Assembly Polls 2022 Highlights: Congress to hold a meeting of its Central Election Committee tomorrow to select candidates for Goa polls

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has urged the Election Commission of India to postpone the February 14 Assembly polls by six days in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Meanwhile, two nomination papers have been filed so far for the first phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.

Congress to hold a meeting of its Central Election Committee via video-conferencing tomorrow for selection of candidates for Goa Assembly elections

Aam Aadmi Party releases its first list of 150 candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls

UP polls: Samajwadi Party candidate's list has names of criminals, says Adityanath

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said while the BJP's list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls has given representation to different sections of society, the Samajwadi Party's list consists of names of criminals.

Read more

Fact Check: Did Akhilesh Yadav promise to build 2,000 mosques in UP?

A poster claimed to have been made by the Samajwadi Party (SP) is widely shared on social media. The poster attributes the following quote to SP president Akhilesh Yadav — “In western UP and Purvanchal, 2,000 new mosques will be built. In Ayodhya, Rs 1,000 crorewill be given for Babri Masjid. Ayodhya’s name will be changed. Reservation for Dalits and other backwards classes will be reduced while for Muslims it will be increased to 30 per cent. Love Jihad law will be repealed. This is a promise to Muslims.” The poster went viral ahead of upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Read more

Punjab BJP writes to Chief Election Commissioner requesting him to postpone Feb 14 State Assembly poll

JD(U) to fight UP polls independently after no response from BJP on alliance

Nishad party will contest in 15 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with BJP: Sanjay Nishad

Assembly seats to be contested by Nishad party in UP will be finalised during talks with top BJP leaders in Delhi on Monday: Sanjay Nishad

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia booked for 'violations' of Covid norms

Punjab CM Channi's brother says will fight as independent from Bassi Pathana seat

A Samajwadi Party worker allegedly tried to immolate himself outside party office in Lucknow claiming he was denied a ticket to contest in UP polls (ANI)

The season of 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' politics is back

As the election to the five state assemblies draws near, the pace of political activities naturally has become turbocharged. Not that rallies or road shows are happening, neither are posters and banners flooding the streets. The movement is of politicians shifting alliances in search of pastures that they believe can fetch them the necessary greens.

Read more

Goa polls: AAP's Arvind Kejriwal held a door-to-door campaign

I'm not scared, I'll march forward: Cong's Archana Gautam ready for Hastinapur battle

Archana Gautam got an early glimpse into the murky world of politics soon after the Congress picked her as its candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Hastinapur seat but the actor-model says she is emboldened by party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's words -- don't get scared, be strong.

The 26-year-old political debutante and former Miss Bikini India from the largely rural, conservative belt of western Uttar Pradesh is unfazed by old pictures of her doing the rounds of social media and the derogatory comments, just as she is undeterred by attacks from rival BJP and groups such as the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

“I'm not scared, I'll march forward," Gautam told PTI in a phone interview from Hastinapur.

Former UP minister Dara Singh Chauhan joinedSamajwadi Party in the presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, in Lucknow

Post-poll alliance with non BJP party possible in Goa if AAP doesn't get majority : Kejriwal

If the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fails to secure a majority in the upcoming Goa polls, the party would think of forming a post-poll coalition with a non-BJP party, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Kejriwal also ruled out a pre-poll coalition with the Trinamool Congress, while also saying that the doors of his party were open to the son of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar, Utpal, whose request for a BJP ticket to contest from Panaji is tipped to be denied by the ruling party.

Ex-IPS officer Aseem Arun joins BJP

Former Kanpur police Commissioner, Aseem Arun on Sunday joined the BJP in Lucknow. He is likely to contest the Kannauj Assembly seat.

A 1994 batch IPS officer, Arun had resigned earlier this month to join politics.

"It was a decision taken within eight days. I was contacted by the party leadership and given the offer of joining politics. I am starting a new chapter in my life though just like my previous job I will be serving people always," he added.

Team performance will decide winner of Akhilesh vs Yogi match

Ahead of the high octane Uttar Pradesh poll battle, the spotlight has shifted to the political faces in both the teams which have now geared up. The BJP decided to field Yogi Adityanath from his pocket borough of Gorakhpur. The party has played safe and has not exposed the Chief Minister to new turf so he can campaign extensively in the entire state, though there is no clarity whether rival and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will contest or not.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh has taken the lead in the first lap by inducting BJP rebels and stitching together alliances, and the team line up seems strong which can score in the slog overs and in the opening of the match.

'North-South' rift proving to be costly for West Bengal BJP

A tweet from controversial BJP veteran Tathagata Basu has been making the rounds in political circles here since the morning of January 11.

The tweet from Basu read: "Suppressing a serious disease will not cure it; instead, it may hasten death! It began with the money-women syndrome. There was no course correction even after the disastrous results in assembly and corporation elections. The West Bengal BJP is hurtling towards death!"

That the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal is moving towards a slow but inevitable death might be an overstatement but the sharp divide between the leaders of North Bengal and that of South Bengal that is becoming prominent with each passing day might turn out to be expensive for the party.

BJP's 3-tier arrangement for virtual rallies amid Covid restrictions

As the ban on the physical rallies and road shows was extended for one more week, the BJP has made elaborate plans to hold virtual rallies and meetings in all the Assembly constituencies in the five poll-bound states. The saffron party has made three tier arrangements from the national, state to district level for virtual rallies.From deploying technical experts in each Assembly constituency, the BJP has made multi-camera set up at district level in Uttar Pradesh to broadcast rallies of senior leaders.Sources said that for the virtual address of start campaigners a set up is being at national level in the national capital. "An arrangement is being made at national level for virtual addresses of national leaders and star campaigners," sources said.

Showcause notice to Samajwadi Party for violating Covid protocols

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday issued a notice to the Samajwadi Party for allegedly violating Covid protocols in Lucknow on Friday and asked it to file a reply within 24 hours.The Commission, in the notice, said that available reports, prima-facie, suggest that the Samajwadi Party has violated the aforementioned lawful directions of the Commission and "therefore, the Commission, after considering the available material and extant instructions in the matter, has decided to provide you an opportunity to explain your stand regarding the said violations," it said.

'Society will not forgive you', says Kuldeep Sengar's daughter to Priyanka

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was confronted by jailed former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar's daughter over her decision to field Makhi rape victim’s mother from Unnao Sadar seat.

Kuldeep Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2019 for raping a girl in Makhi village and is currently in jail.

Punjab CM Channi writes to ECI, demands polls be postponed

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has urged the Election Commission of India to postpone the February 14 Assembly polls by six days in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Read more

As Manipur heads to polls, BJP bets on Biren Singh again

Nongthombam Biren Singh is a man of many talents. An avid footballer since his college days, Biren got recruited into the Border Security Force (BSF), where he used his feet skills to win the Durand Cup in 1981.

Read more

2 nominations filed so far for 1st phase of UP Assembly polls

Two nomination papers have been filed so far for the first phase of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.One aspiring candidate filed nomination from the Sahibabad assembly constituency in Ghaziabad district on Saturday, while Samajwadi Party MLA from Kairana Nahid Hasan submitted his papers on the first day of the nomination on Friday.