Assembly Elections 2022 Highlights: Counting of votes will be held on March 10. (File)
BJP president JP Nadda said that under the leadership of Chief Minister N Biren Singh the state has tackled the drugs menage and achieved stability with rule of law being established as the party released its manifesto for Manipur yesterday.
Congress in charge of Uttar Pradesh elections Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed a virtual rally in Uttar Pradesh today.
Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and Uttarakhand are voting in crucial elections with counting of votes scheduled for March 10.
A total of 690 Assembly constituencies will vote over the next two months, with the maximum in UP (403 seats) followed by Punjab (117), Uttarakhand (70), Manipur (60) and Goa (40).
Here are the Highlights on Assembly Elections 2022:
"Parties don't talk of people's real issues": Amritsar’s independent candidate 'Gandhiwadi', aspiring to be voice of the massesShamlal 'Gandhiwadi', a 39-year-old social activist fighting the Punjab assembly polls from Amritsar West independently has made Mahatma Gandhi's teachings of non-violence and simple living his poll campaign mantra.
Sporting a white Gandhi cap and donning plain white clothes, Gandhiwadi goes on door-to-door campaign in Amritsar on his bicycle, propagates the message of non-violence and communal harmony and seek votes on the strength of his clean credentials.
With a total of ten candidates, including Congress' sitting MLA Raj Kumar Verka, in fray from Amritsar West (Reserve), Gandhiwadi says he is not deterred by the fight as he derives his strength from Mahatma Gandhi's ideals which he propagates while campaigning.
Fighting the eighth elections of his life, Gandhiwadi vows to become the "voice of the masses", lamenting that political parties do not talk of people's real issues.
"Nobody talks of common people's real issues these days," Gandhiwadi claimed.
"There is a need to understand the importance of non-violence and peace," said Gandhiwadi, talking of why he has been seeking votes on strength of Gandhi's philosophy of peace, non-violence and simple living.
The fact that he has fought seven elections, all unsuccessfully till now, has not deterred Gandhiwadi from jumping into the fray for the eighth time.
Asked why he keeps contesting elections, Gandhiwadi said "had the system been right, it would not have forced me to contest".
Punjab polls: Congress promises financial assistance to women, 1 lakh government jobs if electedThe Congress on Friday released its manifesto for the February 20 Punjab Assembly polls, promising Rs 1,100 per month for needy women, eight free cooking gas cylinders per year and one lakh government jobs.
The party promised a hike in old-age pension and procurement of pulses, oilseed and corn at MSP besides free education and health services.
Addressing the media, state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said if the party returns to power, they will end the mafia raj by creating corporations for the sale of liquor and sand mining.
"It is our road map and agenda with which we can change the lives of the people of Punjab," said Mr Sidhu speaking on his party's 13-point agenda.
Flanked by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Congress leaders Sunil Jakhar, Harish Chaudhary and Rajiv Shukla, Mr Sidhu said the party's 13-point agenda reflects Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's vision.
Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: Charanjit Singh Channi's Wealth Down By Rs 5 Crore, Sukhbir Badal's Up By Rs 100 Crore, Says ReportDays before the assembly elections in Punjab, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has come out with a report that shows that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's wealth has decreased by over Rs 5 crore while that of his predecessor Amarinder Singh has gone up by Rs 20 crore since 2017.
The report further says that Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has seen his net worth increase by Rs 100 crore since the last assembly election.
Chief Minister Channi declared assets worth Rs 14.51 crore in 2017, which went down to Rs 9.45 crore this year, according to the ADR report. Similarly, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, saw his wealth drop by Rs 1.25 crore - from Rs 45.90 crore in 2017 to Rs 44.65 crore this year.
Campaigning ends for third phase of UP pollsCampaigning for the third phase of the UP Assembly polls ended on Friday, with senior leaders of all parties making the last-ditch attempt to woo voters in 59 constituencies spread across 16 districts.
As many as 627 candidates are in the fray in the third phase, in which over 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote.
The Karhal Assembly seat, from where Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting, will also go to the polls in this phase on Sunday.
The BJP has fielded Union minister SP Singh Baghel from the seat.
The polling on Sunday will also seal the fate of the Samajwadi Party chief's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is contesting from his traditional Jaswantnagar seat.
On Friday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra undertook a door-to-door campaigning in Kanpur, Kalpi, Jalaun and Hamirpur while Mayawati addressed election meetings in Jalaun and Auraiya. Earlier, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav sought votes for his son in Karhal.
Campaigning ends for Punjab polls. Now its up to votersCampaigning for the 117 Assembly seats of Punjab came to an end on Friday evening even as political parties made last-minute efforts to mobilise support for their candidates ahead of the February 20 elections.
The Congress released its manifesto earlier in the day, promising financial assistance for women, one lakh government jobs and creation of corporations for the sale of liquor and sand mining if it returns to power in the state.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia took out road shows in Bhadaur, Jalalabad, Raikot and Amritsar, respectively.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took out a road show in Patiala.
Amarinder Singh's wife and Congress MP Preneet Kaur also part in the road show.
Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Badal also campaigned on the last day.
Trinamool Congress' Top Body To Meet Following Leadership Reshuffle, Amid RiftBengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for a meeting of the freshly reconstituted National Working Committee - the ruling Trinamool Congress' top decision-making body - which will be held at her residence in Kolkata.
The meeting will be held at Ms Banerjee's residence in Kolkata.
Committee members were replaced this week amid an internal rift between supporters of Abhishek Banerjee, her nephew and heir-apparent, and her loyalists. The groups clashed over the 'one man, one post' principle that has irked the latter since many hold multiple posts in the ruling establishment.
"Malicious": AAP On Video Attacking Arvind Kejriwal, Ban On It Removed The Election Commission on Thursday removed its ban on the video of a leader attacking Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, just a day after it restricted its broadcast ahead of the Sunday Punjab election.
In the video, Kumar Vishwas, a founder member of AAP who has now distanced himself from the party, claims that Mr Kejriwal supported Khalistani terrorists in Punjab.
AAP has rubbished the claims. Senior party leader Raghav Chadha called the comments "malicious, unfounded, fabricated and inflammatory".
"We Made It": Akhilesh Yadav As BJP's Tejasvi Surya Praises UP Expressway BJP leader Tejasvi Surya's praise on Twitter for what he called "Yogi Ji's expressway" in Uttar Pradesh has drawn a caustic comeback from Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav. "We made it," the former Chief Minister tweeted last night, in response to the video.
On Thursday, Tejasvi Surya tweeted a video, apparently showing off a smooth drive on the Agra-Lucknow highway.
"Lucknow to Kannauj in Yogi ji's Expressway," he wrote on the video, using the hashtag #UPYogiHaiYogi. The BJP MP from Karnataka was campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, where the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP is seeking a second straight term.
On Former AAP Leader's Attack On Arvind Kejriwal, A U-Turn By Poll Panel The Election Commission removed its bar on broadcasting the explosive remarks of Kumar Vishwas against Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, hours after leaders from both sides of the political divide -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Congress's Rahul Gandhi -- referred to the matter and attacked the Delhi Chief Minister.
The poll body restrained the media on Wednesday from broadcasting the video where Kumar Vishwas, without naming Mr Kejriwal, accused him of wanting to be the Chief Minister of Punjab or Prime Minister of an Independent nation (Khalistan).
In the video, which was shared by the BJP, he is heard recounting a conversation, and saying, "One day, he (Mr Kejriwal) told me he would either become CM (of Punjab) or first PM of an independent nation (Khalistan)... he wants power at any cost," he is heard saying.