Lok Sabha Elections LIVE April 8: Delhi Police foil TMC 'dharna' outside EC office, leaders detained

 Haryana BJP leader Anil Vij is facing flak from party supporters for tweaking his profile name on X -- he shifted the "Modi ka parivar" tagline to the bio to make space for his changed status as an ex-minister now in the state cabinet. Earlier, the tagline came immediately after his name. Now it reads, "Anil Vij Ex - Home Minister Haryana, India." The "Modi ka parivar" tagline is mentioned in the profile's bio now. Vij on Monday justified the changes, asserting that he remained part of "Modi ka parivar (Modi's family)" and a "staunch devotee" of the BJP.

 The Delhi Congress will soon announce a separate manifesto for the city and the three parliamentary constituencies where the party will contest in the upcoming polls to address the local issues concerning people. In an interview with PTI, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Arvinder Singh Lovely also said that his party will release the names of its candidates for the three seats -- Chandani Chowk, North East Delhi and North West Delhi -- most likely by Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday launched a "Jail ka Jawab Vote Se" campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha polls to seek public support for the party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is currently lodged in Tihar jail. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday exuded confidence about winning the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and announced a party-led government will transfer Rs 1 lakh annually into bank accounts of women belonging to SC, ST, and backward categories. Reaching out to tribals in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi said they are the original owners of the land and bemoaned that no individual from the community is among promoters of the top 200 companies in the country or part of their senior management.

Union minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani Monday alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken the support of the banned Popular Front of India to contest the Lok Sabha election from Kerala's Wayanad seat. Referring to Gandhi, who represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha earlier, the BJP leader said the people of the constituency tolerated an MP for 15 years who did nothing for them. Irani is seeking a re-election from the seat. "We have received information that Rahul Gandhi took the support of the terrorist organisation PFI to contest the elections in Wayanad," she said.

 The Congress has become a "proxy partner" in the "hidden agenda" of the Muslim League, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged on Monday and exhorted people to strengthen the all-embracing "environment of development" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP has been on an offensive against the Congress over its election manifesto with PM Modi alleging that the opposition party's poll document carries the imprint of the Muslim League with "every page reeking of breaking India".

Police foiled a protest staged by TMC leaders outside the Election Commission complex in New Delhi. Videos showed police officers dragging away the 10-member delegation and forcing them onto a bus. 

A delegation of the TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, demanded that the chiefs of CBI, NIA, ED and Income Tax Department be changed.

TMC leaders sit on 24-hour dharna outside Election Commission office in Delhi. The party had earlier approached the EC to flag the 'misuse' of central agencies.

Former Union minister Birender Singh said he has quit the BJP and will be joining the Congress, as per news agency PTI. Birender Singh's exit comes nearly a month after his son made the same switch. His wife, a former BJP MLA, also quit the BJP.

Senior Congress leaders have approached the Election Commission to complain against BJP leaders who compared the Grand Old Party's manifesto with the Muslim League. Congress politicians including Salman Khurshid, Mukul Wasnik, Pawan Khera and Gurdeep Sappal were seen in the EC complex in New Delhi.

BJP president JP Nadda on Monday came down heavily on the Congress, accusing it of committing scams in all the three worlds and said the party did not spare the sky, underground and water. "Did the Congress not commit the coal scam? Did the Congress not commit CWG scam, 2G scam, 3G scam, AugustaWestland scam, submarine scam?" he said.

PM Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha campaign caravan reached Chhattisgarh’s Bastar on Monday. The BJP leader took several jibes at Congress during the rally. Here are the 3 key takeaways from the PM’s speech:

1) “Congress has overlooked the needs of the poor for decades since independence and never understood their pain,” PM Modi said.

2) “People said what will happen to the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I said I will give free vaccines and ration to them,” he added.

3) Further criticising Congress, PM Modi said that the party though it had the license to loot the country but after coming to government in 2014. Modi has cancelled the loot license of Congress and Modi was able to cancel the license because you gave Modi the license."

"The government of India has 30 lakh vacancies. The people in the BJP don't give them to you. They give you work on contract but don't give you government jobs. We will grant you 30 lakh govt jobs as our first step after the formation of our government," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said whule campaigning in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni.

"After many decades the country has seen a stable and strong government of BJP. The biggest priority of our government was the welfare of the poor. After independence, Congress government ignored the needs of the poor for decades, the Congress never cared about the poor, did not even understand their problems," PM Modi said in Bastar.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday claimed that PM Narendra Modi's promise of taking action against the corrupt after June 4 meant that opposition leaders would be imprisoned post Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a rally at Bankura, the TMC chief alleged that the National Investigation Agency had gone to Bhupatinagar in Purba Medinipur district without informing the local police.

"The Prime Minister is coming to West Bengal to address election rallies. I have no issues with that. But the way he is saying that stern action will be taken against the opposition over corruption after the Lok Sabha poll results is unacceptable," she said.

Aam Aadmi Party launches 'Jail ka Jawab Vote Se,' a new campaign that aims to gather public support for the party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail. AAP MP Sandeep Pathak said that party members will visit the four Lok Sabha constituencies from where it has fielded candidates.

Around 12,000 central and state paramilitary forces will be deployed in Tripura for the elections, a senior police officer told news agency PTI.

Voting in Tripura West Lok Sabha seat and by-election in Ramnagar assembly seat will be held in the first phase on April 19, while electors in Tripura East Lok Sabha seat will exercise their franchise in the second phase on April 26.

Besides, around 4,500 personnel of the state paramilitary force, Tripura State Rifles, will also be deployed for election-related duties, while BSF will continue to remain vigilant along the India-Bangladesh international border, the police officer said.

He said some central forces will be shifted to areas in the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency after the completion of the first phase of voting in the Tripura West seat and Ramnagar assembly constituency, as per PTI.

A 10-member Trinamool Congress delegation will meet Election Commission officials in New Delhi on Monday to complain about "misuse" of central investigating agencies against TMC leaders and party candidates.

"When I was the Union agriculture minister, I helped the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi without any partiality, but today the same person is making personal comments against me. Today, if someone comments against the PM, then action is taken against them," Pawar said. "This is not democracy, it is dictatorship," he added.

Congress has been rejected by people repeatedly, yet they are not leaving appeasement politics. Congress needs to clarify its stand - on appeasement politics they are doing and the reservations mentioned in its manifesto," BJP National President JP Nadda's said.

"The people of Maharashtra have taken a great pledge of the grand victory of BJP-NDA candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. You will get a good opportunity to seek blessings from your loved ones at 5 pm today in Chandrapur," PM Modi wrote.

PM Narendra Modi will address a rally in Bastar in Chhattisgarh today. The rally is expected to start at 1:30 PM. He will address a rally in Aamabal village in Bhanpuri in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, which will go to polls on April 19.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi will travel to Assam today to campaign for her party ahead of the elections. She will campaign in Dibrugarh and Tezpur.