Elections 2019: Congress Releases List of 20 Candidates

Catch all the updates related to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections here.(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)The Congress will release its manifesto on Tuesday, 2 April, for the Lok Sabha polls, reported news agency PTI.The manifesto document will be released by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and all top party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, will be present at the party's Akbar Road headquarters.Gandhi has said that the manifesto will reflect the people's voice and not just one man's view, while making a clear reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.He has also said the manifesto will lay major thrust on jobs creation, addressing agrarian distress and strengthening the education and health sectors besides charting a roadmap to boost economic growth.The Congress document is the result of extensive nationwide consultations and it will be a very "powerful" document aimed at redressing key challenges facing the nation, Gandhi said.Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday, 1 April said that the Congress will be wiped off from the country’s political landscape after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He accused the Congress of making false promises and called for its defeat in the state.The Congress party has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s apology for his remarks over party chief Rahul Gandhi choosing to contest also from Wayanad in Kerala as his second seat apparently because the Congress is “scared” that Hindus will punish them for “Hindu terror” remarks and therefore running away to minority-dominated seat.Talking to reporters on Monday, 1 April, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also sought action against him by the Election Commission (EC). Surjewala said Modi has committed a “corrupt practice” under Section 123 of the Representation of People’s Act besides violating the dignity of the office he holds and every other yardstick that is necessary and impeccable in public life.BJP’s KS Eshwarappa addressed members of the Kuruba and Minority communities in Karnataka’s Koppal on Monday, 1 April. While addressing the gathering, the BJP leader said that the Congress only uses the minority and the Kuruba community as a vote bank. He further said that the party won’t give Muslims tickets because they don’t believe in the BJP.“Congress uses you only as vote bank, doesn’t give you ticket. We won’t give Muslims tickets because you don’t believe in us. Believe us and we’ll give you tickets and other things.”KS Eshwarappa, BJP leaderThe Supreme Court has declined the urgent hearing of Patidar leader Hardik Patel's plea seeking a suspension of his conviction in a 2015 case relating to rioting, so that he can contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, news agency ANI reported.Bhalchandra Mungekar, member of Congress party's manifesto committee, on Tuesday, 2 April said that that party will initiate an inquiry into Rafale deal on the first day of coming to power and has included this in the manifesto.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday 2 April addressed a rally in Odisha’s Kalahandi. At the rally, PM Modi said that 24 lakh houses in Odisha have got free electricity connection. He also said that the state now boasts of 3,000 electrified villages.“All of these things weren’t done by Modi, India’s voters are the ones who made it happen.”Prime Minister Narendra ModiNYAY Scheme, Single-Slab GST? Cong to Release Manifesto ShortlyNorthern Command Indian Army on Tuesday, 2 April chaired a joint key security meeting in Srinagar to review the current security situation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.Uttar Pradesh’s deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, on 31 March said that in the last 70 years after independence, the poor has only been exploited, pointing fingers at the Congress party.“Nehru ji had said ‘garibi hatao’, Indira ji had said ‘garibi hatao’, Rajiv ji had said ‘garibi hatao’, Sonia ji said ‘garibi hatao’. Her son said ‘garibi hatao’, now Vadra ji (Priyanka) will say ‘garibi hatao’. Then her children Miraya and Raihan will say the same.”Dinesh Sharma, Deputy CM, Uttar PradeshHe further said that despite the ‘garibi hatao’ motto, poverty was never eliminated. He said that the poor has became poorer, rich became richer.The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has finalised four candidates for the state of Haryana for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with its ally Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP).Talking to The Hindustan Times over the phone BSP state chief Prakash Bharti said that the alliance will field four candidates from Haryana - BSP’s Naresh Saran from Ambala, Kishan Lal Panchal from Rohtak, Pankaj Chaudhary from Karnal and LSP’s Ramesh Rao Pilot from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh.The BSO has allotted the Sonepat seat to LSP, headed by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini.Union minister Shripad Naik, who is contesting from North Goa Lok Sabha seat, on Tuesday, 2 April, said the BJP has incorporated inputs given by late chief minister Manohar Parrikar for its poll campaign in the coastal state.Parrikar, 63, died on 17 March after battling a pancreatic ailment for over a year."We are certainly going to miss Parrikar's presence in the poll campaign. He was one of our main speakers at rallies and a crowd-puller," Naik told PTI in an interview.The sitting MP, who has won four times from North Goa, said Parrikar was always the key person in deciding the BJP's poll strategy.Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan will address two poll rallies in the Maoist-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.The Bastar seat will alone go to polls in the state in the first phase of elections on 11 April.Mr Chouhan's public meetings will be held in Sukma and Kondagaon districts, a state BJP spokesperson said on Tuesday, 2 April.After addressing a rally in Sukma, he will go to Kondagaon where he will address another public meeting around 1 pm, he said.Poll flying squad on Tuesday, 2 April seized Rs. 6,65,000 in cash (without valid documents) from a vehicle during checking in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram news agency ANI reported.The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has declared five Lok Sabha candidates for Rajasthan.The Mayawati-led party has announced to contest on all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.The party high command has declared five nominees and names of remaining candidates will be announced soon, BSP state president Sitaram Meghwal said Tuesday. The party has fielded Imran Khan from Alwar, Harish Kumar from Kota, Badri Prasad from Jhalawar-Baran, Keshulal from Udaipur and Colonel Durga Lal from Ajmer parliamentary constituencies.Election Commission has written to the President against Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh for violation of model code of conduct, reported ANI. He had said 'We all are BJP workers and we want BJP to emerge victorious. We want that once again Modi ji should become the PM' on 23 March.”CPI(M) has moved the Election Commission accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to rouse communal passions in the country and using national broadcaster Doordarshan for electoral purposes.CPI(M) Politbureau member Nilotpal Basu in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has listed a slew of complaints against the BJP over what it termed were violations of the model code of conduct by the leaders of the saffron party, beginning from the PM's address to the nation last month announcing that India had shot down a live satellite using anti-satellite missile technology."Another blatant attempt by the Prime Minster Narendra Modi himself to rouse communal passions by implicitly referring to the outcome in a NIA Court, by equating the accused to the entire Hindu community in an election meeting in Wardha," he said.Congress names Babi Bagkar as its candidate to contest by-election from Mandrem (Goa) legislative assembly seat and Atal Shukla (UP) to contest by-election from Nighasan legislative assembly seat.Congress’ UP East General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will accompany Congress President Rahul Gandhi to Wayanad in Kerala for filing of his nomination from the parliamentary constituency.Gandhi will file his nomination on Wayanad on 4 April.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 2 April, launched a scathing attack on the Congress, saying governance goes into reverse gear when the grand old party and its allies are in power.Addressing an election rally in Jamui where LJP leader Chirag Paswan, son of party president Ram Vilas Paswan, is in the fray, Modi accused the Congress of having neglected B R Ambedkar like no other party did.He also claimed that his rivals were spreading the canard that the BJP, if voted to power again, will do away with reservations for the backward classes."Governance goes into reverse gear when the Congress and its allies are in power. Terrorism, prices, violence, corruption, black money rise when Congress is in power; the country's prosperity, its credibility, the morale of the armed forces, respect for honesty decline," he said.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on 2 April, announced that there has been an increase in State Plan Expenditure and Capital Expenditure leading to creation of infrastructure and social assets in the last seven and half years. She also wrote on Twitter that nearly 29,000 cases have been settled under the Tax Settlement Dispute Scheme by 31 March, 2019 with a revenue collection of nearly Rs.754 Crore.Election Commission of India writes to Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Chairman, Railway Board over 'noncompliance of lawful instructions and lackadaisical approach towards enforcing the model code of conduct', reported ANI.On 27 March, EC had written to Ministry of Railways & Ministry of Civil Aviation, asking them why have the pictures of PM Modi had not been removed from rail tickets and Air India boarding passes even after Model Code of Conduct had come into effect.Biju Janata Dal (BJD), on 2 April, released list of 9 candidates – 2 for Lok Sabha polls and 7 for Legislative Assembly polls. Mahesh Sahu to contest from Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat and Chandrani Murmu from Kendujhar Lok Sabha seat, reported ANI.The Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) led by former chief minister Ajit Jogi on Tuesday, 2 April announced it will not contest the April-May Lok Sabha polls.The 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will see voting in three phases on 11, 18 and 23 April."Our party's core committee and parliamentary board have unanimously decided not to any field candidates. We want the BSP, which is a national party, to field candidates in all 11 seats. We will support the BSP," said JCC(J) leader Amit Jogi."We have formed a regional party for the development and welfare of people of Chhattisgarh. As far as the national perspective is concerned, our first and last objective is to defeat forces engaged in spreading hatred and communalism in the country," he said.As suspense continued over the BJP's nominee from Indore constituency, Lok Sabha Speaker and local MP Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday, 2 April said she never sought poll ticket from the party in the last three decades.Asked about the delay in announcing her candidature, the eight-time MP from Indore told PTI that BJP leaders might be having "something" on their mind.The West Bengal Congress on Tuesday, 2 April, said it wants party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to campaign in the state for the Lok Sabha polls."In our list of start campaigners in Bengal, we have the name of Priyanka Gandhi. We have requested the party high command to send her for campaigning in Bengal," state Congress president Somen Mitra told PTI.BJP declares the candidature of Sharda Patel from Gujarat's Mehsana and Darshana Jardosh from Surat.Suresh Gopi has been fielded from the Thrissur seat in Kerala.The Congress on late Tuesday night released a list of 20 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.In the list, four candidates were fielded from Gujarat, while three were from Jharkhand and two each from Karnataka and Odisha.1 candidate was fielded from Himachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli respectively, while another six were from Punjab.The Congress on late Tuesday night released a list of nine candidates for the upcoming Odisha Assembly polls.An FIR has been registered against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on the complaint of Congress leader Faisal Lala over an alleged remark he made against four officials including District Magistrate at his party office on 29 March.

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Elections 2019: Congress Releases List of 20 Candidates

Catch all the updates on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections here.

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