UP Election: State not developed because you vote for caste, Priyanka tells voters in UP

BJP president JP Nadda alleged on Saturday that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav never thought about the poor as he was born with a silver spoon. 
He also accused the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister of trying to shield terrorists. Addressing election meetings in Kushinagar, Sant Kabirnagar and Gorakhpur, Nadda said, "Akhilesh Yadav was born with a silver spoon. Hence, he did not ever think about the poor. He ridiculed the jan dhan accounts. These dynasts have their accounts somewhere else and hence, what do they have to do with the (bank) accounts of the poor.

UP Election 2022: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday blamed the politics of caste and religion for the ‘dismal' state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh and said the non-Congress governments for three decades had done nothing except tall claims of development. The Congress leader also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying how he could remain ignorant to the raging stray cattle menace faced by the farmers of the state. "UP could have progressed but there are only advertisements on which the BJP is spending crores of rupees. The CM, PM all are of the BJP but nothing is here in the name of development, why has such a situation emerged, and its direct answer is that since the past 30 years, it has been politics in the name of caste and religion,” Priyanka said at an election meeting in Paniyara. Read more

UP Election 2022: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls are for saving democracy and the country’s Constitution, which will be "destroyed" by the BJP if it returns to power in the state. In an apparent jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yadav said though the BJP government talks about "sabka saath, sabka vikas", its people are backward only in documents and not by birth. Read more 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday hit out at the opposition SP, saying they call themselves as socialists but only the Saifai family flourishes in the party. Saifai in the native place of Akhilesh Yadav, who heads the party. Addressing a series of rallies in Ambedkar Nagar, CM Yogi said Dr Ram Manohar Lohia used to say that a true socialist must "stay away from property and progeny".

The BJP here on Saturday demanded from the Congress a public apology for making viral a "fake" video purportedly showing tampering of postal ballots. The video allegedly showed a man wearing a military uniform tampering with the postal ballots. "The Kumaon regiment in an official reply to the Election Commission has said that the video is not from any of the army units in Pithoragarh district," Pradesh BJP media in-charge Manveer Chauhan said in a statement here. The reply of the Kumaon regiment to the EC makes it clear that the Congress was “insulting” the armed forces by saying that the video was of some army unit, he said. Congress candidate from Didihat in Pithoragarh district had lodged a complaint with the police earlier suspecting that the video was of an army unit located in the constituency.

The Congress on Saturday appealed to the Election Commission to immediately intervene and take urgent action after the banned Kuki National Organisation issued a statement supporting the BJP and for threatening voters. The Congress, in a letter, to the EC said this "diabolic" statement is a clear violation of the model code and strict action must to taken to ensure free and fair elections. The statement issued by the president of the banned Kuki National Organisation on February 25, 2022, is a direct and clear threat to the conduct of free and fair elections in the state of Manipur, the Congress memorandum to EC said.

Influential OBC leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently switched over to the SP along with some other BJP leaders, faces a tough challenge to enter the assembly for the sixth time. Close on the heels of a BJP master stroke of inducting former Union minister and popular OBC leader RPN Singh to cover up for the loss, Maurya changed his constituency from Padrauna to Fazilnagar within the Kushinagar district. However, the poll battle may not be easy for him in Fazilnagar which was won by Ganga Singh Kushwaha of the BJP in 2017. According to estimates of political parties, the Fazilnagar assembly segment has around 90,000 Muslim voters, 55,000 Maurya Kushwahas, 50,000 Yadavs, 30,000 Brahmins, 40,000 Kurmi-Sainthwars, 30,000 Vaishyas and about 80,000 Dalits. The BSP has nominated Ilias Ansari for the seat and he threatens to split the votes of its electorally dominant community, taking the advantage away from the SP, which is banking on its traditional vote bank. Political experts think Maurya's chances rest on Muslim votes not getting split.

The famous Ima market in the heart of the capital city of Manipur's Imphal has been showing the true sense of women empowerment with more than 5000 women owning their small business selling goods right from clothes, fruits, vegetable to handicrafts. News agency ANI spoke to a few women in the Ima market to get a sense of what lies ahead in the battle for Manipur and what do the women of Imphal think about the upcoming election? and what are the issues on which they decide to vote?Speaking to ANI, 50-year-old Sunita who runs a shop selling goods for Pooja said it has been very hard for everyone in the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and thereby small businesses have suffered by the huge amount of loss."Despite the tall promises, the government has not delivered much in terms of support and we are hoping that in the coming times whoever comes to power looks after the women's interest in all, especially in supporting small businesses," Sunita said.Samia who also runs a small shop said, "In the interest of the nation and nation-building, it is important that we cast our vote because a good MLA will be in good government and it will be good for us."

The Election Commission has said the enforcement agencies have seized cash, liquor and drugs worth over Rs 1,000 crore during the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. "The comprehensive and advance planning, meticulous follow-ups and active participation of enforcement agencies have led to stupendous rise in seizure figures cossing the Rs 1,000 crore mark in the ongoing Assembly elections in States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa", said the poll body in a statement. Punjab tops the list with total seizures worth over Rs 510 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh at Rs 307 crore. While Uttar Pradesh tops in liquor seizures of Rs 54 crore, Punjab tops in seizure of drugs of Rs 376 crore. A total Rs 12.73 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs and other precious metals have been seized from Goa. Seizures worth Rs 3.64 crore were made in these states during the 2017 Assembly elections. In Manipur, total Rs 163.87 crore worth of cash, liquor and others have been seized. In 2017 Assembly elections, only Rs 6.42 crore worth of seizures were made. In Punjab, a total of Rs 510.91 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs and others have been seized. In 2017 Assembly elections, total seizure value was only Rs 89.64 crore. A total of Rs 18.81 crore worth of cash, liquor and drugs have been seized in Uttarakhand, while in 2017, it was Rs 6.85 crore. In Uttar Pradesh, total Rs 307.92 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs and other items have been seized. It also includes Rs 91.30 crore cash. In 2017, it was Rs 193.29 crore worth of seizure in the state.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will hold public meetings in Manipur from March 1 ahead of state Assembly elections, sources said on Friday.Earlier on February 21, Gandhi addressed a public meeting at the Hapta Kangjeibung area in Imphal. On February 5, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is the observer of Manipur polls for the party, announced an alliance of six political parties and named it "Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA)".Ramesh had on February 5 announced the six political parties in the alliance. "Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA) of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) was launched today with 18-point Common Agenda," he had said.Manipur will go to the Assembly polls on February 28 and on March 5. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

'Haathi' slipping here and there. Cycle can be easily punctured. Those who ate the poor's ration, we have bulldozers for them. Power of bulldozer is such that it's used for construction and to raze illegal possession of mafias, corrupt ministers:  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Ambedkar Nagar.

"When we come back in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, most of these 'pariwarwaadis' will be seen offering 'Kar Seva' with Ram devotees in Ayodhya. BJP government believes in 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas': Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at a poll rally in Ambedkar Nagar.

Uttar Pradesh will go to the fifth phase of Assembly polls tomorrow with voting to be held in 61 constituencies, majorly covering the eastern region of the state.Out of the 61 Assembly seats across 12 districts, the main constituencies include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Gonda.There are 692 candidates in the fray for the fifth phase of the election.Prominent leaders among those in the fray are UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from Sirathu assembly segment, Congress legislative party leader Aradhana Mishra from Rampur Khas, Independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya from Kunda seat, and UP cabinet ministers Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Rajendra Pratap Singh alias Moti Singh.State's Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said the campaign for the fifth phase ended at 6 pm on Friday.The voting will start at 7 am and end at 6 pm. The remaining two phases will take place on March 3 and March 7. The counting of votes will be held on March 10.

Polling to decide the fate of 692 candidates in the fray for 61 assembly seats across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh will take place in the fifth phase of the state assembly elections on Sunday. Campaigning for the fifth phase ended on Friday evening, and all necessary arrangements have been completed, state Chief Election Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said here on Saturday. Polling will start at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, he said. Around 2.24 crore voters will exercise their franchise in this phase in the districts of Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabanki, Bahraich, Shravasti and Gonda. Amethi and Raebareli, once considered Congress bastions, and Ayodhya, the epicentre of the Ram temple movement, will too vote on Sunday. Prominent faces in the fray for the fifth phase include Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from the Sirathu assembly seat in Kaushambi district. He is facing Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) candidate Pallavi Patel. Other ministers in the fray are Siddharth Nath Singh from Allahabad West, Rajendra Singh, alias Moti Singh, from Patti (Pratapgarh), Nand Gopal Gupta Nadi from Allahabad South and Ramapati Shastri from Mankapur (Gonda). Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, who is the MLA from Kunda since 1993, is once again in the fray from his party Jansatta Dal, with old aide Gulshan Yadav contesting against him on a Samajwadi Party ticket. Union minister Anupriya Patel's mother and Apna Dal (K) leader Krishna Patel is contesting from the Pratapgarh seat. Apna Dal (K) has entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Union minister Anupriya Patel, heading a rival faction of the party named after her father Sonelal Patel, however, has handed over the seat to the BJP to challenge her mother Krishna Patel. Congress legislative party leader Aradhana Mishra Mona is fighting from Rampur Khas seat of Pratapgarh. With the completion of polling on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh will have voted on 292 of the total 403 seats in the Assembly. The last two phases of the elections will be held on March 3 and March 7.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday expressed confidence over the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the ongoing state assembly polls said opposition party leaders know they are going to lose hence they have booked tickets to go abroad post declaration of results."They (Opposition) have already made arrangements for their foreign escape on March 11 (one day after the declaration of results), they have booked tickets because they know the result,' Adityanath told ANI during a roadshow in Prayagraj.Claiming that the offices of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are already empty since they are aware of the results, Adityanath said "Ghosts have started dancing in their offices."

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday slammed the BJP government over rising inflation and unemployment and said that this is the government of the rich and there is no hearing of the poor.Addressing a public rally in the Jagdishpur constituency of Amethi, the Congress leader urged the voters to choose their candidate wisely or else they may regret it for the next five years."You (public) are responsible for your circumstances. You get astrayed and vote with your eyes closed. Your vote is a very big responsibility, choose wisely as you may regret it for the next 5 years. It is time for your development," said Vadra.She further said the voters to make up their mind whether they want politics of development or the one that entangles them in a fake web of religion and caste.Talking about her recent visit to a locality in Lucknow, the Congress General Secretary said she met some children there, who were qualified but unemployed."Have you brought up your children so that they do not have any future and that they continue to get a sack of foodgrains and remain dependent on it. This is a conspiracy of these political parties to keep you poor, keep your stomach empty so that your emotions could be exploited by them," said the Congress leader.She further slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that he had no idea about the stray cattle menace and now he is aware of the problem and says to solve it."PM Modi said he didn't know about the stray cattle menace, what was he doing for 5 years? He's aware of the war in Ukraine, he was aware of the US President's cough during COVID, but he was not cognizant of this farmers' problem?" she added.Referring to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, Priyanka Gandhi slammed the Opposition parties in the State and said, "When there is harassment, neither Akhilesh Yadav nor Mayawati come out of their homes, leave alone Yogi and Modi. They make the father of an accused stand with them on the stage."

Ahead of the fifth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Aparna Yadav on Friday claimed that a "tsunami" is blowing in BJP's favour and said that the party will return to power with a "thumping majority".Yadav held a roadshow accompanied by MP Ravi Kishan and campaigned for the party candidate Ved Prakash Gupta from the constituency.Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, "This is not a wave but a tsunami. Bharatiya Janata Party is forming the government with a thumping majority."

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday slammed the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and said the opposition party has given tickets during Uttar Pradesh polls to those "who are in jail and are on bail"."In the first four phases of the Uttar Pradesh election, people have voted to wash away SP, BSP and Congress. The first list of candidates of the Samajwadi Party had names of those in jail and the ones who were on bail," he said at a press conference here.The minister sought an apology from Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav for her remarks that BJP's "double-engine" government has "rusted and it now resembles the colour of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's attire"."The saffron that the SP leader (Dimple Yadav) is insulting is a symbol of Sanatan Dharma and tenacity, renunciation and sacrifice. These 'families' living in the palaces hate the saffron-clad leader only because he considers the 25 crore people of Uttar Pradesh as his family," he said."Dimple Yadav should take back her words. Yogi Adityanath worked for the safety of women, gave electricity, worked for the backward people. He was voted to power by the people of the state. Dimple Yadav should apologise to the people of UP also," he added.The Uttar Pradesh BJP has said the people of the state "will not tolerate the insult to saffron colour just to please a 'special' vote bank'".

Actor-turned Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Mathura, Hema Malini, on Friday, lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that new India has been born in the last seven years.She also asserted that everyone wants PM Modi's intervention in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. Addressing a public rally in UP's Ballia on Friday, Malini said, "Everyone is requesting Modi Ji to stop Ukraine-Russia war because everyone considers him a World leader. He has brought the country so far, and the world respects him.""PM Modi is regarded as a big world leader. It is a matter of pride for all of us. New India has been born in the past seven years, so UP should also participate in the building of this new India," the BJP MP stated.

BJP President JP Nadda will address rallies in Kushinagar, Gorakhpur and Sant Kabir Nagar today.