it earlier? That is why we say, the government is trying to polarise it before elections. They have failed on development fronts...They don't have answers to questions. So, they have brought this. We objected to it earlier and we say today as well that this law is unconstitutional...We object to it.

The Act has already been opposed by all political parties - within the Parliament and outside it...It is a discriminatory Act and unconstitutional because the Government is trying to give citizenship based on religion which is not permissible under provisions of the Indian Constitution...It has been opposed throughout the country as well as Assam.

BJP is likely to announce candidates for more than 150 seats today after the second and supposedly final central election committee meeting of BJP in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and other senior leaders was held till late on Monday. The party had announced a list of 195 candidates last week after the first CEC.

The Union Home Ministry officially notified the rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on March 11, a move anticipated ahead of the impending Lok Sabha election schedule announcement. Home Minister Amit Shah had previously underscored the importance of notifying the CAA rules prior to the elections scheduled for April and May.

Lok Sabha Elections Live Updates: Welcome to Moneycontrol's Lok Sabha Elections LIVE blog. Stay tuned for latest developments and updates on the upcoming general elections.