Lok Sabha Elections LIVE: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will lose his job after elections: Amit Shah

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is unlikely to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1, sources said, as it coincides with the last phase of voting in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders on the afternoon of June 1, when the last phase of polling will be underway.

Sources in the TMC said the voting will be done on nine seats, including two seats in Kolkata - Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar, in West Bengal on the day which are crucial for the party. Other constituencies that go to polls that day in the state include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will be voting on the day and hence will be unable to attend the meeting, a source said, also pointing out that the party has so far attended all meetings of the opposition bloc.

The source added that the TMC has conveyed this to the organisers.

The first meeting of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc was held in Patna on June 23 last year, followed by a meeting in Bengaluru on July 17-18, 2023, and then in Mumbai between August 31 and September 1, where the opposition parties adopted resolutions to contest the Lok Sabha elections unitedly.

Exactly a month after he left the country, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing many women, has said he will appear before the Special Investigation Team probing the cases against him on May 31.

"I will personally on Friday, May 31 at 10 am will come before the SIT and will cooperate with the investigation and will respond to it (charges). I have faith in court and I am confident I will come out of false cases through court," Pajwal said in a video statement aired on Kannada TV channel Asianet Suvarna News.

There was no independent confirmation from the JD(S) or the family of the suspended party MP immediately over the matter.

"Let God's, people's and family's blessing be on me. I will surely come before SIT on May 31, Friday. After coming, I will try to put an end to all this. Keep faith in me," he added.

The 33-year-old Prajwal, the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda and the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.

Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to polls, and is still at large. A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts has already been issued by the Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant on May 18 against Prajwal Revanna, following an application moved by the SIT. The Congress-led Karnataka government has urged the Centre to cancel his diplomatic passport

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday alleged the INDIA bloc parties have indicated that they intend to implement Talibani rule in the country and confine women to their homes.

At a poll rally in the Ghosi Assembly constituency in favour of BJP ally and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party candidate Arvind Rajbhar, he alleged that the Congress and Samajwadi Party have a negative mindset.

"They stand against Lord Ram and the nation, denying Dalits and backward communities their rights. Now, they have set their sights on reservations for OBC castes," Adityanath said.

"There is talk of taking away reservations meant for the OBCs and allocating them to Muslims. But we will not allow this to happen. These rights belong to the OBC caste and we will not permit them to be usurped," he said.

Bhimrao Ambedkar had asserted that religion cannot be the basis of reservation, he said adding the opposition parties have once again have the objective of dividing the country along the lines of religion but people have discerned their intentions.

"We must be wary of the INDI alliance, as they proclaim that if they come to power, they will impose inheritance tax. This tax is akin to Aurangzeb's 'Jizya tax'. Moreover, they declare that if they assume power, they will enforce personal laws, indicating their desire to implement Talibani and Sharia law in the country," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of threatening to topple the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab after the Lok Sabha polls to claim that the country is under dictatorship.

Union Minister Shah at a poll rally in Ludhiana on Sunday asked people to ensure victory of the BJP's Lok Sabha candidates in Punjab and said that "the Bhagwant Mann government will not last long after the BJP's victory".

On Monday, Kejriwal, while addressing a gathering of traders in Amritsar, said, "Have you heard Amit Shah's statement? He gave a threat. Initially, he abused Punjabis a lot. He issued a threat that after June 4, the Punjab government will be toppled. Bhagwant Mann will no longer remain the chief minister after June 4." "We have 92 seats (MLAs). How can you topple (government)? There is a dictatorship (in the country)," Kejriwal said and alleged that the BJP leaders were openly saying that they would threaten the legislators with the CBI and the ED and then "buy" them.

"I want to tell him (Shah)... do threaten the people of Punjab. Otherwise, they will make it difficult for you to enter Punjab," the Delhi chief minister added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed Shah over his remarks and said, "Do you have the courage to topple the government? We have 92 seats. They are threatening us. Are you coming (here) to seek votes or threaten to topple the government?" In Amritsar, Kejriwal lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of keeping mum on the issues of unemployment and inflation.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will lose his job after the Lok Sabha poll results are announced on June 4 but Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will not be blamed for the defeat, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday.

Shah said Rahul Gandhi's people will also do a press conference post polls, saying they lost due to EVMs.

"I have the details of the first five phases. In five phases of the Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi has crossed 310 seats. Rahul will not cross 40 and Akhilesh Yadav will not get even 4 seats on June 4," he said at an election rally here.

Shah said Kharge is going to lose his job as 'bhai behen' (Rahul, Priyanka) will not be blamed for the defeat.

He also said that opposition parties will snatch reservation of Dalits, backwards and tribals and give it to Muslims but the BJP will not let it happen.

Reacting to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's petition to extend his bail term, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva called this move a "drama" by the chief minister to avoid going back to jail after his interim bail in a money laundering case ends on June 1.

"The Supreme Court granted him bail for poll campaigning, which he did without any problem. But now he is suffering from serious diseases. If so, why is he not having those tests done now instead of being busy with campaigning in Punjab?" Sachdeva said.

While filing the petition, AAP said that Kejriwal had health concerns and weight dropped by 7 kg after his arrest on March 21.

He has not regained the lost weight and the doctors are unable to find why his weight decreased, the Delhi minister Atishi Marlena said.

"He has undergone some tests and his ketone level is very high. Loss of weight and high ketone level could be symptoms of very serious diseases, as told by doctors. It could be symptoms of serious problems in the kidneys or also might be symptoms of cancer," said the minister.

So, the doctors have suggested Kejriwal to take several tests such as PET scan and CT scan of his whole body, she said.

Therefore, the chief minister has filed an application in the Supreme Court for extension of his interim bail by seven days so that these tests could be conducted, she added.

Reservation based on religion will not be allowed to be implemented till Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP are in power, party president JP Nadda said on Monday.

Accusing the opposition of planning to give reservation based on religion, he said, "It is clearly written in the Constitution that there will be no religion-based reservation.”  As long as PM Modi and BJP are in power, there will be no reservation on the basis of religion, the BJP president said.

“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 counting day)," Nadda said.

Nadda reached Varanasi for PM Modi's election campaign and offered prayers at the Kaal Bhairav temple "Whenever I come to Varanasi I pay obeisance to Kal Bhairav temple, Sankat Mochan and Kashi Vishwanath temple. As we all know Kashi is a religious city and the city which takes forward Sanatan Dharma, I get new energy from here," he said.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla defended PM Modi over a row sparked over his 'mujra' remark on Saturday. Here is what he said:

"When the same word was used by Uddhav Thackeray for Eknath Shinde, they (INDI alliance leaders) had no outrage. When PM Modi is abused, Mallikarjun Kharge compares him to poison, and leaders say that he should die Hitler's death and be buried in the ground, at that time, these leaders were silent. Because they enjoy this abuse. Today, the PM has said that vote bank politics is indeed making the entire opposition do 'Mujra'. It means to bow down in front of their vote bank."

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea filed by the BJP challenging a Calcutta High Court order that had refused to interfere with a single-judge verdict restraining the party from issuing advertisements that are allegedly violative of the model code during the Lok Sabha polls.

A vacation bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and K V Viswanathan refused to interfere with the high court order.

"Prima facie, the advertisement is disparaging," the bench said.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing for the BJP, sought permission to withdraw the matter after the bench expressed disinclination to entertain the matter.

The matter was dismissed as withdrawn.

On May 22, a division bench of the high court had said it was not inclined to entertain the appeal against the interim order passed by the single-judge bench.

The single-judge bench on May 20 had restrained the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from publishing advertisements that violated the MCC until June 4, the day the Lok Sabha poll results are scheduled to be declared.

The court had also restrained the saffron party from publishing the advertisements mentioned by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, in its petition claiming unverified allegations against it and its workers.

Punjab's Jalandhar parliamentary constituency is likely to witness an interesting political bout as a former chief minister and three turncoats are vying to win the seat reserved for Scheduled Castes. Considered a Congress citadel, the Jalandhar seat was once represented by Inder Kumar Gujral who served as the country's 12th prime minister.

To ensure no political rival could breach its fortress, the Congress has placed its bet on Dalit leader and former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who had an MLA from Chamkaur Sahib seat in Rupnagar district.

The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded two-time former Akali MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu who joined the state's ruling party in April.

The BJP has placed its trust on sitting MP Sushil Rinku, who was first announced as the candidate by the AAP. However, Rinku left the AAP and joined the saffron party to fight from the Jalandhar seat. Rinku had last year quit the Congress and joined the AAP.

The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded former Punjab Congress chief and former MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee from the seat. Kaypee jumped the ship from the Congress to the SAD last month.

Tracing PM Modi's statements during elections, Arvind Kejriwal launched a two-pronged attack on the prime minister and the RSS. Here is what he wrote on his social media handles:

"In 2014, Modi ji said that he is the prime servant of the country. In 2019, he said that he is a Chowkidar. Now in 2024, Modi ji is saying that he was not born from his mother's womb but he is an incarnation of God. A senior leader of his party said that Lord Jagannath is also a devotee of Modi ji.

Does RSS also believe that Modi Ji is an incarnation of God? RSS should clarify its stand."

"Reservation based on religion is unconstitutional. Baba Saheb Ambedkar strongly opposed it but Congress and the parties of the INDI alliance are competing to provide Muslim reservations. In West Bengal, TMC has committed a complete robbery on the reservation rights of OBCs for the last 14 years by including 118 Muslim castes in OBC category in 2010. We would like to thank the Kolkata High Court which has strongly slapped this type of unconstitutional act of TMC," the UP CM said.

"Similarly, in Bihar, Lalu ji has already said that Muslims should get reservations, from where will they get this reservation, they want to give it to Muslims by taking away the reservation of OBC, SC, ST. BJP opposes any kind of Muslim reservation to protect the reservation of SC, ST and OBC and secondly, Muslim reservation is also unconstitutional and if there is an attempt to impose this type of evil practice then the integrity of the country will be affected," he added.

Reports say AIMIM leader and former mayor Abdul Malik was shot by unknown assailants on Sunday evening. As per Republic reports, he was shot three times in Maharashtra's Malegaon. His condition remains serious, the report added.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition to extend his bail term, which if approved would allow him to stay outside prison till the election counting begins. He sought a 7-day extension.

Kejriwal has been directed to surrender to authorities on June 2.

AAP also cited Kejriwal's health concerns while filing the petition. "These may be symptoms of some serious disease. Max hospital doctors examined him. He needs needs to undergo PET-CT scan and many other tests. He has sought 7 days to get the investigation done," the party said.

PM Modi extended "special congratulations" to the voters of Anantnag-Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir for their participation in the 6th phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

In a social media post, the prime minister wrote, "A very special congratulations to my sisters and brothers of Anantnag-Rajouri for the record turnout in the Lok Sabha polls. Their enthusiastic participation is a vibrant testament to their democratic spirit."