Assembly Election 2022 LIVE Updates: Mamata Banerjee leaves for UP, to campaign for Samajwadi Party

BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday promised to start metro services in some districts of Uttar Pradesh including Agra, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Meerut in the next five years if Bharatiya Janata Party retains power in Uttar Pradesh. The senior BJP leader also claimed that Uttar Pradesh has marked the lowest unemployment rate under the Yogi Adityanath-led government.

"In the next five years, we'll start metro services in Agra, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Meerut. UP has marked the lowest unemployment rate under the Yogi government. Through MSMEs, more than three lakh jobs have been created in the state," Nadda said while addressing a public rally Varanasi .

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has left for UP on a two-day visit to campaign for Samajwadi Party in Varanasi in ongoing assembly polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh worked for the overall well-being of women, freeing them from kitchen smoke with Ujjwala scheme while toilets ensured dignity. PM Modi said that the previous governments in the state never bothered to look after the overall well-being of women and their interests.

In this Uttar Pradesh district, which sent former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Parliament for the first time, the BJP appears to be facing a tough task as it tries to repeat its clean sweep on all four assembly seats. Vajpayee was elected for the first time as a Member of Parliament in 1957 from the Balrampur constituency, which has four assembly constituencies of Balrampur, Gaisri, Utraula and Tulsipur -- all represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at present. All the seats of Balrampur will go to the polls in the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election on March 3.

The district along the India-Nepal border has a link to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as well. Devipatan temple of Pateshwari Devi temple is associated with Goraksh Peeth, headed by the chief minister as Goraksh Peeth Adishwar (head). In 2007, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the BJP had won two seats each in Balrampur, while in 2012, the Samajwadi Party (SP) had won all the four seats. In 2017, the BJP had bagged all the assembly segments.

(PTI)

The ten districts going to the polls in the sixth phase are Gorakhpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ballia, Balrampur, Basti, Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar. The seats which are going to polls are Katehari, Tanda, Alapur (SC), Jalalpur, Akbarpur, Tulsipur, Gainsari, Utraula, Balrampur (SC), Shohratgarh, Kapilvastu (SC), Bansi, Itwa, Domariyaganj, Harraiya, Kaptanganj, Rudhauli, Basti Sadar, Mahadewa (SC), Menhdawal, Khalilabad, Dhanghata (SC), Pharenda, Nautanwa, Siswa, Maharajganj (SC), Paniyra, Caimpiyarganj, Pipraich, Gorakhpur Urban, Gorakhpur Rural, Sahajanwa, Khajani (SC), Chauri-Chaura, Bansgaon (SC), Chillupar, Khadda, Padrauna, Tamkuhi Raj, Fazilnagar, Kushinagar, Hata, Ramkola (SC), Rudrapur, Pathardeva, Rampur Karkhana, Bhatpar Rani, Salempur (SC), Barhaj, Belthara Road, Rasra, Sikandarpur, Phephna, Ballia Nagar, Bansdih and Bairiya.

Political fever in Uttar Pradesh goes high as the fate of 676 candidates including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be decided in the sixth phase of the state Assembly polls will be held on Thursday in 57 Assembly seats across 10 districts. Of the total 57, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dominated the seats in this belt in the last assembly elections in 2017. BJP won 46 seats while Apna Dal won one seat. Samajwadi Party (SP) won only two seats, while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 5 seats. Congress and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) won 1 seat respectively.

The Congress on Tuesday attacked the government over the rise in prices of commercial LPG and milk and said it will take to the streets if fuel prices are hiked after the assembly elections.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said by raising the price of LPG, the government has proved that it has nothing to do with the suffering of people. He suggested that the prices of petrol and diesel could increase next.

"By increasing the price of LPG once again, the Modi government has made it clear that it has nothing to do with the sufferings of the common people. Today LPG, tomorrow petrol-diesel," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag "#KiskeAchheDin".

Manipur registered a record voter turn out of 88.63 per cent out of a total of 12.09 lakh registered voters for the first phase of the state legislative Assembly elections for 38 assembly segments, a statement issued by the Chief Electoral Officer said, Female voter turnout at 89.96 per cent outnumbered male turnout recorded at 87.29 pc. Women "displayed more enthusiasm" the CEO said.

Taking potshots at Samajwadi Party, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav does not have the strength to stop the BJP from coming to power in Uttar Pradesh. He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the latter came to know of the stray cattle menace troubling the farmers in the state only at election time.

"Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav does not have the strength to stop the BJP from coming to power. In the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections, Yadav joined hands with the Congress and for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it formed an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but could not prevent the BJP from forming the government,” Owaisi said addressing an election meeting in Sikandarpur area.

Campaigning for the sixth phase of polling for 57 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur Urban from where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is in the fray, came to an end on Tuesday evening.

Spread over 10 districts, polling in these constituencies will be held from 7 am till 6 pm on Thursday. The districts where polling is to be held in this phase include Ambedkar Nagar, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria and Ballia.

State Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said the campaign for the sixth phase ended at 6 pm and all preparations for voting on Thursday have been completed.

The Congress on Tuesday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of drafting a statement issued by a proscribed Kuki militant organisation asking the people of Manipur to vote for the BJP, and demanded repoll in two districts alleging that voting was not free and fair in the first phase of the Assembly election on February 28. AICC Senior Observer Jairam Ramesh claimed that the sporadic incidents of violence reported from Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts during the polling were the result of the influence of Kuki National Organisation's (KNO) statement. The statement was "drafted, prepared by the Union Home Minister and Chief Minister (N Biren Singh) and issued in the name of the KNO." Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah had visited Manipur to address poll rallies on February 22 and 23 respectively.

The Election Commission (EC) ordered re-polling at the Manikpur primary school polling station of Handia Assembly constituency in Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. The re-polling will take place from 7 am to 6 pm on Thursday (March 3), Chief Electoral Officer of the state Ajay Kumar Shukla said in a statement. The commission has ordered re-polling at polling station number 311 -- Manikpur Handiya primary school -- where polling was held on Sunday, the statement said. The decision was taken after certain important documents went missing from the polling station after the conclusion of polling, it added.

Former Uttar Pradesh Minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who is contesting from Fazilnagar as Samajwadi Party candidate, on Tuesday alleged that his convoy was attacked on Tuesday during electioneering "by BJP workers". "Due to security reasons, I sat in a different car while travelling for the campaign in Kushinagar. BJP workers were sitting with sticks, stones and guns there. They attacked my car. Such incidences are taking place under the patronage of BJP," he alleged while talking to the media.