Lok Sabha Election 2019 LIVE: Nitish, Uddhav Thackeray Among NDA Allies at Dinner Hosted by Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday likened his campaign for this Lok Sabha election to a pilgrimage, saying it stood out from other polls as it was being fought by the people and not the party alone. He made these remarks at a meeting of ministers of his government at the BJP headquarters where he thanked them for their work, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters.

PM Likens Poll  Campaign to Pilgrimage | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday likened his campaign for this Lok Sabha election to a pilgrimage, saying it stood out from other polls as it was being fought by the people and not the party alone. He made these remarks at a meeting of ministers of his government at the BJP headquarters where he thanked them for their work, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters.

BJP chief Amit Shah has expressed confidence of coming back to power as the party held a meeting with union council of ministers. He congratulated the members of the 'Team Modi Sarkar' and said, "Let us keep this momentum going for a New India under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi." 

I congratulate Team Modi Sarkar for their hard work and remarkable achievements in the last 5 years.

Let us keep this momentum going for a New India under the leadership of PM @narendramodi.

Sharing pictures of Aabhar Milan of Union Council of Ministers at BJP HQ, New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/X2sgvJjJ5c

— Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 21, 2019

NDA satraps have started to arrive for the dinner being hosted by the BJP.

Delhi: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar arrive at Ashoka Hotel for NDA leaders dinner pic.twitter.com/V8eynhA42I

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2019

Terming the UP incident as 'loot', Kushwaha called for safety of the voting machines ahead of counting on May 23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Union ministers from the BJP as well as allies at a meeting hosted by party president Amit Shah at its headquarters. The BJP described the meeting as an occasion to thank ministers for "their service to the nation" ahead of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election on May 23, following which a new government will assume charge. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, JP Nadda and Prakash Javadekar were among the key leaders from the BJP at the meeting.

Meeting of Union Council of Minsters of BJP  underway at party office in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also present.

Union Council of Minsters meeting underway at BJP office in Delhi. PM Narendra Modi also present pic.twitter.com/M5Ww5WVInt

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the BJP headquarters in Delhi for meeting of Union Council of Minsters. 

The Election Commission has said it won't make dissent in model code violation cases public. It will be recorded in files as is the case now.

Kushwaha Calls for Protection of EVMs | After few incidents of EVMs being transported allegedly without any security, RLSP's Upendra Kushwaha said that security of the vote should be the priority and that people should take up arms if need arises to protect it. " To avoid the looting of the votes, as happened today,  people should take up arms if the need arises," Kushwaha said in Patna. 

After a few incidents of EVM’s being transported allegedly without any security were reported from Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission has come out with a statement calling the allegations “baseless and frivolous”. Addressing the allegations about each of the four places from where the incidents were reported, the poll panel said “the EVMs were in proper security and protocol”. 

"We are asking the Election Commission to respect mandate of people. It cannot be manipulated," TDP's Chandrababu Naidu said. 

"We raised the issues over last one and a half month.  We asked the EC why they have not responded. The  EC heard us for almost an hour and assured that they'll meet again tomorrow morning," senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said after meeting the poll body. 

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said that even the former Chief Election Commissioner has endorsed their demands.  

The Congress has said that the Election Commission has called them again tomorrow morning. 

“We have requested that the verification of VVPAT slips of randomly identified (05) polling stations should be done prior to the initiation of vote counting & not after the completion of last round of counting,” senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said after 22 Opposition parties met the EC. He alleged that votes that were cast for the Congress went to the BJP. 

Cong Notice to Karnataka Legislator |The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday served notice to its legislator Roashan Baig for allegedly criticising the party's state unit leaders ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll results on Thursday, an official said. "A show-cause notice has been served on Baig to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for going public against the party's state unit leaders through the media," Spokesman Ravi Gowda told IANS here.Baig, a former senior Minister, is a legislator from the Shivajinagar Assembly segment in Bengaluru central.

Tight Security in Kerala for Counting Day | Over 22,000 police personnel will be deployed in the state on May 23, the day results for the Lok Sabha elections will be declared, police said Tuesday. Security has been beefed up in sensitive areas, they said.

Praise for Rahul, Priyanka from Unlikely Quarters | The Shiv Sena Tuesday expressed confidence that a government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be re-elected for a second term as the exit polls show a "clear trend" in the BJP-led NDA's favour. At the same time, it also praised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for their "hard work", saying their party will get enough seats to bag the leader of opposition's post in the new Lok Sabha.

22 parties of the opposition have submitted a memorandum before the EC, requesting that the verification of VVPAT slips of randomly identified (05) polling stations should be done prior to the initiation of counting of votes & not after the completion of last round of counting, the ANI reported. In the memorandum, the opposition leaders have also demanded that if any discrepancy is found anywhere during the VVPAT verification, 100% counting of paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that assembly segment should be done.

Protests in UP Over 'EVM Tampering' | Protests broke out in some parts of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday after videos of alleged movement and tampering of EVMs went viral on social media. The EC has dismissed the charge. As the videos went viral, workers of various parties held protests in Ghazipur, Chandauli and Dumariyaganj alleging that EVMs were being "moved around" outside strongrooms. A video clip of EVMs being off-loaded and put in a room inside the counting centre complex in Chandauli was doing the rounds on social media. BJP's state unit president Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking re-election from the seat.  Another video is from Ghazipur where SP-BSP alliance candidate Afzal Ansari is seen staging protest alleging that the administration was trying to change EVMs.

Pranab Mukherjee Raises Concern Over EVM Tampering | Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee has raised concerns about alleged EVM tampering and said “there can be no room for speculations that challenge the very basis of a democracy”. “I am concerned at reports of alleged tampering of voter’s verdict. The safety and security of the EVMs, which are in the custody of ECI, is the responsibility of the commission. There can be no room for speculations that challenge the very basis of a democracy. People’s mandate is sacrosanct and has to be above any iota of reasonable doubt,” the former President wrote in a statement.

Day after praising the EC for conducting the 'perfect' poll, former president of India, Pranab Mujkherjee raises concerns over reports of EVM tampering. "There can be no room for speculations that challenge the very basis of the democracy", he writes, further putting the onus of ensuring institutional integrity on the Election Commission. 

Former President Pranab Mukherjee issues statement, says ' Onus on ensuring institutional integrity in this case(security of EVMs) lies with the Election Commission, they must do so and put all speculations to rest' pic.twitter.com/2xFIhok7pN

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2019

After much speculation and several media reports suggesting that Udhav Thackeray will remain absent from the grand NDA meet, the Shiv Sena chief has now confirmed his presence at the event today. He will be accompined by his son Aditya Thackeray and other senior party leaders. 

Delhi: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray to attend dinner hosted by Amit Shah for NDA leaders today (file pics) pic.twitter.com/Kj3zzrbPJp

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2019

Opposition leaders arrive at the EC to put forth demands for tallying VVPAT slips with EVM figures in an entire constituency in case a discrepancy is reported in any polling booth. The band of leaders includes names from all major parties like the Congress, AAP, INC, TDP, TMC, NC, among other regional outfits. 

JD(S) insiders claim that if the coalition tally goes below 10 and chief minister's son Nikhil loses from Mandya, the coalition will surely collapse.

The strategy opposition meeting spearheaded by Chandrababu Naidu begins at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi. In attendance is DMK's Kanimozhi, Danish Ali from BSP, Rajasthan CM and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, among others. Arvind Kejriwal is also present.

Delhi: A meeting of opposition leaders is underway at the Constitution Club of India. pic.twitter.com/0AB86GJ2zB

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2019

JDS Hints Trouble for Cong Alliance in K'nataka | Speaking to CNN-News18, JDS spokesperson Tanvir Ahmed says, "If the numbers on results day don't favour us then there will be trouble for the Congress coalition in Karnataka." His statement comes a day after nearly all exit polls indicated a decisive victory for the BJP-led NDA government and a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Akhilesh Yadav Meets AAP's Sanjay Singh | Stepping up efforts of consolidating an opposition bloc against the NDA, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav discusses post-poll politics with AAP's Sanjay Singh. After holding talks, Singh told the news agency ANI, " We met to discuss the strategy to be followed after results. The first priority is to stop BJP." Talking about exit poll predictions, the AAP leader adds, " I feel the gathbandhan will get more than 60 seats in UP. BJP will be wiped off across the country. Exit polls will prove to be completely false, like it had happened before. Opposition will form a strong govt at the centre"

BJP candidate for Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur may be in trouble again, as the Kamal Nath Govt of Madhya Pradesh is set to reopen the RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi murder case in which she was prime accused, but was acquitted by the NIA court in 2017.