Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 1 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda offered prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Monday.
Later, he also offered prayers at Kaal Bhairav Temple here.
At 4:45 PM, the BJP chief is scheduled to inaugurate the newly built regional office and Prayagraj Mahavidyalaya in Rohania, Varanasi. At 7 PM, Nadda will interact with various social leaders at Chaudhary Lawns near Naria, BHU in Varanasi.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in 2022. BJP had stormed back to power in the state in the 2017 Assembly polls. In the 403 member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, among the major parties, BJP has 309 legislators, SP 49, BSP 18, and Congress 7. (ANI)

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 1 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav will meet West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee here on Monday to deliberate on the state assembly elections.
Also, the Chief Minister is scheduled to chair election committee’s meeting today at her residence in Kalighat.
Yadav had also escaped the brigade meeting called by the left, Congress and ISF in Kolkata on Sunday.
West Bengal will witness eight-phased Assembly polls beginning March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and BJP in the fray.
While Mamata Banerjee is seeking her third consecutive term, BJP has set a target of winning 200 seats in the 294-member state Assembly. Congress and the Left have stitched the alliance for the polls and had already finalised the seat-sharing agreement.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the state. (ANI)

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 1 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is set to chair an election committee meeting on Monday at her residence in Kalighat to look into the selection of candidates and formulate a strategy for the upcoming assembly polls.
The meeting will be held at 12:00 pm.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav will be meeting Mamata Banerjee today to discuss West Bengal elections.
Trinamool Congress’s election committee will also refine the plan of campaigning.
West Bengal will have eight-phased Assembly polls and first phase will be held on March 27, the counting of votes will take place on May 2.The state is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and BJP in the fray.
While Mamata Banerjee is seeking her third consecutive term, BJP has set a target of winning 200 seats in the 294-member state Assembly. Congress and the Left have stitched the alliance for the polls and had already finalised the seat-sharing agreement. They are also in touch with the Indian Secular Front (ISF), recently floated by influential minority leader Abbas Siddique.
With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the state.
In 2016, West Bengal Assembly elections, out of the 294 seats, Congress had managed to win 44 seats while the Left Front bagged 33 seats. The ruling TMC secured 211 seats and the BJP had won 3 seats. (ANI)

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 1 (ANI): Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday hit out at the opposition in the state and alleged that it was trying to discredit the Kerala infrastructure investment fund board (KIIFB).
“The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government brought basic infrastructure development fund in the state through the KIIFB. The previous (Congress) government did not understand the need for basic infrastructure. It was pathetic earlier. The LDF has given it importance and the KIIFB was started for this,” the Chief Minister said.
He further said that Kerala had the lowest unemployment rate among all Indian states and the GDP growth was more than the national average.
“After the LDF came to power, 6.80 lakh students joined government-aided schools and got access to world-class facilities. Students from any village in the state are getting international standard education. The result of this will reflect in the coming generations,” he added.
Vijayan also said that higher education in the state had seen a huge change through the introduction of new courses under the KIIFB, and institutions in the state would become an international hub for students.
He further said that an online portal had been started to register the names of educated unemployed people, especially women who had quit their jobs after marriage.
“Within a few days of launching the portal, over 50,000 people registered. The Government is in touch with companies across the world. 1,57,911 people were appointed to the Public Service Commission in the last five years. Along with this, the government aims to give digital skills training to 50 lakh people in light of the new work from home culture,” the Chief Minister said. (ANI)

Kochi (Kerala) [India], March 1 (ANI): Former Kerala High Court Judge P N Ravindran on Sunday joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Kochi.
During the BJP state president K Surendran’s ‘Vijaya Yathra’ at Thripunithura in Kochi, Sitharaman welcomed Ravindran into the party.
Earlier in the day, Sitharaman had lashed out at the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala over the state budget and accused it of giving all the budget money to the Kerala infrastructure investment fund board (KIIFB).
The election for 140-member Kerala Assembly is scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 6.
A total of 2,67,88,268 electors will elect the candidates in Kerala for the 15th Legislative Assembly.
For Assembly poll 2021, the number of polling booths in Kerala has been extended from 21,498 to 40,771. The counting of votes will be held on May 2.
According to the commission, of the 140 Assembly seats, 14 seats are reserved for SC category and two are reserved for ST category candidates. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): As many as 15,510 new COVID-19 cases and 106 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Monday.
With this, the total number of cases reported in the country now stands at 1,10,96,731, including 1,68,627 active cases and 1,07,86,457 recoveires.
The death toll now stands at 1,57,157.
As many as 1,43,01,266 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took the first dose of Covaxin, India’s homegrown coronavirus vaccine developed by biotechnology firm Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research, addressing hesitancy over the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the ICMR, a total of 21,68,58,774 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to February 28. Of these, 6,27,668 samples were tested on Sunday. (ANI)