Assembly Election 2022 LIVE Updates: Amit Shah meets Jat leaders from western UP in Delhi ahead of polls

The Congress on Wednesday released its third list of 89 candidates for Uttar Pradesh elections, reserving 40 per cent seats for women. READ MORE

Not to me but invite families of those 700 farmers who died during the protest against farm laws, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary said after Amit Shah held a meeting with Jat leaders.

Some of the BJP and JDS leaders are in touch with me, but I will not reveal the names. To join congress they must have belief in our party, they must join us by accepting party leadership and they must join without any condition, said Former Karnataka CM and LoP Siddaramaiah.

With less than a month left for assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday met Jat leaders from western UP and held discussions on a number of issues. The meeting took place at the residence of BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma in Delhi. READ MORE

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday announced that his 94-year-old father and five-time state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will contest from Lambi assembly seat in the upcoming Punjab assembly election, to be held in one single phase on February 20.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday announced that senior party leader and his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia will also fight the state assembly elections from Amritsar East against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. READ MORE

Union Home Minister Amit Shah's meeting with Jat leaders from UP concludes. "We have demanded Bharat Ratna for (former PM) Chaudhary Charan Singh, reservation for Jats & proportionate representation in Central &UP Govts. The HM has responded positively," an attendee said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reaches residence of BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma on the occasion of Republic Day to meet Jat leaders from western UP ahead of UP elections.

With Jat votes once again in the centre stage of polls in west UP, Union home minister Amit Shah met Jat leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday. 

Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who now is an alliance partner of the Samajwadi Party, is set to contest the 2022 Assembly polls from Shivpur constituency in Varanasi. SBSP sources said the idea was mooted by SBSP leaders and the seat was finalised after consultation with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. A formal announcement is expected soon. At present, the Shivpur seat is held by UP Minister Anil Rajbhar. Anil Rajbhar was promoted as a leader of the Rajbhar community in 2019 after Om Prakash Rajbhar parted ways with BJP. Meanwhile, Krishna Patel, president of Apna Dal (K) is likely to contest from the Rohaniya assembly constituency in Varanasi. Some Apna Dal leaders have also demanded that she contest from Sirathu against deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Union Home minister Amit Shah to visit Vrindavan, Gautam Buddha Nagar on Jan 27 ahead of next month's UP polls. 

Ahead of the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Madan Kaushik on Tuesday filed his nomination papers. He was accompanied by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Cabinet Minister Swami Yatishwaranand. Earlier on January 20, BJP had announced that Kaushik will contest from Haridwar in the upcoming assembly elections.

The BJP Central election Committee (CEC) has finalised names of party candidates for all the remaining seats of Uttar Pradesh. Till now, the BJP has announced names of 204 candidates for Uttar Pradesh polls. Names of finalised candidates will be announced soon.

Like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party (SP) has also given a large chunk of tickets to OBCs in its first list of 159 candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. The SP has given tickets to 66 OBC candidates. Besides OBC, the party has also fielded upper castes, Muslims, and Dalit candidates in its first list. Drawing a comparison between the BJP and SP on its lists, the former has fielded 76 OBC candidates while the latter -- 66. The first list of the Samajwadi Party has the name of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who will contest from Karhal, while the list also includes the name of his uncle Shivpal Yadav, who will contest from Jaswant Nagar.

At least nine polling booths in Lucknow will be operated by staff with physical disabilities. This is being done to motivate and increase the participation of physically challenged voters, the district election officer (DEO) said. Besides, Covid positive patients would be allowed to vote in the final hour of voting on their respective booths. Elderly or physically disabled voters who wish to avail postal ballot facility have to contact their returning officer or booth level officer by January 30.

Former Congress leader RPN Singh who joined the BJP on Tuesday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will decide on his role in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, adding that no one else from his family is contesting the elections except him. 

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced candidates for three more seats for the upcoming Goa Assembly polls. It is AAP's seventh list of candidates for Goa elections. AAP fielded Parshuram Sonurlekar from Mormugao and Mario Cordeiro from the Saligao constituency. Mahesh Vithu Satelkar has been given the ticket from Aldona seat. 

After being nominated as the Congress candidate from Ramnagar constituency in the upcoming Uttarakhand Assebly polls, former chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday said Ramnagar is his "guru sthal" and he would try to do something good for the area.

Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto for the upcoming Uttarakhand assembly elections is likely to be released on February 2.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the Punjab BJP leaders at the party office on Tuesday to discuss the candidates for the remaining seats in Punjab and the next list is likely to be declared on January 27. 

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged the Election Commission and the citizens to ensure a voter turnout of 75 per cent in the next general elections to make electoral democracy more inclusive and also sought consensus on simultaneous polls to sustain the tempo of development. In a message on the occasion of the 12th National Voters Day, he stressed that no voter should be left behind and urged the citizens to judge the contestants on merit. As he has been in home isolation in Hyderabad after testing corona positive, his address was read out at the event in New Delhi.

After its ally Samajwadi Party, it is the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) which has now asked the Election Commission to impose a ban on opinion polls that are making an attempt to influence voters. RLD national Secretary Anil Dubey met the state Chief Electoral Officer on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

In a reprieve to senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia from arrest in a drugs-related case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted protection against the arrest for three days. Majithia, the brother-n-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, is in fray for the February 20 assembly polls from Majitha, near Amritsar. With this, he can approach the Supreme Court for challenging the high court order dismissing his anticipatory bail plea.

Stones were hurled at the convoy of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manindar Pal Singh at Chur village in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district during campaigning. He is the saffron party candidate from Siwalkhas constituency. The attack left the window panes of his car broken. Singh was visiting the Jat-dominated village for campaigning when the attack took place. A video of the incident soon surfaced on social media. The BJP blamed a 'disgruntled Rashtriya LOk Dal' for the attack while the latter blamed the BJP instead for "plotting the attack against itself to gain sympathy votes."

Bharatiya Kisan Union National Spokesperson, Rakesh Tikait has said that the ""Hindu-Muslim" and "Jinnah" rhetoric will be kept alive in the state only till the state Assembly elections." He cautioned his supporters and farmers "not to be influenced by such divisive statements, meant only for political gains".

The Election Commission of India(ECI) has decided to courier coloured Elector Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to newly enrolled voters via post, a senior official said on Tuesday. The service was launched on January 25 which is celebrated as National Voters’ Day.

The Congress on Tuesday targeted the BJP over a purported video clip of Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan making derogatory remarks against Brahmins. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the remarks made in the clip, which has gone viral, show the anti-Brahmin, anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP. She also alleged that BJP leaders have made such casteist remarks against Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the past. "The Uttar Pradesh government, the central government and the BJP leadership should apologise for the shameful remarks made by the union minister," she said. There was no immediate comment available from the BJP. The Congress leader said there should not be any place for religion and caste in Indian politics.

The BJP on Tuesday declared names of eight more candidates including two women --- Gudiya Katheriya from Auraiya and Poonam Sankhwar from Rasulabad in Kanpur Dehat. The party declared Sanjeev Kumar Diwakar from Jalesar constituency and Veerendra Verma from Marhara seat in Etah district. It has named Mamtesh Shakya from Patiyali and Hari Om Verma from Amanpur (both in Kasganj district). The party has decided to field Priyaranjan Ashu Diwakar from Kishani seat in Mainpuri district. Siddhartha Shankar Dohare has been fielded from Bharthana assembly constituency in Etawah district. Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Etah, Kasganj, Mainpuri and Etawah districts will vote in the third phase on February 20.

Hours after senior Congress leader and former Union minister R P N Singh switched sides and joined the BJP, Congress candidate from Padrauna Manish Jaiswal too resigned from the party. Kushinagar Congress president Rajkumar Singh also quit the party. Both, Singh and Jaiswal are mulling over joining the BJP.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday accused the Uttar Pradesh Police of assaulting students and vandalising their hostel in Prayagraj for allegedly protesting against unemployment in the city. Sharing a purported video of the incident on Twitter, Priyanka Gandhi said, “It is highly condemnable that police in Prayagraj are thrashing students and vandalising their lodges and hostels.

The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday declared Pawan Pandey as its candidate from the Ayodhya assembly constituency for the upcoming elections in the state. Tej Narayan Pandey alias Pawan Pandey was a minister in the council of ministers headed by Akhilesh Yadav in the SP government from 2012 to 2017, and had won from Ayodhya assembly constituency. However, in the 2017 assembly elections, he had lost to BJP's Vedprakash Gupta from the same seat. The SP has also given a ticket to Madhuri Verma, who had crossed over from the BJP, and she will be contesting from Nanpara in Bahraich. Former UP minister Yasar Shah has been named as the SP candidate from Bahraich, while former legislator Mukesh Srivastava will be party's candidate from Payagpur assembly constituency in Bahraich. Yasar Shah is currently an SP MLA from Matera assembly constituency in Bahraich.

The Congress on Tuesday released its second list of 23 candidates for Punjab assembly elections, fielding former chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar's daughter-in-law Karan Brar from Muktsar. With this, the party has so far announced 109 candidates of the total 117 assembly seats in Punjab. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu's aide Smit Singh has been fielded from Amargarh assembly seat, while former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhathal's son-in-law Vikram Bajwa got the ticket from Sahnewal assembly constituency. Former Punjab minister Ashwani Sekhri has been again fielded from his Batala assembly seat, which he lost last time.
Former MLA Harchand Kaur has been fielded from Mehal Kalan (SC) constituency. Sitting MLA from Bhoa (SC) seat Joginder Pala has been fielded from the same constituency and Ramanjeet Singh Sikki from Khadoor Sahib constituency.