In Maharashtra, BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit out at the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the MVA government for indulging in scams during the COVID pandemic. Addressing a public rally in Mumbai yesterday, Devendra Fadnavis claimed that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was facilitating vaccine production in the country, the MVA government were indulged in scams like irregularities in supply of ‘khichadi’ (meal for labourers and homeless people) and procurement of body bags during COVID pandemic. BJP Lok Sabha candidates Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ujjwal Nikam and Mihir Kotecha were present at the rally. Polling on the six Lok Sabha seats of Mumbai will take place in the fifth phase on 20th May.

Campaigning for the third and fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh is at its peak. Star campaigners of major political parties are leaving no stone unturned in garnering support for their respective candidates. Voting will be held on 17 seats in these two phases in Madhya Pradesh. BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda will address a public meeting in Sironj of Sagar Lok Sabha constituency today. At the same time, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will address a meeting in Morena today. Congress MP in-charge Jitendra Singh, State Congress President Jitu Patwari and former Union Minister Arun Yadav will also campaign in Morena and Gwalior. Meanwhile, to increase the voting percentage in the third and fourth phases in Madhya Pradesh, Chale Booth Ki Ore campaign has been started yesterday. Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan participated in this campaign in Bilkisganj and Kankarkheda villages of Sehore district. He said that one must vote to strengthen democracy.

President Droupadi Murmu reached Ayodhya on a day’s visit today to perform Darshan-Poojan to Ram Lalla at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple. Governor of State Anandiben Patel welcomed President Murmu at the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya. From the airport, the President reached Hanumangarhi to offer prayers to Lord Hanuman. The President also participated in the Saryu Aarti with full rituals this evening. This is President Draupadi Murmu’s first visit to the newly-built temple, the consecration ceremony for which was held on the 22ns of January. Given the President’s programme, there were tight security arrangements in the entire Ayodhya including Hanumangarhi, Railway Station, Ram Path and Naya Ghat.

Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor today assumed charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command. He was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on the 06th of December 1986. A Qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter Combat Leader, he has more than 34 hundred hours of flying experience. In recognition of his meritorious service, the Air Marshal was awarded with Vayu Sena Medal in 2008 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.

Congress today alleged that in the last ten years, the wage rate in the country has not been increased. While quoting Labour Bureau data, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh told media in New Delhi that the real wage rate has declined in the second term of the Modi government. He said that during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh government between 2004 to 2014, the real wage rate of farm labourers increased by 6.8 per cent every year.

Kolkata: Actor Rupali Ganguly, known for her roles in the series 'Anupama' and 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai'. joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today ahead of the third-phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The event took place at the party's headquarters in Kolkata and was attended by several senior BJP leaders, including national general secretary Vinod Tawde. The actor said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his work had attracted her towards the party. "Seeing the 'Mahayagya' of development (development push) around me (under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi), I felt that I should also be a part of it," Ms Ganguly told the media. "I wish to follow in the footsteps of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji and serve fellow citizens in whichever role I am entrusted with. I intend to work under the guidance of Amit Shah-ji and make all of my leaders and cadres proud of me," she added. Welcoming her into the party, Mr Tawde used the opportunity to attack the Opposition over Samajwadi Party leader Maria Alam's appeal for 'love jihad'. Ms Alam, while seeking votes for the INDIA bloc's candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat, called for a "vote jehad," saying it was necessary in the current situation for the minority community to dislodge the BJP from power. Responding to the SP leader's remarks, Mr Tawde said, "The Opposition, which has been spreading lies, has now started a 'vote jihad' campaign. This shows they are rattled." He added, "On the one hand they are giving OBC reservation to Muslims, on the other they are talking about 'vote jihad' during elections."

BJP Candidate from the North-East Delhi Lok Sabha Constituency Manoj Tiwari today filed his nomination papers. Before filing his nomination, Mr Tiwari held a road show in the National Capital which was joined by senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, and others. Talking to the media, Mr Singh claimed that BJP will win all seven Lok Sabha seats in the National Capital. Mr Tiwari is contesting against Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar from the North-East Delhi Constituency. BJP East Delhi Candidate Harsh Malhotra also filed his nomination papers this afternoon. AAP has pitted its MLA Kuldeep Kumar against Mr Malhotra from this seat. Meanwhile, several other candidates of BJP, AAP, and Congress are campaigning in different parts of Delhi to garner the support of voters. All seven seats of Delhi will go to poll during the sixth phase on the 25th of this month.

Oil marketing companies have slashed the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders by 19 rupees per unit with immediate effect. As per the Indian Oil website, the retail sales price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder after the price revision will be 1745.50 in Delhi, 1,859 rupees in Kolkata, Rs 1,698.5 rupees in Mumbai, and 1,911 rupees in Chennai. The prices of non-subsidised, domestic-use LPG were however left unchanged at existing levels.

Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Abhay Thakur met the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Myanmar, Than Swe in Naypyidaw yesterday. The Indian Embassy in Myanmar said in a social media post that both the leaders held a wide-ranging discussion on various aspects of the multifaceted relations between two nations. Mr. Thakur also presented a copy of his credentials to Myanmar’s Deputy PM. The Embassy further said, the Indian envoy also met the Permanent Secretary, Daw Marlar Than Htike, Director General of Protocol Department, U. Wunna Han and DG Political, U. Than Htwe, during the visit.

The Prime Minister and Senior BJP leader  Narendra Modi is scheduled to address six election rallies across Gujarat today and tomorrow. The Prime Minister will address public gatherings at Vav in Banaskantha district and Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha districts of North Gujarat this afternoon. Tomorrow, he will address rallies in Anand, Surendranagar, Junagadh, and Jamnagar. Gujarat will go for polls in a single phase on the 7th of May.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will launch an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of truce talks with Hamas. He insisted that the war would continue until Israel had achieved all of its objectives in Rafah. Netanyahu’s statement came amid ongoing attempts to try to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and hostage releases. At a meeting of the hostages’ relatives, Mr Netanyahu said he would invade with or without a deal. His comments follow renewed warnings by the US against a Rafah invasion unless civilians were properly protected. Meanwhile, the West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that an invasion of Rafah would be the biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people’s history. US President Joe Biden has described an invasion of Rafah as a red line. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an assault on Rafah would be an unbearable escalation. He also appealed all the influence to do everything to prevent it.

Islamabad: Pakistan's leading right-wing Islamic leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday came out in support of his erstwhile rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying the opposition party has the right to hold rallies and even form a government. Rehman, the chief of his faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), made a blistering speech in the National Assembly, slamming the powerful establishment for allegedly rigging the political system. "It is the right of the PTI to hold a rally," he said. "We also objected to the 2018 election and we object to this (February 8 polls) one too. If the 2018 poll was rigged, why is the current one not rigged?" he asked. PTI leader Asad Qaiser had demanded the party's right to organise a rally. "The demand of Asad Qaiser is correct and it is the right of PTI to hold a rally," Rehman said in his speech. Rehman urged the ruling coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Peoples Party to allow the PTI to form the government if it enjoyed a majority in the parliament.   "Leave this power. Come and sit here [on the opposition benches], and if the PTI is indeed the larger group, then give them the government," he said. The cleric then expressed his dismay over the role of the establishment and bureaucracy in election and running the country. "The establishment and bureaucracy had no role in achieving this country," he said. He alleged that the elections held on Feb 8 were not fair but flawed. "What kind of election is this where the losers are not satisfied and the winners are upset?" he said. He drew parallels with neighbouring India. "Just compare India and ourselves... both countries got independence on the same day. But today they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy," he said. He said that decisions are made by somebody else but politicians are blamed for the problems. Rehman also lamented the failure to implement recommendations from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), emphasising the importance of upholding Islamic principles. "We got the country in the name of Islam, but today we have become a secular state. Since 1973, not a single recommendation of the CII has been implemented. How can we be an Islamic country?" he said. The CCI is a constitutional body set up to help Islamize the laws. He also said that Pakistan was begging the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy. The JUI-F was the arch-rival of PTI and had spearheaded the move for the ouster of Imran Khan. After his downfall, JUI-F became part of the coalition government. However, he parted ways with the PML-N and PPP after the elections as he alleged that the polls were rigged to keep his party out of power. It is believed by many that by supporting the PTI, the cleric is putting pressure on the establishment and the government to cut a deal to get a bigger share in the spoils of politics than his potential.