State Elections 2022 Highlights March 3 | 53.31% voter turnout recorded till 5 pm in 6th phase of Uttar Pradesh polls

A record Rs 328 crore worth of inducements to voters such as cash, liquor, and narcotics have been seized in Uttar Pradesh since the announcement of the assembly poll schedule on January 8, Election Commission sources said on Thursday. The cumulative seizure of such illegal inducements in the five poll-going states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa, and Punjab -- stood at Rs 1,039.50 crore, the sources said, adding that it included drugs worth Rs 571.34 crore.

The seizure figure in Uttar Pradesh up to Thursday was Rs 328.33 crore, 1.70 times more than the total combined seizure of Rs 193.29 crore in the entire assembly polls held in 2017 in the state. Like last time, this time too assembly polls in the state are being held in seven phases. While voting is over in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur still have one phase each to go.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow, i.e., on March 4^th, ahead of the seventh and final phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

State BJP calls preparatory party meeting on March 7, ahead of the counting of votes on March 10. State election in-charge Union Minister Prahlad Joshi will attend the meeting. All MPs, state officials, district presidents, candidates, and in-charges invited.

You (public) have made a huge mistake by encouraging communal politics. This made politicians think they can evoke religion and caste instead of public issues after five years. 'Netas' know how to keep youth jobless and get votes on religion and caste, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in Chandauli

AICC senior observer Jairam Ramesh Thursday accused the BJP-led government in Manipur of paying Rs 15.70 crore to some banned militant groups under Suspension of Operations (SoO) to ensure the first phase of assembly elections in two districts on February 28 were not free, fair and peaceful. An additional amount of Rs 92,65, 950 was also released on March 1 to influence the elections in the second phase on March 5, he alleged.

The Congress leader tweeted, “In a shocking violation of the Model of Conduct the Union Home Ministry and BJP State Govt in Manipur released Rs 15.7 crores on 1.2.22 and further Rs 92.7 lakhs on 1.3.22 to banned militant groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO). This has made a mockery of elections in four districts!”

Ramesh told reporters that the objective of the instalment given on February 1 was to influence voting in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts, where elections were held on February 28.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Uttar Pradesh was run by gangsters and mafias before 2017, but now things have changed under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and such elements are behind the bars.

He also said that earlier roadblocks were created in the implementation of welfare schemes meant for the poor, but now there are no such hurdles and the benefits of these schemes are reaching the needy. Modi was addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its tenure illegally gave the land of SC, ST, and OBC to people from other states. CNT and SPT acts are meant to safeguard the land rights of people here, but BJP gave land to outsiders that should be taken back. Jharkhand govt should hear people’s voices: Congress MLA Naman Bixal Kongari

The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government in Manipur of violating the model code of conduct to influence elections thereafter around Rs 17 crore was released to banned militant groups which are under suspension of operation agreement. Assembly elections are underway in Manipur and the second phase is slated for March 5. The first phase of polling was held on February 28.

“In a shocking violation of the Model of Conduct the Union Home Ministry and BJP State Government in Manipur released Rs 15.7 crores on 1.2.22 and further Rs 92.7 lakhs on 1.3.22 to banned militant groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO). This has made a mockery of elections in 4 districts!” Ramesh said on Twitter.

Ramesh, who is the senior observer of the Congress for the Manipur elections, also shared a statement that alleged that these payments have ensured that polls in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts in the first phase have not been free, fair and peaceful.

In Uttar Pradesh's Banasfa village, former MP Dhananjay Singh plays the Good Samaritan extending a helping hand to villagers who queue up at his doorstep. But Singh has 10 cases pending against him and is seen by many as a 'bahubali’ or a muscleman.

Singh, a JD(U) candidate from Malhani assembly constituency of Jaunpur district, laughs away the 'mafia' tag, saying "I am enjoying it". "I am not wanted in any case, but I am forcibly being made mafia as part of publicity by a party. I am accountable to the people of my area and the public knows who I am."

The prominent faces among the 676 candidates for 57 seats spread across 10 districts in this phase include Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban and state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu from Tamkuhi Raj. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Around 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary on Thursday claimed that the BJP-led Centre is trying to politicise the evacuation of Indians stranded in war-hit Ukraine in view of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Noting that the rescue mission of Indians from Kuwait three decades ago did not have any name, Chaudhary said here that the current operation in Ukraine has been named 'Ganga' by the government with an eye on Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh polls.There is a lot of show off. PM Narendra Modi has named 'Operation Ganga' in election rallies in a bid to make it an election issue, Chaudhary said.