Lok Sabha election: Maharashtra CM asks EC to relax code of conduct for drought relief work

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday wrote to the Election Commission asking it to relax the Model Code of Conduct in the state in order to enable drought relief work to be carried out effectively. Fadnavis pointed out that polling for all 48 constituencies in the state ended on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday issued a notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi asking him to explain his “factual position” over a complaint about his citizenship. BJP legislator Subramanian Swamy has alleged that Gandhi is a British citizen. The Congress scion has been asked to reply within a fortnight. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said everyone know her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi was born and raised in India and called the controversy over his citizenship status nonsense.

10.55 pm: Here are the top updates of the day

The Election Commission said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s nomination from Wayanad district in Kerala did not violate the Model Code of Conduct.
The poll panel banned Samajwadi Party’s Rampur candidate Azam Khan from campaigning for 48 hours for his provocative remarks about election authorities in Uttar Pradesh and for attempting to secure votes along religious lines. The order will come into force at 6 am on Wednesday.
Narendra Modi said Opposition leaders have lost their sleep after four phases of polling in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi said May 23 – the day of election results – will be the Opposition’s “expiry date”.
The Supreme Court gave Rahul Gandhi time till May 6 to file a fresh affidavit in a contempt of court plea filed against his remarks on the Rafale deal. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that Congress president had remarked that the “Supreme Court has said chowkidar chor hai” in its verdict.
The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Election Commission of India based on a petition from the Congress accusing the poll panel of inaction against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah.
The Trinamool Congress has filed a complaint against Narendra Modi with the Election Commission for his remark that 40 MLAs of the party are in touch with him and will desert it after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are announced on May 23, party MP Derek O’Brien said on Tuesday. The TMC has demanded that Modi provide an explanation for his comment, failing which his nomination should be cancelled.
An electronic voting machine used at a booth in Nogaon Phadna village in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district went missing on Monday after polls closed in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections. It was recovered on Tuesday, with the seal intact, from the waiting room of the village bus stand.

10.37 pm: A complaint has been filed against Aam Aadmi Party’s West Delhi candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar for allegedly conducting meetings at religious places in Madipur on April 26, reports PTI. Jakhar, however, has denied holding such meetings.

9.15 pm: The Election Commission says that Narendra Modi did not violate the Model Code of Conduct in his speech criticising Rahul Gandhi’s nomination from Wayanad in Kerala, NDTV reports. Modi had claimed that Gandhi was contesting from Wayanad because the Congress is afraid of facing the Hindus.

9 pm: After Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demands re-polling in the Tripura West Lok Sabha seat, alleging “massive rigging”, PTI reports. The party says it has written to the Election Commission and submitted documents to prove its case.

8.56 pm: Congress leader Sheila Dikshit claims at a rally in North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency that the sealing and demolition drives have ruined the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people, PTI reports. “The BJP and the AAP only shed crocodile tears without taking prompt steps to stop the sealing and demolition drive,” she alleges.

8.49 pm: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar says Narendra Modi is indulging in politics over martyrs, PTI reports. “The children of farmers laid down their lives defending the country’s borders while the people occupying the seats of power were playing politics over their martyrdom,” he says at a rally in Balrampur town in Uttar Pradesh.

8.38 pm: The poll panel has banned Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan from campaigning for 48 hours starting 6 am on Wednesday, for violating the Model Code of Conduct, ANI reports. The Election Commission has barred Khan for making objectionable speeches from April 7 to April 12 across Rampur town in Uttar Pradesh.

8.20 pm: Bihar Janata Dal (United) MLA Amarnath Gami resigns from the Assembly after being sidelined during election campaigning in Samastipur and Darbhanga constituencies, PTI reports. Gami asserts that he will not quit the party.

8 pm: The Election Commission has approved the West Bengal chief electoral officer’s proposal to put indelible ink on the voter’s left middle finger for bye-elections to the state Assembly, ANI reports. The poll panel has said that if re-polling is held in any of the six Assembly segments, the ink can be put on the left ring finger.

7.39 pm: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav says at a rally in Banda town in Uttar Pradesh that there is speculation that a water research ministry will be formed instead of a water resources ministry after the polls, ANI reports. “Once the BJP had created a Ganga cleaning ministry,” he adds. “And now, the person [Uma Bharti] who was the minister has been denied a ticket.”

7.25 pm: Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Rama Meena has sought an urgent report on complaints of fake votes cast by workers of the United Democratic Front in Kannur and Kasaragod constituencies, during the Lok Sabha elections on March 23, PTI reports.

7.20 pm: A Congress delegation has met the poll panel and demanded fresh polling in West Tripura seat, alleging that the ruling BJP has rigged the elections, PTI reports. Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pradyot Deb Burman has said that the polls must be countermanded.

7.14 pm: The Central Bureau of Investigation has conducted searches at residences and offices of K Raghurama Krishnam Raju, the YSR Congress candidate from Narsapuram, PTI reports. His offices and homes were searched for alleged loan default of over Rs 947 crore.

7.01 pm: The Election Commission asks filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma not to release Laxmi’s NTR, the biopic based on the life of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao, PTI reports. The poll panel says the movie cannot be released until the end of the Lok Sabha elections.

6.38 pm: Election Commission asks Lok Sabha poll candidate Tej Bahadur Yadav to get a no-objection certificate from the Border Security Force, reports News18. The poll panel purportedly asks Yadav to submit his reply by 11am on May 1. Yadav’s lawyers are reportedly arguing his case in the collectorate.

6.23 pm: BJP’s East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir refutes his rival and AAP candidate Atishi Marlena’s claim that he has double entries on his voting list, ANI reports. “I have only one voter identity card, from Rajendra Nagar,” Gambhir says. “I don’t have any other voter ID.”

6.19 pm: Amit Shah says that investigators busted a racket worth crores of rupees after they raided people close to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath recently. “If in three months such a huge racket was in operation, then what will happen to this state in 60 months,” Shah says.

6.15 pm: BJP President Amit Shah claims there was no law and order problem during former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s administration. “Under [Chief Minister] Kamal Nath’s rule, there is “lo aur order”. Take money and order people around,” Shah says at a rally in the state.

6.01 pm: Congress President Rahul Gandhi takes a jibe at Narendra Modi on Twitter after a fire was reported at Shashtri Bhavan in New Delhi. “Modi ji burning files is not going to save you. Your day of judgement is coming,” tweets Gandhi.

5.49 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asks the Election Commission to relax the Model Code of Conduct in the state so that drought relief work can be carried out more effectively. Fadnavis also requests permission to use officials who are no longer involved in polling work to inspect the work.

5.07 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has threatened to reconsider her party’s support to the government, alleging that the Congress had coerced her party’s candidate in Guna district to join it. The Congress has 114 legislators in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly while the BJP has 109 MLAs. The party formed the government in the state with support from the Bahujan Samaj Party’s two MLAs, the Samajwadi Party’s one and four independent legislators.

4.35 pm: Mandi election official issues an advisory to Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti advising him to “be prudent about selection of words in speeches in the future to ensure peaceful election”, ANI reports.

4 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again claims that the alliance of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh will expire on May 23, when the results of the Lok Sabha elections are announced, PTI reports.

“Leaders of the SP, BSP, RLD will tear each others clothes once results of the Lok Sabha polls are out on May 23,” Modi says at an election rally in Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh.

3.44 pm: The Supreme Court gives Congress President Rahul Gandhi time till May 6 to file a fresh affidavit in a contempt of court plea filed against his remarks on the Rafale deal. The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Meenakshi Lekhi, alleging that Gandhi had attributed his remarks on the deal to the court.

3.42 pm: The Supreme Court issues a notice to the Election Commission based on a Congress MP’s petition that alleged the poll panel did not act against the Model Code of Conduct violations of Prime Minister Narendar Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah, Ani reports. The court will next hear the case on May 2.

3.40 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati threatens to withdraw support from the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, a day after her party’s candidate for the Guna Lok Sabha constituency, Lokendra Singh Rajput, joined the Congress.

Rajput on Monday evening joined the Congress and extended his support to Congress candidate in Guna and incumbent Jyotiraditya Scindia.

“The Congress is no different from the BJP when it comes to misusing government agencies,” Mayawati said in a series of tweets. “In Madhya Pradesh’s Guna seat, the Congress threatened the BSP candidate. But the BSP will counter the Congress’s attempts by fielding another candidate and will even reconsider its support to the Congress-led party in the state.”

3.22 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah claims Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his party “sulked” after the air strike in Pakistan’s Balakot, PTI reports.

“Rahul baba and his company sulked after air strikes in Balakot of Pakistan,” Shah claims at a rally in Dausa, Rajasthan. “His dream of becoming country’s prime minister got shattered. Now, they are seeking proof of air strike for their vote bank.”

He adds: “Rahul Gandhi is asking what BJP did in Rajasthan. We have been in government for just five years. Your four generations have ruled the country for 55 years.”

3.10 pm: Congress President Rahul Gandhi claims no farmer will be imprisoned for not repaying their loan if his party comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections, PTI reports. He also blames the BJP’s government’s demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax regime for unemployment. “People have no money left with them as it was taken away by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through demonetisation,” he says at a rally in Jatara of Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district.

3.02 pm: Meanwhile, the Supreme Court begins hearing the contempt case against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for the “chowkidar chor hai” remark.

2.53 pm: Udit Raj, who quit the BJP and joined the Congress last week accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi of destroying all institutions, News18 reports. “I have joined Congress but I am not interested in fighting elections,” Raj says. “While I was in BJP, I asked for a ticket on the basis of the fact that I work for Dalits. But BJP is an anti-Dalit party ruled by just two [purportedly referring to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah].”

2.47 pm: The Supreme Court adjourns the hearing of a Congress MP’s petition accusing the Election Commission of inaction against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah for violating the Model Code of Conduct after the Election Commission told the court of a meeting being held today by the poll panel. The two-judge bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna did not specify the next date for the hearing.

2.36 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Swaraj says the questions that the Home Ministry has raised on Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship are based on authenticated documents. “Which Rahul is original? Rahul of London or Rahul of Lutyens,” Swaraj asks. “This is the story of three Cs – Citizenship, Confusion and Clarification. These questions raised by MHA are based on authenticated documents.”

2.25 pm: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says everyone know her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi was born in India. “The whole of India knows that Rahul Gandhi is an Indian,” she says, according to ANI. “People have seen him grow up in India. What is this nonsense?” She was reacting after the Home ministry sent Rahul Gandhi a notice on his citizenship status.

1.50 pm: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik arrives in New Delhi to meet the Election Commission of India. “I am in Delhi to meet the Election Commission of India regarding the bye-elections of Patkura Assembly seat, that it should be postponed in case the cyclone hits Odisha,” ANI quotes him as saying.

1.47 pm: The Trinamool Congress urges the Election Commission to ask Modi for proof that TMC leaders were going to defect. If he does not provide it, his nomination should be cancelled, the party says.

1.45 pm: The letter says Modi violated the code by “encouraging horse trading, by hinting that the members of the AITC will cross over to the BJP, and using this lie to influence the voters and using this lie to persuade the voters”, ANI reports.

1.44 pm: The Trinamool Congress writes to the Election Commission alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi violated the Model Code of Conduct by claiming that 40 TMC leaders were waiting to defect to the BJP.

1.26 pm: The Congress criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Home ministry sent party chief Rahul Gandhi a notice on his citizenship status, PTI reports. It says the prime minister is resorting to a fake narrative to divert people’s attention.

Since Modi has no answers on crises such as unemployment and agrarian distress, he is resorting to a fake narrative, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala says.

12.52 pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh claims his ministry’s notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi asking him to explain his position on a complaint about his citizenship is “normal process” and not a “big development”, ANI reports. “When a member of Parliament writes to any ministry, action required on their query is taken,” he says. BJP legislator Subramanian Swamy had alleged that Gandhi is a British citizen.

12.30 pm: Meanwhile, the Election Commission has begins meeting regarding the Model Code of Conduct violations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. The prime minister and the BJP president are accused of making references to the armed forces for “political propaganda”. Gandhi is facing a complaint for his “chowkidar chor hai” slogan.

11.49 am: Modi says most of the Opposition parties are not even fighting on enough number of seats to become the leader of opposition. “People who cannot even become leader of opposition are dreaming of becoming the prime minister,” he adds.

11.48 am: Addressing a rally in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Modi claims the remaining phases of elections will confirm BJP’s victory. “The vote margin of BJP’s win will be decided in the next phase,” he says, according to News18. “The mood of the nation is clear, the opposition can try to deter the spirit of BJP but they will not succeed.”

11.44 am: Reacting to MHA’s notice to Rahul Gandhi, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accuses the BJP of coming up with a fake narrative to divert attention, reports ANI.

10.42 am: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi will start her two-day visit to Amethi and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh today, reports India Today. She will be campaigning for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and for UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli.

10.36 am: Ministry of Home Affairs issues notice to Rahul Gandhi over his citizenship after Subramanian Swamy’s complain, reports News18. The ministry asks Gandhi to “intimate factual position on the matter” within a fortnight.

10.21 am: Responding to BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan’s claims that former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was friends with Digvijaya Singh, the Congress veteran says he is proud to be linked to Ashoka Chakra winner martyr Hemant Karkare, reports India Today.

10.12 am: Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer Teeka Ram Meena says three Left Democratic Front cadres were involved in “bogus voting” in Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency during the third phase of polling on April 23, reports India Today. The accused have been identified as Padmini, Saleena NP, and Sumayya KP.

“After receiving a factual report from the collector officers we have found that three ladies, affiliated to the Left party, voted twice in polling booth 19 of Payyannur in Kasargod parliamentary constituency. Particularly, two of them were not voters of that booth,” Meena tells reporters.

9.58 am: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav seeks a 72-year ban on Narendra Modi for his “shameful speech” in West Bengal on Monday where he claimed that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him.

“Vikas [development] is asking... Did you hear the shameful speech of Pradhanji?” he tweets. “After losing the faith of 125 crore countrymen, he is now relying on the unethical assurance of defection allegedly given by the 40 MLAs. This reflects his (Modi) black money mentality. He should be banned for not 72 hours but for 72 years.”

9.50 am: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tells NDTV that BJP will not even get 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh. “The Congress will get seven to eight seats, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will do very well,” she adds.

She says Modi has become worse than a fascist. “What they are doing in Bengal it is more than emergency. They are running everything. All officers are under the election commission,” adds the TMC chief.

9.41 am: Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address rallies across Madhya Pradesh today. He will campaign in Tikamgarh and District Damoh before heading to Panna.

9.40 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing rallies in Muzaffarpur in Bihar and then go to Bahraich and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh.

9.38 am: NCP leader Shankersinh Vaghela claims many BJP MLAs in Gujarat are in touch with him, reports PTI. He adds that the BJP government in Gujarat will fall on May 23. “The BJP will lose power both at the Centre and in Gujarat on May 23,” he tells PTI. “The number of BJP legislators from Gujarat who would resign on May 23 is enough to topple the state government.”

9.33 am: Addressing a rally in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, BJP leader Adityanath accuses the Congress of feeding biryani to terrorists and its allies of dropping cases. “Congress aatankwadi ko biryani khilati thi, humne kaha biryani nahi bullet khilayenge,” he says. “Congress ki sarkar thi aatankwadi jagah jagah visphot karte the aur Congress ke sehyogi dalon ke log in aatankwadi logon par dayar mukadmon ko wapas lete the (Congress used to feed biryani to terrorists. We said that we would feed them bullets. Under the Congress government, there were blasts in several places and alliance partners of the Congress used to withdraw cases filed against terrorists).”

9.30 am: BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan tells The Indian Express that the role of Hemant Karkare as former Maharashtra ATS chief is not above board. “He became a martyr because he died in line of duty, but if his role as a police officer was not correct, we will say it was not correct,’’ she says. She adds that Karkare and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh were friends.

9.26 am: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu warns citizens that a “wrong vote” can make their children “tea-seller, pakoda-seller or a chowkidar” in the future, reports PTI. All the three vocations are associated with Narendra Modi.

9.24 am: BJP says it will seek an explanation from its Jadavpur Lok Sabha candidate Anupam Hazra for meeting a senior TMC leader, reports PTI. Hazra had switched from TMC to the saffron party in March.

9.11 am: Congress releases list of star campaigners in Punjab and Chandigarh, reports ANI. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, Amarinder Singh are among the 40 star campaigners.

9.09 am: The Election Commission revises voter turnout for the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls held on Monday. It said of 65% voter turnout was recorded.

8.57 am: Here are the top updates from Monday:

The Election Commission said it will decide on Tuesday on poll code complaints against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi.
The Election Commission ordered Union Minister and BJP’s Begusarai candidate Giriraj Singh to clarify his comment that the country will never forgive those who do not chant Vande Mataram. The poll panel said it has prime facie found Singh guilty of violating the Model Code of Conduct.
BJP leader Babul Supriyo was booked for allegedly entering a booth and threatening a polling agent and an officer in Asansol in West Bengal. The police also filed an FIR against unidentified persons for breaking the glass of Supriyo’s car in Barabani area of Asansol. Trinamool Congress candidate from Asansol Moon Moon Sen claimed that she was unaware of poll violence in West Bengal because she woke up late, having received her bed tea late.
Narendra Modi claimed that 40 Trinamool Congress MLAs were in touch with him and were ready to desert their party once the BJP wins the Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi filed a counter-affidavit in a contempt case filed by BJP parliamentarian Meenakshi Lekhi over his comments on the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Rafale deal.
Congress candidate from Bhopal Digvijaya Singh claimed that he did not coin the term “Hindu terror”. He alleged that the person who coined the phrase, former Union Home Secretary RK Singh, is now in the BJP and was inducted into the central cabinet.

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Election watch: Maharashtra CM asks poll panel to relax Model Code of Conduct for drought relief

All of today’s Lok Sabha poll updates, as they happen.