PM Modi to Seek Third Term Amid Final Phase of Lok Sabha Elections

In the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term. Voting will occur in 57 seats across seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh.

Following are the top stories at 9.30 pm: NATION ELN30 ELECTIONS-2NDLD CURTAINRAISER ****Final phase of Lok Sabha polls in 57 seats on Saturday, PM Modi in fray Varanasi/Chandigarh: Fifty-seven seats across seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh will go to polls in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections on Saturday that include Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term.**** DEL75 LD HEAT ****At least 25 poll staff among 40 heat-related deaths as north India boils Mirzapur/Patna: India Friday reported at least 40 suspected heat-related deaths, 25 of them of staff deployed on Lok Sabha poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as heatwave conditions gripped a large swathe of the country.**** DEL71 PM-ECONOMY ****Trailer of things to come: PM Modi on GDP figures New Delhi: Lauding the high GDP growth in 2023-24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said it underlines robust momentum in the economy which is poised to accelerate further.**** MDS18 PM-2ND LD-MEDITATION-KANYAKUMARI ****PM Modi performs 'Surya Arghya' at Vivekananda Rock Memorial Kanyakumari: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the second day of his meditation on Friday, performed 'Surya Arghya' at the time of sunrise at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, here.**** DEL74 DELHI-LDALL WATER CRISIS ****Water crisis in Delhi: Kejriwal seeks BJP's help; LG blames AAP govt for 'mismanagement' New Delhi: As several parts of Delhi continued to reel under water crises on Friday amid an intense heatwave, Lt Governor V K Saxena accused the AAP government of ''mismanagement'' and alleged that it has become their habit to blame others for their ''inefficiency'', ''inability'' and ''inaction''.**** ELN36 ELECTIONS-CONG-LD EXIT POLL-BJP ****Cong’s decision to skip exit poll debates 'unequivocal confirmation' of conceding elections: Nadda New Delhi: BJP president J P Nadda on Friday claimed that the Congress' decision to not participate in exit poll debates amounts to an ''unequivocal confirmation'' that the opposition party has conceded the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.**** ELN26 ELECTIONS-CONG-EXIT POLLS ****Congress not to participate in Lok Sabha exit poll debates New Delhi: The Congress has decided not to participate in any Lok Sabha exit poll debates on the television channels and said it does not want to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP.**** DEL69 ELECTIONS-OPENAI ****OpenAI says stalled attempts by Israel-based company to interfere in Indian elections New Delhi: OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has said it acted within 24 hours to disrupt deceptive uses of AI in covert operations focused on the Indian elections, leading to no significant audience increase.**** BOM19 MH-ACCIDENT-BLOOD SWAP-FATHER ****Pune Porsche crash case: Cops seek juvenile's father's custody as part of blood sample swap probe Pune: The Pune police on Friday moved an application for the custody of the father of the juvenile who is accused of ramming his speeding Porsche in an inebriated state into a motorcycle in Kalyani Nagar area on May 19, resulting in two deaths.**** BUSINESS DEL58 BIZ-LD GDP ****India's GDP expands 7.8 pc in Q4, 8.2 pc in FY24 New Delhi: India's economy growth slowed to a four-quarter low of 7.8 per cent in the January-March period, but pushed the annual growth rate for FY24 to 8.2 per cent, mainly on account of good showing by manufacturing, official data showed on Friday.**** DEL66 BIZ-LD FISCAL DEFICIT ****Fiscal deficit in FY24 improves to 5.6 pc on better tax mop-up New Delhi: The central government's fiscal deficit during 2023-24 at 5.6 per cent of the GDP was better than previous estimates of 5.8 per cent on account of higher revenue realisation and lower expenditure, according to official data released on Friday.**** DEL36 BIZ-MOODY'S-GROWTH ****Moody's projects 6.8 pc GDP expansion in 2024 on strong growth, post-election policy continuity New Delhi: Moody's Ratings on Friday projected India to grow 6.8 per cent in the current year, followed by 6.5 per cent in 2025, on the back of strong, economic expansion, along with post-election policy continuity.**** DEL70 BIZ-GDP-REAX ****'Well done India': Top economists laud 8.2 pc GDP growth in FY24 New Delhi: The country's leading economists, including Former NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, on Friday hailed the GDP growth rate of 8.2 per cent in FY24, which was ''above all estimates and forecasts''.**** FOREIGN FGN78 UN-GUTERRES-LD SEN ****UN Sec Gen Guterres calls Major Radhika Sen as a true role model United Nations: Major Radhika Sen is a true leader and role model and her service is a true credit to the United Nations as a whole, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, as he conferred a prestigious award on the Indian woman peacekeeper. By Yoshita Singh**** FGN71 SAFRICA-LD POLITICS ****South Africa heads closer to coalition govt as ANC's vote count drops further Johannesburg: Incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled South Africa since the advent of democracy 30 years ago, is likely to lose its majority after voters overwhelmingly turned to alternative parties in the just-concluded polls, with a coalition government now most likely. By Fakir Hassen****