Election wrap: PM Modi on why politics of 21st century resonate with the electorate, Jairam Ramesh's prediction for INDIA bloc and more

PM Modi

After months of extensive election campaign, all eyes are now on June 1-- that will mark the conclusion of the ongoing parliamentary polls. In the lead up to June 1, here are the main developments of the day.

Have to surrender on June 2, won't let Delhi govt work be impacted, says Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is out on an interim bail,  said he would surrender before jail authorities on June 2.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief was granted interim bail till June 1 in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi policy case. Kejriwal said he would leave his residence at 3 pm on June 2. "The day after tomorrow I will go back to Tihar Jail. I don't know how long these people will keep me in jail this time. But my spirits are high. I am proud that I am going to jail to save the country from dictatorship," he said at a press conference on Friday.

According to him, he was tortured in various ways in the prison. "They tried to break me in many ways, tried to silence me, but they did not succeed. When I was in jail, they tortured me in many ways. They stopped my medicines... I don't know what these people wanted. Why did they do this? When I went to jail, my weight was 70 kg, today it is 64 kg. Even after being released from jail, I am not gaining weight. Doctors are saying that this can also be a sign of some serious disease in the body. Many tests need to be done," said the Delhi CM.

INDIA bloc to get decisive mandate due to Congress' campaign: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress on Friday said that it is due to its positive campaign, the nyay guarantees and giving priority to protecting the Constitution that the INDIA bloc is going to get a "clear and decisive" mandate on June 4.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera and AICC social media department head Supriya Shrinate released a compilation of 272 questions the party asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 72 days titled '72 Days, 272 Questions, 0 Jawab ' Bhaag Modi Bhaag'.

Addressing a press conference along with Khera and Shrinate, Ramesh said the Congress' campaign was positive and result of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra.

PM Modi's Varanasi among 13 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in UP on June 1

Thirteen Lok Sabha seats, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi, will go to polls in the last and seventh phase of the general elections on Saturday.

Polling in the state, which sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament, was held in all seven phases of the election.

The bypoll for the Duddhi (ST) assembly constituency in Sonbhadra district will also be held on Saturday. Six candidates are contesting from the seat that fell vacant after BJP MLA Ram Dular's disqualification following his conviction in a rape case.

VK Pandian not my political successor, says Odisha CM as BJP questions former bureaucrat's 'growing influence'

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his close aide, VK Pandian, is not his political successor.

His comments came amid the BJP turning up the heat on the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD over the growing influence of his aide and former bureaucrat Pandian. “He is not my successor. I see all of this as exaggeration and falsehood. I can’t understand these exaggerations. You may have noticed that he is not even standing for elections,” Naveen Patnaik said in an interview with news agency ANI.

The CM said his successor “will be decided by the people of the state. That is the natural result in these things”. “The party is being run for the service of the people of Odisha and will continue to do so,” he said.

Only politics of 21st century resonate with the voters: Narendra Modi

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the importance of politics of 21st century that resonate with the voters. The politics of 21st century should talk about performance, vision to take the country forward, and a road map to make a developed India, said the Prime Minister.

In the interview, PM also endorsed the idea of simultaneous polls, and alleged that the Opposition is attempting to divide the country on the basis of caste and religion. He spoke about the scorching temperatures affecting turnouts and the reason he chose his electoral constituency of Varanasi, which goes to the polls in the seventh and final phase on June 1.