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With barely a few days left for the first phase of polls in Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began his campaign in the state. His visit comes a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to hold a massive rally in the state. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, meanwhile, held a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow. The fourth phase of the seven-phased UP election will take place on February 23.
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 60.1 per cent in the third of the seven phase polls in the state while Punjab reported 63 per cent polling. The average voter turnout for the single-phase election to the 117-member assembly in Punjab was 63.44 per cent, according to the state chief electoral office, while in Uttar Pradesh, where 59 constituencies went to polls in phase three, it was 60.63 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making an inflammatory statement, and said he prima facie violated the model code and the electoral law. The poll watchdog gave Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh, the BJP candidate from the Tiloi assembly constituency in Amethi, 24 hours to respond.
Counting of votes in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, along with Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, will take place on March 10.
Here are the highlights on Assembly Elections 2022:
AAP Open To Alliance In Case Of Hung Assembly In UP: Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said in case a situation arises in Uttar Pradesh that there is a hung Assembly then AAP will enter into a post-poll alliance to keep incumbent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the state.
"If hung Assembly takes place in UP, we will go to the government and get all our guarantees fulfilled to keep BJP out. So don't worry about the seats, vote for AAP with great enthusiasm," said Mr Kejriwal while addressing a rally in Lucknow. Read here
Campaigning For UP Polls Phase 4 Ends, 624 Candidates Vie For 59 Seats
It was curtains down on the high-decibel campaigning for the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls as sparring among political rivals intensified during the last-minute canvassing on Monday.
In a cryptic jibe at the BJP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav coined a new acronym for 'PM' -- Packers and Movers -- and stated that people have understood its meaning. Read here
Voting Figures In Punjab Erratic, Big Drop In Areas That Chose AAP
Voting figures in Punjab this time has turned out to be a mammoth 4.3 per cent more than the tentative figures announced by the Election Commission at 5 pm yesterday. The provisional turnout figure at the end of Sunday's voting was 65.32 per cent. The revised turnout figure announced today was 69.65 per cent. Not only is this the lowest figure since 2007, the gap in the tentative and final voting figures is also unprecedented. Mostly, the figures differ by 1 per cent. Read here
Voting figures in Punjab this time has turned out to be a mammoth 4.3 per cent more than the tentative figures announced by the Election Commission at 5 pm yesterday. The provisional turnout figure at the end of Sunday's voting was 65.32 per cent. The revised turnout figure announced today was 69.65 per cent. Not only is this the lowest figure since 2007, the gap in the tentative and final voting figures is also unprecedented. Mostly, the figures differ by 1 per cent. Read here
"Will Conduct DNA Test": BJP Legislator Caught Giving Hate Speech Again
Another police case is being filed against BJP MLA Raghvendra Singh for a repeat of hate speech in the viscerally divisive election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. The MLA, who had claimed that Muslims will have to "wear tilak" if he wins from Domriyaganj, this time threatened to test the DNAs of Hindus who vote for anyone other than him. Read here
Another police case is being filed against BJP MLA Raghvendra Singh for a repeat of hate speech in the viscerally divisive election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. The MLA, who had claimed that Muslims will have to "wear tilak" if he wins from Domriyaganj, this time threatened to test the DNAs of Hindus who vote for anyone other than him. Read here
No One Supports National People's Party In Manipur: Assam Chief Minister
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has brushed aside any threat by the National People's Party in BJP-ruled Manipur. Mr Sarma, known as the BJP's strategist in the north-east region, said no one in the country knows the National People's Party and no one in Manipur would vote for it.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma heads the National People's Party, or NPP.
Mr Sarma is the convener of the BJP-led alliance of regional parties - North East Democratic Alliance, or NEDA - and the NPP is one of its constituents. Read here
"Attack On Poor Who Ride Bicycles": Arvind Kejriwal On PM Modi's Bomb Dig
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks equating 'bicycle' with 'terrorism' as an attack on the poor, and indicated that his party will go with the anti-BJP camp in case of a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing his first election rally in capital Lucknow after the assembly poll process began in Uttar Pradesh, Kejriwal said, "Yesterday, I heard the prime minister came (to the state) and said all those who rode cycles in the country were terrorists. This is a 'chhot' (attack) on all the poor who ride bicycles". Read here
"You Were Not Given Jobs": Sonia Gandhi To UP Voters Ahead Of Phase 4
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of doing nothing in five years except dividing people, and claimed that it had meted out "step-motherly" treatment to her constituency Raebareli.
In her maiden election speech for the ongoing UP polls, Sonia Gandhi also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing them of mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read here
Dalits Did Not Get Full Benefit Of Reservation Under BJP In UP: Mayawati
Dalits, OBCs have not got the full benefit of reservation under the BJP government in the state, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said today.
While addressing an election meeting at KP College ground, Mayawati also said that the BJP government did not give full benefit of BSP's schemes to the poor, labourers as well as Dalits, tribals, Other Backward Classes and minorities. Targeting the Samajwadi Party, the BSP chief alleged that the goons, mafia elements and those who openly loot and riot ruled the roost during the SP rule in the state.
BJP Ally Anupriya Patel Slams Sister For Contesting On Samajwadi Party Ticket
Union minister Anupriya Patel hit out at her elder sister Pallavi Patel, asking why she chose to contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on the Samajwadi Party symbol if she was committed to their father's ideals. Pallavi Patel is contesting the polls from Kaushambi's Sirathu against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Anupriya Patel, who is the Union Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, is heading the Apna Dal (Sonelal), which is an ally of the ruling BJP.
Case Against Akhilesh Yadav In UP's Saifai For Violating Poll Code
A case has been filed against Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav in Safai town of Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district for violating the Model Code of Conduct outlined by the Election Commission of India. The complaint was registered against the Samajwadi Party Chief for interacting with media personnel outside polling booth in Saifai on Sunday during the third phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh. Read here
"Akhilesh Yadav Will Remain A Babua": Yogi Adityanath On Baba Taunt
Akhilesh Yadav "will remain a babua (little boy)" all his life, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says about his main rival, stung by the charge that he delayed the distribution of tablets and smartphones because he can't operate gadgets. Read here
Akhilesh Yadav "will remain a babua (little boy)" all his life, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says about his main rival, stung by the charge that he delayed the distribution of tablets and smartphones because he can't operate gadgets. Read here
"Comes Here With Air Of Superiority": Rahul Gandhi Slams PM Modi In Manipur
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today ripped into PM Modi and the BJP in poll-bound Manipur, accusing the ruling party of being arrogant and coming to the state with an "air of superiority". He argued that Congress respects the state's ideas, languages and culture while the BJP wants to impose uniformity in the country. Read here
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today ripped into PM Modi and the BJP in poll-bound Manipur, accusing the ruling party of being arrogant and coming to the state with an "air of superiority". He argued that Congress respects the state's ideas, languages and culture while the BJP wants to impose uniformity in the country. Read here
UP Elections: "EVM Bewafa Hai": BJP Minister's Dig At Akhilesh Yadav's "Century" ClaimIn a dig at complaints by Mr Yadav's party of discrepancies in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) during the third phase of polling, the Minister said they'll blame the EVMs on the day of the counting of votes.
#ElectionRadar | NDTV's Sanket Upadhyay speaks to BSP supporters and candidates at their roadshow in #Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh pic.twitter.com/SgBCTeaIzj
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
UP Assembly Elections 2022: "Akhilesh Yadav Will Remain A Babua": Yogi Adityanath On Baba TauntAkhilesh Yadav "will remain a babua (little boy)" all his life, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says about his main rival, stung by the charge that he delayed the distribution of tablets and smartphones because he can't operate gadgets.
UP Polls: Why Does Samajwadi Party Give Protection To Terrorists, Asks BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday accused Samajwadi Party (SP) of giving protection to terrorists by using its 'cycles'.
Speaking to ANI today, Shehzad Poonawala, the BJP spokesperson, said, "Today the question is not of the use of cycles. The SP has given protection to terrorists on its cycles. The SP has given 'sanrakshan poora (full protection) to terrorists. Why does SP give full protection to terrorists? Will Akhilesh Yadav answer this?"
The BJP leader claimed that the SP chief had gone to Ahmedabad to give protection to Abu Azami. "In 2006 the SP said that SIMI is not a terror outfit. The way the SP started the process to withdraw cases against terrorists even invited comments from the court. So, did the cycle symbol of the party not work to support terrorism?" he added.
Live: Public Meeting at Hapta Kangjeibung, Imphal.#Manipur https://t.co/uKQztz9zt1
- Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 21, 2022
UP Polls 2002: "This Election Will Not Only Change The Fate Of UP But Also Of The Entire Nation," Says Akhilesh Yadav
#ElectionsWithNDTV | "I have been calling our Chief Minister 'Baba Mukhyamantri'. Now, he has become 'Bulldozer Wale Baba'...This election is important for the future of Uttar Pradesh and India": Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party Chief pic.twitter.com/Izq9hxkOfP
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
- I have been calling our Chief Minister 'Baba Mukhyamantri'. Now, he has become 'Bulldozer Wale Baba'...This election is important for the future of Uttar Pradesh and India
- BJP leaders have always lied and misled people but Samajwadi Party has always worked for the benefit and welfare of the people.
- This election will not only change the fate of Uttar Pradesh but also of the entire nation.
#ElectionsWithNDTV | Last day of campaigning in Lakhimpur; NDTV's Sanket Upadhyay speaks to BSP supporters at their roadshow pic.twitter.com/qRqTrjqT5t
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
UP Polls 2002: Lakhimpur Kheri, Where Minister's Son Car Ran Over Farmers, Goes To Poll On Wednesday
Lakhimpur Kheri, which caught national attention in October last year for the alleged killing of the farmers, will go to the polls on February 23 in the ongoing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Yogesh Verma had won the Lakhimpur seat in the 2017 Assembly polls by defeating Samajwadi Party's Utkarsh Verma Madhur with a formidable margin of more than 37,000 votes.
The prestige of the Union Minister of State for the Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni will also be at stake in the Lakhimpur Kheri constituency. He's a local MP, besides having been at the centre of controversy after his son was named in the FIR in the incident leading to the deaths of the farmers.
Manipur Polls 2022: Rahul Gandhi To Kickstart Congress Poll Campaign In Manipur Today
With barely a few days left for the first phase of polls in Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began his campaign in the state. His visit comes a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to hold a massive rally in the state.
#Manipur | Congress supporters queue on the street of Imphal to welcome Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
Rahul Gandhi to kick start poll campaign for #ManipurElections2022 today. pic.twitter.com/lafxlVaZFK
#ElectionsWithNDTV | Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holds a roadshow in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/rfhXRO20P0
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
UP Polls 2022: Shivpal Yadav Features In Samajwadi Party's New List Of Star Campaigners
In an indication of the closing of ranks within the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan, the Samajwadi Party has named ally Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav in the new list of star campaigners.
The move comes close on the heel of the Mulayam clan hitting the campaign trail together for the former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in his Karhal Assembly constituency.
Shivpal Yadav's name was missing in the list of campaigners released by the Samajwadi Party released ahead of the Assembly elections.
Punjab Elections 2022: Navjot Singh Sidhu Losing Touch With People In Punjab, Says Congress MPUttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be contesting the assembly polls from Gorakhpur (Sadar) seat.
"Voters Don't Run After Money": Manipur's Youngest Candidate With No Assets
On a door-to-door campaign is Ningthoujam Popilal Singh, 26, the youngest candidate contesting the Manipur assembly election in Sekmai constituency - the only Scheduled Caste reserved seat in Manipur.
Mr Singh, fighting on a Nationalist Congress Party, or NCP, ticket after being denied a Congress ticket, has zero assets according to the affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission. He is an odd one out in Manipur where in the first phase, 91 out of 173 candidates were crorepatis. (Read full story here)
UP Assembly Election 2022: AAP's Arvind Kejriwal Begins UP Tour Today, Will Also Visit Gorakhpur
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal begins his four-day Uttar Pradesh tour from Monday to drum up support for party candidates in the ongoing assembly polls, AAP office-bearers said.
Mr Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister, will begin the tour with an address at a public meeting in the state capital's Qaisarbagh area, party spokesperson Vaibhav Maheshwari said.
"Kejriwal will also be visiting Barabanki and Prayagraj and Gorakhpur during the four-day visit and join various election-related programmes of the AAP," Mr Maheshwari said.
#ElectionsWithNDTV | In Lucknow, which votes on Wednesday, voters talk about the issues that matter to them.
- NDTV (@ndtv) February 21, 2022
NDTV's Alok Pandey reports pic.twitter.com/VKij8x2kx7
UP Polls 2022: Election Commission Notice To BJP Candidate Over Inflammatory Remark
The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making an inflammatory statement, and said he prima facie violated the model code and the electoral law, reports PTI. The poll watchdog gave Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh, the BJP candidate from the Tiloi assembly constituency in Amethi, 24 hours to respond.
According to the transcript of a purported video clip made part of the notice, Singh broadly said in Hindi that "...if you have to live in India, (you will have) to chant 'Radhey-Radhey', else like all those who went to Pakistan during Partition, you can go too...you are not needed here." The video is being circulated on social media, the EC said.
UP Polls 2022: "Insult To Cycle Insult To Nation": Akhilesh Yadav Slams PM's Bomb Dig
Akhilesh Yadav today fired back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "terrorists choosing cycles" comment at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, declaring that an "insult to the cycle is an insult to the entire nation".
The Samajwadi Party leader's retort was framed in a verse in Hindi on the bicycle- his party's election symbol -- as the "common man's ride" and the pride of villages. (Read full story here)
Uttar Pradesh recorded a voter turnout of 60.1 per cent in the third of the seven phase polls in the state while Punjab reported 63 per cent polling. The average voter turnout for the single-phase election to the 117-member assembly in Punjab was 63.44 per cent, according to the state chief electoral office, while in Uttar Pradesh, where 59 constituencies went to polls in phase three, it was 60.63 per cent.
