Election Dates LIVE: EC to Announce Schedule for 2019 Polls at 5pm Today, Elections Likely in 7-8 Phases

In the 2007 assembly elections, Brahmins helped create a favourable public opinion for the BSP as Mayawati fielded many candidates from the community who got the benefit of her Dalit support base.

Centre Trying to Shield Choksi: Congress | With fugitive scamster Mehul Choksi incorporating a company in London after calling himself a Belgian citizen, the Congress on Sunday accused the Modi government of trying to shield him by not seeking his extradition from either the UAE or Belgium with which India has treaties. Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera showed documents revealing that Choksi on March 7 applied for incorporating his company "Reh Venture LLP" in London wherein he has claimed to be a Belgium citizen and given his principal address to be "Miloni Gems, Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)". Pointing out that India has extradition treaties with both Belgium and the UAE, Khera demanded to know why were the Indian investigating agencies trying to get Choksi from Antigua, a country with which India has no extradition treaty. 

Meanwhile, Azam Khan has reached Samajwadi Party office. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav announced last week that the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) will contest three Lok Sabha seats — Mathura, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar -- as part of the alliance with the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

After repeated questions by reporters at the press conference, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said the Congress was "very much in the alliance". "We have left two seats (Amethi and Rae Bareli) for the party (Congress)," he had said. Jayant, grandson of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, said the electoral contest between the opposition and the BJP would be a "make or break" for the right idea of India. "The mainstreaming of violence, the 'othering' of our minorities and weaker sections, the saffron washing of our cultural heritage, the nonchalance with which even our intelligentsia is ready to dismiss diverse opinions, the intentioned and sustained attack on institutional credibility, make this a make or break for our idea of an inclusive, progressive, developing Bharat!" he said. Asked about the narrative of Modi versus the rest and the BJP's "mahamilavat" (highly adulterated) barb at opposition alliances, the RLD leader said the fact is that the diversity of India can have true political representation only through alliances. The BJP also ran a government in alliance with many parties and will have tie-ups in many states including UP, he said.

In an interview to PTI, Jayant Chaudhary said his father and party president Chaudhary Ajit Singh has announced his intention to contest from Muzaffarnagar, while he was keen to take up the electoral challenge in Baghpat. He said the party will take a decision on Mathura soon. Asked how the workers of the three parties will be able to connect at the ground level with the seat-sharing talks having taken a long time, Jayant said he believes regional parties have a better connect with their workers. "This alliance decision was not a top-down process but in fact taken after feedback from workers and leaders. That is why you haven't seen problems in accommodation and adjustments between the BSP, SP and RLD. This means that the ground is already ready for us. Now we just need to keep up the campaign," the 40-year-old leader said. On the equation between the Congress and the grand alliance in UP, Chaudhary said the issue had been addressed at the recent press interaction in Lucknow and he did not have any more information on it.

The SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh had no accommodation problems and is battle-ready to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, RLD vice president Jayant Chaudhary said Sunday, asserting the tie-up was made on workers' feedback and not through a "top-down process". Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav announced last week that the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) will contest three Lok Sabha seats -- Mathura, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar — as part of the alliance with the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Akhilesh Yadav has once again hinted there is no alliance happening with Congress. Hitting out at the ruling BJP government, SP chief said that people are offering 21 "shoe salute" to them. "BJP has finished truth from the land," he added.

The senior minister made it clear that neither did he have such aspirations nor was the RSS planning anything on similar lines.

Maharashtra chief electoral officer (CEO) Ashwani Kumar will address a press conference at 5:45 pm. As soon as the elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his bid to return to power amid hectic parleys by several political parties to put a united fight against the ruling BJP, are announced, the model code of conduct will come into force.

Addressing the media, Thakor said he was also keen to become a minister so that he could serve his people who were facing difficulties.

Voters can check their names on electoral roll on Election Commission's 'Voter Helpline App' of Election Commission. Citizens can also submit online forms for new voter registration and shifting to a different. The link to the app is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eci.citizen

Reacting to Ex-MP Vijayashanti's 'Modi looks like a terrorist' statement, Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said that such a language should not be used for a PM, no matter who he or she is. "We may not like him but we don't talk in that fashion," she said, adding that she regrets the remark.

WATCH | PM Narendra Modi attends 50th Raising Day of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Ghaziabad.

#WATCH PM Narendra Modi attends 50th Raising Day of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Ghaziabad pic.twitter.com/7kRd1nnPWj

— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2019

"Surveys have shown that people are supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They want him for another term. BJP will form the government once again under PM Modi's leadership," says Prakash Javadekar.

On the occasion of completion of one year of the BJP-IPFT alliance government of Tripura ousting the 25-year-old Communist rule, the state chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb presented an overview of the achievements of his government, reports Northeast Now. Addressing the media during a meet the press programme organised by the Agartala Press Club, the chief minister said that during the last one year his government taken several pro-people steps and among many, the biggest success was to make Tripura a drugs free state.The chief minister informed that in a mission mode, the drugs fee Tripura drive was launched and on date around 71,000 kilogram of ganja was seized beside other drugs and contraband including cough syrup, brown sugar, heroin, yaba tablets etc.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik in an election rally in Kendrapara today announced 33% quota for women in allocation of Lok Sabha seats for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party.

Congress spokesman Jaiveer Shergill had also hit out at PM Modi for "not letting the Election Commission announce the poll dates".

Modi Ji is so scared of letting go of PMs chair that he is not letting EC announce the dates - Election Commission “Daro Mat Chunao Karvao”

— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) March 9, 2019

Calling the armed forces 'guardians' of a country's frontiers, security and political system, the Election Commission warned the parties against making reference to them in their poll campaigns.

Meanwhile, a day earlier the Election Commission had asked political parties to refrain from using pictures of defence personnel for political purpose. “The ministry of defence has brought to the notice of the Election Commission (EC) that photographs of the defence personnel are being used by political parties, their leaders and candidates in advertisements as part of their election propaganda,” the EC said in a statement.

A few days ago, Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel had asked if the Election Commission was waiting for the prime minister’s “official” travel programs to conclude before announcing poll dates.

Is the Election Commission waiting for the Prime Minister’s “official” travel programs to conclude before announcing dates for General Elections?

— Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) March 4, 2019

However, the Congress, which regained power in Chhattisgarh after 15 years, believes Usendi's appointment will not affect its prospects in the Lok Sabha polls. "The BJP would definitely suffer a setback in the state in the general polls. Usendi has been made the state unit chief so that the blame for BJP's defeat could be put on him," he claimed. Out of 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state, four are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and one for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. 

BJP president Amit Shah on Friday appointed Usendi, a Lok Sabha member and prominent tribal face, as its Chhattisgarh BJP chief, replacing Dharmalal Kaushik. One of the key tasks for Usendi will be to reclaim the support of his community, which constitutes about 32 per cent of the state's population. "Usendi is a senior tribal leader and active across the state. The party will benefit from his image in the general elections," state BJP spokesperson Sachchidanand Upasane said. "We are confident Usendi will continue to get the support of tribals in the Lok Sabha polls, as we received in the past," he said.

Chhattisgarh BJP Banks on New Chief | The BJP, which suffered a drubbing at the hands of the Congress in the Chhattisgarh elections last year, is hoping its new state unit chief Vikram Usendi will revive the party's fortunes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While the BJP's tally in the 90-member Assembly plummeted to just 15 seats, it fared well in the Lok Sabha polls (2004, 2009 and 2014) held after the formation of Chhattisgarh, winning 10 out of 11 seats all the three times.

The J-K assembly's six-year term was to end on March 16, 2021, but it got dissolved after a ruling coalition between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart. The other state assemblies and Lok Sabha have five-year terms. The required electronic voting machines and paper trail machines are in place to be deployed in nearly 10 lakh poling stations across 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. There is a high probability of the elections being spread across seven to eight phases this time. In 2014, the EC had announced the election schedule on March 5 and the nine-phase electoral exercise was spread across April and May. While the first phase polling was on April 7, the last phase was on May 12. 

Notification for the first phase could be issued by the end of March for voting some time in early April, sources suggested. There is a strong possibility that the EC may go by the precedent and hold assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along with the Lok Sabha polls. Since the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has been dissolved, the EC is bound to hold fresh polls there as well within a six-month period, which will end in May. While there is a view that the J-K assembly elections can be held along with the Lok Sabha polls, a lot depends on the complex security situation in the state given the heightened tension along the India-Pakistan border. The Centre and the state administration, being managed by the Centre-appointed Governor, are against holding the two elections together. However, all political parties in the state favoured simultaneous polls during a meeting with the Election Commission earlier this week.

The Election Commission (EC) is set to announce on Sunday schedule for the high-voltage Lok Sabha elections, which is likely to be spread over seven to eight phases in April-May. The poll panel will be holding a press conference at 5 pm at Vigyan Bhavan here. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3. As soon as the elections, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his bid to return to power amid hectic parleys by several political parties to put a united fight against the ruling BJP, are announced, the model code of conduct will come into force. Amongst other things, the code bars the government from announcing policy decisions. 

The remark drew sharp reaction on social media with Bharataiya Janata Party taking a dig at the rival for

Election Commission of India today allotted common symbol to 39 registered un-recognised political parties for coming general elections, which included Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has been allotted battery torch as a symbol to contest elections. Taking to Twitter, Haasan said the move was “appropriate” and his party would be the “Torch-Bearer for a new era in TN and Indian politics”. MNM was launched in February 2018 and the party has announced it will contest all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on its own. Haasan himself is planning to enter the foray in the Lok Sabha elections. 

MNM thanks the Election commision for granting us the "Battery Torch" symbol for the forthcoming elections. So appropriate. @maiamofficial will endeavour to be the “Torch-Bearer” for a new era in TN and Indian politics.

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) March 10, 2019

While a group of professors has started a campaign to bring Narendra Modi back for a second term as Prime Minister, a petition by a JNU professor is asking people to oppose his re-election.