NEWS:

• Polling for 73 Assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh underway; around 40 percent voting reported so far.

• Electioneering gains momentum in Uttarakhand for the single phase Assembly election on 15th of February.

• In Tamil Nadu, two party MPs and state education minister K.Pandiarajan extend their support to O. Panneerselvam; Sasikala seeks appointment to meet the Governor along with her MLAs. 

• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says all finance ministers have perpetual desire for cut in interest rates but respect RBI decision.

• President Donald Trump says he is considering a new executive order to ban citizens of seven Muslim Nations from traveling to US.

• And in Cricket: Bangladesh were 213 for 5 a short while ago, in response to India's 687 in the first innings in the one-off Hyderabad test match.

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​In Uttar Pradesh, Polling is underway for the first phase of Assembly Elections in 73 constituencies in 15 western districts of the state. Around 40  percent ​votes were polled till 1 PM. Voting began at 7 AM and will end at 5 PM. Nearly 2 crore 60 lakh people are deciding the political fate of 839 candidates, including 77 women today.

Impeccable security arrangements are in place with heavy deployment of Central Para Military Forces with the local police and security staff maintaining strict vigil on the roads. The polling is going on a brisk note and in a very peaceful manner as no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere till now.

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Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that successive governments in Uttar Pradesh have reduced Badayun among the hundred most backward districts of the country. State government has not done any development work in the district and bacause of this even basic minimum amenities are missing there. Addressing an election rally in Badayun, he said all evils have gripped the district because of mis-governance of the state government.

Mr. Modi said he has become Prime Minister of the country because of massive support extended by the people of Uttar Pradesh. He said a stable government has been formed at the centre because the people of Uttar Pradesh overwhelmingly supported BJP during last parliamentary elections.

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Freebies like bicycles, smart phones, homes and pension schemes dominate the Common Minimum Programme of Congress-SP Alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Congress vise president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav today released the ten point Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of their Alliance.

In a Joint press conference in state capital Lucknow today, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi reiterated that this is the right time for a government of youth in Uttar Pradesh. 

The ten point CMP says that if their government comes to power talented students will get free cycles and youth will get free smart phones. SP leader and State Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said there is also a promise of providing water and electricity supply to each village of the state in the coming five years:

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Electioneering for assembly elections in Uttarakhand gains momentum as only two days are left for campaigning for the single phase Assembly election which will be held on 15th February.

The election campaign of both major political parties, BJP and Congress is in full swing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an election rally in Rudrapur today. More from our correspondent:

"The BJP high command has deployed its full strength in the last phase of election campaign. Senior BJP leader and the Prime Minister will address a public meeting in Rudrapur, whereas other star campaigners, Union Minister Smiriti Irani, actress and MP Hema Malini and MP Yogi Adityanath will also be addressing election meetings at different places. On the other hand CM Harish Rawat will address half a dozen public meetings today. Star campaigners of the Congress viz. MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Actor and MP Raj Babbar, ex-Union Minister Deepa Das Munsi and Congress leader Sharmistha Mukhrjee will also address a number of meetings in the state.With OP Meena this is Sanjeev Sundriyal, AIR News, Dehradun."

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In Manipur, election campaign by political parties remains a low key affair even after notification of the state assembly elections. Altogether 38 Assembly Constituencies of the 60-member state assembly will go to polls in two phases. Polling will take place on the fourth and eighth of next month. More from our Correspondent:

"Both ruling Congress party and opposition BJP have announced their candidates for all the sixty assembly constituencies. Lok Jana Shakti Party, North-East India Democratic Party, Nationalist People’s Party, Manipur People’s Party, All India Trinamool Congress, Manipur National Democratic Front, Naga People’s Party, and Left and Democratic Front have also announced their candidates for the ensuing state assembly election. With the announcement of candidates by different parties and starting of filing nomination papers, election campaign in the valley areas of the state is getting a new momentum. Ibomcha Sharma, AIR news, Imphal.

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Bhartiya Janata Party has won two seats of Member of Legislative Council (MLC) in Uttar Pradesh. The election for these seats was held on third of this month.

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In Tamil Nadu, serving education minister K.Pandiarajan has joined the caretaker chief minister O.Panneerselvam camp this afternoon. He is the first serving minister to switch sides in favour of Panneerselvam camp. Earlier he gave enough indication through his tweet saying, he would surely listen to the collective voice of the people and decide in a way to uphold the dignity of late Jayalalithaa’s memory and unity of the party. Till recently, he was considered to be a vociferous heavy weight backing ad hoc General Secretary of the AIADMK Ms VK Sasikala. He was one of the key members of the delegation that accompanied Ms Sasikala during her meeting with Governor Vidyasagar Rao Thursday. Commentators say, his switching loyalties would also influence those MLAs who remain confused about whom to ultimately support among the two warring factions of the AIADMK.

Meanwhile, two of the party MPs have also pledged their support to the Panneerselvam camp. Mr Ashok Kumar from Krishnagiri Parliamentary constituency and PR Sundaram from Namakkal extended their support to Mr Panneerselvam after meeting him at his official residence in Chennai today. As the support base is slowly eroding among MLAs, agency report says Ms Sasikala has written to Governor seeking appointment to meet him along with all the MLAs who support her.

Meanwhile, Governor Vidyasagar Rao is understood to be weighing various options before him in the wake of the power struggle that has erupted within the ruling AIADMK.

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India successfully test-fired its home grown Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from launching complex-IV of Dhamara Abdul Kalam defence base off Odisha coast this morning. DRDO sources said the interceptor is a 7.5-metre-long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator would intercept a target, mimicking an incoming enemy missile, mid-air. More from our correspondent:

"Today’s successful test is a significant milestone in the direction of developing a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence system. The test also assessed the weapon’s killing capability. The first phase Ballistic Missile Defence system capable of killing enemy missiles fired from 2 thousand kilometre away is expected to be inducted in the armed forces soon. This success of the Advanced Air Defence missile test will boost India strengthen its position in the exclusive club of US, Russia and Israel. SN Pattnaik, AIR News, Bhubaneswar.

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In a major historic launch, Indian Space Research Organization would put into space one hundred and four satellites on Wednesday morning in a single mission. The national space agency has said in a release, the payloads would be injected by the most versatile work horse launch vehicle PSLV-C37 that would lift off from Sriharikotta at 9.28 in the morning on the 15th of this month, carrying the payloads. ISRO chief spokesperson Dr Deviprasad Karnik told AIR News, the full capacity of the launch vehicle PSLV is being utilized in Wednesday’s launch. The satellites include India’s Cartosat-2 Series satellite meant for earth observation.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that all Finance Ministers have perpetual desire to cut interest rates but respect RBI decision. He was replying to a question regarding the cut of interest rates by RBI. Briefing media in New Delhi after RBI Board meeting, he said electoral bonds for political funding will be announced after holding discussion with RBI.  RBI governor Urjit Patel replying to a question on demonetisation, said disclosure about demonetised currency deposited should be verifiable number in physical and accounting sense. He said care should be taken as the final numbers will be divulged after 30th June, the day when all windows for depositing old notes will be closed. On interest rates, the RBI governor said there is scope in reduction in lending rate.

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US President Donald Trump says he is considering a new executive order to ban citizens of seven mainly Muslim nations from travelling to the US after his initial attempt was overturned in the courts. Talking to reporters travelling with him on Air Force One from Andrews Air Force Base to Florida, Trump said the Administration have a lot of other options, including just issuing a brand new order.

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Chasing India's first innings total of 687 for 6, Bangladesh were 239 for 6 a short while ago in their first innings in the one-off cricket Test at Hyderabad.
India yesterday declared their first innings at 687 for 6, riding on Skipper Virat Kohli's 204. With the Double century, Kohli became the first Test batsman to score double centuries in four consecutive series and also broke Virender Sehwag's record of most runs in a home season.