Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been careful not to run down a minimum income plan promised by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, which had been his party’s ally in the 2017 state elections. read more

A day after the Congress sought to turn the political tables ahead of Lok Sabha elections by promising a minimum income guarantee scheme, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah questioned why the Nehru-Gandhi family had been unable to eradicate poverty despite being in power for 55 years. Shah also listed the pro-poor schemes implemented by the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he said had benefited 50 crore people. (Hindustan Times)read more

“Our PM did not understand MNREGA. He did not understand what it was or what its aim was. The common people understood it, but the PM didn’t understand it,” Gandhi said. read more

The first rally would be at Jamui and Gaya on April 2. Both these constituencies are going to polls in the first phase on April 11 and are being contested by BJP’s alliance partners LJP and JD (U). read more

In a boost for the Bharatiya Janata Party, actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada joined the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. She is being fielded from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh against the Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan in the upcoming polls. Jaya Prada began her political career with the Telugu Desam Party in 1994 but quit over differences with Chandrababu Naidu. She subsequently joined the Samajwadi Party but was expelled. She was also a part of the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Prada has represented the constituency of Rampur twice in the Lok Sabha. (Hindustan Times)read more

An Air India spokesperson said on Monday that the boarding passes were printed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit held in January this year and the photographs were part of the advertisement from ‘third parties’. read more

“The danger is not over. The situation will remain tense till forthcoming general elections in India. We are already prepared to avert any aggression from India,” Dawn quoted Khan as saying. read more

Calling his minimum income guarantee proposal a ‘surgical strike on poverty’, Congress President Rahul Gandhi trained his guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party for criticising the idea. Gandhi said that it was shameful that 21st century India had 25 crore people living in poverty. The BJP had said that the NDA government was already providing Rs 5.3 lakh crore per year to the poor via direct benefit transfers, while the Congress was promising only Rs 3.6 lakh crore per annum. (Hindustan Times)read more

The BJP has said that the Congress is misleading the people in the name of minimum income guarantee scheme. read more

Arvind Kejriwal noted that the attitude of the Prime Minister is against the Hindu culture which teaches people to respect their elders. read more

Invoking the gods ahead of the political battle, Mathura MP and BJP candidate Hema Malini visited the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan and UPCC president Raj Babbar paid obeisance at Mankameshwar temple in Lucknow before filing nominations on Monday. read more

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said his promise of minimum income guarantee scheme is his party’s surgical strike on poverty. read more

The Congress has said that under the minimum income guarantee scheme promised by party president Rahul Gandhi, money will be directly credited to women of the beneficiary families. read more

In a series of tweets, an elated Surya said the decision to pick a novice like him could only be taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party as he thanked several people, including Ananth Kumar, Tejaswini, and the RSS among others for believing in him. read more

Lok Sabha elections 2019 LIVE updates: Rahul Gandhi addressed rallies at the three venues – Ganganagar, Bundi (Kota) and Jaipur. Akhilesh Yadav also held a press conference. read more