DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA 148 184 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE DECISION 2024 ● ‘Surat result very bad... But what can we do if Cong in a shambles?’ VIJAY RUPANI FORMER GUJARAT CM PAGE 7 IN PERSONALISED letters to BJP candidates in constituencies that will vote in the third phase of the electionsonMay7,PrimeMinister NarendraModihasurgedthemto increaseawarenessamongvoters aboutthe“divisive”and“discriminatory”intentionoftheCongress and its INDIA bloc partners to “snatch”theSC,STandOBCreservation and give it to “their vote bank” even though granting “reservationonreligiousgrounds is unconstitutional”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D 58 NEW DELHI, APRIL 30 JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU RAIPUR, APRIL 30 ACCUSING PRIME Minister Narendra Modi of targeting only Muslims, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said they were not the only ones who have more children. Stating that the poor “always have more KARNATAKA SEX ABUSE TAPES Turnout figures in: Under 4 pc point dip in first phase, under 3 in second phase JD(S)suspends Prajwal;Shah hitsbackatCong Raising the poll ● pitch THE BJP, Congress war of words over reservation and Muslim quota has sharpened the campaign discourse as the elections progress. The attacks are being led by the star campaigners: PM Modi for the BJP, and Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for the Congress. Do only Muslims have more children? I have five, Kharge targets PM Modi children”, Kharge said he, too, has five of them. KhargewasreferringtoModi’s remarks at a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 21, where he mentionedMuslimsandsaidthat the Congress, if voted to power, could distribute the nation’s wealth among “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”. “Wearegoingtogetmajority, `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Tell voters about Cong plan to snatch quota: Modi to BJP candidates 120 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES 01/05/2024 ● and because of this, he (Modi) is always talking about mangalsutra and Muslims. He says we will steal your wealth and give it to those who have more children,” Kharge said at a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district. “Hamesha gareebo ke bacche jyadahihotehain...SirfMusalmano ke hote hai? Ab mereko paanch CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 UnionMinisterPiyushGoyalafterfilinghisnominationas BJP’scandidateforMumbaiNorthseaton Tuesday.Hewas accompaniedby(fromleft)sittingMPGopalShetty,LokSabha SpeakerOmBirlaandBJPMLAYogeshSagar. Sankhadeep Banerjee Goyal files nomination in Mumbai North: ‘Clean sweep for BJP in state’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, APRIL 30 UNION MINISTER Piyush Goyal, who is the BJP candidate for the Mumbai North seat, filed his nominationattheMumbai(suburban) district collector’s office Tuesday afternoon. Goyal said he was confident aboutnotjusthisvictorybutalso BJP winning at all the 48 seats in Maharashtra. “Whether the Opposition declares any candidate or not, it makes no differ- ence any more. It is not just my constituency that we are winning. There is an easy contest for BJPinalltheseatsinMaharashtra and there will be a clean sweep. We will work towards the transformation of Mumbai, so that Uttar Mumbai can be transformed into Uttam Mumbai in the coming days,” he said. After visiting the Borivali Ganpati temple, Goyal also held a show of strength with a rally, before reaching the collector’s office around 1 pm. He was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MP’s ex-driver says gave videos only to state BJP leader, not to Congress AKRAM M & SUKRITA BARUAH BENGALURU, GUWAHATI, APRIL 30 THEJD(S)onTuesdaysuspended its Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is seeking re-election from the constituency, in connection with allegations of sexual abuse that have rocked Karnataka over the past week. The decision to suspend Prajwal was taken following a meeting of the party’s core committee in Hubballi. JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamysaidtheduration of suspension is “until the completionoftheprobebytheSpecial InvestigationTeam.If allegations againsthimareproved,hewillbe suspended permanently”. Kumaraswamywasreferring to the decision by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY constitute an SIT to probe the allegations against Prajwal (33), the grandson of former Prime MinisterHDDeveGowda,based on a petition by the head of the State Commission for Women, whichtookcognizanceof several sexually explicit video clips. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, APRIL 30 THE FINAL voting figures for the firsttwo phases of theLok Sabha elections are in. Amid criticism fromOppositionpartiesoverthe delay in releasing turnout data, the Election Commission Tuesday announced 66.14% polling for the first phase and 66.71% for the second phase — DECISION adropof justun2024 der 4 percentage points for the first phase and under 3 percentage points for the second phase compared to the 2019 elections. The 102 seats of the first phase registered roughly 70% turnout in 2019 and 83 of 88 seats that voted in phase two — fiveseatsinAssamwentthrough delimitationandhave,therefore, notbeenfactoredinthecomparison — saw 69.64% voting in the last Parliamentary polls. The EC announcement came 11 days after the first phase pollingonApril19,andfourdays CONTINUED ON PAGE 2