NI BureauNew Delhi: 16 March 2024
As Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra nears its conclusion in Maharashtra, the Congress is gearing up for a massive rally on Sunday at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, where many leaders from the INDIA bloc are expected to participate, announced Congress state chief Nana Patole. The rally in Maharashtra comes at a critical juncture as several party leaders from the state, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, have recently defected to the BJP, with Chavan officially joining the BJP in Mumbai on February 13.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to kick off the BJP’s Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka on Saturday. The campaign will commence from the home turf of Congress’ President Mallikarjun Kharge in Kalaburgi.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is poised to unveil the poll schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 today at 3 PM, along with announcing the dates for Assembly elections in some poll-bound states. Both major national parties, BJP and Congress, have already commenced the process of announcing their candidates for the general elections. While BJP has released two lists of candidates so far, Congress has also issued two lists of candidates for the polls.
In the previous 2019 Lok Sabha elections, voting took place in seven phases from April 11 to May 19, with the results being declared on May 23.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah affirmed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is an integral part of Indian territory, and the residents in the region are considered Indian citizens, irrespective of their religion. While addressing the issue of PoK, the minister also defended the government’s decision to enact the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, stating that the law aimed to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
