Assembly elections in five states including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand commenced on February 4 and will go on till March 8. The Election Commission has announced that counting for all states will be held on March 11. The elections assume significance as they come almost halfway through the tenure of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP-led government at the centre that came to power in 2014. Follow this live blog for latest updates to this crucial election.
Rahul Gandhi Calls PM Modi 'Old And Tired', Says UP Will Have Governent Of YouthAt his rally in Jaunpur, Rahul Gandhi on Monday said his party and ally Samajwadi Party would form a "government of youth" in Uttar Pradesh.
PM Modi's Varanasi Blitz vs Akhilesh Yadav's 7-Rally MarathonOn Monday, PM Modi held one rally and made strategic visits in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, where he was camped for the last three days. Akhilesh Yadav, seeking a second term, addressed seven rallies through the day. On one hand, Mr Yadav took a swipe at the PM for his long stay in Varanasi, on the other, the Prime Minister called Mr Yadav anti-farmer.
PM Modi Atop SUV Greets Varanasi in Big Roadshow
PM Narendra Modi's roadshow underway in Varanasi, supporters raise slogans 'Har har Modi, ghar ghar Modi'
Before beginning the road show, PM Modi payed tributes to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in Varanasi
Huge crowd gathers on Varanasi roads as PM Modi's road show begin.
PM Modi arrives in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, where he is expected to address a rally in Jaunpur district.
Uttar Pradesh is voting today in the sixth phase of the Assembly polls along with Manipur, which is voting in the first of the two-phase elections. To get the latest updates,
click hereBJP parliamentarian and priest Yogi Adityanath casts his vote in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections
Voting begins for elections in Manipur (Phase 1), Uttar Pradesh (Phase 6).
Graveyards Should Not Be Constructed At All, Says BJP MP Sakshi MaharajBJP leader Sakshi Maharaj today stirred up a storm with his remarks that there should be no graveyard at all in the country and all should be cremated, taking a cue from his party boss and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose graveyard-cremation ground statement triggered an uproar barely a week ago.
Goa RSS Rebel Subhash Velingkar Hints At ReturnA Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh faction in Goa that broke away from the parent party following differences with the BJP-led coalition government could return to the Sangh fold, a senior faction leader said on Monday.
10.8 per cent voter turnout in phase 5 of UP elections.
The five assembly constituencies under the parliamentary seat of Amethi have witnessed the maximum number of contestants in this phase -24.
The ruling Samajwadi Party won 37 seats of seats in 2012, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each, BSP had won three and Peace Party won two seats.
Voting Begins In Phase V Of UP ElectionsThe voting is being held across 11 districts, including five bordering Nepal. The 51 seats where polling will be held includes Amethi - the borough of the Gandhi family, which is represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Akhilesh will become Chief Minister again, no rift in Samajwadi Party: Mulayam Singh YadavSamajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav today said there was no rift in the party and his son Akhilesh Yadav will become Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister again. "There is no rift in SP. Akhilesh will become chief minister as a lot of development work was done in his regime," Mr Yadav was quoted by news agency PTI.
51.5 Per Cent Voting Recorded Till 3 PM In Phase-3 in UP elections
39.2 Per Cent Voting Recorded Till 1 PM In Phase-3.
24 Per Cent Voting Recorded Till 11 AM In Phase-3.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav votes in the Utar Pradesh poll in Saifai.
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj casts his vote in Unnao.
10.1 per cent voting recorded till 9 am in phase-3 of UP election 2017.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav votes in his family's home village of Saifai.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh casts his vote in the third phase in Lucknow.
Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP candidate from Noida, casts his vote in Lucknow.
BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati casts her vote in Lucknow. Addressing the media, she said that the BSP will secure 300-plus seats in the election.
BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who joined the party from the Congress in 2016, casts her vote in Lucknow. She is contesting against Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi casts his vote in Lucknow.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav says that all is well within the family and is confident that Samajwadi Party will form government.
PM Narendra Modi urges all voters to participate and cast their ballot.
Mulayam Singh Yadav's elder brother, Ram Gopal Yadav clarifies, all is well within the family, will form government.
People queue up to vote at Lucknow Montessori Inter College.
Voting begins for 69 assembly seats for Phase 3 of Uttar Pradesh elections.
250 Crorepatis In Fray For Phase 3 of UP electionsAnup Kumar Gupta of the Samajwadi Party is the richest candidate with assets worth over Rs 42 crore. Ajay Kapoor of Congress (Rs 31 crore) and Seema Sachan from Samajwadi Party (Rs 29 crore) are the other two richest candidates, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said.
Samajwadi Party Is A 'Protector Of Rapists', Says Smriti IraniWomen of Uttar Pradesh have "never felt safe" under the Samajwadi Party, Union Minister Smriti Irani said today, adding that the party is a "protector of rapists". Ms Irani, who holds the Textile portfolio, comments came over a rape case filed against one of the ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav government - Gayatri Prajapati.
Irom Sharmila, Star Candidate, Apologises For Fiancee's 'Abusive' BehaviourActivist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who didn't eat a morsel for 16 years while protesting against a harsh law, is contesting next month's Manipur polls against three-time Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. Soon after filing her nomination papers, she started with an apology - on behalf of the man she is going to marry, Desmond Coutinho.
'UP Does Not Need An Adopted Son,' Priyanka Gandhi Hits Back At PM Modi"UP doesn't need an adopted son to do good for the state, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav are two sons of UP," said Ms Gandhi, in a short speech in Rae Bareli, her mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency. It was in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said at an election rally yesterday that he is the "adopted son of UP," drawing parallels with Lord Krishna.
Bribery remarks: EC asks Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to be careful in future
The Election Commission has let off Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar with a light rap for his bribery remarks by asking him to be "more circumspect and careful" in future.
Polling for the second phase has come to an end. However, those voters who entered the queue at 4:59 pm will be allowed to vote.
Voting ends across all Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand at 5 pm - as per schedule. However, those who joined the line of voters till 4:59 pm will be allowed to cast their vote.
Here's the party-wise break up of the number of seats being contested in Uttarakhand:
Here's a Party wise break up of Uttarakhand election candidates with declared criminal cases:
Party wise break up of candidates with declared criminal cases| Party | Total number of candidates analyzed | Candidates with Declared criminal Cases |
|---|
| BJP | 70 | 19 |
| Cong | 70 | 17 |
| BSP | 69 | 7 |
| SP | 20 | 2 |
| UKD | 55 | 4 |
| CPI(M) | 6 | 1 |
| RLD | 6 | 1 |
| CPI | 4 | 1 |
| IND | 261 | 32 |
| Oth | 76 | 7 |
| Total | 637 | 91 |
| Source : ADR |
Here's a Party wise break up of UP Phase-II election candidates with declared criminal cases:
Party wise break up of candidates with declared criminal cases - Phase 2| Party | Total number of candidates analyzed | Candidates with Declared criminal Cases |
|---|
| BJP | 67 | 16 |
| Cong | 18 | 6 |
| BSP | 67 | 25 |
| SP | 51 | 21 |
| RLD | 52 | 6 |
| IND | 206 | 13 |
| Oth | 258 | 20 |
| Total | 719 | 107 |
| Source : ADR |
Here are some interesting facts about the elections in Uttarakhand:
Voter turnout in phase-II of Uttar Pradesh elections touches 10.75 per cent till 9 am.
Voter turnout till 9 am in the Uttarakhand assembly 2017 touches six per cent.
Uttarakhand Election official found drinking alcohol, suspended
An assistant professor, Chinmay Joshi, deployed as Sector Magistrate on poll duty in Rudrapur was suspended today for allegedly drinking alcohol on duty.
In A First, Voting To Happen In Reserved Forests In UttarakhandThe Election Commission of Uttarakhand and the state forest department will be setting up poll booths inside reserved forests -- in dak bungalows, forest outposts and temporary shelters.
Police Case Ordered Against Dainik Jagaran Over Alleged Exit PollsTaking a serious view of the violation of its directions, the Commission shot off a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh in which it reminded the CEO that the "offence under Section 126A is punishable by imprisonment for a term up to 2 years or with fine or both."
People with diability to get pick and drop service for voting in Kanpur
Kanpur district administration has made special arrangements for people with disability voting during the ongoing UP Assembly election.
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BJP announces four more candidates in Uttar PradeshAfter announcing four more candidates, the total number of candidates declared by the BJP reaches 384 out of a total 403 seats in the state's assembly
Support candidate of rival small party Lok Dal, says Mulayam Singh In EtawahMulayam Singh Yadav used his first rally in his homestead of Etawah - in the Jaswantnagar constituency of his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav - to ask for votes from the adjoining Etawah Sadar seat not for the candidate from his Samajwadi Party but from rival Lok Dal, a small local party which currently has no seats in the state legislature. With that petition, Mulayam Singh has made it clear that his son, Akhilesh Yadav, can count on his continued needling as he asks for a second term as Chief Minister.
In Noida, many find their names missing from voters list
The triangular contest in Noida is between BJP's Pankaj Singh, the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Samajwadi Party's Sunil Choudhary and Bahujan Samaj Party's Ravikant Mishra.
Sabhajit Yadav, an auto driver who lives in Sector 8, said he was very disappointed on not finding his name in the voters list.
"My name was missing from the list. An Anganwadi worker came to my house to get the names verified. But when I went to cast my vote, they said my name was not in the Election Commission record," Yadav told IANS.
About 51 per cent votes were polled in Noida Assembly constituency, from where Home Minister Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj Singh is contesting, in the first of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh polls.
Updated voter turnout in UP first phase polls: 64.2 per cent.
Voting closes in UP's first phase of assembly elections, 63 per cent voter turnout (tentative)There were 13 cases of paid news, out of which 10 has been confirmed in first phase of UP elections, says Election Commission.
Voting took place in 73 assembly segments spread across 15 districts. At 63 percent, the polling percentage in the region has bettered the past two elections of 2007 and 2012
Voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh till 3 pm is 53 per cent.
PM Modi is addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun
- Akhilesh Yadav says 'kaam bolta hai', (but) even a child knows it is your 'karnaama' (misdeed) which is speaking.
- Akhilesh branded Mayawati government corrupt five years ago and promised to send wrongdoers to jail. Did he do so?
- Officials close to Mayawati and those who faced graft charges were given important posts and doors were opened for more corruption. What kind of officials were posted in Noida?
- Akhilesh Yadav asks whether 'achche din' have come...he is Chief Minister for past 5 years and if people say they have not come he is responsible...it is BSP and Congress which are responsible
- In one month, new government will be formed in the state... things have started to change with results of three MLC polls in favour of BJP
In first phase of polling, I appeal to voters to go out and vote. I am hopeful that BSP will be No 1: Mayawati
- BSP does not believe in empty talks. UP people will vote for us and will not get affected by their false promises (on Samajwadi Party-Congress)
BJP lawmaker Sangeet Som's brother, Gagan Som, has been detained in Uttar Pradesh's Faridpur for carrying a pistol inside a polling booth.
JUST IN
A voter turnout of 24.5 per cent has been recorded in UP till 11 am.
People of UP are still waiting for acche din. Some people do Mann Ki Baat, but no kaam ki baat: Akhilesh Yadav