Polling for 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state began in the morning.
'People tell us openly that in 2024 we will vote for Modi.'
Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister announced that roads would be constructed in the state after the name of 'kar sevaks' who died in 1990 during Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
The crucial meeting of the Sangh, which is an annual event, is being considered significant in the wake of assembly polls in the state.
The opposition members alleged that the bill had been brought by the state government to save some individuals, apparently referring to Samajwadi Party member Bachchan, whose disqualification has been recommended by the Election Commission.
Amid the din, the governor kept reading out his speech.
Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and the ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 45 of the total 53 ministers, including the chief minister.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'Omar Abdullah presented Delhi as a villain in front of the people of Jammu Kashmir before elections and now is shaking hands with them.'
Over 1.57 crore voters were likely to decide the fate of 705 candidates including state Minister Ujjwal Raman Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Kesri Nath Tripathi and All India Mahila Congress president Reeta Bahuguna Joshi.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Voting was held on Sunday on 117 assembly seats in Punjab and 59 assembly constituencies spread across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Shah along with other senior party leaders felicitated Modi for the party's performance in the five state assembly polls.
In Pasmanda Muslim meets, the BJP leaders are highlighting that the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress always used Muslims as a "vote bank" and did not give them their due.
The SP chief said, "If the Congress behaves like this, who will stand with them."
A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna asked senior advocate Vivek Tankha and advocate Sumeer Sodhi to serve the copy of the petition to the standing counsel of Uttar Pradesh government and posted the matter for further hearing on April 5.
The ruling BJP-led coalition ended Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's over four-decade dominance in Rampur with its ally Apna Dal-Sonelal winning the Suar assembly by-election by a margin of 8,724 votes.
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would soon form government at the Centre, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed on Wednesday as he predicted that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will not complete its five-year term.
The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for Tuesday's counting of votes in five states by setting up counting halls for all 690 assembly constituencies in 168 locations and deploying additional observers.
As the new year arrives, what is clear is that the BJP's stars continue to shine the brightest while its rivals' search for a way to dim their glow go on.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav told mediapersons in New Delhi on Wednesday that his party has not taken any decision about projecting someone as the chief ministerial candidate in the forthcoming elections of the UP assembly.
The party would consider aligning with any party after assessing the post-poll situation, she said.
The Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and some smaller parties will contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together, and an announcement in this regard would be made soon, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Tuesday.
Modi knows how to turn Gujarati pride into an emotive issue at election time and a Gujarati President would have its own electoral resonance and significance, note Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the BJP parliamentary board and its national leadership will decide under whom the upcoming state assembly elections will be fought.
The Speaker said a meeting of the leaders of the political parties was held to discuss Sardesai's letter and it was unanimously decided to drop the matter.
A total of 15 crore people are benefiting from the programme in the state, Adityanath said.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
Against the Samajwadi Party's decision to field actor Jaya Bachchan and retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader and party MLA Pallavi Patel on Wednesday said she will not cast her vote.
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav tried hard to convince his daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav to not join the Bharatiya Janata Party, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Wednesday and expressed his happiness that the SP's socialist ideology is expanding its reach.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have got a tough fight in Varanasi had Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested against him as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) candidate, feel party workers from the temple town.
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
As his old adversary Mayawati confronts the anti-incumbency factor in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Mulayam Singh Yadav expects a fresh lease of political life as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. An exclusive interview!
"I am a five-time legislator and it has been allotted to me as a senior member of the state assembly," he said.
The first list put out for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections has a total of 77 candidates with a criminal background. Topping this list are both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party who have 13 candidates each with serious criminal charges against them.
The bypolls were conducted for two Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, one each in Meghalaya and Odisha and the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab.
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