Social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc. have eased their hate speech policy to allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers amidst the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
According to internal emails accessed by Reuters on Thursday, Meta Inc. has made temporary changes to its hate speech policy to allow users to post content that calls for violence, including a call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
The internal email accessed by Reuters also said that the Meta would allow posts that call for the death of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko only if they did not contain other targets or discuss methods or locations.
Facebook owner Meta is also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Putin or Belarusian President Lukashenko in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to internal emails to its content moderators https://t.co/0joPML3sxw
The temporary policy changes on calls for violence to Russian soldiers will apply in countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, reports Reuters.
“We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it’s clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defence, etc.),” Meta highlighted a change in its hate speech policy in its email.
Emails also showed that Meta would allow praise of the pro-Nazi Azov battalion, which is normally prohibited, in a change first reported by The Intercept.
Defending its decision to allow hate speech, the Meta stated the company is doing this because they have observed that in this specific context, ‘Russian soldiers’ is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians, it claimed.
This comes after Russia had announced that it was banning Facebook in the country after the tech giant had enforced restrictions on Russian media on its platform. The Kremlin had cracked down on tech companies, including Twitter, over their arbitrary restriction of Russian state media RT and Sputnik regulations.
Meta spokesman Joe Osborne also said the company was “for the time being, making a narrow exception for the praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard.”
As BJP comes back to power in Uttar Pradesh consecutively for the second time, distressed RLD workers made ruckus outside a vote counting centre in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh after the BJP candidate was declared the winners. As the RLD workers pelted stones disagreeing with the poll verdict, the police had to lathi-charge and fire teargas shells to control the situation.
A huge clash had erupted between the police and the RLD workers in the last round of counting of votes in the Baraut assembly seat in the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. As soon as the news of the BJP candidate KP Malik’s victory in the Baraut seat was announced, the RLD workers created a ruckus alleging fraud in the counting process. During this time, the workers of both parties clashed with each other. There was heavy stone pelting on the spot. The police lathi-charged and forced the workers to run away. But the matter escalated instead of stopping.
Janhit Times has tweeted, “RLD workers resorted to violence outside the counting venue, the workers pelted stones and smashed chairs, insisted on going inside the counting venue, the police resorted to lathi-charge and burst tear gas, the incident outside the counting venue in Baghpat.” A video has also been posted with this tweet.
According to a report by Amar Ujala, it is being told that 10 workers of RLD were injured during the stone-pelting. Many policemen were also injured. The matter did not seem to be calming down. Police forces from several police stations have reached the spot. Sandeep Rai of Times of India has also posted a video of this incident from his Twitter handle.
Police RLD workers clash in UP’s Baghpat after the announcement of a candidate’s victory. Police resorts to lathicharge, fires teargas shells as situation worsens after RLD supporters refused entry into counting venue. #UPElectionResult2022pic.twitter.com/tPGACKaq7I
RLD workers had alleged foul play in the Baraut seat and asked for recounting of votes, which led to a heated argument among BJP workers and RLD workers. The stone-pelting started amidst the commotion that lasted for some time. During this time, many policemen were also seen running to save their lives. As the case escalated, the police resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas shelling.
In a massive relief for railway passengers, Ministry of Railways has withdrawn the restrictions on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the trains with immediate effect. These restrictions were imposed as per the standard operating procedure for the movement of passengers by trains during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this decision, reserved passengers on the trains will be given linen and blankets, and the curtains will return to the AC coaches like earlier.
Ministry of Railways has issued a statement saying “Railways withdraws restriction on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside trains with immediate effect.” The railways has sent an instruction to all the zonal managers of railways in this regard.
In this letter, Vipul Singhal, director for passenger marketing of the Railway Board, has said, “In view of Pandemic & Covid Protocol due to Covid-19, Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for Movement of Passengers by trains was issued which imposed a restriction that no linen, blankets, and curtains shall be provided inside the train.”
He further says in this letter, “It has now been decided to withdraw the above-mentioned restriction with regard to the supply of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the train, with immediate effect and the same, maybe provided as per applicability during Pre-Covid Period.” He has asked the zonal managers to ensure necessary action accordingly and confirm.
The Union Minister of State for Railways & Textiles Darshana Jardosh has tweeted saying, “Today and from now on, you will also get blankets, linen, and the rest of the facility. May your journey be pleasant.”
आज और अभी से ब्लैंकेट, लिनेन भी मिलेगा और बाक़ी सुविधा भी।
The restrictions on the provision of linen, blankets, and curtains inside the train were imposed by the ministry of railways on 5th May 2020 as a preventive measure to contain the spread of Covid-19. It was felt that the virus may spread from person to person through these clothing items, and therefore they were discontinued from the trains.
As the passengers were not provided blankets, the temperature maintained in in AC coaches were increased to 24-25° Celsius. Earlier the temperature was kept lower, and therefore the passengers of AC coaches needed blankets.
Following the BJP’s resounding victory in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed BJP workers at the party’s headquarters in Delhi. In his address, PM Modi thanked the Party karyakartas for their hard work, which made it possible for BJP to achieve the landslide victory in the 4 states. He lauded the voters, especially the first time voters and the women voters who came forward in large numbers and took part in the elections.
“Today is a day of excitement, a day of celebration. This festival is for the democracy of India. I congratulate all the voters who took part in these elections. I thank the voters for their decision,” said PM Modi.
PM Modi lauds BJP workers for the ‘jeet ka chauka’
Lauding the BJP workers PM Modi said that the hard-working Karyakartas of BJP have made sure we hit a “jeet ka chauka” (victory 4). He added that these workers had promised him that Holi would begin from 10th March this year, and they’ve kept their promise. These workers worked 24*7 and were successful in winning the trust of the people across states.
A visibly elated and proud PM Modi said that Uttar Pradesh has given many prime ministers but for the first time it has reelected a CM after he served a full term. Moreover, after 37 years in UP, a government has come for the second time in a row, added Modi in the victory speech.
यूपी ने देश को अनेक प्रधानमंत्री दिए हैं, लेकिन 5 साल का कार्यकाल पूरा करने वाले मुख्यमंत्री के दोबारा चुने जाने का ये पहला उदाहरण है।
यूपी में 37 साल बाद कोई सरकार लगातार दूसरी बार आई है।
Modi further said that the BJP’s vote share has increased in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, even after being incumbent. All exit polls were proven incorrect in Goa, and the people of Goa have given BJP the chance to serve them for the third consecutive time.
Addressing the BJP workers, Modi said that today’s results strongly vindicate BJP’s pro-poor and pro-active governance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the poor and underprivileged had put their faith in the BJP. “It required a lot of hard work to ensure that good governance is delivered to the citizens. I have been a chief minister, and that’s why I know. Earlier, people had to work hard to get basic necessities like electricity, water, gas and telecommunication,” he said. He further said no one would work the way in which he had for the poor. “When you are empathetic to the poor, when you have the country’s best interests at heart, only then can you make brave decisions and that’s where I derive my strength,” he added.
Modi lauded the country’ ‘Nari Shakti’ who became BJP’s partners in this victory. “It is our good fortune that BJP has got so much affection, received so many blessings from the mothers, sisters, and daughters of India,” said PM Narendra Modi.
The blessing of the mothers, sisters and daughters of the country is my ‘Suraksha Kawach’: Modi
Sisters, mothers and daughters have been benevolent towards us. Everywhere, women’s vote share was larger than men and the BJP has secured a bumper win. Women have been the charioteers of our win, said Modi.
“As a CM, people would ask me, ‘Modiji, why are you lax about your own security.’ I would tell them, I have the protection of my mothers wishing well for me, their blessings are my ‘Suraksha Kawach (shield)'” added Modi.
Taking a dig at the opposition in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said that UP chose ‘vikas,’ proving everyone wrong who said the state votes on caste. He said the people of UP had been divided by casteism earlier, but now the people had chosen development in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022. “I’d also say today that, following the 2019 election results, some political experts claimed that the 2017 results determined the 2019 results. I believe they will say again this time that the results of 2022 will determine the results of 2024,” he said.
As the MP for Banaras, I can say that the people of Uttar Pradesh have realised that it is now necessary to avoid those who engage in caste politics and defame the community, and prioritise the development of the state.
मैं बनारस का सांसद होने के नाते, मेरे अनुभव से कह सकता हूं, यूपी के लोग ये बात समझ चुके हैं कि जाति को बदनाम करने वालों से, सम्प्रदाय को बदनाम करने वालों से अब दूर रहना है और राज्य के विकास को ही सर्वोच्च प्राथमिकता देनी है।
Sharing his concerns about how the opposition parties have gone to great lengths to denigrate India on a global scale, PM Modi added that “It is unfortunate that even when thousands of Indian students, Indian citizens were stranded in Ukraine, there was talk of breaking the morale of the country. Despite the world lauding India’s vaccination efforts, these people also went on to question this sacred mission. They also tried to malign Operation Ganga. These people have given a different colour of regionalism and communalism to every scheme. This is a big concern for the future of India,” said Modi.
‘Sun is bound to set on dynastic politics in the country’: PM Modi
Without taking names PM Modi took a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, and the Congress Party by saying, “Parivarvad rajniti ka suryaast desh ke nagrik karke ke rahenge”, roughly translated as “a day will come when the sun will set on dynastic politics in the country.” “In this election, the country’s voters demonstrated their comprehension, indicating what will happen next”, said Modi.
एक न एक दिन ऐसा आएगा जब भारत में परिवारवादी राजनीति का सूर्यास्त देश के नागरिक करके रहेंगे।
इस चुनाव में देश के मतदाताओं ने अपनी सूझबूझ का परिचय देते हुए, आगे क्या होने वाला है, इसका इशारा कर दिया है।
“We must work together to ensure that we do not waste a single moment, no matter how difficult the challenges are, but our determination to win is stronger than that. The country must be taken forward with big resolutions, big dreams, and the intention of crossing every height. This historic victory ensures India’s bright future,” said Modi lauding the voter’s mandate.
Notably, an impressive performance by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in assembly elections has helped it retain power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
In Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath has won an unprecedented second term as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, after the SP failed to prevent the saffron party from regaining power. The BJP retained its (albeit reduced) majority of 263 seats, while the SP won 135 seats and the Congress was reduced to 2 seats. In contrast, the BSP was reduced to a single seat. AIMIM was unable to open its tally.
In Uttarakhand, the BJP won a second consecutive term on Thursday. The BJP won 47 seats, while the Congress won only 19, and the AAP did not win a single seat.
In Goa, the Congress was unable to prevent the BJP from gaining a simple majority. The BJP has reached the halfway point by winning 20 seats and will form the government with Independents and a TMC ally, the MGP. CM Pramod Sawant is expected to remain in office.
In Manipur, the BJP has reached the halfway point by winning 30 seats. It has joined forces with the NPF to form a new coalition government, largely replacing N Biren Singh as CM despite the poll victory.
Out of five states that went to polls, BJP has been able to retain all four states where it was in power, while Congress lost Punjab to AAP. BJP has returned to power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, with an increase in number of seats over the last assembly elections in Goa and Manipur.
In both those states, BJP was not the single largest party in the 2017 assembly polls, and had formed govt with the alliances. But this time, the party has won 20 out of 40 seats in Goa, and has crossed the majority mark in Manipur by winning 32 seats in the 60-member assembly.
This means, now BJP will form a majority govt on its own in Manipur. In the last elections in the state, BJP had won 21 seats against 28 won by Congress, but the party had formed the govt by forming an alliance with National People’s Party, Naga People’s Front and the Lok Janshakti Party. With this, the party had formed a govt for the first time in the north-eastern state.
However, the BJP’s number had gone up in the assembly later as several MLAs in the house had switched sides, including several Congress MLAs who had joined BJP.
This time, BJP has won 32 seats, which means CM Biren Singh won’t need any outside support to form the next government in the state. The CM called the win a “historic victory”, and said that it is a testament of the people’s faith in the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi and citizen centric governance.
Thank you, Manipur!
The historic victory that we have achieved today is a testament of the people's faith in the dynamic leadership of Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji and citizen centric governance.
My heartiest congratulations to all the Karyakartas of BJP.
Biren Singh has won from Heingang seat defeating the only other candidate from the seat, Congress leader Pangeijam Saratchandra Singh.
While BJP saw an impressive improvement in the state over last elections, the Congress faced a massive drop in numbers. Against 28 seats won by the party in 2017, Congress has managed to win just 5 seats, and is the third largest party in the state. JD(U) and NPP both have won 6 seats each.
The Congress party suffered from various defections in the last five years in Manipur, and the grand old party’s general decline in the entire country also reflected in the state. While Rahul Gandhi had visited the state to attend election rallies, Priyanka Gandhi had addressed a virtual rally.
It is notable that while a BJP-led alliance was in place in Manipur, there was no pre-poll alliance. Due to difference over AFSPA, NPP, NPF and JD(U) had decided to contest the polls separately in the state. Only one NDA ally remained in the alliance before the polls, Lok Janshakti Party. The party’s lone MLA in last assembly had already joined BJP last year.
However, despite strong sentiments among the people of the state against the controversial law Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1985, these three parties could not capitalise on it. The act that gives special powers to armed forces are applicable in the north-eastern states, and demands to repeal it were at the peak after Indian armed forces had mistakenly killed 13 civilians in a botched up operation against terrorists in Nagaland.
The United Kingdom has added Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich to its list of sanctioned individuals as a response to Russia’s special military interventions against Ukraine. According to the reports, Roman Abramovich’s efforts to sell his football club Chelsea are in doubt after the UK government sanctioned the Russian oligarch and froze his assents in the country.
Abramovich’s UK assets, including Chelsea FC, have been frozen by the Boris Johnson-led government after Putin ordered his troops to launch military operations in Ukraine. In a document published by the British government, Roman Abramovich is identified as “a pro-Kremlin oligarch” and was said to be “associated with a person who is or has been involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, namely Vladimir Putin, with whom Abramovich has had a close relationship for decades.”
The UK government has claimed that Abramovich has had a close relationship with Putin “for decades” and that the association has benefited him financially.
“This association has included obtaining a financial benefit or other material benefit from Putin and the Government of Russia. This includes tax breaks received by companies linked to Abramovich, buying and selling shares from and to the state at favourable rates, and the contracts received in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup. Therefore, Abramovich has received preferential treatment and concessions from Putin and the government of Russia,” the British government claimed.
According to the reports, the government has granted Chelsea a special license to continue fulfilling its fixtures and carrying out the football business, including paying players and club staff. However, certain actions such as buying and selling new players will not be permitted, in addition to selling tickets for games beyond those already sold to fans.
Apart from inability to sign new players, the team also can’t renew agreements with existing players. This has created a massive uncertainty among the team’s players about their future.
As per the new regulations, the existing season ticket holders will be allowed to attend matches and fans who purchased tickets before Thursday. In addition, fans can buy food and drink at these matches, and third party retailers who bought or produced club merchandise before Thursday will be allowed to sell their existing stocks as long as no money is given to Chelsea. However, broadcast and prize money from the allowed matches will be frozen by the govt.
Meanwhile, Abramovich has rejected allegations that he is linked to Putin or the Russian state or that he has done anything to merit being sanctioned.
With the sanctions, Abramovich’s plans to sell Chelsea or invest in the club might not go through. The 55-year-old had put the club up for sale last week.
Hyderabad-based Muslim-oriented political party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has lost deposits in 99 of the 100 seats it contested in the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh. Though it has gathered some more votes as compared to what it could in 2017, the party led by Asaduddin Owaisi has miserably failed to deliver in a manner it pretended to do especially in the Muslim majority areas, and has not won a single seat in the state.
It is notable that, AIMIM had fielded most of its candidates in the constituencies which have a significantly higher percentage of Muslim population and voters. Even in the last assembly elections, when AIMIM had fielded 38 candidates from such Muslim-dominated constituencies, almost all of its candidates had lost their deposits.
Similarly, in the 2022 assembly elections, AIMIM candidates from almost all the contested seats have lost their deposits. However, while speaking with Times Now, the party spokesperson Waris Pathan has said that the party is growing in Uttar Pradesh.
The only candidate to have saved the deposit is Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali from the Mubarakpur constituency. He was earlier in Bahujan Samaj Party. After leaving the BSP he first approached Samajwadi Party where he was denied a ticket. Then he came to AIMIM and contested the assembly election from the Mubarakpur seat from the AIMIM party. He has got slightly above 24% of the total votes according to the latest updates on the official website of the ECI.
Among major Muslim-dominated seats, Deoband was one of the most important assembly constituencies. Deoband is home to Darul Uloom Deoband which is the Islamic Seminary of Deobandi sect of the Sunni Islamic cult. AIMIM had given a ticket to Maulana Umair Madani who could get only 3501 votes in the land of one of the biggest schools of Islamic doctrine. It is notable that it is the Deobandi version of Sunni Islam that is followed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. BJP candidate Brijesh Singh has won from Deoband.
Interestingly, on the Varanasi North assembly seat, AIMIM had given a ticket to Harish Mishra, the surprising non-Muslim candidate by AIMIM in this election. This move of social engineering in Varanasi by AIMIM was seen as equivalent to its alliance in Maharashtra with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar in the 2019 general elections. In those elections, all the Dalit candidates of VBA had contested on the election symbol of AIMIM.
Talking about the vote percentage and the actual number of votes in favor of the AIMIM, it is a marginally better performance as compared to that in the assembly elections of 2017. In 2017, the AIMIM party had fielded 38 candidates and they collectively secured around 2 lakh votes. This time the 100 candidates of the party have secured more than 22 lakh votes which is quite a growth in the number of votes if not the percent vote share. In 2017, AIMIM had 0.2 percent votes in Uttar Pradesh while in 2022, it got 0.4 percent votes.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed BJP workers and the general public at the party headquarters in Lucknow as the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to form government in Uttar Pradesh after gaining a landslide victory in the assembly elections.
The BJP is poised to win 255+ seats in the election in Uttar Pradesh sweeping all others.
Yogi Adityanath arrived at the party headquarters in Lucknow at 05:30 p.m., where he was greeted by party members and all top leaders of the state. Swatantra Dev Singh, the state BJP president, greeted him with garlands and congratulated him on this victory. Singh praised the BJP workers and the people of Uttar Pradesh for giving Yogi Adityanath the mandate.
CM Yogi Adityanath addressed the crowd by thanking all for their efforts to make BJP win. He said “I am grateful to the people of Uttar Pradesh for giving us another opportunity to serve them. The people of Uttar Pradesh chose development and public order by voting for the BJP. I am grateful for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and guidance. PM Modi is to thank for the BJP’s victory in all four states.”
“Being the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh is watched by all. There were questions on the public order in the state but we have proved that we have good public order by conducting elections without any incidence of violence in the state. I want to thank the Election Commission of India for conducting free and fair elections. There were fake allegations of EVM tampering but all the election and counting processes happened without any ruckus. The staff involved in the election procedure is to be thanked for this,” he added.
He further went on to state that the Public of Uttar Pradesh has chosen a Nationalist government and they have shown faith in BJP’s policy of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas.” He reiterated that the double engine government will remain committed to the welfare of people in Uttar Pradesh.
A week after the West Bengal government imposed an internet blackout in several districts of the State to allegedly prevent ‘mass cheating’ during the 10th Board Exams, the Calcutta High Court put a stay on the government order on Thursday (March 10).
A petition was filed before the Calcutta High Court by an activist named Ashlesh Biradar, challenging the order of the Mamata Banerjee government to suspend internet services in Coochbehar, Darjeeling, Birbhum, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad between March 7-16.
The matter came up for hearing before a 2-Judge Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The petitioner argued that the government order could not have been issued under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 144, which pertains to law and order.
BREAKING: #CalcuttaHighCourt Chief Justice bench stays #WestBengal Govt’s order to temporarily suspend internet services in 8 districts for #Madhyamik exams. Says rule under which order issued is for law & order not for checking mass cheating.
He added that the government diktat violated the fundamental right to practice any occupation, as guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(g) of the Indian Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court of India in the case of ‘Anuradha Bhasin V Union of India’.
The petitioner Ashlesh Biradar pointed out that the order by the West Bengal government violated the Right to Education under Article 21A, given that classes are held online amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.
While defending the stance of the Mamata Banerjee government on Wednesday (February 9), Advocate General SN Mookherjee had claimed that the government order was based on both CrPC Section 144 and Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017.
He has sought time from the Court until the meeting of a review committee is concluded with respect to the rules laid down by the 2017 law. On Thursday, the Court put a stay on the government order.
West Bengal government imposed internet blackout on March 3
Home and Hill Affairs Department of the Government of West Bengal had issued an order on March 3, 2022, wherein it stated that the internet services would be blocked in 7 districts in light of 10th Std Board exams.
The order stated, “Intelligence reports have been received that Internet transmissions and Voice over Internet Telephony may be used for unlawful activities in certain areas over the next few days. Examination of the information received gives reason to believe that such unlawful activities are likely to occur in the absence of preventive measures.”
In a first, #WestBengal Govt imposes Internet blackout in parts of Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum & Darjeeling during #Madhyamik exams to prevent question paper leak. pic.twitter.com/wYZKiFDijf
It further added, “No restriction is being imposed on voice calls and SMS and on newspapers, hence communication and dissemination of knowledge and information is not stopped in any way.”
As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to return to power in Uttar Pradesh, the party’s candidate for the Vidhan Sabha seat in Noida has made history by winning by a record margin. BJP candidate Pankaj Singh has astonished everyone by winning with a margin of 1,81,513 votes.
This is largest victory margin in assembly elections to date. He got 2,44,091 votes, while Samajwadi Party candidate Sunil Chaudhary finished second with 62,722 votes. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party’s Kripa Ram Sharma came third.
Prior to this, in the Maharashtra State-assembly elections in 2019, NCP leader Ajit Pawar defeated his nearest challenger by over 1.65 lakh votes, setting a new record in Assembly elections.
The first phase of the UP-Assembly elections was held on February 10 in the Gautam Budh Nagar district. Pankaj Singh is MLA from the Noida Vidhan Sabha seat. He maintained a lead from the very beginning of the counting.
Pankaj Singh has got 70.17% of the votes polled whereas Sunil Chaudhary and Kripa Ram Sharma have got 18% and 4.68% respectively.
Pankaj Singh is the son of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Pankaj was elected to the Noida Vidhan Sabha seat in the 2017 UP Legislative Assembly election. He is the Vice-President of the BJP in the state of Uttar Pradesh, and has been involved in politics since 2002.
As per the election results of the assembly elections, BJP is set to win four out of five states. Whereas Congress has been completely eliminated from all five states. While BJP is winning Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, AAP is forming the next govt in Punjab.
