Assembly Election 2022 LIVE Updates: BJP to announce list of candidates for Goa polls today

Apna Dal leaders likely to meet BJP top brass for the last round of meeting for the seat-sharing formula tonight. Jamuna Prasad Saroj, Apna Dal UP president reaches Delhi for the meeting. Anupriya Patel to be present, said Ashish Patel, Apna Dal.

Ahead of Punjab Assembly elections, Election Commission has transferred two Deputy Commissioners-cum-District Election Officers and eight Senior Superintendents of Police in Punjab, says office of Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab

BJP releases two more names - Chhatrapal Gangwar to contest from Baheri & Bahoranlal Maurya from Bhojipura in the upcoming UP elections.

Mamata Banerjee will be visiting Uttar Pradesh on Feb 8 to meet SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for a virtual press conference to be held in Lucknow&Varanasi. TMC & Mamata Banerjee don't want to contest in UP. All seats will be given to Akhilesh Yadav: Kiranmoy Nanda, SP Vice-President

The BJP alleged on Tuesday that its rivals Samajwadi Party and the Congress appeared to be in a competition over who can spew more venom against Hindus and protect those who do so. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra cited Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan's support to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and the SP nominating several Muslims allegedly accused of involvement in riots and making communal remarks to attack these parties. Khan had recently made a speech targeting Hindus, Patra said and noted the Congress had allied in the past with parties that draw its support from Muslims in states like Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal and were accused of making communal remarks aimed at the majority community. The SP has also given tickets to people like Nahid Hasan, an MLA currently in jail, and Muharram Ali, accused of stoking riots, Patra said.

BJP Lok Sabha member from Allahabad Rita Bahuguna Joshi on Tuesday offered to resign from parliament if the party is ready to give ticket to her son Mayank Joshi in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. It is learnt that Joshi has written to BJP chief J.P. Nadda offering her resignation from Lok Sabha membership if the party is ready to give ticket to her son. She also met Uttar Pradesh BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan. For ticket distribution this time, the BJP has decided to not field any sitting member of Parliament and a policy of 'one ticket one family'. Joshi said that she had sent a proposal in this regard to party chief Nadda and it's up to the party leadership to decide on it. "It is up to the party to decide on my offer. I had already announced that I will not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," she said.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has lashed out at the BJP over raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on multiple locations as part of a money laundering probe against the "sand mafia" and companies linked to alleged illegal sand mining. The raids were also conducted at premises linked to Channi's nephew in Mohali. Channi said that raids are an attempt to put pressure and target him and his ministers as the polling day drew near in the state. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to announce party's CM candidate for Goa during a press conference in Panaji on January 19. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released a spoof video titled “Punjab's next CM is in the house”. It shows Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state’s Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu fighting each other for the CM chair.

The All Manipur Christian Organisation (AMCO) on Tuesday urged the Election Commission to reschedule the first phase of Assembly polls on February 27 as the day being a Sunday is the prayer day of the community. Expressing its resentment, the AMCO requested the Election Commission to conduct the polling of the first phase on any day of the week other than Sundays."We earnestly appeal to the Election Commission to reschedule the first phase polling date to show solidarity and respect to the religious sentiment of the Christians," it said in a statement. The elections to the 60-member Manipur Assembly would be held in two phases on February 27 and March 3. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. The AMCO said if the first phase of polling was held on Sunday (February 27) it would hurt the religious sentiment of the Christians. "Sunday is a sacred day, the Lord's Day, a day set aside to worship and revere God. But fixing a polling date on Sunday has led the Christian community in Manipur to question if the Government is deliberately attempting to desacralize its religious significance. "Furthermore, the AMCO is apprehensive that a large number of voters may refrain themselves from exercising their franchise as the polling day falls on Sunday thus, purposely robbing off the people their right to universal franchise," the statement said. Christian population constitute 41.29 per cent of Manipur's three million people, of which 41.39 per cent are Hindu and 8.40 per cent people belong to Muslim community.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said the Congress government only laid foundation stones of projects and left them at that while the BJP government was completing the ones it had started. Taking a dig at Congress leaders for often trying to grab credit for development works done over the past five years of the BJP rule in the state, Dhami said that is the difference between the two parties. "You (Congress) only laid the foundation stones of projects during your time and left them at that while we begin and complete them," Dhami said at a virtual rally.

Just weeks before the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Gautam Buddha Nagar Police on Tuesday seized a cash of approximately Rs 1 crore from a Delhi-registered car near here in Noida, an official said. He said that in order to conduct the upcoming elections in the state peacefully, the police have intensified the security arrangements and are regularly carrying out intensive search operations to prevent smuggling of goods. "Following the same orders, the police today seized a cash of Rs 99,30,500 from a fortuner car bearing registration number DL10CL5201 near Sector 24 stadium crossing," the official told IANS. He said that two people in the car, identified as Akhilesh, a resident of Wazirpur in Delhi and Arun, a resident of Karol Bagh, Delhi have been detained by the police. "The duo was not able to give a satisfactory reason for carrying such a huge amount of cash," the official said, adding that the accused duo has till now informed that they were working for some cloth merchant.

Congress has released the first list of candidates for the Goa Assembly polls.

Constituency            Candidate

Bicholim                Meghashyam Raut 

Tivim                   Aman Lotlikar

Calangute               Michael Lobo

Porvorim                Vikas Prabhudessai

St. Andre               Anthony L. Fernandes

Sanquelim               Dharamesh Saglani 

Marcaim                 Lavu Mamlekar

Sanguem                 Prasad Gaonkar

Canacona                Janardan Bhandari 

The BJP is expected to announce its list of candidates for the February 14 Assembly polls by Tuesday evening, said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Sawant, along with state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade, Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik, organising secretary Satish Dhond are scheduled to leave for the national capital. "We are going to Delhi today," Sawant said. The BJP is headed for the polls on its own and the Chief Minister has said that the party is expecting to win more than 22 seats in the elections. The Assembly polls in Goa will be held in a single phase on February 14.

According to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, the party had received 21.59 lakh responses under its 'Janta Chunegi Apna CM' drive to elect its CM face for the Assembly polls in Punjab. More than 93 per cent people said that they want to see Bhagwant Mann as the next CM of Punjab. Mann, 48, is a two-time MP from Sangrur and is the party's state unit chief. Voting for Punjab's 117 Assembly seats is scheduled for February 20 and the counting will take place on March 10.

Attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the issues of employment and education, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday urged the youth to stick to the same agenda in the upcoming assembly polls in the state. Citing a media report, Gandhi said that in Uttar Pradesh, 16.5 lakh youth lost their jobs in the last five years and four crore people gave up hope of jobs.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid a courtesy visit to BJP national president JP Nadda at the latter's residence in Delhi, today

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that it is very that raid is being conducted on the premises of Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's relative in connection with a case of illegal sand mining. Punjab CM & his relatives are involved in illegal sand mining.

PM Narendra Modi while interacting with BJP party workers in Varanasi, his home turf, via Namo app, said that every vote is important, 'we must tell people the importance of voting'. 

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that Bhagwant Mann will be the Aam Aadmi Party's CM face in Punjab. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider listing for hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to ensure that political parties publish details regarding criminal cases of candidates along with the reason for their selection on their websites. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli was urged by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed the PIL in his personal capacity, that the plea be listed urgently keeping in mind the ongoing election process. "Nomination for the first phase of election has started and the political parties and candidates are brazenly violating the two apex court judgements," the lawyer said. "We will consider it. I will give a date," the CJI said.

Senior Congress leader and two-time MLA from Garhshankar, Luv Kumar Goldy on Monday joined the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) along with his supporters, ahead of the February 20 assembly polls in the state. While joining the party, Goldy said he always had faith and confidence in the leadership of Amarinder Singh, according to a party statement. He said after taking his supporters into confidence he decided to join the PLC. Goldy said Punjab needed the leadership of Singh as his successors have proved utter failures. He said the Congress was in a “state of civil war” and its candidates will lose deposit in most of constituencies. Welcoming Goldy into party fold, Singh, who is in isolation due to COVID-19, in a message said, Goldy belonged to a respectable political family of Garhshankar which had great contributions towards the freedom of the country and welfare of the state.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has made several promises to the farmers of Uttar Pradesh including MSP for every crop, free irrigation facilities, payment of arrears to cane-growers in 15 days, interest-free loans, and insurance and pension. Yadav also said that cases lodged against farmers during their agitation against the now-repealed farm laws would be withdrawn, and the families of farmers who died during the protest would be given Rs 25 lakh each. The SP supremo said all these promises would be part of the party's election manifesto for the assembly elections in the state. He said a special 'Farmers Revolving Fund' would be created, if needed, to ensure the payment of arrears to sugarcane farmers in 15 days.

With the BJP deciding to field UP CM Yogi Adityanath from his home turf Gorakhpur (Urban) assembly seat in the February polls, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday sought to woo the sitting BJP MLA Radha Mohan Agarwal, offering him his party ticket for the seat. Asked about BJP’s Gorakhpur (Urban) MLA Agarwal, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "If you (reporters) can establish contact with him and speak to him, the ticket will be announced and he will get the ticket.” Yadav was speaking to reporters at his party headquarters in Lucknow on the occasion of 'Ann Sankalp Divas'. Agarwal has been the MLA from Gorakhpur Urban seat since 2002.

BJP leader Sambit Patra said that the Samajwadi Party's list consists of names of criminals.

Taking a dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his handling of COVID-19 during the second wave in that state, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the people of Gorakhpur will remember it and will cast their vote against Yogi Adityanath in the coming Assembly polls in UP. With the BJP deciding to field Yogi Adityanath from his home turf Gorakhpur (Urban) assembly seat in the February polls, Owaisi said, "The way the Yogi government went missing during COVID second wave leaving the Uttar Pradesh public on their own dead bodies were floating in rivers in Uttar Pradesh and also in Gorakhpur. I am hopeful the people of Gorakhpur will remember this and will take a good decision against Yogi Adityanath."

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which wrested power in Manipur for the first time in 2017 in alliance with two political parties and supported by independent MLAs, this time most probably fight alone, party leaders indicated. Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik and Assam Minister Ashok Singhal, BJP's in-charges for the Manipur elections, separately indicated that the saffron party is keen to contest the elections on its own this time. However, both Bhowmik and Singhal did not completely rule out the pre-poll alliance with the like-minded parties. "We are in talks for a pre-poll alliance with the like-minded parties and allies," Singhal said in Guwahati without disclosing any details of the possible alliance. Both the ministers however, claimed that the BJP on its own would secure the absolute majority.

The Election Commission of India on Monday issued a notification allowing the persons deployed in essential services and media to cast their votes through postal ballots in the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states. According to the notification, the personnel employed in Information and Public Relation Department, Health and Family Welfare Department including emergency and ambulance services, Postal and Traffic departments, Railway, Electricity, Civil Aviation Departments, Metro Rail Corporation of Uttar Pradesh, Doordarshan, All India Radio and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are eligible to exercise their franchise using postal ballots as 'Absentee Voters' in the Assembly elections of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is predicted to return to power for a second consecutive term in Uttar Pradesh with a brute majority, according to an Opinion Poll by Ground Zero Research. The ruling saffron party will likely get 230-235 seats in the Legislative Assembly that has 403 seats. The Samajwadi Party-led alliance will win 160-165 seats while the Congress and BSP will get a thin share of 3 to 7 and 2 to 5 seats in the House, respectively. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew and several others are being raided by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with illegal sand mining. ED officials are searching Bhupinder Singh Honey's home in Mohali. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) will meet on Wednesday to finalise candidates for Goa, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Shortlisted names of the candidates recommended to the CEC have been already discussed by the top leadership with the state units. Sources said that the meeting will be held on January 19 and names for Goa, and Uttarakhand are to be approved. "Names for a few more phases of Uttar Pradesh will be approved by the CEC," sources said.

Yogi Adityanath emerged as the top choice for the Chief Minister's post in an Opinion Poll conducted by India TV ahead of the crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh 2022. A whopping 38.42 per cent of the participants said that they want to see Adityanath as the CM after the polls. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with BJP members from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi today. This will be Modi's first political programme involving party workers after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the elections to five state assemblies, including Uttar Pradesh. The Twitter handle of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit shared the programme's schedule and asked people to share their ideas and suggestions for it through the NaMo app.

Ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections slated for next month, the ruling BJP has released a rap song starring BJP leader Ravi Kishan as part of its political campaign. The song highlights all the work done by the party in UP in the last 5 years. Titled, 'UP Mein Sab Ba', the 5-minute song mentions development-related activities done by BJP from basic necessities like water, electricity, and houses for the poor, to the Jewar Airport foundation and the inauguration of the Purvanchal expressway. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Congress on Monday shared a short video, showing actor Sonu Sood saying "the real CM" will be the one who deserves to be at the post and not that person who declares himself to be the chief ministerial candidate. The 36-second video on Twitter, which was retweeted by the Punjab Congress, ends with visuals of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at different programmes and events.

In Punjab, the BJP for the first time would be seen in the role of 'elder brother' in an alliance and it is certain that the Amarinder Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa's party will contest the assembly elections in alliance with the BJP. However the parties haven't yet reached to any final conclusion on the seat-sharing. If sources are to be believed, there are still some differences between the three parties over many seats. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

After the Haridwar controversy, the Aligarh district administration has denied permission for the proposed Dharam Sansad, planned in the city on January 22 and 23. Several eminent citizens, minority organisations and former union law minister Kapil Sibal, had also written a letter to the district administration demanding denial of permission for the event that could "spark tension" in the "communally sensitive" city. ADM (city) R.K. Patel said that since Model Code of Conduct and Covid guidelines are in force in the state, the permission will not be given to the organiser. "Neither the permission was granted nor will be given," he said.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will announce AAP's chief ministerial candidate for the Punjab Assembly polls today in Mohali at 12 noon. Voting for elections to Punjab's 117-member assembly will be held in a single phase on Feb 20

Ahead of Assembly polls, Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's newly-formed political party Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) received a shot in the arm after senior Congress leader and two-time MLA from Garhshankar Luv Kumar Goldy along with his supporters joined the party on Monday.

Goldy said that he always had faith and confidence in the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh.

He said that he joined the PLC after he took the confidence of his supporters.

Goldy said, "Punjab needed the leadership of Captain Amarinder the most as his successors had proved utter failures. The Congress party was in a state of civil war and the Congress candidates will lose deposit in most of the constituencies."

Hours after Congress sent an apparent signal of backing Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the chief ministerial candidate in the poll-bound state, the Punjab Youth Congress also echoed the message through a tweet.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls: Based on a complaint, Gautam Buddh Nagar Police has registered an FIR against Dadri BJP MLA Tejpal Nagar for conducting door-to-door campaigning with a group of more than 5 people, under Sections 188, 269 & 270 of IPC and Epidemic Diseases Act