UP election 2022: State under rule of SP, BSP was 'hotbed of terrorism', says Amit Shah in Barabanki

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said Uttar Pradesh under the rule of the SP and BSP was a “hotbed of terrorism”, while applauding the Yogi Aditynath dispensation for eliminating mafia and preventing riots in the last five years. Addressing an election meeting in Barabanki, he said, "Under the rule of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Uttar Pradesh was known as the hotbed of terrorism. The state was known as the centre of riots and corridor for the mafia throughout the country.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have back stabbed Muslims, even after they voted for these parties. Addressing an election meeting here in support of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AMIM) candidate Akram Beg, he also said that "they will talk about Muslims till the elections and after its over, they will forget about you". Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are being held in seven phases and the fourth is on February 23.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, saying those who call cow mother have rendered it helpless. The Congress leader said this addressing a public meeting and claimed that every village in his state has a cowshed while in UP the government uses the animal only for politics. Baghel also accused the BJP of dragging religion into politics. For them, religion is in danger when elections approach, Baghel said.

Staying true to his party's name, Aam Aadmi Party candidate Gaurav Singh's election campaign in the high-profile Raebareli assembly constituency of Uttar Pradesh is sans the usual display of extravagance and clout. Singh hails from a middle-class family with no political lineage and has found support among friends -- all locals from various walks of life -- who are chipping in by lending him car, providing fuel and meals or by any other means to help him reach out to voters. The 33-year-old, who is debuting with the AAP from the Raebareli Sadar seat, is pitted against the sitting BJP MLA Aditi Singh, Samajwadi Party's R P Yadav, Congress' Manish Chauhan, among others.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Monday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks equating ‘bicycle’ with 'terrorism' as an attack on the poor, and indicated that his party will go with anti-BJP camp in case of a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh. 
Addressing an election rally in support of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates in the state capital, Kejriwal said, "Yesterday, I heard the prime minister came (to Uttar Pradesh) and said that all those who rode cycles in the country were terrorists.
This is a 'chhot' (attack) on all the poor who ride bicycles.

Dalits, OBCs have not got the full benefit of reservation under the BJP government in the state, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said here on Monday. While addressing an election meeting at KP College ground here, Mayawati also said that the BJP government did not give full benefit of BSP's schemes to the poor, labourers as well as Dalits, tribals, Other Backward Classes and minorities. Targeting the Samajwadi Party, the BSP chief alleged that the goons, mafia elements and those who openly loot and riot ruled the roost during the SP rule in the state. She said that under the SP government, the scheme for Dalit students to study abroad was scrapped, scholarships for Dalit students was stopped, it also abolished the priority given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the allotment of government land.

Union minister Anupriya Patel on Monday hit out at her elder sister Pallavi Patel, asking why she chose to contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on the Samajwadi Party symbol if she was committed to their father’s ideals. Pallavi Patel is contesting the polls from Kaushambi’s Sirathu against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. Anupriya Patel, who is the Union Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, is heading the Apna Dal (Sonelal), which is an ally of the ruling BJP. Pallavi Patel’s party Apna Dal (Kamerawadi), which is headed by her mother Krishna Patel, is contesting the polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

You want bullet train development or 'puncture wali Cycle' in the state? Yogi in state and Modi at Centre will bring bullet train-like development here : Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in Raebareli

Rahul Gandhi opposes India's Kashmir policy in Parliament. Should such people be supported in politics?: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in Raebareli

This election is not going to make the future of any political party, but the future of Manipur. BJP is a party of common people, we think about the country as a whole, we never discriminate Northeast with any other state in the country: Union Min Nitin Gadkari in Ukhral, Manipur

A complaint has been filed against Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the ongoing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The complaint was registered in Safai of Etawah district on Monday. Akhilesh Yadav, accompanied by his wife Dimple Yadav, had on Sunday interacted with reporters outside the polling booth number 239 in Safai after exercising his franchise, thus violating the poll code. Read more

During lockdown, your business was closed. You suffered the pain of walking for miles. But Modi-Yogi govt acted irresponsibly & turned their faces away from you and closed their eyes, despite your pain. Govt didn't provide you with any relief: Sonia Gandhi. Read more 

I want to ask should we support the bicycle which is used to make innocent people victims of terror incidents. The bicycle should be punctured forever. They are 'Sawajwadi' by name, 'Parivarwadi' by thought process, and 'Dangawadi' by profession: UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Hardoi. Read more 

He (CM Yogi Adityanath) changed the names of everything. Now he is Bulldozer wale Baba. It's a clear fight between public and BJP and we are standing with public. I hope you understand that those who are sitting on Elephant (BSP Symbol) can go anywhere. In which party their gurus are sitting? Their gurus are sitting in BJP... We are forming govt with a majority: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in UP's Hardoi

Akhilesh won't be able to cross even 100 after seven phases. On 10th March (counting of votes) he'll say 'EVM bewafa hai'. He'll lose from Karhal too. SP's 'gunda raj', 'mafia raj' and collusion with terrorists will not be accepted by people: Union Min Anurag Thakur in Banda, UP

Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath will address an election rally in Rae Bareli today. Today is the last day of campaigning before the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has termed the BJP’s allegation that his party has links with the father of an Ahmedabad terror strike case convict as part of a 'strategy' in the state assembly polls. “Strict action should be initiated against a terrorist. And if the BJP is levelling the allegation during the elections, the BJP is moving with a strategy."

A Gujarat court has convicted 38 people in Ahmedabad blasts case. Of these, 8 have a connection with Azamgarh. Of these 8 convicts, a convict’s father is an active Samajwadi Party worker. SP Chief should give a clarification & apologise before the public: UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Even he knows that it's not true. He is saying all this only because of polls. Why is there unemployment in UP when many govt posts are lying vacant? He should talk only on relevant issues: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress on PM Modi's 'Congress, SP sympathise with terrorists' remark

The Election Commission of India has taken suo motu cognizance of violation of the Model Code of Conduct by Akhilesh Yadav. The SP chief had interacted with the reporters while casting his vote in Jaswant Nagar. Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Yadav is contesting from here.

The Samajwadi Party has named ally Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav in the new list of star campaigners. The move comes close on the heel of the Mulayam clan hitting the campaign trail together for the former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in his Karhal Assembly constituency. Shivpal's name was missing in the list of campaigners released by the Samajwadi Party released ahead of the Assembly elections. READ FULL STORY 

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal begins his four-day Uttar Pradesh tour from Monday to drum up support for party candidates in the ongoing assembly polls, AAP office-bearers said. Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister, will begin the tour with an address at a public meeting in the state capital's Qaisarbagh area, party spokesperson Vaibhav Maheshwari said.  "Kejriwal will also be visiting Barabanki and Prayagraj and Gorakhpur during the four-day visit and join various election-related programmes of the AAP," Maheshwari said. Kejriwal will be joined by the party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Sanjay Singh, and three-four MLAs from Delhi, where the party is in power, he added. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be contesting the assembly polls from Gorakhpur (Sadar) seat.

Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on Sunday said the party's chief in Punjab Navjot Singh Sidhu has not been among people in the last five years and his use of sharp language against leaders has upset people, which are likely to affect his chances of victory in the assembly elections. "There is displeasure amongst people towards Sidhu. Being a national leader, in the last five years, he has given less time to them. Moreover, people have also disliked his way of speaking. It is likely to bring him harm," Gurjeet said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will address a public rally in Lucknow on February 21 for the ongoing UP assembly polls. Earlier on January 2 last month, he had addressed a rally at Smriti Upvan Maidan.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took out roadshows in the state capital to muster support for their respective party candidates. While Adityanath's roadshow was confined to the Sarojini Nagar Assembly seat where the BJP has fielded former Enforcement Directorate officer Rajeshwar Singh, Yadav, too, started from the same constituency and covered the city on his æVijay Rath'. In his address in Sarojini Nagar, where the SP has fielded former minister Abhishek Mishra, Yadav said the election this time was not fought by any political party but by the "people who sufferedö in the last five years. He took a jibe at Adityanath mentioning that a media organisation had named him ôbulldozer babaö, and said, ôSeeing the response in the earlier phases of elections, his bulldozer has gone for maintenance." The BJP government did nothing for the people except ôrenaming and changing coloursö of the projects that were launched during the previous government, Yadav said. The SP chief's roadshow started from Scooters India in Sarojini Nagar area and passed through Awadh Crossing - Hazratganj - Akbari Gate in the old city and ended at Munsi Pulia in Indira Nagar covering most of the (nine) constituencies in the state capital. Lucknow will go to polls in the fourth of the seven-phase elections on February 23.

Two personnel of border guarding force ITBP were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in poll-bound Manipur on Sunday, officials said. The incident was reported around 8 pm in the Wangoo Tera area of Kakching district, about 45 kms from state capital Imphal. Constables Gaurav Rai and Girija Shankar have been injured in the blast, they said.  An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) party along with a state police personnel were conducting an area domination patrol when the blast took place, they said. The troops were part of the 'E' company of the 610 ITBP election battalion deployed for poll duties in the state. The injured troops are stated to be out of danger and have been admitted to the Kakching civil hospital. Assembly elections in the northeastern state will be held in two phases on February 28 and March 5. Counting of votes will be held on March 10. (PTI)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday restored the maximum number of Star Campaigners for ongoing and future elections as the number of Covid-19 cases dropped substantially.

Now, the recognised national and state parties can field a maximum of 40-star campaigners. Other parties which are registered but not recognised can now have 20-star campaigners during the electioneering.

Nearly 70 per cent polling was recorded till 5 pm in the assembly elections in Punjab, while in the third of the seven phase polls in Uttar Pradesh, it was over 61 per cent, according to official data.

Polling was held in these states from 8 am to 6 pm, but both have released voting data only till 5 pm.

The average voter turnout for the single-phase elections to the 117-member assembly in Punjab was 69.65 per cent, while in Uttar Pradesh, where 59 constituencies went to polls in phase three, it was 61.61 per cent, according to 5 pm voting percentage data updated by the Election Commission's Voter Turnout App at midnight.

The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making an inflammatory statement, and said he prima facie violated the model code and the electoral law. The poll watchdog gave Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh, the BJP candidate from the Tiloi assembly constituency in Amethi, 24 hours to respond.

According to the transcript of a purported video clip made part of the notice, Singh broadly said in Hindi that "...if you have to live in India, (you will have) to chant 'Radhey-Radhey', else like all those who went to Pakistan during Partition, you can go too...you are not needed here."

The video is being circulated on social media, the EC said.

The commission noted that an FIR was lodged against Singh on February 18 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act.

Launching a scathing attack over the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said Yogi Adityanath just inaugurated Metro trains and stations built by the previous SP government.

Akhilesh accused the current government of taking the credit for the work done during the tenure of SP.

Referring to Yogi Adityanath as "Baba," the former CM said, "Baba CM just inaugurated the metro made by SP government."

"Farmers, students and businessmen have committed suicide under this government because of the hardship they faced. If the SP government comes to power once again, this type of situation won't arise," said Yadav during a Samajwadi Vijay Yatra in Lucknow.

With Punjab reporting a low voters' turnout in Assembly elections held on Sunday, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said that it is the indication of the grand old party retaining power in the state.

Punjab on Sunday held Assembly elections for 117 seats. The final voter turnout of 65.46 per cent was recorded in the state which is lower than 2017 Assembly elections' voter turnout of over 77 per cent.

In this election, Punjab is witnessing a multi-cornered contest this time with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party-former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress party as key players.

As Punjab recorded low voter turnout in the Assembly elections than last year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Amritsar North Assembly Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh on Sunday alleged that infamous "Bahubali" culture like in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could be seen in elections.

Speaking with ANI, Singh also claimed that the even police arrangements were not right in his constituency.

"Police arrangement was not right in Amritsar. We could see the 'Baahubali' culture in Punjab and border areas, which can be seen in UP and Bihar. It felt as if the administration was helping the ruling party and tried to hold people in their area. I even called the Director-General of Police (DGP)," he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Sunday called Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal a "liar" and said if elected to power, the AAP won't bring any change in the state. Channi also called the leaders of AAP those who are "rejected" from everywhere.

Speaking with ANI, Punjab Chief Minister post-voting, said, "If instead of Congress, AAP comes to power (in Punjab), there will be no change, as they have political leaders who get rejected from all sides. They're neither revolutionary nor is he (Arvind Kejriwal) a Bhagat Singh disciple."

"Arvind Kejriwal is a lying man, he speaks big lies and either flips on his statements or sometimes apologizes," he added.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday met the kin of the 22-year-old missing woman whose body was recently recovered from a plot owned by a late former minister's son Rajol Singh earlier this month in Unnao, and said that the family wants justice and not aid.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Family's saying post mortem report given to them is fake, two post mortems were done, both are different. They are saying few police officials were involved."

"They don't want aid, but justice," she added.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing politics of hatred and division in Uttar Pradesh.

After Yadav cast his vote during the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he told ANI that several incidents of mismanagement were reported at different polling booths.

"BJP is doing politics of hatred and dividing people. There have been complaints at many places in the third phase of polling, complaints were made about machine malfunction at the polling booth. Despite this BJP is trailing," he said.

Congress leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that it creates a rift between people despite talks of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'.

Addressing a public rally at Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur, Baghel said, "They (BJP) talk of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' which means the world is one family but behave differently which divide people."

"Our government (in Chhattisgarh) waived off loans of farmers without any difference be it loan of a Rs 20,000 or Rs 20 lakh. They (BJP) are trying to divide farmers," he added.