Lok Sabha Elections 2024 News LIVE Updates: Congress, SP ignored 'Kumbh Mela' in Prayagraj, PM Modi says

As the country goes through general elections, industry experts say up to 9 lakh temporary jobs are expected to have been created across different roles due to the hustings.

"The exact number of temporary jobs created during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections across the country would depend on various factors such as the scale of the election, the number of polling stations, and the requirements of election-related activities. However, on our platform, we anticipate at least 9 lakh jobs during the elections," WorkIndia CEO and co-founder Nilesh Dungarwal told PTI.

He said some common positions include polling booth officials, election clerks, security personnel, data entry operators, transportation coordinators, and administrative staff, which are crucial for ensuring the smooth functioning of the electoral process and maintaining transparency throughout the elections.

The Congress on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a controversial remark on Lord Jagannath made by BJP Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra.

Patra while talking to reporters on Monday, had said that the state's most revered deity "Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." Later, Patra clarified that it was a "slip of the tongue" and he wanted to mean that the PM was an ardent 'bhakt' (devotee) of Lord Jagannath and not the other.

Talking to media persons in front of Puri Jagannath temple on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, "If Sambit Patra was in the Congress party, he would have been immediately expelled from the party for playing with the faith of crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath," he said.

"The Prime Minister should expel Sambit Patra from the party." He also demanded that the Prime Minister should also apologise to crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath within 24 hours over the remarks made by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra," Khera added.

"No court has pronounced Hemant Soren guilty. An inquiry is underway. So, why is he in jail? This is Modi's 'goondagardi'. There is no order against me by any court but I was put in jail. Tomorrow, anyone can be put in jail," the Delhi CM said.

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been indulging in polarisation throughout the election and preparing a "communal pitch", but it refused to play on that and pursued its 'paach nyay' agenda.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack came over Modi's remarks in an interview with PTI in which he had said that he has never uttered a word against minorities, and the BJP has "not just today but never" acted against them.

Ramesh claimed that Prime Minister Modi's entire campaign from April 19 has been based on "communalisation" with the Hindu-Muslim rhetoric throughout and "no talk of Viksit Bharat, Modi ki guarantee, or issues of the farmers, youth, women, workers, SCs, STs and OBCs".

Asked about the remarks, Ramesh told PTI, "What nonsense is he talking about. This prime minister is fast losing his memory. He has never had any adherence to truth. He is 'jhoothjeevi', but now what he says today, he forgets tomorrow and says he never said it." "Of course he has been attacking the Congress party and has been talking of Hindu-Muslim," he said.

The BJP on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party of indulging in "character assassination" of Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, instead of taking action against Bibhav Kumar who is alleged to have assaulted her.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi asked Kejriwal why no action had been taken against Kumar despite his party's Rajya MP Sanjay Singh admitting at a press conference recently that Maliwal was mistreated.

The Delhi Police arrested Kumar, an aide of Kejriwal, on Saturday after Maliwal accused him of assaulting her on May 13 at the Delhi Chief Minister's official residence.

"Such misbehaviour with a woman MP. Instead of addressing it, the AAP is indulging in her character assassination," Trivedi charged.

The BJP leader also slammed Kejriwal over his party alleging BJP's involvement in the matter, and asked him, "Did you set up any inquiry into the incident? If not, then on what grounds you are arriving at a conclusion." Maliwal had on Monday alleged that Delhi government ministers were "spreading lies" about her and threatened to take them to court.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged that the INDIA bloc was communal, casteist and dynastic, and all constituents of the alliance displayed these evils to a "severe" degree, "cent per cent".

Modi launched the blistering attack at rallies in Mahrajganj and Purvi Champaran Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, where he also predicted a "big blow" for the opposition alliance that stood for corruption, appeasement politics and "perverted anti-Sanatan mindset", on June 4 when Lok Sabha poll results would be out.

The PM, who is seeking a third consecutive term in office, also underscored that he was leaving no "viraasat (inheritance)" since he considered the people of the country as his only "waaris (successor)".

Modi also charged the RJD-Congress combine for having made Bihar, which gave India its first president Rajendra Prasad, infamous for extortion.

He lambasted the Nehru-Gandhi family, which he referred to as "Congress' royal family", for "keeping mum" over controversial remarks made by its leaders and allies against people of Bihar in states such as Punjab, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

"Your vote is not just for electing your local MP but also to make your PM strong," said Modi.

A Congress leader was stabbed to death allegedly by her husband in Mysuru, police said. Vidya, a resident of Srirampur, Mysuru, was Congress' Mysuru city secretary. She had also acted in a few Kannada films, sources said.

There was discord between the couple and both would often quarrel. It is said that they had a bitter spat on Monday night following which Vidya was allegedly murdered in Turganur.

According to police, Vidya was found murdered in her house. Her husband Nandish was not reachable raising suspicions about his involvement in the crime, they said. The couple has two daughters.

The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections registered a voter turnout of 60.09% till 11.30 pm, which was 4.07 percentage points lower than the corresponding phase in the 2019 parliamentary polls.

The Election Commission noted on Monday that this was an "approximate trend" as data from some polling stations takes time to arrive and this trend does not include postal ballots. It said the figures will continue to be updated by the field-level officers as polling parties provide more data.

Embroiled in a controversy over his "slip of the tongue" on Lord Jagannath, BJP leader and party's Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra apologised and announced to undertake a penance by observing fast for three days from Tuesday after being criticized from different quarters.

Patra while giving bytes to television channels on Monday, had said that the state's most revered deity "Lord Jagannath is a devote of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Patra", however, later clarified that it was a slip of the tongue and he wanted to mean that the PM was an ardent 'bhakt' (devotee) of Lord Jagannath and not the other.

Taking to X, Patra said: "……For this mistake, I apologize at the feet of Lord Sri Jagannath. I will fast for the next three days to atone for this mistake." Patra also said that on the occasion of Modi's roadshow in Puri on Monday. He had conversations with many media. While talking to media, instead of saying 'Maha Prabhu Sri Jagannath's Bhakti Modi', he mistakenly pronounced 'Modi's Bhakti Jagannath'.

"Odisha is a very beautiful place, it has a long coastline, a lot of mineral wealth, and hardworking youth but the only thing missing is a hard-working Chief Minister. Form the BJP government, we will give a hard-working young CM," Amit Shah said at a rally in Odisha's Sambalpur.

"Two people have been arrested and the other two are absconding. I have been assured that they will be arrested soon. Some people end up doing such things because of the fear of losing. Such incidents should not take place during elections," Tejashwi Yadav told news agency ANI.

At least one person died in the violent incident on May 20, when some constituencies of Bihar went to polls for the 5th phase of the Lok Sabha elections.

Internet was also suspended in the district to prevent a flare-up, the police said.

One person was killed and three others injured in post-poll violence in Bihar's Saran district on Tuesday morning, police said.

The incident happened in the Bada Telma area near Bhikhari Thakur Chowk, they said.

An altercation broke out between two groups, said to be supporters of the BJP and RJD, over allegations of irregularities during polling that happened on Monday in the area, amid which shots were fired.

One person was killed on the spot, and three others were injured, a police officer said.

The deceased was identified as Chandan Yadav (25), he added.

Internet has also been suspended in the area for at least two days.

Delhi CM and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal hit back at Union Minister Amit Shah, who claimed that Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have more supporters in Pakistan than India.

"After coming to Delhi, he (Amit Shah) started abusing the people of the country and said that the supporters of Aam Aadmi Party are Pakistani. I want to ask him, the people of Delhi have formed our government by giving us 62 seats, 56% vote share, are the people of Delhi Pakistani? The people of Punjab have given us 92 seats out of 117 seats, are the people of Punjab Pakistanis? The people of Gujarat, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and in many parts of the country gave us love and trust, are all the people of this country Pakistani?" the Delhi CM said.

Police have registered an FIR against a 39-year-old woman for allegedly creating nuisance at a polling booth in Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Tuesday.

Polling was held on Monday in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra, including Bhiwandi and Thane.

The woman entered the polling booth set up at a zilla parishad school at Govegaon in Bhiwandi at around 8.15 am, the official from Kongaon police station said.

She allegedly violated the instructions displayed outside the polling booth and created nuisance there. The woman, resident of Bhiwandi area, shouted loudly and posed hurdles in the work of the polling staff, he said.

Based on a complaint by a poll staffer, an FIR was registered on Monday against the woman under Indian Penal Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), and provisions of the Representation of the People Act-1951, the official said.

The West Delhi constituency recorded the highest number of voters availing the home voting facility in the national capital to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections, according to data released by the poll body.

A total of 969 people above the age of 85 and 179 persons with disabilities (PWDs) exercised their franchise via home voting in the West Delhi constituency, the data shows.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Election Commission, while announcing the Lok Sabha polls schedule, unveiled the 'Vote From Home' scheme, designed to facilitate the participation of citizens aged 85 and above and individuals with more than 40 per cent disabilities in the elections.

In the New Delhi constituency, 1,003 voters aged 85 and above and 75 from the PWD category cast their votes from home.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday wrote to the Election Commission of India alleging that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray violated the model code of conduct by holding a press conference here even as voting for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections was underway in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra.

Thackeray spoke to reporters about 5 pm, alleging that the polling process was facing delays at several places in Mumbai and the Election Commission was doing this deliberately at the behest of the Narendra Modi government. Voting was slow especially in the areas where the opposition was strong, he claimed.

Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar stated in his letter to the ECI that Thackeray's press conference was in violation of the model code of conduct as voting was taking place all over Mumbai when he spoke.

Thackeray made baseless allegations against Modi and tried to mislead the electorate into believing that the government or the ruling party was influencing the ECI, Shelar said.

"Such statements are blatantly false, mischievous and defamatory in nature," he added.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday appealed to the BJP to keep Lord Jagannath above the political discourse, after the saffron party's Puri candidate Sambit Patra's remark that the state's most revered deity is a "devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi" sparked a stir.

Patra, however, later clarified that it was a slip of tongue and he wanted to mean that the PM was an ardent 'bhakt' (devotee) of Lord Jagannath and not the other way round.

Patnaik, in an X post, criticised Patra for hurting Odia 'asmita' (pride).

"Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of the Universe. Calling Mahaprabhu a 'bhakt' of another human being is an insult to the Lord... it is totally condemnable. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world.

"The Lord is the greatest symbol of Odia asmita. I strongly denounce the statement... and I appeal to the BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse. By this, you have deeply hurt Odia asmita and this will be remembered and condemned by people of Odisha for a very long time," he said.

Patra, while responding to the CM's post, said that "we all have slip of tongue sometimes".

"I gave a number of bytes today to multiple media channels after the massive success of Shri Narendra Modiji's road show in Puri today, everywhere I mentioned that Modi ji is an ardent 'bhakt' of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu.

"By mistake during one of the bytes, I said just the opposite... I know you too know and understand this... Sir let's not make an issue out of a nonexistent issue... we all have slip of tongue sometimes," Patra said.