Morning briefing: PM Modi's rally in Maharashtra's Chandrapur today, Aditya L1 to track Sun during solar eclipse; more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, April 8, will address a public rally in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, kick-staring the Lok Sabha election campaigning in the state for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi will hold at least 10 rallies in the state, starting with Chandrapur on April 8. Modi will be campaigning for BJP's candidate from Chandrapur, Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is also the sitting forest, cultural affairs and fisheries minister of Maharashtra under Eknath Shinde's cabinet. Meanwhile, the Congress party has fielded Pratibha Dhanorkar from the seat. She is the widow of Balu Dhanorkar, who passed away last year at 47.

India's solar probe Aditya L1 will track the behaviour and rays of the Sun on Monday, April 8, during the total solar eclipse. During this time, the Sun will briefly get completely cloaked by the Moon, creating a moment of complete darkness in several countries. During the total solar eclipse on April 8, the Sun, Moon and the Earth will align in a straight line, leading to darkness during the daytime as the Moon will block the Sun completely. The Sun will remain cloaked for a total of four minutes, during which its enigmatic outer layer will be illuminated.

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Sports Goings

Lucknow Super Giants showcased an exceptional bowling performance against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, defending a relatively lower 164-run target. Yash Thakur, the seasoned uncapped Indian pacer in the side, powered LSG's bowling attack, as he picked a brilliant five-wicket haul; he registered figures of 5/30 in the game, becoming the first bowler to pick a fifer in the 2024 Indian Premier League.

Entertainment Focus

Kangana Ranaut was spotted in Mumbai on Sunday, taking her new Mercedes Maybach out for a spin. The actor was spotted in a flowy white dress as she left a salon. She was clicked by the paparazzi as she stepped into her pristine new car. Kangana, who already owned a Mercedes Maybach S680, recently bought her second Maybach, Mercedes-Maybach GLS. It is priced at ₹2.43 crore while S680 was bought at ₹3.6 crore. It is not clear if Kangana swapped the car with a ‘cheaper’ one or simply added another version of the same brand to her collection. 

Lifestyle and Health

The cast of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan attended director Ali Abbas Zafar's Iftar Party last night in Mumbai. Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Manushi Chhillar and Alaya F graced the affair, dressed in stylish ethnic looks. The paparazzi also clicked newlyweds Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani at the affair. The couple also chose radiant traditional ensembles for the Iftar bash. Scroll through to find out what the celebrities wore on the occasion.