India General Elections updates: Highlights on May 28, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a roadshow from Kolkata’s Shyambazar Five Point Crossing, ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The roadshow in support of BJP candidate Tapas Roy culminated at Simla Street, where the ancestral residence of Swami Vivekananda is situated.

Before the event, Mr. Modi visited Maa Sarada’s residence at Bagbazar and paid homage to her. He also paid tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at his statue at Shyambazar Five Point Crossing.

Several prominent West Bengal BJP leaders, including Sukanta Majumdar and Suvendu Adhikari accompanied him. 

Chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar’ reverberated in the air as the vehicle passed by, with many onlookers capturing the event on their mobile phones.

PTI

With only three days left for the seventh and the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India has transferred three police officers in West Bengal, an official said.

The ECI removed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Sunderban police district Koteshwar Rao, Minakhan SDPO under Basirhat police district Aminul Islam Khan and IC of Rahra police station Debashis Sarkar to non-election related posts, he added. “Suggestions for the replacements in these three posts were sought from the state secretariat by Wednesday,” he said.

Polling for the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election is scheduled to be held in nine Lok Sabha seats of Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar on June 1. PTI

Calling PM Modi “anti-people”, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said he is misleading people in the name of religion to remain in power.

Addressing an election rally in Una, she said that Mr. Modi ignored the people of Himachal and did not even send a penny for the victims of the monsoon disaster that hit the hill State last year.

“Hindu religion has taught us to live an honest life but the BJP is doing politics in the name of religion,” she said and wondered if any religious person will not be moved by the disaster.

“Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had given her jewellery for the country in time of need and Modi says that the Congress people will steal your mangalsutra,” she said, and added that such language does not suit the country’s prime minister.

During the worst monsoon disaster in the state last year, people got to see the difference between the Congress and the BJP when every Congress leader and worker was on the ground while the BJP was seen nowhere, she said. “We work for you, not for power or money and feel that it is our duty,” she added.

She appealed to the people to vote for the party candidates for the Lok Sabha and assembly seats to strengthen the nation.

PTI

At a rally in Varanasi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “I guarantee that Narendra Modi will not be prime minister on June 4.” The contest between PM Modi and Cong candidate Ajay Rai in Varanasi will be intense, Rai may win, he said.

The rally was also addressed by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Voting will be held in Varanasi in the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on June 1.

PTI

After the Delhi Court summoned Delhi Minister Atishi in a defamation case, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the BJP is planning to arrest all Aam Aadmi Party leaders.

“I had said earlier that they will arrest Atishi next. They are planning to do so now. Complete dictatorship. In completely flimsy, frivolous, and false cases, they are arresting ALL leaders of AAP one by one. Every single Opposition leader will be arrested if Modiji comes back to power. AAP is not important. Saving our dear country from dictatorship is important,” he posted on X on Tuesday.

Ms. Atishi has been summoned by a Delhi court on June 29 in relation to a defamation case filed by BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor. 

ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the TMC government in West Bengal, claiming it has “no relation with good governance”. He also accused Bengal’s ruling party of promoting a corrupt ecosystem with its politics revolving around vote bank politics.

While addressing a rally at Baruipur under the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Modi accused the TMC of working only for its vote bank. “The TMC and good governance have no relation. You won’t find good governance in Bengal even under a microscope. The TMC works only for its vote bank and can never do anything for the State’s youth. The party has any vision,” he said.

He claimed that voting for TMC and Left are the same “as both indulge in vote-bank politics. They are known for their undemocratic means and disregard for the democratic process.” 

PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a roadshow in support of Trinamool Congress candidate Saugata Roy in Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency. The TMC supremo walked from Birati Banik More to Airport gate number two on Jessore Road, a distance of nearly four kilometres, along with party leaders and workers.

TMC Ministers Sujit Bose and Chandrima Bhattacharya accompanied Ms. Banerjee in the road show. Mr. Roy is seeking a fourth consecutive term from the seat. 

PTI

On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in West Bengal for the last phase of polling, the Congress questioned why MGNREGA funds for the State are frozen for almost three years. 

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked why Mr. Modi is campaigning without showing sensitivity to the people of Bengal by addressing the damage caused by Cyclone Remal instead.

“Today’s questions for the outgoing Prime Minister in West Bengal - Does the PM value Bengali lives? Why is the outgoing PM always defaming Bengal? Why have MGNREGA funds for Bengal remained frozen for almost 3 years?” he asked.

Mr. Ramesh said in April 2021, as India was facing a devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prime minister was found “recklessly campaigning” for the West Bengal assembly elections rather than leading the country’s response to the pandemic. “Today, he shows this same insensitivity again, choosing to blow his communal dog whistles rather than address the damage caused by Cyclone Remal, which has killed at least 6 people and damaged nearly 30,000 houses. Does he regard Bengali lives as being so dispensable,” he asked in a post on X.

PTI

The Congress would not win enough seats in the Lok Sabha polls to get the main Opposition party status, Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister and BJP candidate from the Maharajganj seat in Uttar Pradesh, has said.

Mr. Chaudhary -- a six-time MP and prominent leader of the Kurmi community that comes under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) -- claimed that the BJP would win more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, out of which 80 will be from Uttar Pradesh.

Asked if the BJP did not want a strong Opposition, he said it is the people of the country who have decided to wipe out those opposing the saffron party. “It is not the BJP’s job to strengthen the opposition. The numbers that the Congress is bringing will not be enough to become the main opposition party. We are not doing this, the people of the country are doing this,” he said.

He claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav “will definitely lose in UP” as the people have decided to “teach them a lesson.” Both the Congress and SP are part of the opposition INDIA bloc. Mr. Gandhi is contesting from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi, while Mr. Yadav is fighting from the Kannauj seat, which is currently with the BJP.

PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that Naveen Patnaik will become the former Chief Minister of Odisha after June 4, exuding confidence about the BJP forming the next government in the State by securing more than 75 seats in the 147-member assembly. 

Addressing an election rally at Chandbali under the Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Shah said, “Come June 4, and Naveen babu will no longer remain the chief minister, he will become the former CM... BJP is set to win 17 Lok Sabha seats and 75 assembly constituencies in Odisha.” 

He also said the BJP will ensure that the next chief minister is fluent in Odiya, and understands the state’s language, culture and tradition. “Should a ‘Tamil babu’ run the government from behind the scene... By casting your vote in favour of the lotus symbol, bring a ‘jan sevak’ to rule the state in place of an officer,” he said, in an apparent reference to Mr. Patnaik’s close aide and BJD leader V.K.Pandian.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha. PTI

Expressing confidence that the INDIA bloc will come to power at the Centre, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has said that the Modi government will be voted out as results are declared on June 4. “We will know the results soon. Modi will go (lose power),” he said.Election to 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar is being held in seven phases. In 2019, BJP-led NDA swept the state by winning 39 out of 40 seats, while Congress won just one seat. Votes will be counted on June 4. ANI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge dismissed the BJP’s ‘400 paar’ claim as “ bakwas” or nonsense, and said the party would not cross 200 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing the media in Amritsar, Mr. Kharge said the BJP’s seats were declining compared to the last elections, while the Congress and the INDIA bloc were making gains. “When your (seats) are declining and ours are increasing. Forget ‘400 paar’, it is ‘bakwas’. They cannot even form the government and will not go beyond 200 seats,” he said.

He said the BJP was “non-existent” in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana and “not strong” in Karnataka. “You are weak in Maharashtra, while in West Bengal and Odisha, there is a fight. How are you getting 400 seats?” he asked.

Replying to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s jibe that Mr. Kharge “will lose his job” after Congress’s defeat in the elections, he said, “I joined politics not for doing a job. I have been in politics to serve (people) since childhood, almost for as many years now as (PM Narendra) Modi’s age,” the Congress leader said. “He should think about his own job after June 4,” he added. PTI

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing its members of having their hearts in Pakistan while residing in India. 

“Their (Congress leaders) bodies are in India, but their hearts are in Pakistan. The hearts of Congressmen beat for Pakistanis. Your (Congress) government is becoming impotent, and yet you claim you’ll open up the Wagah border,” Mr. Thakur said. 

Mr. Thakur further raised several questions regarding the Congress party’s stance on various issues including financial dealings with China through the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

PTI

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said the outgoing Lok Sabha has many “dubious firsts”, and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of turning Parliament into a “deep, dark chamber”.

The Congress accused the Modi Government of playing with national security by “imposing” the Agnipath scheme, and said the military recruitment programme would be scrapped when an INDIA bloc government is formed at the Centre to give justice to the patriotic youth of the country.

The Congress also said that the Agnipath scheme is a “national security threat” and it has shrunk the stream of recruitment which can compromise the country’s security for the next decade.

Read more about the Agnipath scheme here

“Not a single scam happened under BJP-led Central Government in last 10 years... Centre providing all help to West Bengal Government to handle situation in aftermath of Cyclone Remal,” said PM Modi at poll rally in Barasat.

He added that the Centre is “exploring legal options on how to return money looted by TMC from people of Bengal”.

PTI

The BJP exhorted people to not waste their votes by casting them in favour of the INDIA bloc constituents as their poll prospects are marred by contradictions in their alliance and expressed confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi forming the government at the Centre for the third term with a massive mandate.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that differences among the INDIA bloc constituents are coming out in open with the AAP fighting against the Congress in Punjab and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee saying she will not attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1.

“The INDIA alliance’s contradictions are coming out in the open. When it’s clear that these parties are fighting against each other in Punjab and West Bengal, I would like to tell people of these states especially that they should think rationally as to who they should vote for in such a situation,” Mr. Trivedi said.

PTI

“Will tear apart Agnipath scheme and throw it in dustbin... There is INDIA bloc and Constitution on one side and those who want to finish Constitution on the other... INDIA bloc will protect Constitution with ‘ dil, jaan aur khoon (heart, life and blood)‘”, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Bansgaon.

On PM’s ‘sent by God’ comment, Mr. Gandhi says Mr. Modi has been sent by God to help Adani.

PTI

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior BJD leader V.K. Pandian claimed the Opposition BJP has “committed nine self goals” during the ongoing Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls thus boosting the regional party’s electoral prospect.

Mr. Pandian claimed that the BJP’s self-goals will help the BJD and none can stop the regional party from forming the government for the sixth consecutive time. Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha.

PTI

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reported “God sent” remark and claimed that INDIA bloc will form government at the Centre after June 4.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Lalu said, “Modi calls him ‘avtar’ (messenger of god). He (Modi) says he is not biological but a messenger of God. We will know the results soon. PM Modi is gone now. We (INDIA bloc) will form the government on June 4.” Mr. Lalu’s remarks come in the wake of PM Modi’s interview with a news channel recently in which he reportedly said that he was not biological but sent by god.

PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Article 370 was neither the agenda of the people of Kashmir nor of the country but only of “four-five families” and that it is a matter of greatest satisfaction for him that the brothers and sisters in Kashmir came forward to vote with great enthusiasm in the Lok Sabha polls.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Prime Minister said there is a feeling of more unity with the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the feeling of belongingness is increasing and the result is visible in the elections and in the increase in tourism.

Rejecting Opposition allegations about the misuse of probe agencies against them, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the government has a zero-tolerance towards corruption and that it is better “if these people read the Constitution, read the law of the country”. 

In an exclusive interview with ANI, PM Modi said the probe agencies were making more seizures in corruption cases. 

Asked about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation that PM Modi decides who will go to jail, the Prime Minister said, “It would be better if these people read the Constitution, read the law of the country, I do not need to say anything to anyone”.

In a setback for the Samajwadi Party, former minister Narad Rai hinted that he is all set to join the BJP and heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

He also shared a photograph of his meeting with Mr,. Shah in which SBSP leader Om Prakash Rajbhar was also seen. Mr. Rai, according to SBSP national spokesperson Arun Rajbhar, had met Mr. Shah in Varanasi on Monday.

PTI

The BJP is set to win 17 Lok Sabha seats and 75 Assembly constituencies in Odisha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said at poll rally in Chandbali on Tuesday. “Naveen Patnaik will become former Chief Minister of Odisha after June 4,” Mr. Shah said at the rally. 

- PTI

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior BJD leader V.K. Pandian on Tuesday claimed the Opposition BJP has “committed nine self goals” during the ongoing Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls thus boosting the regional party’s electoral prospect.

Mr. Pandian claimed that the BJP’s self-goals will help the BJD and none can stop the regional party from forming the government for the sixth consecutive time.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha.

Speaking on the nine self-goals of the BJP, Mr. Pandian claimed that the number one “mistake” in the series was to drag Lord Jagannath’s name to the political discourse and also using “abusive language” against Odisha’s most popular and five-time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“The people of Odisha do not appreciate these words against a respected person like Patnaik,” he said.

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district on May 30 for a spiritual sojourn, a senior BJP leader said on Tuesday.

The PM is expected to arrive at the picturesque VRM situated close to the monolithic statue of Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar mid sea off the coast of Kanyakumari on Thursday evening and may leave for Delhi on June 1, he said.

“His visit has nothing to do with any event related to the party. We will know about his schedule one day in advance,” the BJP senior told PTI.

The Prime Minister would undertake meditation during his stay at the memorial.

- PTI

For the past decade, 52-year-old Rishin Majumdar has been working two shifts, trying to repay a hefty ₹30 lakh loan he took out to compensate the investors of Saradha group, where he once served as an agent.

“After the Saradha group collapsed in 2013, people who invested money through me wanted it back. I was beaten, and even my family members were not spared. I was then forced to take a ₹30 lakh loan from a local money lender. I lost ₹5lakh in the chit fund,” Mr. Majumdar said. - PTI

With only the final and seventh phase of 2024 Lok Sabha polls left to go, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (May 28) exuded confidence that the BJP will emerge as the biggest gainer in West Bengal.

“In the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP got three seats. The people of Bengal took us from three to 80 in the 2021 Assembly elections. This time, the best-performing State in India is going to be Bengal and BJP will get most success from there,” PM Modi told ANI in an interview.

In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP made strong inroads into TMC stronghold in West Bengal, by winning 18 seats and being a close second to the ruling party which won 22 seats.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mega roadshow in Kolkata on May 28, in an exclusive interview with the ANI, he expressed confidence that the BJP will emerge as the biggest gainer in West Bengal. 

He said the Lok Sabha election in the State “is one-sided” and Trinamool Congress leaders are “frustrated”. 

“In Bengal elections, TMC party is fighting for existence. You must have seen it in the last Assembly elections, we had three seats. The people of Bengal took us from three to 80. We got a lot of support in the Lok Sabha in the last elections. This time, the best-performing State in India is going to be West Bengal. BJP is getting most success in West Bengal.”

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “I want to alert the SC, ST, OBC & other backward-class people because by keeping them in darkness they (Opposition) are looting them. Election is such a time, that I should make the countrymen aware of the biggest crisis that is coming. Therefore, I have been explaining this to the people. The basic spirit of the Constitution of India is being violated and that too for the sake of vote bank politics... Those who call themselves well-wishers of the Dalits, Tribals, are in reality their staunch enemies...There is an imprint of the Muslim League in their manifesto...Do you want to destroy the coming generations also for the sake of vote-bank?... I will fight for the rights of my Dalit, Tribal, OBC brothers and sisters. And that’s why I’m fighting the battle.”

The RJD seeks to break the jinx in Bihar’s Pataliputra Lok Sabha constituency, covering rural areas around the state capital, which the party’s proverbial first family has been failing to win since the seat’s inception.

The constituency came into being after delimitation of 2008 and in Lok Sabha polls a year later, RJD’s founding president Lalu Prasad chose to enter the fray himself, only to suffer a shocking defeat at the hands of Ranjan Yadav, a former close aide who had revolted and contested as a candidate of JD(U) headed by arch rival and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Mr. Yadav could not retain the seat five years later when it was the turn of yet another aide-turned-adversary Ram Kripal Yadav to inflict a defeat on the family of the RJD supremo. - PTI

Actor-politician and BJP candidate from Gorakhpur constituency Ravi Kishan has claimed that half a dozen Opposition parties will cease to exist and their candidate lose their deposits after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared.

In an interview with PTI at his home in Gorakhpur, Bhojpuri superstar Ravindra Shukla, better known as Ravi Kishan, claimed that if the Opposition INDIA bloc comes to power, it would run the country based on Shariat.

“You will see on June 4 that these 26 parties are going to face defeat. More than half a dozen of them will cease to exist and the deposits of their candidates forfeited,” Mr. Kishan, who is the current MP from Gorakhpur, said as he thumped the table to emphasise his point.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to embark on a two-day visit to West Bengal, will hold a mega roadshow in Kolkata ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 28 evening.

The Kolkata Police has issued a traffic advisory to ensure smooth commuting during PM Modi’s poll campaign in the city.

But first, Modi will campaign for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) founder Shibu Soren’s daughter-in-law Sita Soren who is the BJP candidate from Dumka. The event is scheduled to begin at 12.15 p.m.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on May 27 in Kushinagar said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would return to power with a thumping majority on June 4, and predicted that Congress leaders would hold a press conference blaming electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the defeat of the INDIA bloc. 

Mr. Shah added that following the June 4 results, responsibility for the Congress’ defeat would likely be placed on its national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, leading to his resignation. “Rahulbaba will not cross 40 and Akhilesh-ji will not get even four seats on the afternoon of June 4, you will see. Congress leaders will hold a press conference and claim that they lost because of the EVMs. The blame for the loss will also fall on Kharge-ji,” Mr. Shah said, addressing a rally in support of the BJP candidate for the Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat.

BJP president J.P. Nadda said on May 27 that there will be no reservation based on religion as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party are in power.

“We will not allow anyone to encroach on the reservation of our Dalit, tribal, backward and extremely backward classes. You will see what will happen to the Opposition on June 4 (the date of vote counting),” Mr. Nadda told reporters. 

The BJP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday campaigned in the city for PM Modi, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi for the third consecutive time.

Maharashtra minister and senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on May 27 demanded that his party be given 80-90 seats to contest in the Assembly elections due this year.

Speaking at a party’s meeting here, Mr. Bhujbal said, “When we joined the alliance (BJP-Shiv Sena), we were assured of getting 80 to 90 seats to contest in the Assembly elections. However, for this Lok Sabha polls, we got very few seats to contest. We must tell them (BJP) that we want more seats to contest so that we could win around 50 to 60 seats,” he said.

BJP is the largest party and will contest in more seats, said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. - PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will jointly address two election meetings in Uttar Pradesh on May 28 — one in Rudrapur at 1.45 p.m. and the other one in Varanasi, the bastion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4 p.m.

The top leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc are likely to meet in the National Capital on June 1 to assess their performance in the Lok Sabha elections and chalk out their strategy ahead of the results.

The sources in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said party supremo Mamata Banerjee, general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will be voting on the day and hence, will be unable to attend the meeting and pointed out that the party has so far attended all meetings of the Opposition bloc. 

Voting will take place on nine seats in West Bengal on June 1, including two seats in Kolkata - Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar. The other constituencies that go to polls in the State include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour.