Election Tracker LIVE: Flogging a Dead Horse, Says Govt as Rafale Report Gives Fresh Ammo to Congress

Shah spills Ram temple issue in rally speech | "I wish to re-state our position. BJP is committed and dedicated to building a Ram temple in the exact same spot in Ayodhya," says Amit Shah.

Amit Shah says, "The Government brought the NRC exercise into play in Assam that led to the identification of 40 Lac illegal immigrants. Work is currently underway to deport these immigrants."

Amit Shah addresses rally in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh | BJP party president launched a direct attack on the Congress, saying "BJP doesn't function on basis of a dynasty but on democracy. When our govt is formed, there's development. During 'Bua-Bhatija' reign, Purvanchal was going through menace of mosquitoes and mafia. After BJP govt was formed mafia disappeared, encephalitis cases are going down"

Gandhi had promised a farm loan waiver in MP if his party was elected to power | The Congress party's media cell coordinator Narendra Saluja had termed Rahul Gandhi's farmers' rally as a "thanksgiving rally". Gandhi's Bhopal rally, scheduled for 2 pm at BHEL Jamboree Maindan today, will see the Congress President being felicitated by farmers for the farm loan waiver announced in the state after the Congress-led Kamal Nath government took over. The 'Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana' would benefit 50-55 lakh farmers, wherein loans up to Rs 2 lakh of eligible farmers are to be waived off. 

Newly elected chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, had earlier said that Mayawati’s party had helped the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) during the recent assembly election in the state. “Despite helping the BJP in the Chhatisgarh, the BSP could secure only 15 seats. If people want to defeat the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh, they should only vote for Congress." Bhagel had said. In the assembly polls held in November last year, the party had suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the Congress and bagged just 15 out of the 90 seats.

Modi hits back at the rising unity against his party | "Most members of the (Gandhi) family are either out on bail or have obtained anticipatory bail," Modi said addressing the rally at Kodatarai in Raigarh district, adding "I have come amidst you to get a new mandate for a new India." Taking potshots at the attempts to form a mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) against the BJP, PM Modi stated the need to guard against the 'mahamilavat' (highly adulterated) regime if his party wasn't voted back.

As the report gave more ammunition to the opposition against the government in Lok Sabha, current defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused The Hindu of biased reporting, saying it should have published Parrikar's response as well.

BJP Hits Back Hard in Lok Sabha | As the Hindu report on the Rafale deal gave more ammunition to the opposition against the government in Lok Sabha, current defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused The Hindu of biased reporting, saying it should have published Parrikar’s response as well.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha: Then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar ji replied to that MoD note that remain calm, nothing to worry, everything is going alright. Now, what do you call the NAC led by Sonia Gandhi's interference in earlier PMO? What was that? pic.twitter.com/jB4z5kJCd3

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

Uproar in Lok Sabha against Rahul Gandhi's new Rafale deal allegations | While PM Modi addresses a gathering at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, the Lok Sabha has erupted in an uproar. The Opposition is voicing against Rahul Gandhi's recent allegation in the Rafale deal row that defence ministry had objected to the Prime Minister’s Office “undermining” the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. Addressing the House, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We demand a joint parliamentary committee, everything will be revealed then, we don't want any explanation now, have heard many explanations, from PM also."

Modi attacks Congress in Chhattisgarh | He says the Congress did not allow the CBI to enter the state. Asks, why?

PM Modi in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh: The first two decisions that the Congress govt took, you must think about them. The first thing they did was to remove Chhattisgarh from 'Modicare' and second decision was to not let the CBI enter the state, Why? What are you afraid of? pic.twitter.com/QwJN1Aa06g

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

On Saturday, journalist Suman Pandey, who works with digital news portal The Voices, was recording a meeting of the BJP's district-level leaders in Raipur when party supporters thrashed him.

This will be PM Modi’s first rally in Chhattisgarh after the BJP suffered a massive loss in the state assembly elections in December last year. The Raigarh rally is aimed at energizing the party workers and supporters. Former Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister of State for Steel Vishnudeo Sai, Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam are among those present at the occasion. In the 2014 polls, BJP had won 10 out of 11 seats in the state.

PM Modi addressed the gathering saying, "My relationship with you is old... After the assembly elections here, our resolve for the development of every class has been strong. I assure that we can accelerate the work of the roads, railways, work of the industry."

आपके साथ मेरा नाता बहुत पुराना है। जब सत्ता के गलियारों में हम कहीं नहीं थे, तब संगठन के कार्यों के लिए मैं आपके बीच बैठता था। यहां के कार्यकर्ताओं में भाजपा के प्रति जो मैंने भाव देखा, वो अभूतपूर्व था: पीएम @narendramodi https://t.co/EtIBvCsS6M #CGWithNaMo pic.twitter.com/iftsONy5xi

— BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) February 8, 2019

PM Modi begins his address at the Raigarh rally in Chhattisgarh. 

G Mohan Kumar, Defence Secretary at the time of Rafale negotiations spoke to ANI on Rahul Gandhi's claims from the Rafale press conference today: "It (MoD dissent note on #Rafale negotiations) had nothing to do with price. It was about sovereign guarantees and general terms and conditions. Whatever has been brought out ( recent media report on #Rafale by the Hindu) has nothing to do with pricing." 

The Defence Ministry's internal note dated November 24, 2015, to the PMO published by The Hindu on Friday.

Chouhan, who is BJP's national vice-president, was scheduled to attend two rallies Wednesday - one at Baharampur in Murshidabad district and the other at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district.

TMC allegedly denies the BJP permission to hold rallies in state | Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was denied permission to hold a rally in the West Bengal, which is witnessing a political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the BJP. Yogi addressed the gathering via the internet. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain had also informed the TMC-led government in West Bengal has denied the party permission for former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's rally in Murshidabad and alleged that there is complete lawlessness in the state. There were also media reports that TMC earlier had also allegedly influenced Modi's rally venue in West Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee led government in the state and BJP are at loggerheads after the CBI tried to question Kolkata's police commissioner in connection with chit fund scams.

The BJP has once again accused the Trinamool Congress of creating all sorts of obstacles ahead of PM Modi's rally in Jalpaiguri. The party said that the administration rejected the application for using grounds of government-run bodies for the meeting. But when the party managed to convince some private owners to hold the meeting on their land, the Trinamool forced some farmers to object to the landing of the helicopter in or around their land, saying their crops will be destroyed.

Rahul Gandhi answers a question on his recent surprise meeting with former defence minister Manohar Parrikar in Goa

Congress President Rahul Gandhi: I met Manohar Parrikar ji, but there was no discussion on #Rafale. It was just a courtesy visit to inquire about his health pic.twitter.com/uI3vGg4PHU

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

Addressing Congress party's minority department convention in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday had described Modi as a "darpok" (coward) and dared him to a five minute face-to-face debate on issues such as Rafale and national security. He alleges Modi snatched the Rafale contract from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and helped Anil Ambani to make a profit of Rs 30,000 crore. The government, as well as Ambani, have strongly denied any wrongdoing in the fighter jet agreement with France.

Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi robbed Air Force's money and gave it to Anil Ambani

Congress President Rahul Gandhi: PM Modi himself robbed Air Force's Rs 30,000 crore and gave it to Anil Ambani, we have been raising this since 1 year. Now a report has come where Defence Ministry officials say that PM was holding parallel negotiations with France Govt. #Rafale pic.twitter.com/76OPEVe3Vl

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

Rahul Gandhi holds press conference on new Rafale deal development before Bhopal Rally | Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is holding a press conference claiming vindication after a media report said the defence ministry had objected to the Prime Minister’s Office “undermining” the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. In its report, The Hindu says then defence secretary G Mohan Kumar had said in a handwritten official note that interference from the PMO should be avoided as “as it undermines our negotiating position seriously”.

Rally Security Arrangements | On Thursday, Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel visited Modi's rally venue to for inspection of the spot and its surrounding areas, and supervising the arrangements. Meanwhile, three helipads have being built in Jalpaiguri to allow landing of Modi's rally. Security has also been beefed for Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Bhopal and as many as 2,500 police personnel have been deployed. Earlier, Modi and Amit Shah's rally in West Bengal had turned violent. Amit Shah's rally in East Midnapore led to clashes between Trinamool and BJP supporters in which a TMC office was ransacked and vehicles were set on fire. Modi's rally in Thakurnagar saw a stampede erupt.

BJP's official twitter handle released an infographic poster on Thursday, ahead of PM Modi's rally in West Bengal.

PM Shri @narendramodi will address a public meeting at 3:30 pm on 8 February 2019 in Maynaguri, West Bengal. Watch LIVE at

• https://t.co/XRnyU9PvmA
• https://t.co/E31Aljkes3
• https://t.co/sdARPlWVmQ
• https://t.co/E3dkKpZpy9 pic.twitter.com/6oNCQ0YIdF

— BJP (@BJP4India) February 7, 2019

Bengal Poll Math | The BJP had won just two of West Bengal's 42 seats in the last Lok Sabha polls, but party chief Amit Shah has set an ambitious target of 23 this time. Having achieved an almost impossible feat of winning with its allies 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 and 31 of the 40 in Bihar, the general feeling in the party is that repeating the performance will be a daunting task. The saffron party is, therefore, making determined efforts to claim greater political space in states like West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala, where it has been a marginal player. The three states together account for 83 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Modi, according to BJP sources, will use the platform in Jalpaiguri rally, close to Bangladesh border, to give a "befitting" reply to CM Mamata Banerjee's accusations while trying to galvanise the party cadre for the elections. Dramatically raising the stakes for the Lok Sabha polls, Mamata became a rallying point for 23 anti-BJP parties who threw their weight behind her as she sat on dharna for 46 hours against the Modi government's attempt to "stifle the spirit of Constitution and federalism" by unleashing the CBI onto her city Police Commissioner.

Crowd-sourcing or Crowd-surfing? | During Modi's previous visit to West Bengal, the Prime Minister was forced to cut short his speech in Thakurnagar after the size of the ground failed to hold the sea of people together, causing a mini-stampede. BJP leaders have claimed that there will be a huge crowd in Jalpaiguri district rally today and the district administration and the BJP leadership are living no stone unturned to prevent any such incident.

Posters of Rahul Gandhi as Lord Rama are put up across Bhopal. The posters, meant to welcome the Congress leader in the city, project him as a Ram Bhakt and future prime minister.

Madhya Pradesh: Poster seen in Bhopal portraying Congress President Rahul Gandhi as Lord Rama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana. pic.twitter.com/MNaMu3cBjI

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

Congress' Farmer Agenda | The Bhopal 'Kisan Abhar' rally scheduled at 2 pm will be Rahul Gandhi's second Bhopal tour after the Congress party's victory in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. During his November rally in the state, he had promised farm loan waivers if his party was elected to power. The Congress chief will interact with the farmers and seek their feedback on the implementation of the loan waiver scheme.