After week-long suspense, Congress formally announced that Rahul Gandhi would try his luck from Wayanad, besides Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, giving the much-needed boost to the Congress-led UDF workers. The decision is seen as an attempt by the Congress to consolidate its electoral base in South India, especially Kerala which has 20 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress on Tuesday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, making a slew of promises, including giving Rs 72,000 each to five crore poor families under the Nyay scheme.

The campaigning for the first phase of voting on April 11 is picking up pace with the two leading parties - Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led Bharatiya Janata Party and Rahul Gandhi-led Congress - attempting to woo the voters with various schemes and promises. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised to proved Rs 72,000 annually as minimum income support to the poorest families. Union minister Arun Jaitley slammed Rahul Gandhi's promise as a bluff and said the party hasn't done enough in the last five decades in the name of various poverty alleviation programmes. Monday turned out to be a day of hectic political activity as top leaders of various political parites filed their nominations on the last day of filing for first phase of Lok Sabha polls. Today is the last date of nomination filing for the second phase of voting on April 18. This blog will keep you posted on the latest updates and developments from the Lok Sabha elections 2019:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised Rs 72,000 annually as minimum income support to the poorest families, after heading a meeting of the Congress Working Committee members in Delhi. The party is expected to release its manifesto on April 2. Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi continues to target the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on her campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh. Today is also the last day of filing of nominations for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections for 91 constituencies, spread across 20 states and union territories. The first phase of voting will take place on April 11. The first phase will cover elections for all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 in Telangana. Filing of nominations will also end for all 175 Assembly constituencies of Andhra Pradesh, 28 of the total 147 assembly segments in Odisha, all 32 Assembly seats in Sikkim and all 60 assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 26, while March 28 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. This blog will keep you posted on the live updates and developments from the campaign trail today: