MC Election Update Today January 13: SP-RLD alliance announces first list of 29 candidates for UP polls

The Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance on January 13 announced its first list of 29 candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Of the 29 seats, the SP has fielded its candidates on 10 while the RLD on 19, according to a list shared by the RLD on social media. Among the constituencies where the SP-RLD combine has announced candidates are Meerut, Baghpat, Kairana, Shamli, Loni, Sahibabad, Jewar, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Agra Cantt, Agra (rural).

Congress should realise its leaders not emperors of India, says TMC; calls for anti-BJP alliance in Goa

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra on Thursday hit out at the Congress, saying it should realise that its leaders are not "mperors of India" and added that had the grand old party discharged its duty well in Goa, there was no need for the TMC to enter the coastal state's poll fray to defeat the ruling BJP. She said the TMC is ready for an alliance in Goa as defeating the BJP is the "need of the hour", but added that the Congress should get off its "high horse" and wake up to its depleted strength. Moitra was reacting to senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram's assertion made earlier in the day that the Congress and the BJP are the two main contestants in Goa and if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the TMC fielded candidates and secured some votes in the upcoming assembly polls, in effect they will be splitting the non-BJP vote.

Punjab polls: Arvind Kejriwal asks people who should be AAP's CM face

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal asked people on Thursday who should be the party's chief ministerial face in the February 14 Punjab Assembly polls, even as he stated that his own preference for the post is Bhagwant Mann. Kejriwal, however, ruled himself out of the race as the AAP launched its "Janta Chunegi Apna CM" drive and said the name of the candidate for the top post will be announced after getting the feedback of people. In the presence of Mann, who is the AAP's Punjab unit chief and the MP from Sangrur, and senior party leader Raghav Chadha, the Delhi chief minister launched a mobile number -- 7074870748 -- on which people can give their opinion till 5 pm on January 17 by recording their voice and sending text or WhatsApp messages as to who should be the party's chief ministerial candidate.

UP BJP will see resignations each day till Jan 20, says Dharam Singh Saini

Ahead of the upcoming Assembly Polls in 5 states, Twitter announces a series of initiatives to ensure a high voter turnout & engage voters. They are: Election search prompt with Election Commission of India, Custom emoji & notification campaign, voter education quiz to support voter literacy.

Punjab Assembly Elections 2022 | We have installed CCTVs on vehicles that will be on-road 24×7. We've also deployed FSTs (Field Surveillance Teams) to monitor any disturbances during the upcoming elections: Amritsar Nodal Officer, Puneet Bhasin

NCP enters into alliance with Samajwadi Party to contest UP elections

We have decided to contest elections with Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. One seat has been announced and talks are on for other seats. We will support the alliance that is forming in UP, NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said on January 13.

50 women part of Congress first list of candidates for UP polls

The Congress on Thursday released its party's first list of 125 candidates, including 50 women, for the upcoming assembly election. While Unnao rape victim’s mother Asha Singh has been fielded from the Unnao assembly seat, anti-CAA activist and party spokesperson in Uttar Pradesh, Sadaf Jafar has been fielded by the Congress from Lucknow central.

Seven legislators quit BJP in 3 days

In a fresh jolt to the BJP, Dr Mukesh Verma, MLA from Shikohabad Assembly constituency in Firozabad has resigned from the primary membership of the party, alleging 'lack of respect' by the government towards backward classes and Dalits. Verma is the seventh legislator, including two ministers, to have resigned from the BJP over the last three days.

Read more | Another MLA quits BJP in UP; 7 resignations in 3 days

P Chidambaram: A strong 'anti-BJP, anti-incumbency wind' blowing is in Goa. I will appeal to the electorate that 'Goa should be ruled by Goans'. (PTI)

P Chidambaram: TMC and AAP do not have a cadre base in the constituencies in Goa. They attempted to build their parties through defections.

Read more | Congress, BJP main contestants in Goa; AAP, TMC will split non-BJP vote: Chidambaram

Congress can't win Goa polls on its own, says Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

The Shiv Sena is upset at being given a cold shoulder by Congress over its proposal to repeat the Maharashtra coalition experiment in the Goa Assembly elections. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has said that the political situation in Goa is such that the Congress cannot go beyond single-digit if it contests the assembly polls in the coastal state on its own.

Congress making new, historic beginning, says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as she announces first list of candidates for UP polls

Among the first list of 125 Congress candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, 40 percent are women and another 40 percent are youth and by doing so the party is making a new and historic beginning, said party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Addressing a press conference, she said the party has fielded such candidates who have struggled for seeking justice in Uttar Pradesh and the party wants them to come to the forefront and be a part of power in the state.

Mayawati announces two candidates for UP Assembly polls

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Thursday announced two candidates, including former Congressman Imran Masood's brother, for western Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming polls. In a series of tweets, the BSP chief announced Salman Sayeed as the party's candidate from Charthawal and Noman Masood from Gangoh Assembly constituencies.

Congress releases first list of candidates for UP Assembly polls

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has released the first list of 125 candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, reported news agency ANI. "Out of the total 125 candidates, 40 percent are women and 40 percent are the youth. With this historic initiative, we hope to bring in a new kind of politics in the state," she has said.

Also read | Congress releases first list of 125 candidates for Uttar Pradesh polls; mother of Unnao rape victim among the names

30 BSF personnel on poll duty in Uttarakhand test positive for COVID-19

Thirty BSF personnel, deployed on election duty in Uttarakhand's Kotdwar Assembly constituency, have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been quarantined, Kotdwar Circle Officer told news agency ANI.

BJP's Central Election Committee meets to finalise candidates for UP polls

The BJP's Central Election Committee has met today to finalise the party's candidates for the seats which will go to the polls in the initial phases of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls starting from February 10. BJP president JP Nadda and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, all three of whom have contracted coronavirus, joined the meeting via video conferencing, while Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders besides those from Uttar Pradesh, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, met physically.

Shiv Sena won't be part of any alliance in UP: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena will not be part of any alliance in UP, party MP Sanjay Raut told news agency ANI. "We have ideological differences with Samajwadi Party but we want a change in the state. We have been working for a long time in UP but didn't contest elections because we didn't want to hurt BJP," he said.

Congress appoints Mohan Prakash as its senior observer for Uttarakhand polls

The Congress has appointed senior party leader Mohan Prakash as observer for overseeing its election campaign management in Uttarakhand. Prakash, a former general secretary of the All India Congress Committee, will discharge his duties in close coordination with the AICC in-charge for Uttarakhand Devendra Yadav.

Another OBC leader quits Adityanath cabinet, SP 'welcomes' him

In another jolt to the ruling BJP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan has resigned from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and appears to be headed towards the Samajwadi Party. Earlier, as BJP leaders brainstormed in Delhi on the UP assembly polls, Swami Prasad Maurya, also a prominent Other Backward Class leader, had quit the state cabinet. Three other BJP MLAs announced their resignation from the party, seemingly in Maurya's support.

Farmers' body SSM releases first list of candidates for Punjab polls

The Sanyukt Samaj Morcha, a political front launched by various farmer bodies for fighting the February 14 Punjab assembly polls, has released its first list of 10 candidates. The list included farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal as the outfit's candidate for the Samrala assembly seat. Rajewal is leading the SSM.