Election Tracker LIVE: Elect a PM Who Can Give Befitting Reply to Pakistan, Says Amit Shah

Mayawati ji wants to remove Modiji…but when asked from where she will fight elections, she says she will not fight...Sharad Pawar also wants to remove Modi ji, but ask him and he will say he will not fight election...like this Mamata , Naidu .. Stalin all say the same: Amit Shah at a rally in Agra

BJP president Amit Shah launched the party's poll campaign "Vijay Sankalp" with a rally in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Addressing the rally Shah said, "Why should we elect a PM, just because someone son's age is now of becoming PM or to elect a PM who can do development and who can give a befitting reply to Pakistan."

BJD will play a major role in govt formation at Centre: Naveen Patnaik | Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today claimed that the BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and play a major role in government formation at the Centre in the coming elections in which no national party will be able to get a majority. "No national party will be able to win a majority in Lok Sabha election this time. BJD will have a decisive role to play in the formation of the next government at the Centre," the Biju Janata Dal president said while formally kick-starting his party's poll campaign at a rally in Nayagarh. Claiming that the BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, Patnaik said this will give an opportunity for putting an end to the "historical injustice" meted out to the state.

Union minister SS Ahluwalia tells BJP leadership that he is opting out of Darjeeling seat. He also says he is ready to contest from any other seat that the party decides: top sources tells CNN News18

 Narendra Rathi (in picture 1 from yesterday with Sapna Chaudhary), UP Congress Secretary says, “Sapna Chaudhary came and filled the membership form herself.”

Narendra Rathi (in pic 1 from yesterday with Sapna Chaudhary), UP Congress Secretary: Sapna Chaudhary came and filled the membership form herself, her signature is on it. Her sister also joined the party yesterday, we have both of their forms. pic.twitter.com/tKIh0eWLxU

— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

On Lok Sabha seat-sharing agreement in Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Hemant Soren says, “Congress will contest on 7 seats, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on 4 seats, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha on 2 seats, talks are still ongoing with RJD, they have not yet agreed. Everyone will support RJD in Palamu.”

Picture of Congress Membership Form with Sapna Chaudhary's name and signature on it and fee receipt from yesterday.

Picture of Congress Membership Form with Sapna Chaudhary's name and signature on it and fee receipt from yesterday. Today, Haryanavi singer and dancer Sapna Chaudhary has claimed that her pictures are old and she is not a part of any political party. pic.twitter.com/iX4UrUurrs

— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

Singer and dancer from Haryana Sapna Chaudhary joined the Congress on Saturday. Chaudhary joined the Congress at the home of party's Uttar Pradesh unit chief Raj Babbar in New Delhi. While this afternoon, Chaudhary refuted the rumours of joining Congress.

सपना चौधरी जी का कांग्रेस परिवार में स्वागत ! pic.twitter.com/I0yLHWTm0k

— Raj Babbar (@RajBabbarMP) March 23, 2019

Sapna Chaudhury Denies Joining Congress | BJP MLA Sapna Chaudhury has denied reports of her joining the Congress party. This afternoon, Chaudhury in a statement said, "I have not joined the Congress. The photograph with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is old. I am not going to campaign for any political party." There were reports that the popular dancer from Haryana and former Big Boss participant had joined the Congress party on Saturday.

"The only person who should comment right now to clear the air, all these things- the mist around- is Advani ji," Uma Bharti said, adding that it would not be proper for others, including her, to comment on the matter. She was responding to questions on the party's decision to not nominate him from Gandhinagar, a seat he had been winning since 1998. BJP president Amit Shah will contest from the seat in the coming general election.

'It is for Advani to Clear the 'Mist'' | BJP leader and Union minister Uma Bharti on Sunday said it is for L K Advani to clear the "mist", after the veteran leader was not named as a party candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, and asserted that his stature was not affected by contesting or not contesting any poll. Heaping praises on the 91-year-old leader, Bharti said it was Advani who played the central role in bringing the party to such a position that Narendra Modi is prime minister today and added that he never craved for any position in his long political career.

JNU Backs Alumnus Kanhaiya | JNU students have begun their social media campaign for alumnus Kanhaiya Kumar for his Begusarai candidature. On WhatsApp, students are spreading a message to promote the Twitter trend #Kanhaiya4Begusarai at large. The messgae reads, "His voice needs to be heard. We want to hear him. We know Modi doesn't. It would be a shame therefore if Kanhaiya is not the voice in the Parliament from Begusarai. The minimum we can do is to tweet in his support. Please trend #Kanhaiya4Begusarai at 4:30 pm Today. Friends, let's storm the Twitter and extend our solidarity as Kanhaiya needs to contest against all odds. He shall fight, we shall win."

PM Modi to Rally in Bengal on April 3 | Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two rallies in West Bengal on April 3, anounced BJP Leader Mukul Roy at a press conference today. Elaborating on his Bengal rally, he said that the PM's first rally will be at 1 pm in Siliguri and the second one at 3pm in Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata.

Shatrughan Sinha, who had a bitter fall-out with BJP leadership in last few years, targeted the leadership for denying senior leader LK Advani a ticket from Gandhinagar, a seat he has been representing since 1991.

Charging Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi for their alleged involvement in 'NSEL Scam', Sambit Patra said that the duo had rented out their farm house to a company which was involved in the scam. "Rahul and Priyanka own a farmhouse of almost five acres in Mehrauli, Delhi. They rented it to the company fully knowing about its involvement in the NSEL scam," Patra said.

Sambit Patra Takes on Rahul's Assets | "Rahul's only source of income is that of MP. How does his assets increase exponentially then? Several times he has also been asked to present details of his non-performing assets? In the politics of India, Rahul Gandhi knows what kind of asset he is," Sambit Patra took a veiled jibe on the Congress chief.  

In a press conference, Sambit Patra took on Congress chief saying that the entire nation is keeping a telescopic view on Rahul Gandhi's nomination and his declaration of assets. "In 2004, Rahul had assets worth of Rs 50-55 lakh, in 2009 it increased to over Rs 2 crore. In 2014, it is further increased to Rs 9 crore," Patra said.

हिंदुस्तान के राजनीति में राहुल गाँधी जी किस प्रकार के एसेट है वो सब जानते है और कई बार उनको 'Non performing Asset' के बारे में भी बताया गया है: श्री @sambitswaraj https://t.co/7Y63qnSUhg pic.twitter.com/nV1scwlaso

— BJP (@BJP4India) March 24, 2019

Though the optics of the Ganga Yatra and her striking resemblance to her grandmother may work for Priyanka, it's no secret that that she faces a bumpy ride ahead.

While addressing a BJP rally in Assam, Ram Madhav assured its people that PM Modi will frequently visit the state. "BJP will declare its candidates for the remaining seats today. We will win in all 10 seats. Those who did not get ticket will be given important roles for election purpose. We will get at least 20 seats in Northeast Ram Madhav." Earlier, Madhav had said that the BJP will get 22 seats.

On the prime minister's 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign to counter the Congress' 'chowkidar chor hai' barb, Sibal said: "First of all he has forgotten about the chaiwalas (tea sellers). He now remembers the chowkidars (watchmen). Next time he will remember somebody else and forget the chowkidars." "The sad part of it is that he was sleeping while we were attacked at Gurdaspur, at Pathankot, at Uri, at Baramulla, at Pulwama. What was the chowkidar doing, was he sleeping. What happened to the slogan 'main bhi chowkidar' at that point in time," the 70-year-old Rajya Sabha MP said.

Kapil Sibal Takes a Dig at PM's Chowkidar Campaign | Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forgotten about his bonhomie with "chaiwalas", is now remembering "chowkidars", and will focus on somebody else the "next time" for political gains, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said, taking a swipe at the PM's 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign. The former Union minister also accused Modi of politicising the Balakot air strikes and asked whether the 'chowkidar' (watchman) was sleeping when terror attacks took place in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Uri, Baramulla, and Pulwama.

Congress leaders from down South have been persistently inviting Rahul Gandhi. While Dinesh Gundu Rao asked Gandhi to contest from Karnataka, the Kerala Congress has been trying to convince him to fight from Wayanad.

Taking to Twitter, Trinamool's Derek o'Brien said that 17 out of the 42 candidates of TMC in Bengal are women, which makes it to 41%.

17 of the 42 candidates of Trinamool declared for #LokSabhaElections seats in Bengal are women. That’s 41%. Looking forward to the %ages of other parties, once all lists are out

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) March 24, 2019

"We feel the Congress should have been more large- hearted. Rahul Gandhi did not assert to make his state committees accept the understanding on the ground with other parties. Also, regional parties like SP, BSP, RJD are also responsible for the failure in talks. "I believe the leadership is responsible. They were driven by local agenda, narrow outlook...They are all anti-BJP, but they are not ready to adjust or sacrifice some of their seats (to defeat the BJP)," Reddy said.

'Opposition Leaders Anti-BJP, But Unwilling to Compromise' | Leaders of opposition parties are anti-BJP, but they are unwilling to adjust or sacrifice seats to defeat it, said CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, raising questions on the leadership of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other regional parties. In a scathing indictment of Gandhi, Reddy, said that his decision to let Congress state units have their say on seat-sharing issues has led to the breakdown in talks with other political parties.

Sushma Swaraj Affirms Abhinandan's Return as India's Diplomatic Win | In Gautam Buddha Nagar, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hailed the country's ability to defend its borders and its diplamtic win against Pakistan. Like colleague Sitharaman, Swaraj, too, referred to the airstrikes as India's masterstroke. She said, "A day after airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan sent its war jets and India struck one down. Then, they shot one of our jets down and captured our IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. However, we got our pilot back within 2 days and that in my opinion is India's diplomatic victory."

EAM Swaraj: Agle din (after #airstrike) Pakistan ne jawabi karyawahi ki, unhone apne vimaan bheje, humne unka 1 vimaan maar giraya, unhone hamara 1 vimaan maar giraya aur hamare pilot ko pakda, Bharat ki itni badi kootnitik safalta ki maatr 2 din mein apne pilot ko wapas le aye. pic.twitter.com/Sg34pRGhnN

— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

While getting the seats was easy, the Gowdas now face a crisis. The sub-regional party has no candidates and no organisational structure in five of the eight seats.

Sitharaman Rakes Up 26/11 in Sankalp Rally in Hyderabad | Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has kickstarted the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' in Hyderabad. In her opening speech, Sitharaman flayed the erstwhile Congress government at the Centre for not adopting a deterrent measure such as an airstrike back in 2008 after the 26/11 massacre. Referring to the recent airstrikes, the Defence Minister said, "If only a similar deterrent action was taken after Mumbai attack. I have enough reasons to believe that the armed forces did tell then govt at that time that they were ready for any stern action but wanted the Congress government to take the call."

The opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' Friday announced its seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, half of which will be fought by the RJD and nine by the Congress.

Devegowda Says All is Well Between JD(S) & Congress | Former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief HD Devegowda rubbished reports of sitting Congress MP from Tumkur, Muddahanumegowda threatening to turn rebel. "Deputy CM of Karnataka, G. Parameshwara is sitting in Tumkur, calling all members and  trying to settle the issue. There's no problem between the Congress and the JD(S)," Devegowda said. Muddahanumegowda has been reported upset with the coalition's decision to field Devegowda from his constituency, Tumkur.