Highlights: UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Goa are the five states going to polls.
Samajwadi Party on Monday announced that Ms Subhavati Shukla will take on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the Gorakhpur Urban constituency in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Ms Shukla's name figured in the list of 24 candidates released by the party yesterday.
Meanwhile, both BJP and Samajwadi Party released their election manifestos today for the UP assembly polls.
With first-phase of polling to be held on February 10, all parties are going all out to woo votes in poll-bound states. Along with Uttar Pradesh, polls are being held in four other states - Punjab, Uttarakhand, Mizoram and Goa.
Ahead of the Punjab polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first virtual rally in the state today. The BJP is fighting the Punjab Assembly polls in alliance with the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).
Here are the Highlights on Assembly Elections 2022:
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UP Polls: Priyanka Gandhi Performs Yamuna Puja, Takes Selfies With Women
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today performed Yamuna puja amid chanting of Vedic mantras at Mathura's Vishram Ghat, on the day the campaigning for the first phase of the UP assembly polls ended. She campaigned for her party in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, Agra and Mathura districts. She rode a tractor in Meerut's Mawana while campaigning for party candidate Archana Gautam and took selfies with women, according to a party statement.
Punjab Polls: Mayawati Slams Punjab's Congress Government, Calls It 'Anti-Dalit'
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday lashed out at the successive Congress governments at the Centre and in Punjab for their alleged anti-Dalit stance and policies. The BSP decided to have an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab for the February 20 polls so that aspirations of Dalit stalwarts like Dr BR Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshi Ram could be fulfilled, she said. (PTI)
Goa Polls: AAP Describes BJP's Manifesto As Scam
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amit Palekar today said the BJP's manifesto for the Goa Assembly elections was a "scam". Goans will not fall for the ruling party's promises, said Mr Palekar, the AAP's chief ministerial candidate. "The 22-point manifesto of the BJP is nothing but a scam," he told reporters. To fulfill 10 promises made 10 years ago, the BJP is asking people to vote for it for another five years, Mr Palekar said. "If they have not succeeded in implementing all these things in the last 10 years, how will they succeed now?" he asked. (PTI)
UP Polls: Priyanka Gandhi Campaigns In Agra's Kheragarh
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today campaigned for her party candidate in the Kheragarh constituency in Agra. Congress has fielded Ramnath Sikarwar from the constituency, which will go to the polls on February 10. Locals and party workers showered petals on Ms Gandhi as soon as she started campaigning from New Mandi area. Priyanka Gandhi distributed wrist bands of the party's campaign "ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon" among women. A large number of people turned up on the occasion. (PTI)
UP Polls: Denied Ticket, BJP MLA Bairia Surendra Singh Resigns From PartyDenied a ticket for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, BJP MLA from Bairia Surendra Singh today resigned from primary membership of the party. He said he will now contest elections as an independent from Bairia, from where the BJP has fielded state minister Anand Swaroop Shukla, who won from Ballia Sadar seat in the 2017 Assembly elections.
"Today I have resigned from the primary membership of the BJP. The top leadership of BJP has not respected my 'seva dharma' and 'sanskar'. I will now contest the elections on the strength of the people and will file my nomination papers on February 11," Mr Singh told reporters at his residence in Ballia. (PTI)
Opposition Parties Daydreaming About Division Of Votes In Western UP: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a swipe at rival parties, saying they are daydreaming about the division of votes in western Uttar Pradesh but people of the region will defeat them again like in the past. On a day the BJP released its manifesto for the UP Assembly polls, PM Modi said that the party is known for fulfilling promises made in its manifestoes. PM Modi was addressing a virtual rally for the assembly constituencies in Rampur, Badaun and Sambhal districts. (PTI)
UP Polls: "Grave Violation Of Constitution": Asaduddin Owaisi On Karnataka Hijab Row
Punjab Polls: BJP, NDA Always Stood With Sikh Traditions: PM Modi At Virtual RallyPM Modi today said it is only the National Democratic Alliance that has a vision of a 'Nawan' (new) Punjab to develop its agriculture and industry and the state does not need the "hollow promises" of other parties. At a virtual rally for assembly segments of Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib parliamentary constituencies, PM Modi said the BJP and NDA allies have always stood with Sikh traditions and can take them forward with the right intention.
Attacking the Congress, he accused the grand old party of indulging in the massacre of Sikhs. "But we got the guilty of genocide punished," said PM Modi, in an apparent reference to the 1984-anti-Sikh riots. "Congress could not keep Kartarpur (Sahib) in India. But we opened the way to Kartarpur," he added. (PTI)
Punjab Polls: BJP's Goal Is To Create New Punjab, Says PM Modi At Virtual RallyPrime Minister Narendra Modi said today during a virtual rally for Punjab polls:
"We'll form border area development authority in Punjab. Congress could not keep Kartarpur Sahib in India. In order to remain in power, some people let Punjab burn in fire of terrorism. It has been identity of Punjab to keep India ahead...BJP's goal is to create a 'Nawan (new) Punjab'. We have the vision & a track record of work."
(ANI)
UP Polls: Mamata Banerjee Says Akhilesh Yadav To Emerge VictoriousTrinamool Congress chief
Mamata Banerjee today said that like West Bengal polls, Uttar Pradesh will see a one-on-one fight between BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP) with Akhilesh Yadav emerging victorious. At a joint press conference with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Ms Banerjee tweaked the "khela hobe" campaign anthem of her party for last year's assembly polls to 'Khela Hoga' (the game is on) and stressed that if "Bengal can do it (defeat BJP), so can Uttar Pradesh".
(PTI) UP Polls: Top 10 Promises From Samajwadi Party Manifesto:1. 1 crore jobs by 2027 via MSME sector
2. 22 lakh jobs to youth in IT sector
3. All vacancies in education department to be filled in a year
4. Free electricity to farmers for irrigation
5. All farmers to be free from loans by 2025
6. 2 sacks DAP and 5 sacks urea free to farmers who have less than 2-acre land holdings
7. All BPL families to get 2 free LPG cylinders per years
8. One litre petrol free per month to two-wheeler owners and auto rickshaw drivers to get 3 litres petrol or 6 kg CNG free
9. 33 percent reservation to women for all government jobs
10. Girls' education free from KG to PG (post graduate)
Akhilesh Yadav Releases Samajwadi Party Manifesto For UP Polls
Goa Assembly polls: 26% candidates booked in criminal casesAt least 26 per cent of candidates contesting the Goa legislative Assembly elections have criminal cases registered against them and eight per cent have been booked for serious crimes, a report released by an election watchdog revealed on Tuesday.
The highest number of candidates with criminal cases are with the Congress, followed by the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and BJP, it was stated.
Political games of family rule to end on March 10: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief MinisterThe political games that people play of family rule and casteism would be over on March 10, the day results of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are announced, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said on Monday.
Hitting out at the Samajwadi Party, Sharma said that promises of opening Samajwadi kitchens and Samajwadi kirana stores are nothing but a gimmick as the people would not trust the party as it has deprived the poor of ration.
Casteism, communal appeal at core of political parties’ strategy in UP polls
The BJP has developed its poll narratives around Hindutva and development in the battle for Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party on welfare schemes based on socialism, but the core of their poll strategies appears to be caste arithmetic and communal faultlines.
Be it the BJP, the SP or the BSP, a look at their list of candidates makes it clear that caste calculation and religious affiliation are the prime considerations in the selection of the nominees for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections.
Amit Shah To Release BJP Manifesto For UP PollsUnion Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to release the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s manifesto for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in Lucknow.
Punjab elections: Specially abled to be provided transport facility on polling dayPunjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju on Monday said persons with disabilities will be provided transport facility and given priority at polling booths.
The Assembly polls in the state are scheduled for February 20.
Every trip of Mamata Banerjee to UP will benefit Yogi Adityanath, says Suvandhu Adhikari
Ahead of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's campaign in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh in support of Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party, BJP leader and Bengal assembly Leader of Opposition Suvandhu Adhikari said that every trip of TMC chief to UP will benefit Yogi Adityanath "as people are aware of atrocities committed on Hindus in West Bengal after assembly polls."
Goa declares polling day, Feb 14, as a public holiday
Goa government on Monday declared February 14 as a Public Holiday in view of it being the Polling Day for the Assembly elections in the state.