Assembly Election 2022: 'Mafiawad, Parivarwad in their syllabus', says PM Modi attacking SP, BSP | Updates

Some people get hurt when I talk about the double power of double engine & double development of Kashi & Uttar Pradesh. These people have seen UP politics only with the view of caste, sect, & religion & don't want the state to develop or have its own identity: PM Modi in Varanasi

You all know what their dictionary, body language, & thoughts have 'mafiawaad', 'pariwarwaad', illegal property occupancy. They have problems with the Purvanchal development & even the Kashi Vishwanath Dham. But we keep gaining blessings, as their anger touches the sky: PM Modi

A day after Congress campaign head accused the party organization of not co-operating with him, Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal on Thursday said he shares the senior leader's feelings but his dissatisfaction is an organisational matter which will be sorted out in a day or two in consultation with the party high command. The state Congress leaders will go to Delhi on Friday to meet central leaders, the PCC president said.  

Today, foundation stone has been laid for 'Banas Dairy Sankul' as strengthening the dairy sector is one of the top priorities of our government. Milk production in India has increased by about 45% as compared to the last 6-7 yrs. Today, India produces about 22% of the world's milk. I'm happy that today UP is not only the largest milk producing state in the country, it's also ahead in expansion of dairy sector: PM Modi

I pay tribute to former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on his birth anniversary today. On this day, the country is celebrating 'Kisan Diwas': PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi

Targeting Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on Hindu and Hindutva, Union minister A Narayanaswamy has said the Congress leader is not a Hindu and makes such remarks whenever elections near. In remarks over the past few days, Gandhi has repeatedly sought to highlight the difference between Hindu and Hindutva and described Hindu as tolerant and Hindutva as power-seeking. "Whenever the election comes he (Rahul Gandhi) speaks like this only, but he is not a Hindu," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of a social empowerment camp organised in Phephna area of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and some other states are due early next year.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 22 developmental projects worth over Rs 870 crores in his parliamentary constituency.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday accused the opposition parties of painting a communal colour to the upcoming elections and stressed on the necessity to warn people against such designs. "The opposition parties, including the BJP, Samajwadi Party and others, are busy painting a Hindu-Muslim colour to the elections to hide their shortcomings. The BSP people will have to go to every village and every house to warn the people. This task must begin now," Mayawati, who has convened a meeting of in-charges of all the 18 divisions and all 75 district presidents to review poll preparations, told reporters.

This is a serious matter. A high-level probe should be conducted in this matter. It would be best if the Supreme Court intervenes in this matter. The Central government should direct the state government to take this issue seriously: Mayawati, BSP on alleged land scam in Ayodhya

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said the probe ordered by the Uttar Pradesh government into the Ayodhya land "scam" was an eyewash and demanded intervention of the Supreme Court. Addressing a press conference here, she said the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognizance of the matter and intervene as the Ram temple in Ayodhya is being built following its order.

Only under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi did it become possible for the poor women in the hilly areas and our sisters to avail benefits of Ujjwala Yojana: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, in Kapkot, Bageshwar

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday held the previous governments' policies responsible for farmers' suicides in the state. Speaking at the 'Farmers' Day' programme organized here on the 119th birth anniversary of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, Adityanath said the BJP government had been upholding his belief that the way to India's prosperity was through its agricultural fields. "The earlier governments' anti-farmer approach and unscientific policies drove the farmers to commit suicide. A lot of them moved away from agriculture. After the BJP was voted to power in Uttar Pradesh, we waived off their loans to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore," the CM said. Adityanath also said the Narendra Modi government's policies for the farmers was for everyone to see.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the development projects that he will inaugurate and lay foundation stone of, today in Varanasi.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will address today's rally in Aligarh virtually. Akhilesh was scheduled to visit Aligarh today to address a joint rally with RLD's Jayant. Akhilesh, however, decided to isolate himself after his wife Dimple and daughter tested positive for Covid-19. 

The top leadership of Congress has spoken to party leader Harish Rawat. He will attend a pre-scheduled meeting in Delhi tomorrow: Sources

Harish Rawat could meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Friday, sources told India TV. According to reports, state Congress chief Ganesh Gondiyal will meet Devendra Yadav, the state in-charge to apprise him about the affairs of the party. Reports suggest  that state leaders have been called to Delhi on Thursday and possibly a meeting would be held at Rahul Gandhi's residence in a day or two.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will share the stage on Thursday as they will hold a joint rally in Aligarh. The two parties are contesting elections in an alliance.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke with Akhilesh Yadav on the phone after latter's wife and daughter tested positive for COVID-19, the Chief Minister's office tweeted last night. 

Congress general secretary and party's in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to hold a press conference today. 

When the 2017 Assembly elections were held in Goa, the Congress had put up a good show by emerging as the single largest party with 17 seats in the 40-member House, but it failed to form government and could also not keep its flock together, with its strength now reduced to just two. However, the party is still trying to put up a strong face ahead of the Assembly polls due early next year, saying it is not deterred by the desertions. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Uttarakhand is likely to see an interesting contest between the BJP and the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections - scheduled to be held in early 2022. This time, the Delhi ruling AAP will also be contesting the state elections, however it is expected that the key contest will be primarily between the BJP and the Congress. The main electoral issues in the hill state are migration, employment, health, education and public transport system among others. In the 2017 assembly elections in Uttarakhand, BJP had won 56 seats, while the Congress got 11 seats.

After Ambika Soni was appointed Chairman of the election coordination committee in Punjab the warring factions of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and State Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu have called a truce. Soni is a senior Congress leader and was said to be the top choice of Sonia Gandhi for the Chief Minister's post after Amarinder Singh's exit but she had reportedly declined. A Rajya Sabha member and close aide of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her inception in Punjab affairs has caused suspicion among the leaders in Punjab who were fighting a turf war. Soni could be reckoned to be the choice of the high command if Congress returns to power as a consensus candidate.

Congress Campaign committee chief in Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat has targeted the party for not giving him a free hand in the party affairs and in a series of tweets he said that "it's time to rest, it has been enough." "Is this not strange? When we have to swim in the sea of election, the party organisation should extend supporting hand, but has rather turned its face the other way and is playing a negative role. I have to swim in the sea where the ruling party has released many crocodiles and my hands and legs are tied. Sometimes it feels that I have worked too much and now it's time to rest. I am in dilemma, the new year may show me a way, and Lord Kedarnath will show a path to me."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sound the poll bugle for the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab when he addresses a rally early next month. Sources said that the BJP, which has signed an electoral pact with former CM Amarinder Singh's party Punjab Lok Congress, will get the lion's share of seats to contest. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Former BJP MLA in Goa Carlose Almeida on Wednesday joined the Congress in Panaji, a day after resigning from the ruling party and the legislative Assembly, a switch over coming just a few months before polls. Almeida joined the opposition party in presence of All India Congress Committee in-charge of Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, among others. Chodankar said Almeida's entry will strengthen the Congress, which has been seeing desertions by its own MLAs, in Mormugao taluka. Almeida, who was elected to the Assembly from Vasco, became the second sitting BJP legislator to quit after Alina Saldanha.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) hit out at the Congress government in Punjab on Wednesday over the registration of a case against its leader Bikram Singh Majithia, terming it "fabricated". Majithia (46) was booked under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on Monday on the basis of a 2018 status report on a probe into a drug racket operating in the state. The report was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2018 by the anti-drug Special Task Force (STF) chief, Harpreet Singh Sidhu. Majithia is the brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and the brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. He had earlier denied all the charges against him.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal has ruled out the possibility of a pre-poll alliance with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Goa, but said he may think of tie-ups with non-BJP outfits post-results if the ensuing assembly elections throw up a fractured mandate in the coastal state. He said the AAP will contest on all the 40 seats of the Goa assembly and the party's chief ministerial candidate will be declared in time to come.

Targeting previous dispensations, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that while Ram devotees were fired upon earlier, the present government is getting a grand Ram temple constructed in Ayodhya. Addressing a public meeting in Sonbhadra during the BJP's 'Jan Vishwas Yatra', Adityanath in an apparent reference to the firing on kar sewaks in Ayodhya during the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government, Adityanath said, "Previous governments used to open fire on Ram devotees but the present government of the state is getting a grand Ram temple constructed in Ayodhya. That's the difference between the previous governments and the present dispensation."

PM Modi will also digitally transfer a bonus of about Rs 35 crore to the bank accounts of more than 1.7 lakh milk producers associated with the Banas Dairy. He will lay the foundation stone for a biogas-based electricity generation plant for a Milk Producers' Cooperative Union plant in Varanasi's Ramnagar. It will be a key step towards making the plant energy self-sufficient, the PMO said. Modi will also launch a portal and a logo dedicated to the Conformity Assessment Scheme of milk products, developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with the help of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on Thursday and launch multiple development initiatives, including inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of 22 projects worth over Rs 870 crore.  He will lay the foundation stone of the "Banas Dairy Sankul" at the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority Food Park, Karkhiyaon, Varanasi. Spread across 30 acres of land, the dairy will be built at a cost of about Rs 475 crore and will have a facility for processing five lakh litres of milk per day, the PMO said. This will strengthen the rural economy and help the farmers of the region by creating new opportunities for them, it added.