Assembly Election 2022 LIVE Updates: CM Channi to contest from two seats for upcoming Punjab polls

Union minister Smriti Irani said the Congress party was "missing" before the elections and is also "missing" now as it has "accepted" defeat in the polls. The Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development was in Agra for a door-to-door campaign for BJP candidates.

She took a dig at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's 'Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’ campaign, while also indirectly attacking Rahul Gandhi, "Priyanka is indicating there is a boy at home, who cannot fight." She said the BJP government is coming to power again as people are supporting it."The SP, Congress, BSP are furious due to the support of the people to the BJP."

"The Congress party was missing before the election and also missing during the UP elections. They have accepted the defeat," she told reporters.

Rahul Gandhi is a fake Gandhi. The BJP-led government and Yogi government are working on fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi's dream, said Union Minister & BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Hindutvavadi' remark.

Amarinder Singh will be filling his nomination papers for the upcoming Punjab elections on Monday at 11:30 am.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiityanath on Sunday targeted Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying their party cared only for the siblings’ “grandmother in Italy” when the country faced the coronavirus pandemic. At a meeting here ahead of the assembly polls, the BJP leader also attacked Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and called Samajwadi Party a “chacha-bhatija party”, an apparent reference to its president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

Congress party released its list of 8 candidates for Punjab assembly elections. Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi will contest from two seats Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur for upcoming Punjab polls. 

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that religious conversions done by allurement or threat are wrong and there are sufficient provisions under existing law in the country to stop such practices. At the same time, he said choosing one's religion was a personal matter and no government has the right to interfere. The Delhi chief minister was speaking in poll-bound Punjab, where the Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, Giani Harpreet Singh, had accused Christian missionaries of running programmes for forced conversion of Sikh families in border villages, a charge vehemently denied by the Bishop of Diocese of Amritsar. Kejriwal said, "I believe it is a matter of personal choice which religion one wants to practice...and it is entirely one's personal matter in which no one has a right to interfere.

The BSP announced eight more candidates for the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on Sunday, replacing two from Unnao district. 
In the fourth phase, 59 seats in nine districts will go to polls on February 23. Eight candidates from Pilibhit, Sitapur, Hardoi and Unnao districts have been declared in the list released by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Sunday. On Friday, the Mayawati-led party had announced 53 candidates for the fourth phase. It announced the candidature of Sevak Lal Rawat from the Mohan (SC) seat and Brijkishore Verma from the Bhagwant Nagar seat in Unnao on Sunday, replacing Vinay Choudhary and Prem Singh Chandel respectively. The BSP has now declared candidates on all 59 seats going to polls in the fourth phase.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said if his party comes to power in Punjab after the February 20 Assembly polls, photographs of BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh will be put up in all government offices in the state. He further said there will be no photograph of any politician in these offices. The Delhi chief minister hit out at Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia for indulging in a verbal spat and ignoring the issues plaguing people in the Amritsar East Assembly segment, calling them "political elephants". He alleged that Sidhu is not fighting against corruption, rather his fight is only for becoming the next chief minister of the state.

The BJP is one short of hitting a “century” of tickets given to candidates with a criminal history, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Sunday. In a tweet, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed that the BJP has, so far, fielded 99 candidates with a criminal history for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. “Breaking news about baba ji (Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) BJP is just one candidate short of hitting a century of criminal candidates… So far, 99 candidates with criminal history have been given tickets,” he tweeted in Hindi. Adityanath had on Saturday alleged that Yadav was patronising criminals, goons and mafia and termed the SP as 'dangawadi' (promoting riots), ‘tamanchawadi’ (fond of country-made pistols) and ‘pariwarwadi’ (working for family). The BJP has, so far, declared 294 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday alleged that the nominations of six to seven candidates of his party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections were rejected "illegally". Talking to reporters here, Raut said he will meet the Election Commission over this and submit all required documents. Elections to the 403-member UP Assembly will be held in multiple phases over the next two months. Raut alleged that in six to seven constituencies in Noida, Bijnor and Meerut, the respective district magistrates misused their powers and rejected the nominations of Shiv Sena candidates "under pressure" so as to not allow the party from setting foot in UP. "The documents were perfect and the papers were filed on time.
The reason for the rejection of our Bijnor candidate is the same as the objection raised by our (Goa) candidate over Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's nomination form (in the poll-bound coastal state). Sawant's side was heard by authorities and the issue was settled (in Sawant's favour), but in UP, our candidates were not allowed to respond to the objections," he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit poll-bound Goa on February 2 and address a public gathering in Sankhalim, state unit chief Girish Chodankar said on Sunday. He said screens set up in all 40 constituencies in the state will telecast live Gandhi's public address in Sankhalim, which, incidentally, is the Assembly seat of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. “Some 20,000 people will be attending the rally through these screens.
Several thousand more will be able to attend through online platforms. People from 15 out of the 40 centres will interact with Rahul Gandhi.
He would also release the party manifesto for the polls," Chodankar informed. Addressing a press conference here, AICC spokesperson Alka Lamba said Gandhi would interact with all candidates of the Congress-Goa Forward Party alliance during his one-day visit on February 2. Polls in Goa are scheduled for February 14 and results will be declared on March 10.

Samajwadi Party leader Abdullah Azam on Sunday said the property given to the Rampur Nawabs for “being loyal to the British” should be confiscated and that a movement in this connection will be launched soon. Abdullah, son of senior SP leader Azam Khan, is the party's candidate from Suar Assembly constituency. He was recently released on bail after losing his MLA berth in a fake birth certificate case. “The members of the Rampur Nawab family were loyal to the British, which is why they were given awards and titles. Such people have no place in India," Abdullah told PTI. "Property given to them for betraying the country should be confiscated. A movement will be launched in Rampur to convert this into government property," Abdullah told PTI. The two political families have been arch-rivals since 1980s.

BJP which is seeking its second term in office in Manipur has announced tickets for candidates for all 60 assembly seats. Sitting Chief Minister N Biren Singh will be contesting the election from Heingang. PWD minister in the government Thangom Biswajit Singh will contest from Thongju. Read more here 

Samajwadi Party (SP) National President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who is contesting from the Karhal assembly seat of Mainpuri will reach the Collectorate office on Monday and file his nomination papers. Other SP candidates will also file nominations along with Akhilesh Yadav tomorrow. Yadav will contest the assembly elections for the first time from the Karhal assembly seat.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will embark on a day visit to poll-bound Goa on Sunday where he will address three public meetings in the state and will launch an umbrella campaign, informed Bharatiya Janata Party Goa chief.

The Trinamool Congress and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party have released their common manifesto for the upcoming Goa Assembly polls, promising resumption of mining operations and reservation for women in jobs and local bodies in the coastal state if they come to power. The mining operations, which used to be one of the main sources of revenue for Goa, came to a grinding halt in the state in March 2018 after the Supreme Court quashed 88 mining leases.

The poll manifesto, released by alliance partners TMC and MGP on Saturday ahead of the state polls on February 14, mentioned that “instituting environmentally sustainable mining practices with 80 per cent reservation for Goans in extraction contracts and mining jobs would be the priority" of their government.

All income generated through the Goa Mineral Corporation would be utilised to fund welfare schemes in the state, it said.

The ruling BJP in Manipur ahead of the assembly elections has been facing rebellion from the possible aspirants with a saffron party leader Lourembam Sanjoy Singh, on Saturday, joining the National People's Party (NPP), the junior ally of the dominant party.

In another development, a BJP Mandal President of Lilong assembly seat (near Imphal) on Saturday threatened to abolish the party unit in the assembly constituency if the dedicated candidate is not given party ticket for the assembly elections.

Ramvir Singh, a close aide of a Uttar Pradesh minister Laxmi Narain Chaudhary who is the BJP candidate from Chhata constituency, has been allegedly shot dead by three bike-borne unidentified assailants.

This is the first case of poll related violence in Mathura.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, AAP's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann and state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal filed their nominations on Saturday along with several other candidates.

Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju said 317 nominations were filed on Saturday and with this, the total number of nominations filed has reached 619.

The nomination process, which started on January 25, will continue till February 1.

The Punjab Lok Congress Party (PLC) on Saturday changed the candidature from the Nakodar seat from where former Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh was nominated as it announced another list of candidates for the next month's assembly polls. Besides, four candidates of the former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh-led PLC will now fight the polls on the BJP symbol, a Punjab BJP leader said on Saturday.

A few days back, the PLC had announced a list of 22 candidates, nominating ex-captain of Indian hockey team Ajit Pal Singh from Nakodar.

The 74-year-old Ajit Pal Singh was one of the prominent faces of the PLC for the February 20 polls.

In a new list announced on Saturday, the PLC has replaced the former Indian hockey captain with Shammi Kumar Kalyan from Nakodar.

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Rangnath Mishra joined the BJP on Saturday. Mishra was the secondary education minister from 2007-2012 in the BSP government headed by Mayawati. Former Samajwadi Party MLA Manish Rawat also joined the BJP, the saffron party said.

It said Rawat joined the party for reposing faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Union minister Shobha Karandlaje was present on this occasion. UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh welcomed the leaders into the party fold. 

Five persons have been arrested and around 80 boxes of branded and 81 boxes of local illicit alcohol seized under the limits of Ishanagar PS in Lakhimpur Kheri, under a continuous campaign against illicit alcohol; further investigation is underway: Additional SP Arun Kumar Singh

The Congress Party, which has been out of power in Uttar Pradesh for over three decades, is betting on its old caste-community formula to win the ensuing Assembly Poll battle in the state. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party's election in-charge for in UP, has indicated that the party will be depending on the Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim combination to wrest power from the ruling BJP.

So far, the party has announced 255 candidates for the 403 Assembly constituencies in the state. Of these 56 hail from the Dalit community while 89 belong to the other two communities.

The Income Tax Department seized cash worth Rs 6.20 crore from a hawala operator in Margao according to officials. Acting on a tip-off, the I-T department conducted a search operation at the Margao residence of hawala operator and found cash hidden inside a car. When questioned, the operator confessed that it is hawala money, a media release stated.

According to the I-T department, the money was meant to be distributed amongst voters for influencing them during the ensuing Goa Assembly election. Further investigation is underway. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) for its alleged role in the Muzaffarnagar riots and claimed that those who were involved in the riots were victimized while the victims were framed and put behind bars just for the sake of appeasement.

Addressing voters in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, the senior BJP leader said, "Akhilesh was holding a press conference in Muzaffarnagar. The entire speech did not mention the Muzaffarnagar riots. I want to ask, in whose time did the riots take place? What was the role of the government in the riots? The rioters were made victims and those who were victims were made accused and put in jail, just for the sake of appeasement."

Continuing his verbal attack on the SP, the Home Minister said the previous government gave mini Chief Minister, a 'bahubali' and riot during its rule, on the other hand, the BJP government gave industry and medical colleges to each district.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC)) on Saturday released the poll manifesto for the upcoming Goa Assembly elections. It is the joint manifesto of the TMC and its alliance partner in Goa, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

In its 10-point manifesto, the party promised to boost Goa's GDP to 1.8 lakh crores (from 0.71 lakh crores), with an annual per capita income of more than 11 lakhs. The TMC-MGP alliance also promised 2 lakh new jobs to be created with 80 per cent reservation for Goans and 10,000 vacancies in the government sector to be filled in three years.

Home Minister Amit Shah, who campaigned in Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, also held an organisational meeting and laid thrust on the work by 'panna pramukhs' and booth committee chiefs to boost party's prospects in the seats in the region, many of which have a sizeable presence of the Jat community.

Sources said the organisational meeting in Saharanpur lasted for about 45 minutes and around 100 leaders and workers of the party were present. All the seven candidates of the Saharanpur district were part of the meeting. The party's district chief was also present.

They said Amit Shah paid talked about special attention to the work done by the booth committee president and 'panna pramukh'.

Uttar Pradesh: A notice has been issued against Avtar Singh Bhadana, a candidate from the SP-RLD alliance in Jewar, who was doing a mass campaign in violation of the code of conduct and COVID-19 protocols, as seen in a video on social media: Greater Noida DCP Amit Kumar

Taking a jibe at Samajwadi Party (SP) and lauding the work done by the Yogi Adityanath government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the "goons and mafia" of Uttar Pradesh are either in jail or have fled away or are in the candidates' list of the main opposition party for the upcoming assembly election. Campaigning in Saharanpur for Uttar Pradesh elections beginning February 10, Amit Shah accused Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav of speaking "lies" about the law and order situation in the state.

He said the BJP government has chased away criminals and mafias who flourished during the earlier regimes.

"He does not have shame and speaks lies in such a manner that it could be taken as truth. I have brought statistics with me and if you have the courage, hold a press conference with figures of your earlier government," Amit Shah said.

"Mafia Raj is over in Uttar Pradesh today. People like Azam Khan and Mukhtar Asari are in jail. The goons and mafia of Uttar Pradesh are either in jail or either fled away... or they figure in the list of Samajwadi Party," he added.

"BJP has decided to take up issues of corruption, failures in law & order & mandi arrangements, all at ground levels. We'll set up SHGs for males for employment," said Thakur Ranjit Das, BJP State Spokesperson

Union HM Amit Shah to visit South Goa today; after a public meeting at Sun Grace Garden, Ponda and in Sharda Mandir Multipurpose Hall, Sanvordem, which will be broadcasted digitally, we'll launch an Umbrella campaign in Vasco: BJP Goa chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade