Election Tracker LIVE: Kamal Nath Responds to 'Bhrasht' Jibe, Says BJP Man Caught During I-T Raids

A mass gathering of people is seen in Saharapur ahead of Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow as a part of the Congress campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Priyanka will be undertaking the roadshow in support of Congress candidate Imran Masood. 

Reacting to the I-T raids in state, MP CM Kamal Nath claims that the central agencies are 'conspiring against him'. "Actually, a BJP man was caught with the currencies in IT raids," he says. The CM also alleges that the Centre of trying to destabilise the Congress government in MP.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh in an interview with the news agency ANI talks about the ongoing I-T raids and says that blaming the govt is wrong. "It's been going on for years, not something that started today. It is really unjust to say that the raids are being conducted on somebody's instructions. EC asks for forces, and we provide them. Deployments are done on the orders of EC, not the Centre," he says. 

Former JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar files nomination.

Former JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar files nomination as Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate from Begusarai constituency. #Bihar #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/dW8nnoeZq0

— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2019

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a rally says that in every state, alliances have been formed to oust Modi; once he is voted out of power, all of us can work together to build a new India. Launching a scathing attack on Modi, she says, "BJP doesn't like West Bengal and Bengalis, that is why they have stopped the process of renaming the state to Bangla." She attacked the Congress in the same breath and says that it is because the Congress failed to put up a fight against the BJP, the saffron party grew from strength to strength

Meanwhile, a sweetshop in Kolkata is bringing in the election season in its own way by introducing a variety of sweets availible in the shape and size of election symbols of political parties. 

Kapil Sibal is addressing a press conference right now. Accusing the ruling BJP government of threatening the very premise of democracy of India, Sibal says, "All the agenciesof the country are under Modi's spell and are being controlled in an autocratic manner. Its alarming and deeply disturbing to see how the BJP has systematically destroyed all the institutions and further used them to target people who oppose the party."

BJP-Shiv Sena Joint Rally in Ausa | While sharing a dais for the first time after 28 months with Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says  that he will not let the aspirations of the people of backward Marathwada go in vain and will take up developmental activities to ensure their faith is not belied.He makes the remark while addressing a rally in Ausa town, Latur, in the heart of the backward Marathwada. Besides Modi and Thackeray, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present at the event.

The Prime Minister also takes a potshot on the rival party over the recent I-T raids in Madhya Pradesh. "For the last few months they have been saying chowkidar chor hai but, we recently saw how boxes of cash were being recovered from MP. So I ask you..who is the real chor?"

Talking about the BJP manifesto which was released on Monday, Modi says that the Sankalp Patra aims to fulfill the aspirations of the country. "Interest-free kisan credit card loans, short term agricultural loans up to Rs. 1 lakh to be given at zero per cent interest, for one to five years, on the condition of prompt repayment of principal amount. All this will be done to bring respite to the farmers," he says. 

Congress Manifesto, Pak Speak Same Language on Kashmir | Slamming the Congress for its manifesto promise on Article 370 on J&K, Modi says that the Congress manifesto speaks for Pakistan when it says that Article 370 will never be scrapped. "Congress wants to give an open license to anti nationals...this is exactly what Pakistan wants...how can you trust such a party?" he says. Sharpening his attack, Modi says that had Congress put its foot down in 1947, "Pakistan won't have existed in the first place".

PM Modi Addresses Rally in Maharashtra's Latua | PM Modi is currently addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Latur, where he has invoked the BJP manifesto's promise of launching a crackdown on terror. "Destroying terror and terrorist is the policy of new India...We have decided that we will end infiltration...we will end Naxals & Maoists," he says. 

"Despite having a vision, there's a question mark on his efficiency as the nation is aware of the condition of Amethi. On one hand there's an efficient govt which has taken resolution to build a New India, on the other, there's a man who stays restricted to making announcements," Irani added. 

Smriti Irani on R Gandhi's tweet '...BJP Manifesto was created in a closed room. The voice of an isolated man, it is short sighted and arrogant': Rahul Gandhi has a special obsession with BJP. Had he been focussed on the country, nation would have come to know his vision for it. pic.twitter.com/1FvDBqlopq

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 9, 2019

BJP chief Amit Shah's has a rally in Darjeeling scheduled for April 11. However, the West Bengal government has reportedly denied permission, citing security reasons as the Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will also be holding a rally in the constituency on the same day. This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing tussle between the Bengal govt and the Centre over campaigning, with the former denying permission to BJP rallies in Bengal on multiple occasions. 

BJP Manifesto Short-sighted, Arrogant: Rahul Gandhi | Rahul Gandhi in a tweet today said that the ruling BJP's manifesto for the national election was the "voice of an isolated man, short-sighted and arrogant", a statement which is being seen by many as a response to Modi's jab at the launch of the BJP manifesto on Monday that "people sitting in AC rooms cannot fix poverty". 

The Congress manifesto was created through discussion. The voice of over a million Indian people it is wise and powerful.

The BJP Manifesto was created in a closed room. The voice of an isolated man, it is short sighted and arrogant.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 9, 2019

PM Modi Says Need to Act Against Graft | Reacting to these ongoing Income-Tax raids, PM Modi in an interview with News18 said, “Scams were put in cold storage and we thought they should be probed. If the scams are surfacing, the people behind them should also come forward." The Prime Minister also took a swipe at the Congress for corruption and said that scams like National Herald case and fodder scam happened during its rule. 

The Delhi Directorate of Income Tax on Monday detected a "wide spread", "organised" racket of unaccounted cash of about Rs 281 crore in Madhya Pradesh. The team raided several properties that belong to businessmen, politicians and people related to other public services.

Bhopal: Visuals of I-T raids underway at the residence of Ashwin Sharma, associate of Praveen Kakkar (OSD to Madhya Pradesh CM). #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/nDR8VdHueW

— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2019

PM Modi said it was former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's policies which were being an obstacle for the development in the Valley.

A bigger controversy was sparked over the BJP promise of the abrogation of Article 370 if the party retains power in the Lok Sabha elections promised in its manifesto. However, speaking to News18, PM Modi said that the people of Kashmir want a change, including Article 35A and Article 370 as they hinder development. “The problem in Kashmir is largely due to the 50-odd political families there. They have been milking the issue,” Modi said.

In an exclusive interview, PM Modi also targeted the Congress’s manifesto over its proposal of reviewing Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir and said revoking the Act would be equivalent to sending soldiers to the gallows. BJP also released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections on Monday, titled, Sankalp Patra at the party headquarters in Delhi. 

News18 Exclusive: PM Modi on Mayawati's Deoband Speech | Meanwhile the chief electoral officer on Sunday sought a report from the Saharanpur district administration on BSP chief Mayawati’s speech during a joint SPBSP-RLD rally in Deoband, where she appealed to the Muslims to vote for the grand alliance and not Congress, as it would split the community’s vote.  Reacting to this, PM Modi in an exclusive interview with News18 Network Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, dubbed her  outreach to Muslim electorate a "desperate attempt to save a sinking ship" alluding to her political fortunes.

Read excerpts of interview here.

Priyanka to Take Roadshow in Saharanpur | Leading the Congress baton in Uttar Pradesh, AICC Gen Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be in Saharanpur today, where she will be taking a roadshow. Priyanka, along with her brother Rahul Gandhi was expected to address three rallies jointly in Shamli, Bijnor and Saharanpur yesterday. However the program later got cancelled due to bad weather conditions. 

Rahul Gandi on Campaign Trail | Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will also be on an election trail with rallies in Assam, Bihar and Odisha. He will first hold a public meeting at the PM Ground, Panchgram, District Hailakandi, Assam. From here the Congress leader will head to Gaya in Bihar for another public meet which is going to be followed by a rally in Coronation PM Ground, Phulbani, District Kandhamal, Odisha.

PM Modi will also be holding a slew of other rallies in Chitradurga and Mysore in Karnataka, after which he will head to Tamil Nadu where he is expected to hold a rally in Coimbatore. BJP chief Amit Shah will also be campaigning in Hyderabad today and is expected to hold a rally at 11:300 AM here. The BJP chief will also take out a massive roadshow from Singha Dwara of Shree Jagannath Temple to Badasankha in Puri, Odisha.

The BJP and Sena announced to contest 25 and 23 seats, respectively, in Maharashtra which has 48 Lok Sabha constituencies.On Saturday, Modi addressed a rally in Nanded, where state Congress president and former chief minister Ashok Chavan is contesting against BJP's Pratap Chikhalikar.

The two leaders will address a public gathering at Ausa in Latur in support of the alliance candidates in that district and Osmanabad, where polling will be held on April 18. The Sena, which has often been critical of the BJP and policies of the NDA government, entered into a seat-sharing understanding with the saffron party after BJP president, Amit Shah visited Mr Thackeray at his residence

PM Modi, Thackaray to Share Stage in Maharashtra | With just two days to the first phase of Lok Sabha election, the political mood in the country is charged with high-voltage election rallies.  And so, for the first time after the tie-up of BJP and the Shiv Sena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and  Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will share the stage at a rally in Ausa, Maharashtra today.