The last day of the work week is going to be a busy one.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on three mega rallies in Jharkhand, while Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Maharashtra’s Pune.
The Enforcement Directorate will respond to the Supreme Court’s queries on the timing of Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest today.
On the global front, China is set to launch its Chang’e-6 lunar probe, which will collect samples from the far side of the Moon.
Here’s how the day will unfold.
PM Modi to address three rallies in Jharkhand
PM Modi will embark on mega rallies in Jharkhand ahead of 13 May elections on four parliamentary seats from 3 May onwards.
As per his itinerary, the Indian leader will hold a rally in Chaibasa on Friday afternoon for the Singhbhum seat, while he will address two rallies in Palamu and Lohardaga on 4 May.
Last date of nominations for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls
Today is the last date of the nomination process for the fifth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, to be held on 20 May across 49 constituencies.
The 49 seats are spread across eight states and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The states going for polls in phase five are Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
According to the notificantion, 4 May has been appointed as the scrutiny of papers.
Rahul Gandhi’s public rally in Pune
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Pune today as a part of canvasing for its nominee Ravindra Dhangekar and other nominees of Maha Vikas Aghadi from Pune district.
This comes after PM Modi made a high-profile visit to the city as a part of campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
Notably, earlier, Congress state unit president Nana Patole said, “Rahul Gandhi is the opposition’s Prime Ministerial candidate.”
Home voting for Telangana commences
Home voting for the parliamentary elections in Telangana begins today.
These voters would not be allowed to vote at polling booths.
Of 24,974 applicants for home voting, around 23,248 were approved.
ED to respond to SC questions on Kejriwal’s arrest
On 30 April, the Supreme Court had questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) why Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the excise policy case right before the Lok Sabha elections.
The question came while the apex court was hearing AAP leader Kejriwal’s plea challenging a Delhi High Court order which dismissed his plea against arrest by the probe agency.
The probe agency has been asked to respond to queries today.
For those uninitiated, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on 21 March for the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
16th Habitat Film Festival from today
Jayant Somalkar’s “Sthal” (A Match) and Atul Sabharwal’s espionage drama “Berlin” will be among the award-winning and acclaimed films to screen at the 16th Habitat Film Festival, starting today in New Delhi.
Along with a curation of nearly 40 feature films, 10 documentaries and three short film packages, the festival will showcase retrospectives, workshops, filmmaking master classes, panel and film book discussions at the India Habitat Centre.
Manipur events to mark one year of ethnic conflicts
Kuki-Zo and Meitei civil society organisations in Manipur will hold events on Friday to mark one year of the ethnic conflict in the state, albeit in completely different terms.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) in Churachandpur and the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), apex body of Kuki tribes, are marking the day as one of “remembrance” for their fallen and “awakening” of their people.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a valley-based society organisation, will be observing it as “the day illegal immigrants backed by narco-terrorists began their aggression,” making an appeal to track down over 35 of their people still missing.
China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe mission
The Chang’e-6 lunar probe is scheduled for launch today.
The probe will collect samples from the far side of the Moon, making the mission the first of its kind in human history.
The Wenchang Space Launch Site conducted a final rehearsal for the launch on Wednesday.
The Chang’e-6 lunar probe and Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination were transferred vertically to the launch area on 27 April.
IPL 2024 – MI vs KKR
Mumbai Indians will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the 51st match of the IPL 2024 on Friday.
The match is scheduled to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 7.30 pm.
MI is coming into Friday’s match after losing three matches in a row, whereas KKR bounced back from heartbreaking defeat against Punjab Kings by getting the better of Delhi Capitals in last match in Kolkata.
A day to remember
Press Freedom Day
Birth anniversary of politician Uma Bharti
Birth anniversary of Indian lawyer and Indian Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon
Birth anniversary of politician Ashok Gehlot
Birth anniversary of actress Aruna Irani
Birth anniversary of gymnast Vera Caslavska
Death anniversary of actor Nargis
Death anniversary of former President Zakir Hussain
Death anniversary of politician Pramod Mahajan
Washington, DC was incorporated as a city in 1802
Raja Harishchandra the first full-length Indian feature film was released in 1913, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry
In 1937, Gone with the Wind, a novel by Margaret Mitchell, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
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