Elections 2019 LIVE UPDATES: Deve Gowda to file nomination from Tumkur, says no discord with Congress

New Delhi: BJP is set to hold a mega show of strength in Uttar Pradesh Sunday as top party generals line up more than 500 meetings over a course of next 48 hours. The party will also kick off its 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' on March 24 with its top brass holding public meetings in various constituencies across the country.

BJP president Amit Shah will address rallies in Agra, Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be at the hustings in Lucknow, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will hold a rally in Nagpur, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will address gatherings in Patna, JP Nadda in Sambhal. 

Among other veterans who will conduct rallies today include Piyush Goyal in Bareli, Prakash Javadekar in Bhilwara, Dharmendra Pradhan in Cuttack, Smriti Irani in Kanpur, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Rampur and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Hyderabad.  

Among other poll rumblings, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to be in New Delhi today amid speculation of an alliance with Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019. 

Election 2019 - Live updates

1:49 pm: Delhi Congress leader and former head of state unit Ajay Maken said he would support an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) even if he is not fielded as a candidate in the ensuing polls. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely decision on the matter is likely on Sunday 

Former Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken on Saturday said he would support an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi even if he was not fielded as a candidate from the New Delhi constituency, which he has represented twice in the Lok Sabha.

1:23 pm: JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda said he will file nomination from the Tumkur constituency in Karnataka. It is interesting to note that the sitting Congress MP SP Muddahanumegowda has also staked claim after the seat which was conceded to JD(S).

"I will file the nomination papers tomorrow. There is no conflict. G Parameshwara (Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader) is sitting in Tumkur, calling all members and trying to settle the issue. There's no problem between Congress and JD(S)," Deve Gowda told ANI.

12:45 pm:  External Affairs Sushma Swaraj while speaking at a public meeting in Gautam Buddh Nagar patted the government on the back for securing the release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman in "just two days". Agle din Pakistan

ne jawabi karyawahi ki, unhone apne vimaan bheje, humne unka ek vimaan maar giraya, unhone hamara ek vimaan maar giraya aur hamare pilot ko pakda, Bharat ki itni badi kootnitik safalta ki maatr do din mein apne pilot ko wapas le aye (The next day after Balakot airstrike, Pakistan sent its fighter jets, and both countries shot down each other's jets. They captured our pilot but it due to India's diplomatic prowess our pilot was released within two days. 

12:35 pm: Communist Party of India's (CPI's) Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told ANI that former Jawaharlal Nehru University students union president, Kanhaiya Kumar will contest from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. 

 

 

12:17 pm: Karnataka JD(S) MLA KM Shivalinge from Hassan at a public meeting to slap people who chant support for PM Narendra Modi. He said I want to instil confidence in you to ask BJP why its poll promises remain unfulfilled after five years. "Modi is a big politician, he made a lot of promises before coming into power such as rooting out black money, putting Rs 15 lakh in every account. So, I want to give confidence you to slap anyone who chants pro-Modi slogans", he said. 

12:04 pm:

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a BJP rally in Hyderabad attacked the previous Congress-led UPA government for not taking any action after the Mumbai attacks. "I have enough reasons to believe that armed forces did tell the govt at that time, if you want us to do something, we are ready but we want you to take the call,' she said.  

 

 

11:22 am: Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah likened Balakot air strike to an image rebuilding exercise by PM Narendra Modi. "I know one thing that in the last few days PM and his govt's image was dropping down rapidly because of unemployment, distress in the industrial sector, farmers woes, and demonetisation. All of its was going against him. So there one thing simmering in Parliament that he will do something, a small minor attack on Pakistan to prove that he means business and see this has happened," Abdullah said. 

11.01 am: Senior Congress MLA Abdul Sattar from Maharashtra, who it believed might quit BJP or contest as an independent candidate, met BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Girish Mahajan sparking speculation that he might jump ship sooner than later.  

10:30 am: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest the LS polls from party stronghold Azamgarh and senior party leader Azam Khan from Ramgarh in Uttar Pradesh. The party also released the list of its star campaigners on Sunday.

 

 

9.39 am: With elections round the corner, Maharashtra Congress seems to be in a tough spot. Ranjit Singh Nimbalkar, the party's Satara district president has quit. He will join the BJP in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on March 25. The development comes a day after an audio clip went viral in which a disgruntled party chief Ashok Chavan is heard speaking of resignation. 

9.01 am: The firebrand former student union leader from JNU will be CPI's candidate from Bihar's Begusarai parliamentary constituency for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, said reports. 

8.32 am: Odisha leader Duryodhan Majhi, the sitting MLA from Khariar quit BJP on Saturday and returned to Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

"I am glad that Duryodhan Majhi has joined back. I welcome him back to the party. His return will strengthen the BJD," Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on his return.

 

 

He quit after BJP fielded Rita Bagarti, wife of former BJP MLA Hitesh Bagarti, from the Khariar Assembly seat. He left BJP in 2014 after being denied a ticket.