Lok Sabha election Updates: Congress won't even cross 40 seats; SP not even 4, says Amit Shah

Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure that vote counting is peaceful across Andhra Pradesh on June 4, state Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena said on Monday. In the wake of poll-related violence reported at some places in the southern state, the top election official said, "Twenty companies of security forces (central armed police forces) have been allocated for the state and pickets are being set up."

In all, 48 polling stations, mostly located in North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, were damaged due to the impact of Cyclone Remal, a senior poll official said on Monday.

The disaster also adversely affected preparations for the upcoming seventh and final phase of polling scheduled on June 1, he added.

"Most of these polling stations have been badly hit by the cyclone. They are submerged in water or have sustained other types of damage," the official told PTI.

Polling for the nine Lok Sabha seats — Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar — is scheduled on Saturday. Among these, several assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour and Basirhat seats were hit by the cyclonic storm.

Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate from Hamirpur Lok Sabha and Union Minister, Anurag Singh Thakur, on Monday questioned the "nefarious" relationship between Congress and Pakistan, read Himachal Pradesh BJP's press release.

He asked, "Why does Congress repeatedly find itself in cosy relations with Pakistan? Why do they feel compelled to praise Pakistan while living in India? What kind of disgusting politics is this to sing praises of Pakistan during Indian elections to please a particular vote bank? What kind of politics is this that hands over thousands of acres of Indian land to Pakistan?"As per the statement, Anurag Thakur emphasised that even after 75 years since the partition of the country, the strings of Congress are still interconnected with Pakistan. He questioned why Congress asks for proof of surgical strikes and why they advocate for the elimination of Indian nuclear weapons while simultaneously asking us to fear Pakistan's nuclear capabilities, it added.Anurag Thakur made these statements during his public meetings and media interactions in Jhanduta, Bhoranj, and Hamirpur divisions.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will not attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1 due to the last phase of Lok Sabha polls and ongoing relief work after cyclone 'Remal' hit the state's coastal regions.

According to sources, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders in the afternoon of June 1, coinciding with the last round of polling.

Addressing an election rally in Kolkata, Banerjee mentioned her inability to attend the INDIA bloc meeting due to the scheduled elections in the state on that day.

"The INDIA bloc meeting has been fixed on June 1. But I have already said I can’t go on June 1 as there is an election in our state on that day. So far I know there are elections in Punjab, UP and Bihar. Voting will continue till 6 pm, and at times it extends beyond that (6 pm),” she said.

Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's infamous "mujra" jibe, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Monday sought to pay him back in the same coin.

"And what does Modi do? Play the tabla?", quipped the once shy homemaker, who reacted with horror when journalists drew her attention to the remark, before responding with a sarcastic smile.

Modi had used the colourful imagery at rallies in Bihar addressed on Saturday when he accused the INDIA bloc, in general, and RJD in particular, of Muslim appeasement and keeping mum on the humiliation of migrants from the state by leaders of parties other than the BJP.

Rabri Devi, whose husband Lalu Prasad is the RJD's founding president, also claimed that the BJP-led NDA will be routed in the elections, a reason why they had "gone crazy and taken to blabbering".

She also took exception to the claim of Modi that the INDIA bloc was receiving support from "jihadis" sponsored by Pakistan.

Himachal Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has turned down a request of Congress candidate from Kangra Lok Sabha seat Anand Sharma for casting his vote from Dharamshala by postal ballot as his voter registration is in Shimla.

Elections to all four Lok Sabh seats in the hill state will take place on June 1.

The Congress veteran and former Union minister, who had written to the CEO requesting that he be allowed to cast his vote from Dharamashala in Kangra by postal ballot, on Monday termed the decision of election authorities as "unfair and unconstitutional".

The Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of "playing with" national security and the future of the youth by bringing in the Agnipath scheme, and asserted that the military recruitment programme would be scrapped when an INDIA bloc government is formed at the Centre.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Agnipath scheme is an insult to the patriotism of the country's armed forces and the youth.

"Today in Bihar, during a public meeting, when discussion took place with Agniveer Vikas Kumar, the pain of that brave youth flowed out of his eyes. Narendra Modi's Agniveer scheme is an insult to the patriotism of the country's army and youth," he said in a post on X.

"We will not allow two types of martyrs to be created - As soon as an INDIA bloc government is formed, we will first end the Agniveer yojana," Gandhi said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday predicted the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections while anticipating that the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi would blame EVMs for their loss on June 4.

Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Gosaipur, Shah said that Rahul Gandhi's people will also call a press conference post-polls, saying they lost due to EVMs.

"On June 4, Rahul Gandhi will hold a press conference at 2 pm post polls and will blame EVM for their loss. Array Rahul Baba naach naa aaye aangan tedha. Bhaiya EVM will not make you lose but yeh mere Chandoli ke sher harane vale hai," Amit Shah.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said whenever people criticise the Narendra Modi government, they are accused of being anti-national and claimed there is an effort to "delegitimise dissent".

The Congress leader drew a parallel between the regimes led by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the present dispensation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said Nehru, whose death anniversary is being observed today, was somebody who said democracy has to be instilled and encouraged in the people of India.

Referring to Modi, Tharoor said a 'chaiwala' could become the country's prime minister because of the democratic institutions and values laid down by Nehru more than 17 years ago.

Pitching for the formation of a "double-engine government" in Odisha, Union Minister and Sambalpur Lok Sabha BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday criticized the incumbent Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for failing to meet basic public needs despite 24 years of its governance in the state.

Pradhan highlighted key issues in the state under BJD's rule, including inadequate access to drinking water, poor irrigation infrastructure, a shortage of doctors in hospitals, and the lack of appointed teachers in primary schools.

"After ruling for 24 years in Odisha, BJD failed to fulfil the basic needs of people like drinking water and irrigation. There are no doctors in hospitals, appointments of teachers in primary schools in the state are not being done," Pradhan said at an election rally in Balasore.

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 said the proposed meeting will be convened in the afternoon of June 1 when the last phase of polling will be underway.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who is one of the senior-most leaders of the opposition bloc, has convened the meeting, they said.

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.

As many as 490 'crorepati' candidates are contesting the simultaneous elections to the 147-member Odisha Assembly and 21 seats of Lok Sabha which are being held from May 13 to June 1, a rise of over 37 % crorepatis when compared to the election in 2019, said election watchdog body Association for Democratic Reforms.

The Association for Democratic Reforms which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1490 candidates, who are contesting for the 147 MLA seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha said that

the number of crorepatis rose from 356 in 2019 election to 490 in 2024, a rise of over 37 % crorepatis in just 5 years.

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat Anurag Thakur on Monday took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his application for bail extension, saying that courts must act stringently against culprits and even the politically influential people must not be spared.

"The places of corrupt people should be where the law decides. If we want to make the country corruption-free, then the court should take strict action against such people whose jail minister, health minister, education minister, liquor minister, Dy CM and chief minister are in jail due to corruption," said Thakur in Himachal's Bilaspur.

Launching a scathing attack against the Congress party over not paying the promised dues to the women, he said, "Those who didn't give ₹1500 per month to women from the past 16 months won't be able to give it even now. Aisa kaunsa jadoo hai Rahul Gandhi ke pass jo ab mil jaayega? Yeh thagne waloon ki sarkaar hai, thaggu ki sarkaar hai.."

The Delhi BJP on Monday alleged the "suspicious" role of Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj's OSD in the "illegally running" children's hospital in Vivek Vihar where seven newborn babies died in a fire incident.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva in a statement alleged that the health department during an inspection in 2021 found the children's hospital capable of admitting five newborns only but the officer on special duty (OSD) of the Health minister on an application of the hospital owner tried to approve the capacity to treat 10 babies.

Bharadwaj said that nobody will be spared if found guilty.

He claimed that Sachdeva was lying and the hospital was given permission of five beds only.

"The Health department had earlier also lodged cases against him that are pending in the courts," he said.

Buxar is barely 125 kms from Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And that is what BJP candidate Mithilesh Tiwari, who is contesting for the first time in place of two-time MP and Union minister Ashwini Choubey, draws strength from to sail through in what is turning out to be a tough three-cornered contest.

Talk to locals and their pain spills over, as they draw comparison between Varanasi and Buxar, which are so near and yet so far. “Even for medical treatment, people have to go to Banaras. People won from here, but did not do what Buxar deserved,” said Ramanand Mishra, a retired teacher.

Suman Kumar, who studies in Banaras, calls Buxar “a developmental desert”. “It should have been a satellite town of Banaras, but the fate of the ‘Namami Gange’ project can say it all,” he said, pointing to an open British-era drain flowing straight into the Ganga at Nath Baba ghat just opposite the SDO residence.

Buxar has traditionally been a stronghold of the BJP, with the party having lost just once here since 1996. RJD’s Bihar chief Jagdanand Singh had won in 2009, though he lost both in 2014 and 2019 to Choubey.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused Narendra Modi-led Central government of not standing with the people of Himachal Pradesh in their hour of need when the devastation struck the Himalayan state last year after monsoon, adding that no special package was announced for the disaster affected families and rebuilding the state.

"In 2022, the people of Himachal Pradesh chose a truthful and honest government. Similarly, they should bring an honest government to power at the Centre. Despite a lot of difficulties, the state government is working for the people of Himachal," Vadra told reporters on Monday in Chamba.

She further asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government did not announce or provide any special relief package for the disaster-hit people of the State.

In a sharp critique, Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday urged young party members to prove their worth as assets, not liabilities. He pointedly noted that even traitors and backstabbers still linger within the party ranks.

He criticized party leaders who defected to the BJP before the elections, calling them "opportunists," "worthless," and "traitors." He added that terms like "Nikamma," "Gaddar," and "Nakara" all share the same meaning, describing them as “brother and sister.”

Replying to newspersons at state party office about whether those who switched from Congress to BJP before the elections should be readmitted to the party, the former chief minister asserted that such individuals are opportunists and labeled them as “non-performing assets.”

"This is opportunism. Whether you say 'Nikamma,' 'Nakara,' or 'Gaddar,' all these words are siblings. They're used for individuals of such nature. One who betrays is a traitor," he said.

He emphasized that it's crucial to stand by the party during times of crisis, yet those who held power for five years chose to abandon it.

With just three days to go before campaigning for the final phase of polling ends on May 30 evening, heavyweight campaigners of BJP, BJD and Congress including PM Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Naveen Patnaik have stepped up efforts address public meetings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address three election rallies in the state on May 29 while union home minister Amit Shah will on Tuesday will address a meeting at Chandabali Assembly seat from where state BJP president president Manmohan Samal is contesting along with Panikoili under Korei Assembly constituency and Nimapara.

State BJP vice-president Golak Mohapatra said PM Modi will address his first public meeting in Baripada town under Mayurbhanj parliamentary constituency at 12.30 pm which will be followed by a meeting at Remuna under Balasore Lok Sabha constituency. His last public meeting will be held at Birua ground in Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency. The visit of union Home Minister Amit Shah scheduled for May 25, has been postponed to May 28 on account of cyclone Remal.

Union Minister Amit Shah predicted on Monday that when the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls will be declared on June 4, the Congress will not even win more than 40 seats and the Samajwadi Party, its partner in the Opposition INDIA bloc will be reduced to only four seats.

"I can say the results of June 4 from this stage in Kushinagar. Rahul Baba (Gandhi), your party (Congress) will not even cross 40 seats. And Akhilesh Yadav, no matter how sympathetically I speak, you will not even win 4 seats. The country's people have decided that for the next five years, Narendra Modi will be the Prime Minister and after that, he will continue to be the Prime Minister multiple times," Shah said campaigning for Vijay Kumar Dubey, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar.

Shah also claimed that on the date of counting of votes, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will hold a press conference and pass the blame for being defeated in the Lok Sabha polls on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs).

In a scathing attack on the ruling BJP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra went all out against the Modi government, accusing it of neglecting Himachal Pradesh, promoting crony capitalism and making false promises as she pitched her party's welfare agenda amid the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a rally in the hill state on Monday, Priyanka promised to scrap the contentious 'Agnipath' military recruitment scheme and implement a list of welfare measures including monthly income support, urban job guarantee, introducing “urban MGNREGA” debt waivers and a 50% quota for women in government jobs if the Congress is voted to power.

“Although it took some time to implement in Himachal, it has now started in some places and now we are planning to roll out the same for the whole country,” she said.

"My heart is in this divine land of Himachal Pradesh," she said, while questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims of the state being his second home. "Did Modi ji come during the disaster here? He didn't show his face even once or send a single rupee from the centre to help."

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Monday cautioned people against the manifesto of the INDI alliance, emphasising their alleged intention to "confine daughters and women to their homes".

He stated, "However, they fail to recognize that this nation operates under the Constitution of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. We will not tolerate the revival of the deplorable practice of triple talaq in our country."

Yogi Adityanath addressed a public meeting organized for the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency of Mau on Monday, where he urged voters to support Lok Sabha candidate Arvind Rajbhar.

Continuing his criticism of the opposition, he remarked, "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."

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."

Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi and BJP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said on Monday that people are being misled that the country is progressing while the truth is that youth are unemployed and inflation is increasing.

Addressing a rally here today, Priyanka said, "PM is talking nonsense from the stage. Sometimes it is said that Congress will steal your buffalo, they will steal your mangalsutra. Their truth is absolutely clear. You are being told on TV that there is no leader like Modiji and the country is progressing. The truth is that today the youth are unemployed and inflation is increasing. 70 crore youth are unemployed in this country."

"Congress brought One Rank One Pension. Earlier the soldiers used to get disability pensions, but they have abolished that also. For whom is their government running? Today all the cold storage in Himachal belongs to Adani ji. Only he will decide what will be the price of Apple. Farmers are being cheated," Priyanka added.

Further, the Congress leader said that due to two incidents in Himachal Pradesh, the truth of Congress and the BJP came in front of the people.

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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made all-out efforts to topple Himachal Pradesh's democratically-elected Congress government by using money power, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged on Monday.

The Congress general secretary, who was campaigning in Chamba for the party's Kangra Lok Sabha seat candidate Anand Sharma, also said the Congress was in power for 55 years but could not become the richest party.

The BJP, on the other hand, has become the richest party in the world in just 10 years, she claimed.

"Modi made all-out efforts to topple the democratically-elected Congress government in the state by indulging in corrupt practices and using money power," Priyanka Gandhi said during the rally.

She also asked the crowd at the rally if they would want such a leader.