Congress decides to field no candidate against Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav
Lucknow, Feb 1: The Congress party has fielded no candidates against Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav on Karhal and Jaswant Nagar assembly seats where the deadline for filing nominations ended Tuesday.
A Congress party spokesperson said the party pitted no candidates against the two in a reciprocal gesture of the SP which too had fielded no one on Rae Bareilly and Amethi Lok Sabha seats against INC leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections.
Congress' Etawah district unit president Malkhan Singh said the local unit had sent a list of six names for the Jaswant Nagar seat but the party high command did not approve of any name for the constituency.
UP Congress general secretary Prakash Pradhan said the top leadership of the party had directed that since SP patriarch Mulayam Singh did not field any candidate against our leaders, the party too would field no one against Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal.
The Congress party had earlier declared Gyanwati Yadav as its candidate for the Karhal assembly seat but after Akhilesh Yadav filed his nomination there, the party decided to withdraw her candidature, Pradhan said.
Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls for the first time from Karhal, falling within the Lok Sabha constituency Mainpuri held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Shivpal Singh Yadav is in the fray on the Jaswant Nagar seat for the sixth time.
Both the seats will go to the polls on February 20 in the third phase of the seven-phase UP assembly elections.
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Thumbay Group begins work on Sharjah’s first private integrated psychiatric, rehabilitation hospital
Sharjah: Thumbay Group has laid the foundation stone for the Thumbay Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Hospital at Sharjah Healthcare City, a 120-bed facility that the company says will be the region’s first private, fully integrated hospital dedicated to psychiatric care, neuro-rehabilitation and addiction recovery.
The groundbreaking ceremony was led by Dr. Abdelaziz Saeed Al Mheiri, who is also a member of the Sharjah Executive Council, in the presence of Dr. Thumbay Moideen.
Spread across 110,000 square feet, the hospital is being developed to address growing demand for specialised mental health and rehabilitation services in the UAE and the wider Gulf region.
The facility will include inpatient and outpatient services in psychiatry, neuro-rehabilitation, addiction treatment, child and adolescent mental health, and care for mood and anxiety disorders. It will also feature VIP inpatient villas designed to provide privacy and support long-term recovery.
A mosque, named the Thumbay Masjid, will be constructed within the campus and will be open to the public.
The hospital is being designed to meet standards for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), an internationally recognised accreditation system for rehabilitation facilities.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Abdelaziz Saeed Al Mheiri said the project reflects Sharjah’s commitment to strengthening healthcare infrastructure in all aspects of wellbeing.
“Mental health and rehabilitation have long needed dedicated infrastructure, and we are proud to support a private partner whose vision matches the ambition of this Emirate,” he said.
Dr. Thumbay Moideen said the project was a response to a growing need for specialised mental healthcare services in the region.
“We have spent over three decades building healthcare in this region, and the one conversation that has grown louder every year is mental health. Families have been carrying this quietly for too long. This hospital is our answer. It is purpose-built, not retrofitted, and it has been designed around dignity, recovery, and outcomes that families can trust,” he said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2026, and the hospital is expected to become operational by mid-2027.
Once completed, the facility will become part of Thumbay Group’s network of healthcare, education and diagnostic institutions across the UAE.
