Voters cast their votes in the first phase of assembly elections at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)Elections 2022 Highlights: The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday further relaxed restrictions on physical campaigning for the assembly elections across the five states – Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The poll body allowed political parties and candidates to campaign between 6 am and 10 pm in adherence to Covid-19 norms. “Padyatra consisting not more than the permitted number of persons as per SDMA limitations and only with prior permission of district authorities will also be allowed. All other existing provisions related to electioneering shall continue to operate,” it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Kannauj of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, targeted the Opposition and said that after first round of voting in UP, dynasts are sleepless and unable to dream. For them the mantra of democracy is ‘government of the family, by the family and for the family,’ Modi said taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party. Earlier, in Rudrapur of Uttarakhand, Modi accused the Congress of spreading rumours about Covid vaccines, saying the party did it for politics because it thought it will not have anything to speak against the government if things got back on track. He also charged the party with abusing the country’s first CDS late Gen Bipin Rawat and asked people of Uttarakhand to give a befitting reply to it for this “insult” in the February 14 polls, PTI reported.
In another news. soon after being sworn in, the BJP in Uttarakhand will form a committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code in the state, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday. Implementing Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand will help boost equal rights, he said. “It’ll enhance social harmony, boost gender justice, strengthen women empowerment and help protect the extraordinary cultural-spiritual identity and environment of the state,” he added.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during a roadshow in Moradabad on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)
Pointing out that no major riot has taken place in Gujarat since the last two decades, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that voters in Uttar Pradesh have also realised that only the BJP government has the antidote for rioters and criminals.
Addressing an election rally here, he also hit out at “dynastic parties”, saying after the first round of voting in Uttar Pradesh their leaders are sleepless and unable to dream anymore. Read More
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the single-day election in Uttarakhand and Goa, two states known for political volatility where the BJP is attempting to retain power, and for the second phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on February 14. While the BJP leaders have been asking voters to again go for a 'double-engine government', a reference to the same party being in power at the Centre and in the state, to ensure development, opposition parties like the Congress and the AAP have been targeting the saffron party on issues like price rise, farmers' protest and alleged divisive agenda.
Polling is scheduled to be held on all the 70 Assembly seats in Uttarkhand and 40 constituencies in Goa, besides 55 seats in Uttar Pradesh, on Monday while the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10. A host of top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a series of rallies in support of their party candidates as the ban on physical rallies was lifted in a phased manner by the Election Commission's (EC) from February 1. (PTI)
Accusing the Congress of resorting to the "politics of appeasement", Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the party has begun to push Rohingya Muslims into the hills of Uttarakhand and asked people to foil its gameplan in the coming polls. Addressing a slew of rallies in Uttarakhand on the last day of campaigning, Shah said the party's plans to establish a Muslim University is part of the party's politics of appeasement.
He said in the first phase of polls in Uttar Pradesh the SP, BSP and Congress have been wiped out and something similar was going to happen in Uttarakhand where the BJP has been in power for the past five years. He said Uttarakhand is a tourist spot for the Congress but for the BJP, it is the soul of India's culture.
The ruling BJP on Saturday fielded its biggest political leaders on the last day of campaigning in Uttarakhand, which goes to the polls on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed multiple rallies on the day.
While Modi addressed a public meeting in Rudrapur, Shah held rallies in Dhanaulti, Sahaspur and Raipur, followed by a door-to-door campaign and Ganga aarti in Haridwar. Read More
The Election Commission of India on Saturday issued fresh relaxations allowing poll campaign padayatras with limited number of people.
The Election Commission of India on Saturday issued fresh relaxations in connection with the Assembly poll campaigning. It reduced the campaign ban period to between 10 pm and 6 am. (PTI)
The BJP-led NDA on Saturday released its manifesto for the February 20 Punjab polls, promising a slew of sops including 75 percent reservation in government jobs and 50 percent reservation in private jobs for the state's youth. It also promised an unemployment allowance, 35 percent reservation for women in government jobs and massive infrastructure development to revive the state's economy if it forms the government in Punjab. As per the manifesto, a dope test will be made mandatory before the filing of nomination forms for the elections.
An unemployment allowance of Rs 4,000 per month for all graduates for two years after completion of their degrees will be provided, it said. The manifesto promised 35 percent reservation for women in all government jobs including contractual jobs. Fast-track courts will be established to deal with any kind of violence, harassment and oppression against women, it said. A special act will be formed to deal with the cases of NRI abandoned brides, it further said. (PTI)
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the 70 Assembly seats of Uttarakhand going to polls on February 14 with a host of star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, holding a series of rallies in support of their party candidates.
Electioneering, which drew to a close at 6 pm in accordance with the Election Commission's (EC) guidelines, was affected for the most part by COVID-19 restrictions, including a ban on physical rallies, forcing the political parties to resort to virtual rallies and scaled-down door-to-door campaigns. However, the ban on physical rallies was lifted in a phased manner by the EC from February 1 onwards. (PTI)
More from Elections
Across the world, a democratic Govt is defined as Govt of the people, by the people, & for the people. The dynastic parties of our country have changed this essence of democracy. Their mantra is: Govt of the family, by the family, & for the family: PM Modi in Kannuj, UP.
Invoking the Sikh gurus, BJP national president JP Nadda attacked the Congress party and said that the hands of its leaders are soaked with the blood of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, but now they are coming to seek votes from Punjab’s electorate.
“Their big leaders used to say about the anti-Sikh riots in the country that when a big tree falls, then the earth shakes. Now it’s time to shake them,” said Nadda, adding that these leaders put humanity to shame. He was speaking in Nawanshahr district’s Balachaur constituency on Saturday while campaigning for party candidate Ashok Bath. Read More
An interfaith langar was organized in Ludhiana where Sikh, Hindu & Muslim communities came with their traditional delicacies and ate together at Rose Garden.
Among the candidates in the fray in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections' second phase, 114 are educated up to Class 8 while 12 have declared themselves to be "illiterate", according to an analysis report. There are also 102 'post graduate' candidates and six with Ph.D in the fray, stated the report by polls reforms advocacy groups Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Voting is scheduled for February 14 on 55 assembly seats spanning nine districts of Amroha, Bareilly, Bijnor, Budaun, Moradabad, Rampur, Saharanpur, Sambhal and Shahjahanpur in western Uttar Pradesh.
The report is based on the analysis of self-sworn affidavits of 584 candidates out of 586 who are contesting the second phase elections, it stated. Affidavits of two candidates could not be analysed because they were either badly scanned or incomplete,the report said. According to the analysis, 12 candidates are 'illiterate', 67 'literate', 12 have passed Class 5 and 35 have passed Class 8 while 58 have cleared Class 10 and 88 have cleared Class 12. There are 108 'graduate' candidates, 89 'graduate professionals', 102 'post graduate', six 'doctorate', five 'diploma' holders in the fray while two contestants have not presented their education details, it noted. In terms of age, 56 candidates are between 25-30 years, 150 between 31-40 years, 179 between 41-50 years, 130 between 51-60 years, 62 between 61-70 years, six between 71-80 years and one contestant is aged between 81-90 years, according to the report. Of the analysed candidates in the second phase, 515 (88.2 per cent) are men and 69 (11.8 per cent) are women, the report noted. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Uttarakhand, accused Congress of creating fear in minds of people about vaccines against Covid-19. "Congress also abused first CDS Bipin Rawat. Will you tolerate this insult?" he asked. (PTI)
UP CM Yogi Adityanath, during an election rally in Kotdwar of Uttarakhand, said, "..Surprised to hear Rahul Gandhi say definition of Hindu. He should be told that his great-grandfather called himself 'Accidental Hindu'. Doesn't suit someone,whose ancestors weren't proud of being Hindus, to tell us its definition.."
PM Modi, while speaking at election rally in Uttarakhand, said that Congress has been wiped out from many states and that Uttarakhand has that opportunity in the upcoming polls. (PTI)
India is one, this country is one...Congress says there is no nation. Congress is not even ready to consider India a nation (rashtra). BJP will secure the 'Devatava' (divinity) of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand: PM Modi speaking at a public rally in poll-bound Uttarakhand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Uttarakhand, said that BJP government is leaving no stone unturned for the development of the state. He added that developmental projects were carried out despite pandemic challenge. (PTI)
Congress will definitely come to power in Uttarakhand because the people are tired of BJP government. Chief Minister should tell the people what he is going to do to check inflation and boost employment. What is he going to do for women?: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Khatima (ANI)
The Shiv Sena will eventually contest all polls, Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday while campaigning in Goa. "Shiv Sena is needed in all states. The good governance in Maharashtra should be replicated in all states, it's our expectation," he added. (ANI)
Addressing a rally in in Uttarakhand, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said: "There's a competition in Congress to insult 'Hindu'. People who don't know if they are Hindu or not are now defining the meaning of it. Swami Vivekanand said, feel proud to call yourself Hindu. 'Hindu' isn't a communal word, it's our cultural identity."