Elections 2022 Updates: PM Modi Meets His Mother in Gandhinagar, Officials Gear Up for Phase 2 Polling in Gujarat on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the two-day national office-bearers meeting in Delhi on Monday, soon after casting his vote in his home state of Gujarat during the second phase of polling for the assembly elections. According to sources, the prime minister wants a feedback report from all the states and, hence, asked to convene the meeting. With elections in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat wrapped up, he did not want to lose a single day in seeking a state-wise report and guiding the BJP cadre with an eye on Lok Sabha 2024, they added. FULL STORY

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur paid a courtesy call on the Dalai Lama at his residence on Sunday. “I am delighted to have the opportunity again to meet with His Holiness Dalai Lama today. Because of his grace and divine blessing, Dharamshala has earned its name as an international tourist destination.” He said the Dalai Lama extolled the existence of religious freedom and harmony in India and affirmed his committed service to strengthen that harmony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening for exercising his franchise in the second and final phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections on December 5. The prime minister will cast his vote at a polling station set up at a high school in Ranip locality in Ahmedabad city on Monday morning, an official said.

The polling parties in Gujarat have gathered at the EVM distribution centre in Gandhinagar ahead of the second phase of polling in the state on Monday. The Election Commission had announced the conduct of Gujarat Assembly elections in two phases on December 1 and December 5.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach the Ranip polling booth to cast his vote during the second phase of Gujarat assembly elections, tomorrow after 8 am. Preparations are underway at the polling station, with an alternate route for traffic and fire department officials on standby.

“BJP will form government again in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and BJP will also form government in MCD,” said Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday.

The Aam Aadmi Party has left no stone unturned in its fiery election campaign in Gujarat, aimed at launching itself as a national party by the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024. While Gujarat may play a crucial role in national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s pan-India ambitions, the party is no stranger to fighting even the toughest fight. READ MORE

The contest for the Muslim-dominated Jamalpur Khadia Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad city has become a three-cornered one with the entry of Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, a cause of worry especially for Congress as the AIMIM nominee is a former MLA of the Grand Old Party who had contested as an Independent in 2012 resulting in the victory for BJP from the seat.

The seat goes to polls along with 92 other Assembly segments in the second and final phase on December 5.

More than 30 per cent Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates contesting in the second phase of Gujarat assembly polls are facing criminal charges, a new report from Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has revealed.

Gujarat Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 833 candidates who are contesting in Phase II in 93 constituencies. At least 19 (20 per cent) of 93 constituencies are Red Alert constituencies — where three or more candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves.

The BJP has called a meeting of all 68 of its candidates on Sunday, ahead of the counting of votes on December 8 and with pollsters predicting an unclear verdict for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. READ MORE