Assembly Election 2022: Parties that ruled UP in past didn't care for health of Dalits, minorities: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said most of the children who died of encephalitis in the eastern districts of the state in the past were Dalits or from the minority communities and the political parties that "used them as vote banks" did not care for their health. He also said the fatalities caused by the deadly disease were kept in check since 2017.

In an attempt to avoid any case of rebellion after ticket distribution for next year's Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the state unit of BJP has started identifying and convincing such leaders to ensure victory for the party candidates. The Assembly poll in-charges of the party in Uttarakhand has been asked to prepare a list of such leaders and submit it to the state leadership. Sources said that the BJP leadership in Uttarakhand has realised that some aspirants will raise their voices if they are denied tickets, and to avoid such a situation, they must be approached and convinced well in advance.

Uttarakhand High Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea seeking postponement of upcoming assembly elections in the State in view of the threat posed by Covid’s Omicron variant

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi claimed Wednesday that the night curfew imposed by the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi was just a ploy to get the Punjab assembly polls postponed by projecting that the Covid threat is serious. Apart from Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress leader also accused the BJP of wanting to postpone the Punjab polls. The AAP, which is the main opposition in Punjab, dismissed the claim as “baseless” and “immature”.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Wednesday that if women become aware of their rights and unite, the day is not far when they would have a sizeable presence in the Parliament. Speaking at a 'Shakti Samvad' programme Firozabad (UP), Priyanka said that leaders know that they would get votes in the name of caste, and hence they do not bother about fulfilling their promises. The Congress leader said that after she launched the campaign for women, other political parties have begun recognising the power of female votes.

Leaders who joined the BJP are Jagdeep Singh Nakai, Ravipreet Singh Sidhu and Harbhag Singh Desu from SAD and former Congress MLA Shamsher Singh Rai. These leaders joined BJP in presence of union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Som Prakash, party national general secretary and Punjab in-charge Dushyant Gautam, chief spokesperson Anil Baluni at party headquarters here.

Election commission will make a decision on that (on election rallies), we'll follow the guidelines. BJP is ready for virtual election rallies, we'd held virtual election rallies during West Bengal elections: Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Manipur Minister for youth affairs and sports Letpao Haokip on Wednesday joined the BJP. Haokip is elected to the Manipur Assembly from the National People's Party (NPP). In August, former Manipur Congress president Govindas Konthoujam joined BJP. Manipur Assembly election will be held along with Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab in February-March next year.

Election Commission of India (ECI) officials led by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Wednesday held a meeting with senior officials in Lucknow to assess the preparedness for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. The UP chief secretary, district magistrates, police commissioners, deputy Inspector Generals of Police, additional chief secretary (Home), among other officials, were present at the meeting.

Had BJP not come to power in the State in 2017, many schools would have been closed. If schools had closed, the services rendered by many of you would have ended: UP CM in his address to the cooks and part-time instructors working in the Basic Education Department in Lucknow

A team of the Election Commission of India led by CEC Sushil Chandra during its three-day visit to the State holds a review meeting of Divisional and District Officers regarding preparedness of 2022 Assembly elections.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has accused rival parties of ignoring women, saying they started talking about them only after her party gave the slogan of "Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" (I am a girl and I can fight). Addressing the 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon -- Shakti Samvaad' organised under the party's women empowerment campaign, she said her party’s "one small initiative has awakened all political parties". The Congress has announced it will give 40 per cent of tickets to women candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. "Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon" is one of the slogans it has given to underscore women power.

On Tuesday, the Congress party organised a programme under the 'Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon' campaign in Agra. However, the unruly scenes prevailed here when scores of women engaged in a scuffle. Congress workers and participants were seen throwing chairs at each other during the event. The brawl has caused embarrassment to the party that is aiming to woo women voters with the 'Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon' slogan. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is scheduled to address a women's rally in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The area has strong Samajwadi Party presence and after her successful rallies in Varanasi and Gorakhpur, the Congress leader is taking the battle to SP pocket borough.

Sunil Shastri, the son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, is set to join the Congress and has met the party General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. After the meeting, Priyanka tweeted the photo with Shastri and said, "What better occasion than the Congress Foundation Day to meet Sunil Shastri ji, son of a soldier of Congress and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, to discuss a range of issues. We will fight together and win." Shastri has been with the BJP but his meeting indicates his inclination to join the Congress as the latter is searching for a political face in Mirzapur Assembly constitutency after the exit of Lalitesh Pati Tripathi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to sound the BJP's poll bugle in Punjab on January 5 and share the stage with the party's new ally and former chief minister of the state Amarinder Singh, sources said on Tuesday. The prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate a satellite centre of the Chandigarh-based Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Punjab's Ferozepur and is likely to address a rally after the event, the sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said. The rally will be the first to be addressed by the prime minister in Punjab after the repeal of three farm laws. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday targeted AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, alleging he is a self-proclaimed "aam aadmi" (common man) who is least bothered about the interests of commoners. "A person who is having a lavish lifestyle, how can he know about the agonies of the common man," Channi said, targeting the Delhi chief minister. 

With AAP emerging as the leading party in the Chandigarh municipal corporation polls, its national convener Arvind Kejriwal has said people, including in Chandigarh and Punjab, are fed up with old traditional political parties, leaders and old style of politics. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls threw up a hung verdict, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) winning 14 of 35 wards and BJP bagging 12. The Congress got eight seats and the Shiromani Akali Dal one.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has said the BJP will return to power in Uttar Pradesh with more than 300 seats on the back of a positive public mood due to action against "gundaraj", "unprecedented" development and public welfare schemes under the Yogi Adityanath government. Thakur, who was the chief guest at the first edition of the Kashi Film Festival, said people migrated from Uttar Pradesh due to rampant "gundaraj and mafiaraj" in the state during the tenure of the previous Samajwadi Party (SP)government and now they are returning seeing the work of the Adityanath dispensation. He alleged that the development work took a hit under the SP government as it was busy protecting goons. 

Congress Screening Committee for Uttarakhand will hold a meeting at 1 pm today. Uttarakhand is among five states where polls will be held early next year. The four other states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. 

PM Narendra Modi during Uttarakhand visit will also lay the foundation stone of AIIMS Rishikesh satellite centre at Udham Singh Nagar and Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College at Pithoragarh. The projects are in the line with PM Modi's endeavour to provide world class medical facilities in all parts of the country. He will also lay the foundation stone of Aroma Park at Kashipur and Plastic Industrial Park at Sitarganj and multiple other initiatives in housing, sanitation and drinking water supply across the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit poll-bound Uttarakhand on 30th December to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17,500 crore. Foundation stone of Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, first conceived in 1976 and lying pending for many years, to be laid. The project will benefit six states. He will and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of Rs 8,700 crore road sector projects. The projects are related to the PM’s vision to improve connectivity in remote, rural and border areas. Besides, it will also improve connectivity to Kailash Mansarovar.

Amit Shah takes swipes at the Samajwadi Party over the raids on Kanpur-based perfume trader Piyush Jain linked to it.  "A few days ago, there were income tax raids. Why was (SP chief) Akhilesh having an upset stomach over raids, and he said that the raids were done with political malice," Shah said. "Can anyone tell me whose Rs 250 crore were found at the place of the person making Samajwadi Attar? Today, they (SP) are unable to give an answer," Shah said. The Finance Ministry had on Monday said the recent raid on perfume trader Peeyush Jain's house in Kanpur, from where more than Rs 177 crore unaccounted cash was unearthed, was the "biggest ever seizure of cash" by an enforcement agency.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday targeted the Samajwadi Party, alleging that the opposition party's lexicon starts with 'Apraadh' (crime), 'Bhaai-Bhatijavaad' (nepotism) and 'Corruption'. ''The A, B, C, D of Samajwadi Party is itself all wrong where 'A' is for 'Apraadh aur Aatank' (crime and terrorism),  'B' is for 'Bhaai-Bhatijaavaad' (nepotism), 'C' for 'Corruption' aur 'D' means 'Danga' (riots). The Bharatiya Janata Party has wiped out this A, B, C, D," the former BJP president said.

Addressing a rally in Hardoi on Tuesday, BJP leader Amit Shah sai that the SP, BSP and the Congress made numerous efforts to stop the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya and asserted that they "will not succeed even if they unleash their full force". Shah said, "The SP, BSP and the Congress had made numerous efforts to stop the construction of the temple of Lord Ram. Today, I want to tell them that they can unleash their full force if they want. In a few months, a grand temple of Lord Ram touching the sky will be built," he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah offered prayers at Sankat Mochan Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on December 28. Earlier, Amit Shah addressed public meetings in Sultanpur as part of the Bhartiya Janata Party's poll campaign for the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.