Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022 phase 2: Over 61% polling in UP 2nd phase

The Samajwadi Party on Monday urged the Election Commission to transfer IG, Lucknow Range, Laxmi Singh for allegedly forcing people to vote for her husband who is contesting the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls on a BJP ticket.In a letter sent to the poll panel by SP state president Naresh Uttam Patel, he said the police official was affecting the polls by asking people to vote for her husband, Rajeshwar Singh, and that she should be transferred to some other district.Singh, former joint director of the Enforcement Directorate, is contesting from Lucknow's Sarojini Nagar seat.

BSP candidate from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh Sarvesh Kumar has alleged that police detained him Sunday night at the behest of state minister Suresh Khanna and added that he was released after a complaint was made to the Election Commission.Superintendent of Police S Anand, however, told PTI that the candidate was taken to a police station and his vehicle was searched following inputs that he was distributing money ahead of Monday's polling. He was allowed to go after no objectionable material was found in his vehicle, the police officer said.

Shah said, "In five years, Akhilesh's goons occupied government and poor people's land, but Yogi Adityanth got land worth Rs 2,000 crore freed by using bulldozers.""He (Akhilesh) provided different posts to 45 members of his family in the five years, while Prime Minister Modi sent 45 schemes to your houses," he said.

People of two villages-- Narau and Milaal Nangla-- in Shekhupur assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district on Monday said that they have boycotted the voting for the second phase of the state Assembly election over contaminated water supply.

Addressing a public event in Orai in Jalaun district of the Jhansi zone, where elections are scheduled on February 20 in the third phase of the polls, she went all guns blazing against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP). The BSP supremo dubbed Congress as "strongly casteist", BJP as "pro-capitalist" and working for "narrow agendas of RSS" and claimed the SP gave freehand to criminals during its rule in the state.

"If a Muslim girl came back from her 'maika' (native home) empty-handed, she was instantly given triple talaq. If a motorcycle, gold chain, watch or mobile phone was not brought (by her), then triple talaq was given. The life of Muslim women had gotten virtually destroyed by triple talaq. You can understand the pain of not only that woman, but also of her parents. When the daughter came back to her home (from her in-laws place), she was under constant fear of getting triple talaq. Today, we have given to every Muslim sister a law to protect themselves against triple talaq," Modi said.

Addressing an election rally at Kanpur Dehat, the prime minister said the tightening of law and order in the state has also benefitted Muslim girls who used to face problems from miscreants while going to school earlier.

Amroha district registered 60.05 per cent, Bareilly 49.84 per cent, Bijnor 51.81 per cent, Badaun 47.69 per cent, Moradabad 55.62 per cent, Rampur 52.63 per cent, Saharanpur 56.56 per cent, Sambhal 49.11 per cent and Shahjahanpur registered 46.79 per cent till 3 p.m.

Samajwadi Party leader Mohammed Abdullah Azam Khan here on Monday said the bigger issues in Uttar Pradesh were those related to farmers, youth and the Lakhimpur Kheri episode. “There should rather be a discussion about why the income of farmers could not be doubled, why 16 crore youth have not got jobs even as the BJP has completed nearly eight years in power. Who is responsible for the dead bodies floating in the Ganga during the pandemic?” he said.