SP president Akhilesh Yadav (File photo)2022 Assembly Elections Highlights: According to a report, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections from Mainpuri’s Karhal constituency. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday announced that the chief ministerial face and party leader Bhagwant Mann will fight the Punjab Assembly Polls from Dhuri constituency in Sangrur. Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad is set to fight the upcoming Assembly elections from Gorakhpur Sadar, taking on CM Yogi Adityanath.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal Thursday invited Utpal Parrikar to contest the Goa elections on his party’s ticket, adding that BJP has adopted a “use and throw policy” with the Parrikar family. This comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party denied a ticket to the former CM Manohar Parrikar’s son while declaring a list of 34 candidates.
Meanwhile, Keshav Prasad Maurya, once considered the closest to the chief minister’s chair when he led the state BJP as it swept Uttar Pradesh, cannot be easily overlooked when it comes to the future of the party in the state. The exit of several OBC leaders from its ranks means the BJP needs to keep its tallest leader from the community happy. Our special story looks at The Other Maurya.
Restrictions on physical election rallies appear to have thrown up new star campaigners besides those in the party’s official list. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor does not figure in the star campaigners’ list of his party, but the digital campaign seems to have put him in demand, at least in some states. Earlier this week, Tharoor announced that he would address the people of poll-bound Goa virtually. Soon more than 150 people signed up and his followers on Facebook and YouTube also joined. Tharoor’s 25-minute speech went viral and there were dozens of questions from the viewers as well, which received significant coverage in local newspapers.
Read more in today's Delhi Confidential
Two couples -- the Ranes and Monserrattes -- made it to the first list of candidates announced by the BJP for the Goa Assembly elections on Thursday.
Deputy chief minister Chandrakant Kavlekar's wife Savitri, also a ticket aspirant, did not figure in the list and later announced that she would contest as an independent.
The ruling party announced candidates for 34 out of 40 seats for the February 14 elections in the coastal state.
Atanasio Monserratte and Jeniffer Monserratte, both BJP MLAs at present, have been given tickets. The other `power couple' is health minister Vishwajit Rane and his wife Divya. Divya Rane is new entrant in politics. (PTI)
Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday said if Congress could not dislodge the BJP from power in the next month's Goa Assembly elections, Congress' state in-charge P Chidambaram should take the responsibility.
The TMC had approached Chidambaram with a formal offer for pre-poll alliance for the February 14 Goa polls, he told reporters.
"When we arrived here, parties like Congress and AAP raised questions like (if) TMC was trying to divide anti-BJP votes,” said Abhishek, who is TMC's general secretary.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had given a call for like-minded people to forge an alliance, he said. (PTI)
An FIR has been filed against an SP-RLD candidate here for violating the model code of conduct and COVID-19 protocols, officials said on Thursday.
“SP-RLD candidate Babita Devi has violated the model code of elections and Covid-19 by holding a meeting,” additional district magistrate (administration) Vijay Shankar Dubey said.
The public meeting was held in Raya town on Wednesday and about 200 people were present. COVID-19 guidelines were also not adhered to, he said.
Following the announcement of the Assembly poll dates in five states, the model code of conduct came into immediate effect on January 8. According to officials, Devi is the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate from Baldeo reserve constituency. (PTI)
Elvis Gomes will be the Congress candidate for capital city Panaji. He will take on BJP’s Babush Monserrate and AAP’s Valmiki Naik among other candidates. Elvis, was earlier AAP’s Goa Convenor before he quit the party following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where he was the South Goa candidate.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday released a list of 14 candidates for the February 20 Punjab assembly polls. The Mayawati-led party has tied up with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for the Punjab assembly elections.
According to the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties, the BSP will field candidates in 20 of the 117 Assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest will be contested by the SAD.
According to the list of candidates released by the party, Punjab BSP chief Jasvir Singh Garhi will contest from Phagwara seat.
Nachattar Pal will fight from Nawanshahr, Jaspreet Singh from Payal, Rakesh Mahasha from Bhoa, Jyoti Bhim from Pathankot and Kamaljit Chawla from Dina Nagar. (PTI)
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday hit out at the TMC, alleging that the party was trying to “divide anti-BJP votes” in states, and its claims of organising a united front against the saffron camp was nothing short of a “well-scripted drama”.
Chowdhury also said that the Bengal's ruling party, in a tacit understanding with the BJP, was trying to 'finish off' the Congress. The TMC recently announced its first list of candidates for Goa Assembly polls, scheduled next month.
The Mamata Banerjee-led camp is fighting the elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly in alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). 'The TMC's main role is to fracture non-BJP votes in Goa. The TMC, using money power, has bought a few leaders. In a tacit understanding with the BJP, it is trying to hurt the prospects of the Congress and that is a proven fact. (PTI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda will visit Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. He will hold meetings with party officials in Agra and a door-to-door campaign in Bareilly, news agency ANI reported.
A Congress delegation on Thursday met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) virtually over the "politically motivated raids by ED to defame the CM & incumbent Congress Govt in Punjab," news agency ANI reported. The delegation comprised of Randeep Surjewala, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Harish Chaudhary, Devender Yadav, Ganesh Godiyal, Pranav Jha, Aman Panwar and others.
The delegation reminded the CEC about the Model Code of Conduct violations by the Uttarakhand Government for back-dating and tampering of Government records as also Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, in the state.
Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district will have six women-managed pink polling booths during the Assembly polls next month, an initiative that aims at encouraging their participation in the election process.
According to an official statement, Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal said each of three Assembly segments will have two such booths.
These will be exclusively managed by women teams during the polling on February 20, he said. The entire staff at such polling booths, including security personnel, will be women, he added.
The DC said the polling booths will have pink walls and table covers. The initiative aims at catering to women voters and encourage them to vote, the statement said. (PTI)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest the Uttar Pradesh election from the Karhal constituency in Mainpuri district, his first assembly poll as a candidate.
"The party president will contest from Karhal seat of Mainpuri," SP national spokesperson Ashutosh Verma told PTI Thursday. Yadav, who is an MP from Azamgarh seat, had said on Wednesday that he would decide on contesting the Uttar Pradesh polls after talking to the people of his parliamentary constituency.
The Samajwadi Party's Mainpuri district unit Thursday gave a written request to the party chief to contest from the Karhal seat and he agreed, sources said. Mainpuri has traditionally been a Samajwadi Party stronghold. SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav represents the Mainpuri constituency in parliament. (PTI)
Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant slammed Arvind Kejriwal after the Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor invited Utpal Parrikar to join his party. Parrikar, son of former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, was denied a ticket from capital Panaji.
"Hypocrisy! Person whose entire party and politics is based on shallow opportunism should brush up his memory and remind himself of his own filthy comments used against one of the greatest leaders Shri Manohar Bhai Parrikar,” Sawant tweeted.
The CM also attached an article with the tweet, which highlighted Kejriwal criticising Manohar Parrikar.
Samajwadi Party on Thursday expelled former minister in the state cabinet Uma Kiran for six years for “anti-party” activities. The development was announced by SP district president Pramod Tyagi.
Tyagi also said anti-party activities will not be tolerated. Uma Kiran was allegedly demanding party ticket from Purkazi seat and was miffed at not being given it.
She was given a ticket from the seat by Azad Samaj Party (K) led by Chandra Shekhar Aazad and was also seen in a press conference with him. (PTI)
Failed to get a Congress ticket, a party worker who came to file her nomination as an independent candidate from Bulandshahr Sadar seat couldn't hide her disappointment and broke down in tears.
Geeta Rani Sharma shared her grief with media and said her father, who was associated with Congress for 30 years, gave his all to the party. She said she took a large number of women to the Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's rally in Anoopshahr but her work was not recognized.
Sharma suggested that party tickets should be given on the basis of a survey of who's done what. She also named another party worker in Sikandarabad, who too, she said, did not get a ticket despite his diligence towards party work. Having decided to fight independent, Sharma said now she does not want any political party's support. “I want to show Didi that I am a girl and I can fight,” she said, referring to the Congress slogan for the UP polls. (PTI)
RS Nautiyal, father of famous singer Jubin Nautiyal gets a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from Chakrata, Uttarakhand for the upcoming assembly elections.
Goa appears set for a multi-cornered contest where a fractured opposition is attempting to overthrow the BJP, which has been in power in the coastal state for the past 10 years.
A look at the previous election results shows that the BJP had polled the maximum votes - 32.48 per cent - to emerge victorious on 13 seats in the 40-member assembly, while the Congress had garnered 28.35 per cent votes and won 17 seats.
In percentage terms, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) had polled 11.27 per cent votes and managed to win three seats, while 58 Independent candidates had together garnered 11.12 per cent votes and three had emerged victorious. (PTI)
With Goa headed for a multi-corner contest, the BJP on Thursday said it banks on the “stability and development” plank and the “credibility” of its leaders in the coastal state, as it released its candidate list in 34 of the 40 constituencies, report Liz Mathew and Mayura Janwalkar
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who has been elected twice from Sanquelim, is set to contest his seat for the third time. The BJP has chosen 11 OBC candidates, nine Christians and two women for the Goa assembly elections on February 14. The party has, however, denied a ticket from Panaji to Utpal Parrikar, son of late defence minister and former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, and has chosen Atanasio Monserrate, the sitting MLA. (Read more)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday announced that the chief ministerial face and party leader Bhagwant Mann will fight the Punjab Assembly Polls from Dhuri constituency in Sangrur. (Read more)
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday held a press conference to discuss the party's manifesto. During the announcement of the main points from the manifesto, which will be released later, Yadav said he will bring back the pension plan scheme in the state. Highlighting the process of how the pension scheme works, the SP chief said it’s possible for the plan to be reimplemented.
The BJP announced candidates for 59 of the 70 seats for the upcoming Uttarakhand Assembly elections.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami will contest the elections from Khatima, while BJP president Madan Kaushik will fight from Haridwar.