Assembly polls: Senior BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal joins Shiromani Akali Dal

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 165.6 crore with more than 53 lakh vaccine doses administered on Saturday, the Union health ministry said. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight, the ministry said. Cumulatively, 53,96,51,188 first doses have been administered to those in the 18-44 age group and 40,19,58,479 second doses have been given in the same age group since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive, according to health ministry data. It said that cumulatively, 93,87,16,725 first doses have been administered while 70,57,49,826 second doses have been administered.

Two high-end SUVs, watches worth Rs 44 lakh and residential properties worth Rs 35 crore are part of the total assets declared by Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Congress' candidate from the Amritsar East assembly seat and its Punjab chief. The 58-year-old former India cricketer on Saturday filed his nomination papers before the returning officer in Amritsar for the February 20 state assembly elections. 
Sidhu in his affidavit, filed along with the nomination papers, declared total assets worth Rs 44.63 crore. This includes movable and immovable assets, including those of his wife and former MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu, of Rs 3.28 crore and Rs 41.35 crore respectively.

Congress candidate from Noida, Pankhuri Pathak on Saturday alleged violation of model code of conduct by sitting BJP MLA Pankaj Singh ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Pathak sought action against Singh by the Election Commission (EC) and the district election officials over the alleged violations, even as a local BJP spokesperson trashed the charges. “The BJP is continuously violating the EC guidelines in our area. Since yesterday, messages are being circulated on WhatsApp groups in housing societies that free (anti-COVID-19) vaccination camps are being organised in the societies by them. This is a clear violation of model code of conduct,” Pathak claimed.

Senior BJP leader and former Punjab minister Madan Mohan Mittal on Saturday joined the SAD in the presence of party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal here. Mittal was upset after his son, Arvind Mittal, was denied a ticket by the BJP from Anandpur Sahib assembly seat.
The BJP has fielded Parminder Sharma from the constituency. Welcoming him into party fold, the Shiromani Akali Dal chief said that with the joining of Mittal and his supporters, the SAD will get a boost. Badal also appointed him as the party's senior vice president. Mittal had served as minister of parliamentary affairs, and health and family welfare in the Parkash Singh Badal-led government in Punjab. Voting for Punjab's 117 assembly seats will be held on February 20 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10.

A case has been filed here against 250 people, including BJP MLA Sanjay Gangwar, for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct, police said on Saturday. SHO Kotwali Harish Vardhan Singh said that around 250 people, including Gangwar who is BJP's candidate from Pilibhit, were organising a meeting without any permission and were also violating COVID-19 norms. He said Gangwar also inaugurated the main election office without permission. Invitation was sent to people through social media, the SHO said, adding that a stretch of road was also jammed due to the meeting. He said that Police Outpost Incharge Nirdesh Kumar Chauhan had sent a report to officers based on which the case was registered.

BJP candidate Pradeep Chaudhary for the Sadar assembly seat here allegedly got an international call threatening him with dire consequences following which an FIR has been lodged against unknown people, police said on Saturday. Bulandshahr’s Assistant Superintendent of Police Shashank Singh said the case has been registered on the basis of a written complaint by the BJP candidate. 
The number from which the call was received has been given to the surveillance cell for investigation and further action will be taken on its findings, the ASP added.

The Election Commission has banned all exit polls pertaining to the coming Assembly elections from 7.00 am on February 10 to 6.30 pm on March 7. In a statement, UP's Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said that conducting the exit polls, its publication in print or electronic media or its publicity has been banned from 7.00 am on February 10 to 6.30 pm on March 7. 

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday accused the previous Samajwadi Party government of adopting a model of the destruction of the state and developing only graveyards. 

A complaint has been filed against Tilhar SP candidate Roshan Lal Verma for hiding criminal cases against him in his election affidavit, an election official said on Saturday. The complaint has been filed by a woman named Sarita Yadav, who has claimed for years that she is wife of Verma’s deceased son, Vinod Verma. Yadav told reporters here that Verma has 14 criminal cases against him and not three as he mentioned in his affidavit. Verma has maintained that only three cases are pending against him, and the rest of the cases were dismissed by the police. The woman has raised objections about Verma educational qualifications too.

The BJP on Saturday released a list of 30 ‘star campaigners’ to campaign for the party in Uttarakhand that goes to polls on February 14.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of Road transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP president JP Nadda, and Union Minister and the party's election in-charge for Uttarakhand Pralhad Joshi are on top of the list. The list also includes Union Minister Smriti Irani, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami, his cabinet colleague Satpal Maharaj, and Pradesh BJP president Madan Kaushik.

A divisional-level office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, BJP's youth wing, was seriously injured after being shot at by motorcycle-borne assailants in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district, police said on Saturday. The incident took place in the Friends Colony police station area on Friday evening, they said. 

Manifesto Promises of 5000 Rupees direct transfer to the women  account of every household under Griha Lakshmi scheme. 20 lakhs loan under Yuva Shakti for the Youth of Goa at 4% interest.

Filing nomination from the Amritsar East seat, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday dared his bête noir Amarinder Singh to leave Patiala and take on him. He also challenged Shiromani Akali Dal's Bikram Singh Majithia to fight only from the Amritsar East seat and leave the Majitha assembly constituency. 

Law and order situation was tattered here. Daughters were not safe... but when we formed govt we brought in an atmosphere of safety. Was there any riot in the last 5 years? : BJP leader and UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Ghaziabad

With BJP candidate Salona Kushwaha facing here her brother as an independent and SP candidate Roshan Lal Verma his alleged daughter-in-law, the Tilhar assembly segment has turned into a field for queer electoral battle among kith and kin. The Tilhar assembly seat in the Shahjahanpur district will be going to the polls in the second phase on February 14. After Tilhar’s sitting BJP MLA Roshan Lal Verma jumped into the fray as an SP candidate after switching sides, a woman, Sarita Yadav who had been claiming herself to be married to his son, threw her hat into the ring. Muddying the poll field further, Kushwaha’s brother Ravindra Kushwaha jumped into and fray and filed his nomination paper on Saturday, accusing his sister of driving his family out on the road.

After the announcement of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding his first virtual rally on January 31. With this rally, the Prime Minister will address the electorate of the seats going to the polls on February 10. PM Modi will address the electorate of 21 assembly seats spread over Gautambuddh Nagar, Shaymli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Saharanpur. Modi will be aiming to reach out to over 10 lakh voters virtually.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday took a swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, saying he does not have "shame" while talking "lies" about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP government has chased away criminals and mafias who flourished during the earlier regime. He also scoffed at Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary’s display of togetherness and said leaders of these parties will be seen together only till election. He said in the event of government formation, people like Azam Khan and Atiq Ahmad will take centre stage and Chaudhary will not be seen anywhere.

If voted to power, we will provide 50% reservation to women in local bodies of Goa, announces TMC leader Luizinho Faleiro "Goa, which used to be a cradle of peace, has become capital of crime & prostitution. BJP Govt has taken us to a situation that Goa has never seen," he says

The Congress on Saturday appointed four region-wise observers for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls slated to be held on February 20. While two observers have been appointed for the Malwa region, which has 69 of the total 117 Assembly seats, one observer each has been appointed for the Majha and Doaba regions. The Congress is seeking to retain power in Punjab and is pitted in a multi-cornered contest with the AAP, the Akali-BSP combine and the BJP which has forged ties with former chief minister Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal Sanyukt of Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Many people tried to project themselves as a farmer leader but no one could do for welfare of farmers what PM Narendra Modi did. India's agriculture budget has been increased to Rs 1.23 lakh crores per annum from Rs 22000 crores per annum (2014): BJP chief JP Nadda in Etawah, UP

Uttar Pradesh | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hold election campaign in Kasganj and Amritpur (Farrukhabad) constituencies on 30th January ahead of UP assembly elections.

Kotdwar and Haridwar (rural) seats in Uttarakhand are all set to witness interesting contests when the state goes to polls on February 14 with the daughters of two former chief ministers preparing to avenge the defeats of their fathers from the two constituencies. 
The BJP has fielded former chief minister Maj Gen Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan from the prestigious Kotdwar seat while the Congress has fielded former chief minister Harish Rawat's daughter Anupama Rawat from Haridwar rural seat. Khanduri had lost from Kotdwar in 2012 and Harish Rawat from Haridwar rural in 2017 when the two stalwarts had contested from the seats as incumbent chief ministers.

Goa polls: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Goa on February 2; to hold a virtual rally in Goa CM Pramod Sawant's constituency Sanquelim. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah cut short his campaigning in UP's Deoband due to overcrowding. 

People of UP have seen the politics of change. They will never accept the politics of revenge: Union Minister Smriti Irani in Meerut

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday took a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, saying the previous government built a Haj House, while a Mansarovar Bhawan was constructed in Ghaziabad under the BJP's rule. The chief minister, who was on a visit to Ghaziabad on Saturday, contrasted the work done by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation in Uttar Pradesh.

"The previous government of Uttar Pradesh had built a Haj House in Ghaziabad. The BJP government has constructed a Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan in Ghaziabad with state-of-the-art facilities at a cost of Rs 94 crore. Giving respect to the faith, this building is a great gift for the devotees. The difference is clear," Adityanath tweeted in Hindi.

The chief minister had made similar remarks during a door-to-door campaign in Ghaziabad on Sunday.

"Earlier Haj House was made in Ghaziabad. Our government constructed Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan. Earlier the mafia used to harass traders, but now no mafia can dare to grab property of any trader, doctor or a poor person...," he had said. The BJP leader also targeted the SP and its leader Akhilesh Yadav on Friday, calling them supporters of Pakistan and "worshippers of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah". "They are worshippers of Jinnah, we are worshippers of Sardar Patel. Pakistan is dear to them, we will sacrifice our life for Maa Bharati (Mother India)," Adityanath said in a tweet in Hindi without taking names.

AAP's chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann on Saturday filed his nomination papers from Dhuri assembly segment, saying he expects that people of this constituency will ensure victory for him with the biggest margin in Punjab.
Mann was accompanied by his mother during the filing of nomination papers. It is the time for writing history for the Dhuri assembly segment, Mann told the reporters. "I expect that the people of Dhuri will make this seat victorious with the biggest margin in Punjab," he said. He further said people of Dhuri want change and said that he was happy that he has been nominated by his party from this assembly segment.  "Dhuri will be made a model assembly constituency," he said.
 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a day-long visit to poll-bound Goa on Sunday, during which he is scheduled to address separate indoor public meetings in three Assembly constituencies in the state, a party functionary said. Assembly elections in Goa, where the BJP is currently in power, will be held on February 14. During his visit, Shah will address three public meetings - one each in Ponda, Sanvordem and Vasco Assembly constituencies, BJP's Goa unit president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said on Saturday. The Union minister will address the first public meeting in Ponda at 4.30 pm, followed by another such event in Sanvordem at 6.30 pm. He will hold his last public meeting of the day at Vasco at 8 pm.

Punjab Congress chief and party's candidate from Amritsar East, Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday filed his nomination for the state Assembly elections.

Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan on Friday said that he does not trust the policemen who have been deployed in his security and claimed that they can shoot him. Abdullah, who is contesting from the Suar assembly seat in Rampur on SP's ticket, expressed apprehension that only the policemen deployed in his security can shoot him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hit battleground Uttar Pradesh by holding a virtual rally on January 31, ahead of Assembly elections in the state. This rally by the Prime Minister will cover five districts of Uttar Pradesh namely Shamli, Muzzafarnagar, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Gautambuddh Nagar (Dadri/Jewar) and it will cover 21 Vidhan Sabhas. Keeping the directions of the election commission in mind the total physical mobilization arrangements have been made to listen to the Prime Minister's address at 100 locations cutting across 98 mandals and covering 21 Vidhan Sabhas.

Amid the row over the delay in Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav's helicopter take off at the Delhi airport, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Friday took a dig at the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister saying that Yadav is not contesting assembly elections but cracking jokes adding that he does not understand his politics over technical things calling it an "outcry" of his defeat in upcoming polls.

"Samajwadi Party contesting elections or cracking jokes ahead of elections? I do not understand his politics on something that was technical. You'll say my helicopter flew 10 minutes late, then you'll also say my cycle was punctured and BJP did it. You'll also blame disruption in mobile network connection on BJP. This is an outcry over the results after the election. It is an outcry of defeat in the election and the depression of the feeling of defeat. Nothing more than that," said Naqvi.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said that people of Uttar Pradesh need a change from inflation and unemployment adding that only Congress can get rid of it.

"Common people need a change from inflation and unemployment, only Congress can get rid of it," he told media persons.

Baghel, who was conducting a door-to-door campaign on Friday in support of Congress candidate Sikandar Valmiki from Agra Cantonment, also said that the people he met have assured him that they will vote for Congress.

A total of 755 candidates filed nominations for 70 assembly seats in the state.  On the last day of filing of nominations, 307 candidates including Congress leader & former CM Harish Rawat filed their nominations.

According to the State Election Office, maximum 144 nominations have been made in Dehradun and lowest 15 in Champawat district. 723 nominations were filed in the state in the last elections.

BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday targeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, asking why is he remembering the person responsible for the partition of India and not the one who united the country.

Nadda made the remark while apparently referring to Yadav's statement on Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who he appeared to equate with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel during an event in October last year.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had called Yadav and his party "worshippers of Jinnah".

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh on Friday announced the schedule for the biennial election of 36 members of the UP Legislative Council from 35 local authorities. The term of the current council members ends on March 7.

In a statement, UP Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said that two members will be elected from the Mathura-Etah-Mainpuri local authority.

In the first phase, 29 seats and in the second phase, six seats will go to polls.

The notification for the first phase will be issued on February 4, while February 11 is the last date of filing nominations. Scrutiny of nominations will be held on February 14 and February 16 is the last date to withdraw candidature. Voting will be held on March 3 from 8 am to 4 pm.

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary on Friday reiterating his stance of not forging any post-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, hit out and said they would not gain anything by "appeasing him" and alleging that the latter is trying to polarise on caste lines.

The RLD chief said, "They call Western Uttar Pradesh Jat land. What do they call Haryana? They only want to polarise. They want to polarise on the caste lines. This is their strategy. They do not have a place for me in their hearts. What would they gain by appeasing me? Focus on our issues, do justice with the farmers."

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit out at the ruling BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and said that every promise that they made during before the 2017 Assembly elections in the state turned out to be a "Jumla".

Addressing a joint press conference with Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary here, Yadav said, "Now the elections have come, I would like to tell BJP to read their manifesto. Did they fulfil the promises that they made? Every promise turned out to be a 'Jumla'. Gave false advertisements, playing with the statistics even now. I believe that our coalition will defeat the BJP in this election."

The former chief minister further reiterated his party's promise that they would provide 300 units of free electricity to the people if they are voted to power.

As many as 587 candidates have filed their nominations for the 40 assembly seats in Goa that will be going to polls on February 14, said an official statement by the Chief Electoral Officer on Friday. The filing of nominations for the polls had begun on January 21 and ended on Friday afternoon.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati will kickstart her campaign on February 8 for the Punjab Assembly polls scheduled next month. The BSP chief will address a rally at Nawanshahr, said party's Punjab President Jasvir Singh Garhi on Friday.

Garhi said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) -BSP alliance will form the next government in Punjab with a clear majority.

"The BSP-SAD alliance would free Punjab from the misrule of the Congress party with a victory in the 2022 assembly elections," he said.

Chhattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel conducts door-to-door campaign, ahead of the UP elections