"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
Tamil film actor Kamal Haasan said, "Mersal was certified. Don't re-censor it. Counter criticism with logical response. Don't silence critics. India will shine when it speaks."
After setting fire to three bottles filled with petrol, he threw them at the BJP state headquarters in the early hours.
The veteran star likened Modi to tall leaders of India, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, A B Vajpayee, K Kamaraj, C N Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he will not hesitate from facing investigation in a site allotment issue but added that he would consult legal experts to find out whether such a probe is allowed under law.
Bypolls are due in the 20 constituencies, which have fallen vacant following the Madras high court last month upholding the disqualification of the 18 All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLAs who back Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran and in view of demise of two sitting members, including DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi.
Stalin, 68, was contesting as the chief ministerial candidate for the first time during these polls. He was elected unopposed as the DMK chief in August 2018, after the death of his father, a post that Karunanidhi held for 49 years. That didn't come as a surprise to anyone, as during his lifetime, Karunanidhi, on multiple occasions made his preference for his successor abundantly clear and systematically groomed him for the job.
This is the first time that Gandhi will be meeting Congress leaders face-to-face, months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shah, 55, stated on Twitter that he has tested positive for the infection and is getting admitted to a hospital on the advice of doctors.
'My chants in praise of BJP and RSS stalwarts were a reaction to what MPs like Owaisi did.'
The BJP will enter this election, as it does every election, as if it is fighting to prevent a 2004-style defeat. This is a party that wins big because it always behaves as if its back is to the wall, predicts Mihir S Sharma.
The Central Crime Branch police team also conducted searches in the office of the Karuppar Kootam channel at T Nagar and sealed it days ago.
Bharatiya Janata Party's southern ally Al India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday reiterated its stand against the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
Sundar was on her way to to take part in the 'Yatra,' that has been banned by the Tamil Nadu government, when the truck hit the car near Melmaruvathur, about 97 km from here, damaging the vehicle.
'Barring Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP will may make inroads in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana in 2024.'
Seeking a third straight term, Modi is not just looking to stamp his electoral dominance on India but also chasing history with another consecutive victory equalling first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's record.
The resolution praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and accused the opposition of 'opportunism' and a mindset of 'extreme hate'.
From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The deposed coordinator, heading a small faction, hopes to consolidate Amma (late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa) loyalists to unify the AIADMK factions aiming to coerce another former Chief Minister K Palaniswami, heading the dominant faction, to accept dual leadership in the party.
If the idea was to garner AIADMK votes with or without the three faction leaders after the party broke ties with the NDA, it may not work after all, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gandhi said "cultural imperialism" of the BJP was not acceptable to the people of the country.
The bickering between allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu over late Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai peaked on Monday with the regional party snapping ties with the saffron organisation, saying it cannot tolerate any affront to the late chief minister and its other leaders.
With the Supreme Court reinforcing its stay on jallikattu, the state BJP hopes it can persuade its party leadership to bring in an ordinance. But this is a path filled with risk, reports R Ramasubramanian.
They said the picture did not feature any 'life support system like a ventilator' and it was reassuring that their Thalaivar (leader) was recuperating well.
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
While Governor Ravi's speeches have put the local BJP supporters on the defensive in matters of religion and social justice, his add-on 'attack on the constitutional scheme' in the 'Senthil Balaji case', has been condemned squarely by many legal experts and editorial writers across the country, thus adding weight to CM Stalin's position -- at least until the courts come up with their binding views, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
'A one-party State is not possible in a diverse country like India.'
Surprisingly, the BJP's nearest rival in ad spend was not the Congress, but the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
The BJP is focusing on 160 seats 'we have never won, seats where we have reasonable support, and those we lost narrowly.'
Ahead of the day-long Opposition meeting on Friday, Samvad Bhavan, Rajkiye Atithisala and Sadaquat Ashram have got a facelift.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, the little-known Hyderabad-based firm that in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, was the second largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.
Accusing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa of constantly badgering Prime Minister Narendra Modi with letters on sundry issues, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday alleged that most of her letters went to the trash anyway and her recent one demanding the exemption of the state from National Eligibility cum Entrance Test belongs to the waste bin as well.
Joining issue with Narendra Modi over criticism of his party besides ruling All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's comments will only earn him the wrath of people of Tamil Nadu but remained tightlipped on Rajnikanth's praise for the Gujarat chief minister.
It said that Congress' strategy to pursue 'fringe and disruptive politics' in Parliament was only for political reasons and opposition to the development agenda of the BJP government, which has been rejected by the people in the four large states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala.
Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar, who stirred up a controversy with his "tea-vendor" taunt against Narendra Modi, on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate of starting personal attacks against leaders and said he had only given a "fitting reply".
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
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