Assembly Election 2022: PM Modi to lay foundation stones of development projects in Punjab on Jan 5

BJP president JP Nadda on Monday accused the previous Samajwadi Party government of misappropriating funds for various welfare schemes, claiming that the same money is now reaching beneficiaries' accounts directly under the Yogi Adityanath regime.

Addressing a rally to mark the conclusion of the BJP's poll campaign tours -- Jan Vishvas Yatra -- launched last month, Nadda also took pride over the “advancement” of "cultural nationalism" by his party, “forcing” its opponents to follow suit.

In another attempt to woo voters ahead of UP assembly elections this year, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday promised free electricity for irrigation and domestic use with up to 300 units per month.

Making the announcement, Akhilesh Yadav said, "every house will sparkle and every farming field will glow."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Punjab on January 5 and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore. In a statement on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said: "Prime Minister Modi will visit Ferozepur, Punjab on January 5 and will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 42,750 crore." The projects include Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, four-laning of Amritsar-Una section, Mukerian-Talwara New Broad Gauge railway line, PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur and two new medical colleges at Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. "The consistent endeavour of the Prime Minister to improve connectivity all across the country has led to multiple national highway development initiatives being taken up in the state of Punjab. It has resulted in more than doubling the total length of National highways in the state from about 1,700 kilometres in 2014 to more than 4,100 kilometres in 2021," it said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him an 'accidental Hindu'. Addressing a rally in Amethi, Adityanath said that Rahul is an 'election tourist' and accused him of maligning Amethi in Kerala. Notably, Rahul had lost Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He had won from Wayanad seat of Kerala. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

No other political party including Mayawati's BSP & Akhilesh Yadav's SP has courage to take out 'Jan Vishwas Yatra' in UP except the BJP. There was zero governance & corruption during SP govt. Today, there is good governance & honest govt under Yogi Adityanath: BJP President JP Nadda

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday promised to pay Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of security personnel killed in the line of duty in Uttarakhand as "Samman Rashi" if the Aam Aadmi Party comes to power in the state in the 2022 assembly polls. Kejriwal also promised to give jobs in government to retired Army jawans aged 34-35 years and make them partners in the building of a new Uttarakhand making full use of their patriotism, military skills and discipline. He made the announcement at the party's Uttarakhand Nav Nirman rally at the Parade Ground in Dehradun. "Families of Army, police and paramilitary personnel who are martyred will be paid Rs 1 crore as Samman Rashi to honour their martyrdom," he said. Kejriwal said Uttarakhand has the largest representation in the armed forces and if soldiers make up their mind, no one can stop the Aam Aadmi Party from coming to power in the state.

Uttarakhand has seen 3 CMs in the last 5 yrs under BJP rule. The administration system has collapsed. Unemployment is on rise. We need to change this system: Congress leader Harish Rawat

Addressing a rally in Amethi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called Rahul Gandhi an election tourist. He even accused the Congress leader of maligning Amethi in Kerala. Rahul Gandhi had lost Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. 

Former MP from Amethi (Rahul Gandhi) doesn't even know how to sit in a temple. The priest of the temple he had visited had to teach him how to sit. He doesn't know what is Hinduism or 'Hindutva', & he is doing false propaganda: UP CM Yogi Adityanath during a public rally in Amethi

Akhilesh (Yadav) Ji, you had withdrawn cases against 15 terrorists, but court didn't allow it. Four of them were sentenced to death and others were given life imprisonment. Akhilesh Ji, this is your real face: BJP chief JP Nadda in Basti, UP

We are an ideological party. We are not here to rule but to implement our ideology. India had to carry Article 370 for 70 years due to a mistake committed by (former PM) Jawaharlal Nehru. It was a barrier in making J&K an integral part of India: BJP chief JP Nadda

The Congress on Monday released its theme song for the Uttarakhand assembly elections which targets the BJP and highlights the "failures" of the "double engine" policy of the saffron party. The BJP, which is power in Uttarakhand and at the Centre, has been claiming that its "double engine" model has been beneficial for the state's development. With 'Teen Tigada, Kaam Bigada' as the punch line, the Congress' theme song draws attention to the BJP changing its chief minister in the state three times.  The party in the song also claims that the BJP will be defeated in the upcoming elections.

Rift in Punjab Congress became evident once again as state Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Monday said that Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is upset with him ever since he became the Home Minister of Punjab. Addressing a press conference here, Randhawa said, "Sidhu has some problem. I share old relations with his family. But ever since I have become the home minister of Punjab, he is upset with me. If he wants the Home Ministry, I will leave and offer it to him."

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the grand old party will give Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 each to girl students on passing Class 5 and Class 10, respectively. We will give Rs 20,000 to each girl student when she passes Class 12. To help girl students pursue higher studies, we will give them computer tablets.

An MLA of the ruling BJP has accused state Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat of neglecting his constituency and threatened to go on a fast if the problems are not addressed. Lansdowne MLA Dilip Rawat has written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami alleging that an executive engineer is not being appointed in the newly established power distribution office in Dhumakot area of Hia constituency due to pressure mounted by Harak Singh Rawat. The legislator claimed that his constituency is being neglected by the state minister for power, forest and environment due to political animosity and threatened to start an indefinite fast in front of the state assembly if his problems were not addressed.

The Shiv Sena will try to replicate Maharashtra's "successful" Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance formula for the upcoming Goa polls, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said on Monday. Raut, who arrived in Goa for a four-day visit to the poll-bound state, also said that he would be speaking to the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party leaders in the state on Tuesday to discuss the formation of the alliance. "Definitely Shiv Sena will fight some seats in Goa and we are trying to make an alliance. Tomorrow we will be speaking to Congress leaders, NCP leaders and we will try to make a new alliance," Raut told reporters after his arrival at Goa's Dabolim international airport. "It is a successful formula in Maharashtra, we will use it in Goa," Raut also said, adding that the seat sharing modules would be discussed in his meetings with state Congress and NCP leaders beginning on Tuesday.

ECI writes to chief secretaries of 5 poll-bound states to 'accelerate' COVID vaccination; expresses concerns over low percentage of first dose inoculation in Manipur: Sources

Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra targets BJP after SIT in its charge sheet named Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish as prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

 Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday reiterated to provide 300 units of free electricity if his party is voted to power in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, he also promised free electricity to farmers for irrigation in the state. 

Ahead of the Assembly polls, the internal rift in Punjab Congress has widened with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu attacking his own government and ministers, including Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. According to sources, news agency IANS reported, party leaders in Delhi are unhappy with the state of affairs in Punjab and have asked the state leaders to put up a united front and refrain from speaking against each other. Sidhu has been critical of state Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who reportedly has offered to quit his portfolio, for not arresting SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a drug case. The Congress leaders have been saying the government will take action against him but only an FIR has been lodged.

Just six days after joining the BJP, Punjab MLA Balwinder Singh Laddi has parted ways with the saffron party and rejoined the Congress. Laddi on Monday said he returned to the Congress fold on Sunday night in the presence of AICC in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Chaudhary and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

BSP leader and former Ambedkar Nagar MP Rakesh Pandey joins Samajwadi Party

On Sunday, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal ripped into the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over alleged mismanagement during the second wave of the pandemic. He said that Uttar Pradesh did the 'worst Covid management in the world'.

Open gym will be opened in every village under 'Swasth Yuva-Swasth Uttarakhand' scheme: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harnath Singh Yadav writes to party chief JP Nadda requesting him to consider fielding Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath from Mathura in the upcoming Assembly elections

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announced five more candidates for the Punjab assembly polls. According to the party's seventh list of candidates, Lalli Majithia has been given a ticket from the Majitha assembly seat. Majithia had quit the Congress party and joined the AAP on January 1. At present, the Majitha seat is represented by Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to contest in the upcoming assembly election in the state. In a candid conversation with reporters in Lucknow, Yogi said "I will contest the assembly elections." "The party will decide from which seat I will contest the upcoming polls," he added.  “I will fight the election from wherever the party says,” Adityanath said when asked whether he will contest from Ayodhya, Mathura, or from his home district Gorakhpur. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Manipur and Tripura on Tuesday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of several development projects in the two states. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Sunday that he will launch 22 projects worth Rs 4,800 crore in Imphal while in Agartala, he will inaugurate the new integrated terminal building at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport and will also launch two key development initiatives. In Manipur Modi will inaugurate 13 projects worth around Rs 1,850 crore and lay the foundation stone of nine projects worth around Rs 2,950 crore. These projects relate to diverse sectors including road infrastructure, drinking water supply, health, urban development, housing, information technology, skill development, and art and culture. In line with the countrywide projects to improve connectivity, he will lay the foundation stones for the construction of five national highway projects to be built at a cost of over Rs 1,700 crore, it said. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Voters will not allow parties that have come from outside to use Goa as a laboratory for political experiments in the upcoming state Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a remark aimed at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Sawant was addressing a gathering in his native village of Kothambi in Sankhalim Assembly constituency, where he formally kicked off his election campaign for the polls scheduled to be held in February 2022. "We are taking forward the legacy of former chief ministers late Dayanand Bandodkar, late Manohar Parrikar and others," the BJP leader said, taking a jibe at the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), accusing it of selling out its values to political parties that arrived from outside the state.

BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Sunday questioned Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's visit to Tripura, claiming that there was nothing left for the party in the Northeastern state following the civic polls there. Maintaining that the TMC should instead pay attention to the development of West Bengal, he claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's pet project 'Duare Sarkar' (government at doorsteps), whose another edition was to commence from Sunday, was cancelled owing to paucity of funds. "TMC has nothing left in Tripura, why is he (Abhishek Banerjee) going? People of Tripura have made it clear that such party will not survive there," Ghosh told reporters.

The TMC-MGP alliance in Goa on Sunday said youngsters will be provided with a credit facility up to Rs 20 lakh sans any collateral if the two parties are voted to power in the Assembly elections, due next month. Under the 'Yuva Shakti Card' scheme, youths can avail of a credit facility up to Rs 20 lakh with four per cent annual interest. Those who will avail of this card will not be required to provide any collateral to the bank as the government will stand as guarantor for them, said Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader Yatish Naik. TMC leaders Churchill Alemao, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and Kiran Kandolkar, and Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Sudin Dhavalikar were present on the occasion. "This scheme will be implemented if the TMC-MGP alliance is voted to power. This scheme will help youngsters to either be gainfully employed or to start a new business,” Naik said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 260 crore in the Vikasnagar constituency. All departments have been asked to prepare a development roadmap for 10 years so that Uttarakhand emerges as the leading state when it completes 25 years of its existence, Dhami said at a 'Vijay Sankalp Yatra' in Vikasnagar along with Union Minister Narendra Tomar. He said projects worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore have been sanctioned by the Centre for Uttarakhand over the last five years, and the state government is committed to fulfilling them.

The BJP took a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, claiming that under the Yogi Adityanath government's rule in Uttar Pradesh, anti-social elements, who used to brazenly engage in "red alerts", are running away. With the BJP and the SP engaged in a war of words over the recent raids on a couple of businessmen over their alleged political links, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said those involved in "red alerts" have been so shamed by the "foul smell of perfumes" that they feel embarrassed showing their face. Samajwadi Party (SP) members sport red caps, and the BJP has often used the jibe of "red alert" to flay the party for its alleged protection to some criminals when it was in power. Terror and hooliganism are the identity of these people, Pradhan said in tweets, mocking SP leader Akhilesh Yadav.

The people of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's door-to-door visits will not have an impact, Union minister Giriraj Singh said on Sunday. Those who have nothing to show by way of development can go house to house, but the people have faith in Modi, Yogi and BJP, he said when queried on the Congress leader's sustained campaign for Assembly polls scheduled in UP early this year.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday alleged that the BJP is using central agencies to arm-twist and browbeat political opponents, and trigger defections. Addressing a rally organised by MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal in Phagwara, Sidhu said rival political leaders are being asked to either join the BJP or be put behind bars. The BJP resorted to "bad politics of vote polarisation and using the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies for browbeating opponents to trigger defections", he said.

BJP leaders will interact with the people from Monday seeking their suggestions to prepare its manifesto for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Uttar Pradesh BJP's co-media in-charge Abhay Singh said the party's public representatives, including the MPs and MLAs, are already taking suggestions of the public for preparing the 'sankalp patra'. From January 3, members of the party's 'Ghoshna Patra Nirman Samiti' will interact with various sections of the society seeking their counsel, he said.

What Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said while slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that the ruling BJP is targeting the minority Jain community and does not want it to prosper. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said this referring to central agencies' raids on the premises of two perfume traders in the state recently.

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Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday said women of Punjab would repose their faith in her party which has "always safeguarded" their aspirations and defeat the "conspiracies to weaken" it.

"You have today proven that when women decide to take a stand no one can come in the way. It is now clear that just like West Bengal, where women played a big role in Mamata Banerjee's victory, the women of Punjab will also be instrumental in the victory of the SAD-BSP alliance in the forthcoming assembly elections," Badal said.

"In 2012, you witnessed the formation of the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) which was dissolved after the polls and became a part of the Congress party," the former union minister said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Sunday accused the opposition parties of indulging in communal and casteist politics, and urged people to vote for the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Addressing his party's Jan Vishwas Yatra in Sultanpur, Sharma said people need to remember BJP’s symbol, instead of the candidate, and sought their support.

"The SP indulges in politics of communalism, the BSP does the politics of caste and the Congress indulges in divisive politics," he alleged.
Sharma praised his party’s government for action against criminals, saying on the land grabbed by them, houses for the poor are being built.

"Now, bulldozers run on the land grabbed by the mafia," he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has apprised Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi of the current COVID situation and the preparedness against the pandemic in the state.

As per an official release issued by the Chief Minister's Office, Sonia Gandhi spoke to Channi over the phone and asked him to further intensify efforts for keeping the spread of the pandemic under control.

Sharing her concern over the recent surge in the COVID cases throughout the country, Congress interim president directed Punjab Chief Minister to be fully prepared to combat any eventuality arising out of the COVID pandemic especially in the wake of the new variant of Omicron.

Aam Aadmi Party's National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will go for a one-day visit to Uttarakhand on Monday. According to a statement by the party on Sunday, this will be the sixth election tour of AAP's national convener in Uttarakhand. Kejriwal will reach Jolly Grant Airport on Monday at around 11:30 am. He will go to Bijapur Guest House from the airport, where will hold a meeting with party officials.

Kejriwal will address a public meeting at Parade Ground at 2 pm.