Goa, Uttarakhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh are voting on Monday in high-stakes Assembly elections 2022, with many prominent leaders like chief ministers Pramod Sawant and Pushkar Singh Dhami, former CM Harish Rawat and jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in the fray.

In Goa, 301 candidates are contesting from 40 Assembly seats, while in Uttarakhand, 632 candidates are fighting from 70 seats. In Uttar Pradesh, 586 candidates are contesting in Phase 2 from 55 seats spread across Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Sambhal, Rampur, Amroha, Budaun, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur.

Goa and Uttarakhand have traditionally witnessed bipolar politics, but this time they are witnessing a multi-cornered contest with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) throwing its hat in the ring. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other smaller parties are also vying to make a mark in Goa.

Here are 10 best News18.com reports from ground zero of the February 14 battle:

Nitin Gadkari’s Goa Prediction and Uttarakhand Question for Congress

In an exclusive interview to News18.com, Union Road and Transport Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said the BJP will get a full majority in Goa as the AAP and TMC will end up dividing votes, denting the Congress.

Asked if the BJP would need him in Goa to salvage the situation again, the Union minister said: “I feel that we don’t need Gadkari there because there are two good friends — one is TMC and other is AAP… they want to reduce the support of the Congress party, they are dividing the votes and that is one of the strengths for us to get a good victory in Goa.”

Speaking to News18, Gadkari also questioned why the Congress had not declared Harish Rawat to be its chief ministerial face in Uttarakhand. FULL STORY

Peace vs Prices in West UP

Saharanpur to Agra, the western Uttar Pradesh belt part of which is voting on Monday, has often determined the mood of the state’s assembly elections. The BJP swept this area in the last elections. This time, it faces a strong challenge from the Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance, but it has an ally of its own – law and order.

While the SP-RLD alliance is harping on the discontent among people on issues such as high electricity bills, stray cattle destroying crops, farmers’ unrest and identity issue among Jats, the seemingly inactive Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), too, is the BJP’s main challenger on some seats. The BJP’s focus? Showcasing the improvement in law and order and invoking the “fear” of the SP. FULL STORY

Election of Many Firsts in Goa

Goa elections are different this time – it is a sentiment that reverberates across the state, both among netas as well as the voters. There are many firsts in the fight. This is the first time the BJP is contesting all 40 seats and the first state election it is fighting without its tallest leader in the state, the late Manohar Parrikar. The Trinamool Congress is making its first serious bid to expand its footprint beyond West Bengal to become a national party. This is also Goa’s first multi-cornered contest, with the AAP, too, giving traditional contenders BJP and Congress a tough fight. FULL STORY

Digambar Kamat on ‘Outsiders’

Former chief minister and Congress leader Digambar Kamat says “outsider” parties will not get any traction in Goa and recalls Jawaharlal Nehru’s words after campaigning in a post-liberation Goa – “ajeeb hain Goa ke log (Goans are strange people)”.

“Probably, Mamata Banerjee is about to say the same thing – ‘Goans are strange people’– and that is the reason why she is not coming for campaigning. She must have got the message that the TMC is not taking off in Goa and it can cause her embarrassment,” says the MLA who hasn’t lost even once from Margao. FULL STORY

Village Panchayats, the Real Power Centres

In Goa, one of the most influential and powerful bodies being wooed by political parties are the local Panchayats. With land parcels in limited supply, in a tourism sector-dominated state, these bodies are required to get permits for building construction, renovation, road cutting or running a commercial venture, and can pass demolition order of any house not constructed as per maps approved by the town planning body.

Most political parties are going through the village Panchayat leaders to reach out to the community, also assuring them that their rural bodies will be bestowed with additional funds and welfare schemes.

But what if a Panchayat member in a village starts campaigning for the party not supported by the sarpanch or other Panchayat members? “They can’t oppose our choice openly. Unka kaam hamare paas rehta hai (they have to get their work done from us),” said one of the sarpanchs in Santa Cruz Assembly constituency. FULL STORY

Mine It!

The resumption of mining has become an emotive issue in Goa elections, with the ruling BJP, as well as the Congress and AAP promising to restart mining of iron ore in the coastal state. The issue is a powerful one as political parties believe that more than 1 people lost their livelihoods when it was stopped in 2012.

News18.com spoke to residents of several villages who were financially hit hard when mining was stopped.

“The world came crashing down on us in 2012 when mining was banned. My son was employed as a tipper driver in the mines and we had a better life. He is getting old. He goes asking people for a job to run the house… He can’t get a bride as he doesn’t have a stable job,” said an elderly woman in Savarbhat village.

Anu from Gaonkarwada echoes the same. “We used to earn Rs 15,000 in a month in 2009 and now we struggle to make ends meet. We have friends who used to run dhabas, garages and kirana shops in and around mining companies. All of them lost their source of livelihood,” said who has now taken up other jobs to survive.” FULL STORY

Learnt from 2017 Goa Experience: Priyanka

Speaking exclusively to News18.com in Goa, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party has learnt from its mistakes in the previous Goa elections when it could not form the government despite being the single-largest party. “We have learnt from that (2017) experience this time. The Congress party has understood what went wrong. We will not allow it this time. We will win Goa this time with a majority,” she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that the recent move to make Congress candidates take an oath of loyalty was important. “This is very important and it will prove crucial. It is more to reassure the public because our people now are very clear that what happened the last time was wrong and I don’t think a single one of them this time (no MLA) is going to flee.” FULL STORY

Uniform Civil Code, BJP’s Trump Card

Two days before voting, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami made a blockbuster poll promise that his government would initiate the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code in the hill state if voted to power again. The UCC has been among the top three electoral agendas of the BJP for long, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple and abrogation of J&K’s special status being the other two.

Besides Uttarakhand, the interestingly timed announcement could work in the BJP’s favour in west UP too. FULL STORY

Cong’s Lucrative Promises vs BJP’s Double Engine Sarkar

Uttarakhand has never voted a party to power for second straight term. But unlike five years ago when the BJP dislodged the Congress with 57 of 70 seats up for grabs, doubts persist this year when the Opposition has enough momentum to derail the double engine sarkar.

The BJP’s strength in its strong organisation, the battery of ground workers and RSS backup. The Congress, on the other hand, is banking on its candidates and their resources and network. But the grand old party’s promises have big numbers too. The Congress has promised 4 lakh jobs, Rs 40,000 yearly assistance to 5 lakh families and free electricity. It has also promised cooking gas at Rs 500, while the latter has assured three free cooking gas cylinders a year. FULL STORY

Daughters Out to Avenge Their Fathers’ Defeat

Though they stand up for two different ideologies, it’s one common objective that these two candidates share; “avenging” their fathers’ election defeat. Congress’s Anupama Rawat, the daughter of former chief minister Harish Rawat, is contesting from Haridwar (rural), and BJP’s Ritu Khanduri, whose father BC Khanduri was a sitting CM who lost to the Congress in 2012, is fighting from Kotdwar.

What is interesting is to note is that Ritu has been fielded from Kotdwar, the same seat which her father BC Khanduri as the sitting chief minister lost to Congress in 2012 in a close fight. Ritu is taking on Surendra Negi, former Congress minister, who was won in 2012. FULL STORY

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