Daily Dispatch: Will Modi Biopic Release Before Elections & More

Catch all the top headlines and updates of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections through the day.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

1. Modi Biopic Release to Be Deferred? SC to Hear Plea on 8 April

The Supreme Court on Thursday, 4 April, has agreed to hear a fresh petition seeking direction to defer the release of biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April.

Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter for urgent hearing before a bench headed by Justice SA Bobde.

The Election Commission is unlikely to defer the release of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi biopic and will instead pass the buck to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), reported The Indian Express.

However, reports suggest that the film is yet to receive certification from the CBFC and that the release is likely to be delayed by a week. The biopic, directed by Omung Kumar of Mary Kom fame, was slated to hit the screens on 5 April but is now looking for a 12 April release.

Speaking to the newspaper, Hitesh Jain, the lawyer of the producers said that the film’s certification was “in process.”

Read the full story here.

2. Sorry Not Sorry: You Can’t Remove NaMo TV from Your Channels List

After a few annoyed Twitter users contacted their cable and DTH service providers because they didn’t want to see NaMo TV, they found out that there was no way to delete it. An interaction between one such user and Tata Sky’s official Twitter handle has gone viral.

Read the full story here.

3. ‘Won’t Say a Word Against CPM’: Rahul After Roadshow in Wayanad

Addressing the media after filing his nomination from the Wayanad constituency in Kerala on Thursday, 4 April, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he was "not going to say a word against the CPM" in his entire campaign.

“I understand that my brothers and sisters in CPM will now speak against me and attack me... But I will absorb all the attacks from CPM with happiness... I am not going to say a word against the CPM in my entire campaign,” he said.

The Congress chief further said that he had come to Kerala to send a message that India is one.

“My aim is to send a message, there is a feeling in South India that the way Centre, Modi ji and RSS are working, it’s like an assault on culture and languages in the South,” he added.

Read the full story here.

4. Congress-JD(S) Gain in Karnataka, BJP Tally May Fall by 6: Survey

One of the first states where Rahul Gandhi formed an alliance as Congress president is Karnataka. Here, the Congress formed a coalition government with the Janata Dal (Secular) backing its leader HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister in May 2018.

With the alliance in place, Karnataka is tipped to be one of the states where the Congress can inflict losses on the BJP. On the other hand, the BJP is looking at Karnataka as the only state in the south where it has some chance of doing well.

According to a survey by Poll Eyes, the Congress-JD(S) alliance is ahead in 17 seats in the southern state while the BJP is ahead in 11.

If this happens, it would be a loss of six seats for the BJP from the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in which it won 17 out of 28 seats in Karnataka, the Congress 9 and JD(S) two. In the Assembly elections, the BJP was ahead in 13 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress in 11 and the JD(S) in 4.

Read the full story here.

5. Nishad Party Allies With BJP Ahead of 2019 Polls

Nishad Party leader and Gorakhpur (UP) MP Praveen Nishad allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Nishad Party will extend support to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh in upcoming elections.

6. Lok Sabha Elections: The Quint Gets You Voices From Across India

The Quint is getting you pan-India coverage ahead of the 2019 elections and amplifying the voices that matter.

Get all the election updates here.