New Delhi:

The voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will take place across 89 seats in 13 states on Friday.

The votes will be cast in all 20 Lok Sabha seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2019, the ruling BJP-led NDA won 56 of these 89 seats, while the opposition UPA secured 24.

Among the prominent contestants are Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya, Hema Malini, and Arun Govil, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor, and former Karnataka chief minister and JDS’s HD Kumaraswamy.

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 2: 5 Richest Candidates

1. Karnataka Congress leader Venkataramane Gowda, who is popularly known as ‘Star Chandru’, is the richest candidate in the phase 2 polling, according to an analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the contestants by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch. Mr Gowda, who is contesting against HD Kumaraswamy, has declared assets worth Rs 622 crore.
2. Incumbent Karnataka Congress MP DK Suresh is the second richest candidate with assets valued at Rs 593 crore. Mr Suresh, the younger brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, is a three-time MP who is seeking re-election from Bangalore Rural. According to his poll affidavit, he has Rs 16.61 crore in banks as deposits, has agriculture land at 21 locations worth Rs 32.76 crore, non-agriculture land at 27 places worth Rs 210.47 crore, nine commercial buildings worth Rs 211.91 crore and three residential buildings worth Rs 27.13 crore.
3. BJP MP Hema Malini, who is fighting again from the Mathura Lok Sabha seat, is the third richest with assets worth Rs 278 crore.
4. Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Sanjay Sharma is fourth on the list. He has declared assets worth Rs 232 crore.
5. HD Kumaraswamy, former Karnataka Chief Minister, is fifth on the list and has total assets of about Rs 217.21 crore.

Phase 2 Election 2024: 5 Poorest Candidates

1. Laxman Nagorao Patil, who is fighting Lok Sabha polls from Maharashtra’s Nanded as an Independent, is the candidate with the lowest assets in the second phase. According to his poll affidavit, he has declared assets worth Rs 500.
2. Mr Patil is followed by another independent candidate Rajeswari KR, who is contesting from Kasaragod in Kerala and has assets worth Rs 1,000.
3. Pruthvisamrat Mukindrao Dipwansh, who entered the contest as an independent candidate from Amravati (SC), is third on the list and has total assets of Rs 1,400.
4. Dalit Kranti Dal leader Shahnaz Bano, who is contesting from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, has declared assets worth Rs 2,000.
5. VP Kochumon, who has been fielded by the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) from Kerala’s Kottayam, is fifth on the list with Rs 2,230 assets.

After the second phase, polling will be over in Kerala, Rajasthan, and Tripura. In the first phase of voting on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public meeting for Lok Sabha elections, in Janjgir-Champa district, Chhattisgarh, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

As PM Modi targets Congress, phase 2 campaign ends on a sour note

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial speech on the Congress party’s plans to “redistribute wealth” was the highlight of the high-voltage campaign for the second phase of the Lok Sabha election which ended on Wednesday.

A total of 88 seats across 13 States are up for grabs on Friday. All 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir would go to polls.

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IPL-17, DC vs GT | Pant, Axar dazzle as Delhi Capitals beat Gujarat Titans by four runs

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New Delhi:
The massive exercise to elect the 18th Lok Sabha started today with elections on 102 seats across 21 states and Union Territories. By the end of Phase 1, around 60.03% people voted. Sporadic violence was reported from Manipur and Bengal.

Here are top 10 points on this big story:

Jaipur:

Congress’s Sachin Pilot today scoffed at the BJP target of 370 seats across India, saying those aims lack steam when the party failed to keep its promises despite being in power at the Centre for 10 years. As for the 25 out of 25 target in Rajasthan — a hat-trick the BJP hopes to achieve — that will definitely not happen, he said. It is the Congress, which could end up getting all 25 Lok Sabha seats of the desert state, he said.

The reason, he told NDTV in an exclusive interview to NDTV, is that the party is better shape than ever. “Our candidates are better, our campaign is much more vigorous, our workers are more enthused and there is a journey for change across India and more so in Rajasthan,” Mr Pilot said after casting his vote in Jaipur this morning.

The BJP has not only managed to get a perfect score in Rajasthan in 2014 and 2019, last year, the managed to wrest the state from the Congress and put a new face, Bhajan Lal Sharma in charge.

But Mr Pilot claimed that is what would work against the BJP in the state as the government led by the first time MLA has been ineffective.

The last four months of new BJP government has made no impression on the people, Mr Pilot claimed.

“Ten years is a long time. They (the people of Rajasthan) gave all the seats to the BJP for 10 years. What have they got in return? Rajasthan has not gained anything by giving all MPs in the Lok Sabha to the BJP,” Mr Pilot asserted.

Under the circumstances, the BJP dream is just not possible, he said.

“I say with all humility that the Congress will win more seats than BJP,” he said. Asked whether the party would even be able to open account, he said, “We just won’t open account, we will ensure victory in all 25 seats… (or) will get more seats than the BJP”.

New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Varun Gandhi – not picked to defend his Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit – has written to the people of his soon-to-be former constituency to say that “even though my tenure is coming to an end… my relationship (with you) cannot end till my last breath”.

Mr Gandhi also said he considered himself fortunate to have had the opportunity to “serve the great people of Pilibhit”, and that their “ideals, simplicity, and kindness… had a huge contribution in my upbringing and development”. “Being your representative has been the greatest honour of my life, and I have always championed your interests to the best of my ability,” the BJP leader said.

“If not as an MP then as a son, I am committed to serve you throughout my life and my doors will always remain open for you… as before. I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man, and today I seek your blessings to always continue doing this work, no matter the cost,” he said.

Varun Gandhi also touched an emotional note in his letter, recalling his introduction to Pilibhit – as a three-year-old boy visiting with his mother, Maneka Gandhi, in 1983.

“… I remember that three-year-old boy who came to Pilibhit for the first time in 1983, holding his mother’s finger. How could he know that one day this land would become his workplace, and the people here would become his family?”

“The relationship between Pilibhit and me is one of love and trust… which is far above any political multiplication. I was, am, and will be yours…” Mr Gandhi concluded.

Varun Gandhi is a two-time MP from Pilibhit, which has been a family affair since 1989, when it was won by his mother, Maneka Gandhi. A noted environmental activist and former Union Minister, Mrs Gandhi is a six-time winner of the seat, including back-to-back wins as an independent candidate.

In the 2019 election Mr Gandhi thumped Hemraj Verma of the Samajwadi Party by more than 2.55 lakh votes. This time around, though, the BJP has opted to ditch the Gandhi name entirely.

However, in recent years Mr Gandhi, 44, has been critical of his own party’s government and policies. In September last year, for example, he slammed the BJP over the import of cheetahsfrom Africa. The remarks came after nine cheetahs died in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park in just five months.

On X, he tagged a news report on more cheetahs being brought to India and said, “Importing cheetahs from Africa and allowing nine to die in a foreign land is… an appalling display of negligence.”

Importing cheetahs from Africa and allowing nine of them to die in a foreign land is not just cruelty, it’s an appalling display of negligence.

We should focus on conserving our own endangered species and habitats rather than contributing to the suffering of these magnificent… https://t.co/atB0hFE8wC

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) September 16, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party – bidding for a third consecutive term at the centre – has fielded former Congress leader Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit. He will contest against the Samajwadi Party’s Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, who will be the joint candidate of the INDIA opposition bloc.

READ | UP Minister Jitin Prasada Replaces Varun Gandhi In Pilibhit Contest

It is unclear if Mr Gandhi will be fielded from any other seat in this election, or if he will even remain with the BJP now. He does, though, have an invitation from the ‘enemy’ – the Congress.

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has offered a place in the party, claiming the BJP had nixed Mr Gandhi’s ticket because of his connection to the Gandhi family; he is Rahul Gandhi’s cousin.

READ | “Has Clean Image”: Adhir Chowdhury Wants Varun Gandhi In Congress

“He should come here. We would be happy. He is an educated man. He has a clean image. BJP denied him a ticket because he is related to the Gandhi family. I think he should come (to Congress),” the Congress leader said.

UP is a key state in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election with 80 seats on offer. A clean sweep, or at least a strong showing, is essential if the BJP is to achieve its goal of 370+ seats on its own.

The opposition will consist of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav; the two have agreed a 17-63 split of the state’s seats.

UP will vote in each of the seven phases of the 2024 election, starting from April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.

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