News Analysis India

Tag: 2022 UP assembly elections

  • 2022 UP polls: Mayawati urges people to ensure defeat of ‘anti-people’ parties

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday accused the rivals of splurging public money in conducting huge rallies ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections and took a dig at them.

    She termed her rival parties ‘anti-people’ and urged the voters to ensure that they fail to come to power.

    Extending the new year wishes to the people of all three poll-bound states where the BSP has stakes, Mayawati said as the polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab are nearing, the political parties were conducting more rallies at the expense of the people. She urged the electorate to use their right to vote to ensure the ouster of such anti-people parties.

    ALSO READ | UP polls: Akhilesh promises free power supply for irrigation, households if voted to power

    The BSP chief alleged that the bigger political players such as BJP and Congress which had been in power at the Centre are only showing off ahead of state polls by conducting big and extravagant rallies.

    “The rallies that they hold are out of Central fund which comes from common people’s taxes. My party cannot afford such big election rallies even if we want to. The BSP is a poor man’s party which consists of people such as labourers,” added Mayawati while interacting with reporters here on Saturday.

    She further said that her party ideology did not support holding extravagant rallies. The BSP has its own strategy and way of connecting with the people. “We have a different way of holding our poll campaign. Others get funds from big corporate houses and industrialists and also from ponzi scams, but the BSP doesn’t”, added the BSP chief.

  • ‘SP had set up a new LAB, it’s Loot, Aatankwaad and Bhrashtachar’: Amit Shah attacks rivals in UP

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday hit out at previous UP governments for failing to stop communal riots and claimed that under Yogi Adityanath, rioters could not dare to raise their eyes.

    In Aligarh, the city of locks and the seat of Aligarh Muslim University, Shah took a swipe at Samajwadi Party saying its government had set up a new ‘LAB’ in the state.

    Expanding the acronym ‘LAB’, Shah said: “In SP’s LAB, L stands for Loot, A for Aatankwaad and B for Bhrashtachar (loot, terror and corruption). The development of Uttar Pradesh is not possible under Samajwadi Party.”

    ALSO READ | 2022 UP polls: PM Modi raises cash seizure from Kanpur trader’s premises to attack SP

    Launching an attack on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Shah took a dig at BSP chief Mayawati asking her to step out and campaign a bit as the elections were round the corner. “Sister’s cold has not gone away yet. Oh, sister! The election is here, come out a little bit,” exhorted Shah adding that else afterwards she would take the excuse of failing to do a campaign for losing elections.

    In the other public rally in Moradabad later in the day, the home minister coined another acronym — NIZAM — to launch a broadside on the previous Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav.

    “Nizam means governance but for Akhilesh Yadav, it means – N for Nasimuddin, I for Imran Masood, Z and A for Azam Khan, and M for Mukhtar Ansari,” elaborated Shah.

    He asked the people to choose between Akhilesh’s Nizam with that of Yogi-Modi’s development Nizam. Shah accused Azam Khan of grabbing 1,000 hectares of land illegally and cautioned the people that if they supported SP, Azam Khan would come out of jail.

    The tenure of the current Uttar Pradesh Assembly ends on May 14.

  • ‘I will make it happen… I don’t lie’: Gadkari says UP will see roads worth Rs 5 lakh crore 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Urging the electorate to re-elect the BJP government in UP, Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari on Monday promised to make the highways better than the European standards and match them with the US parameters in the next five years.

    “I will make that happen. I will do it to fulfil my promise. I never lie,” said the Union Minister in Jaunpur, the eastern UP district adjoining Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

    Gadkari made the promise while dedicating four national highways and other development schemes worth Rs 1,123 crore to the people of Jaunpur in the presence of UP CM Yogi. They also launched another four national highway projects worth Rs 3,037 crore in Mirzapur on Monday.

    Addressing a public rally in the Machchlishahr Assembly constituency of Jaunpur, Gadkari urged people to trust him and back the Yogi government for the development to take place at a higher pace in future. “Back Yogiji, elect the BJP again. I will bring in (road) development of another Rs 5 lakh crore in the state. When such work will happen, UP’s road infrastructure will match the US,” he said. 

    ALSO READ | Amit Shah attributes 2019 victory to ties with Nishads as BJP woos allies ahead of UP polls

    The Union minister claimed that he had a ministry with sufficient funds. “States will get tired seeking money but we won’t get tired of giving out. I assure you development worth a lakh crore rupees in UP, let the double engine government be formed in the state for next five years,” said Gadkari. The minister also praised the Yogi government over the law and order scenario and dismantling the organised crime syndicates being run by the mafia for the last so many years.

    “In UP, the state government has bulldozed the mafia and goonda raj. Today the entire country is praising CM Yogi for action on mafia as he had brought the state back on the development track,” said Gadkari. The Union minister claimed that there was no place for dynastic politics in the BJP. 

    “We are not a clan-specific or family-specific party.  We are a cadre-based party of patriots,” said Gadkari asking the people to compare the state of affairs in UP when BJP was not in power with the situation today. He added that CM Yogi was taking the state towards ‘Ramrajya’ as perceived by Mahatma Gandhi.

    Meanwhile, addressing the gathering on the occasion, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that earlier governments had narrow thinking which was limited to one family only. “Now for PM Modi, 135 crore countrymen are a family hence big development projects are getting implemented,” he added.

    Talking about the taint of corruption which UP had earlier, CM Yogi said during previous regimes, with the announcements of vacancies, the whole family used to go out for extortion in the name of providing the job. “But today we have given five lakh jobs and no one can raise finger on a single appointment because of the transparency in the process,” he maintained.

    Taking a jibe over SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s statement over the anti-COVID vaccine saying he would not get a jab as it was a BJP vaccine, CM Yogi said: “The vaccine which is being administered free of cost is saving people from COVID. Now the public will oppose those who opposed the vaccine,” said UP CM.

  • 2022 UP elections: Congress to entrust poll role to party leaders from other states

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary and party’s UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to deploy senior party leaders and MLAs from other states entrusting them with responsibilities of different Assembly segments in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. They will be required to stay in the poll-bound state till the elections.

    As per the highly placed sources in Congress, Priyanka held a meeting with leaders of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar in Delhi on Thursday. It was transpired that those leaders will be given assembly-wise responsibility during UP polls. President of UP Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) Ajay Kumar Lallu was also present in the high-level meeting.

    Significantly, the Congress general secretary has been leaving no stone unturned to improve her party’s performance in the upcoming electoral battle by reviving it at the grass-root level.

    ALSO READ | 2022 UP polls: Priyanka releases ‘pink manifesto’ for women, pledges tax benefits, cheaper loan

    Those privy to the meeting claimed that there was enthusiasm among the MLAs and party leaders in the meeting as the country were looking at the Congress party in UP. An MLA from Chhattisgarh claimed that the lawmakers from the state will put in their 100 per cent to install the Congress government in UP after the 2022 assembly elections.

    In fact, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has been appointed the party’s poll observer for Uttar Pradesh.

    As per the party sources, the Chhattisgarh MLAs have been called to Lucknow on December 15 to distribute the different assembly constituencies to them. Those who would be roped in with responsibility of different assembly segments would be required to stay put in Uttar Pradesh for the next two and a half months, said the party sources.

    UPCC chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said that that a meeting of observers was also held. He claimed that owing to the diligence of Priyanka Gandhi who was working on the ground, a palpable change in favour of Congress was now visible in UP. He added that in the recent past, Priyanka had been taking to the streets to raise the issues of the general public vociferously and also of those who had been suffering under the Yogi government. Congress would form the government in the state, he exuded confidence.

    According to sources, the Congress leaders from other states will be leaving for Uttar Pradesh after December 14 and will be there till the elections.

  • 2022 UP polls: Priyanka releases ‘pink manifesto’ for women, pledges tax benefits, cheaper loan

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday released the women-centric ‘pink manifesto’ of her party for the 2022 assembly polls.

    In fact, Congress is the only party to have released a women-centric manifesto of its kind in the electoral history of the country. Asserting that the Congress announced 40 per cent party tickets to women candidates to make their empowerment a reality on the ground instead of letting it confined to papers, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that it was imperative to make womena part of politics in the true sense.

    She maintained that Congress was the only party to have given the first woman Prime Minister in Indira Gandhi to this country and Sucheta Kriplani as the first woman CM. “Our country had a woman PM when other nations had very low women representation in politics the world over,” said Priyanka.

    Sharing details of the manifesto, the Congress general secretary said that her party wanted to create an environment where shackles could be broken with the opinion of women and their full participation in politics and society could be ensured so as to end their exploitation.

    “As of date, less than 14 per cent of representatives in Lok Sabha and state assemblies are women,” added the Congress leader. 

    On being asked if she wanted to change the flavour of the UP political landscape which was dominated by caste and religion, Priyanka reiterated that her party wanted to change the political status of women by empowering them genuinely. When asked if her party would follow the suit in other poll-bound states as well, Priyanka evaded the question by saying that she was UP-in-charge and only responsible for Uttar Pradesh.

    The Congress general secretary clarified that her party would come out with overall manifesto soon.

    Key features of Congress ‘pink manifesto’:

    40% reservation for women candidates
    The special quota for women in jobs in male-dominated departments like transport
    Tax benefits to organizations having women as 50 per cent of the workforce 
    Cheaper loans for women self-help groups
    District-level helpline for women to seek assistance against sexual assault, domestic violence and distress.
    Hostels for working women with modern amenities in 25 big cities of state
    Child care homes in all government offices
    Special employment exchange for women
    Inclusion of sex education, child marriage, reproductive rights of women in the syllabus for girls above 14 
    Three gas cylinders for every household per year
    Bring law against cops who do not register complaints of rape and violence against women
    Fee treatment up to Rs 10 lakh for women
     

  • 2022 UP polls: BJP strategists working to stem rebellion over ticket denial

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The ruling BJP, which had contemplated denying tickets to a major chunk of sitting MLAs for the 2022 assembly polls, is now re-drawing a strategy of shuffling of the seats to stem any possible rebellion in the party. 

    As per the highly-placed sources, the BJP is planning to field the sitting MLAs low on the popularity graph on a different seat either in the same or different district.

    The party insiders claimed that a survey carried out by the party top brass and the state government across UP found that at many places the electorate was unhappy with the local MLA but still wanted to vote in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath. “The people are happy and content with the way Yogi government has worked so far despite having issues of non-performance with their MLAs,” said a senior BJP leader. 

    The BJP sources claim that as per the survey, people are not happy with the functioning of around 50 per cent of the current 304 sitting MLAs in their respective areas. The party insiders say in order to return to power, the party will need to deny tickets to at least 30-40 per cent of the sitting MLAs by fielding fresh faces in their place.

    ALSO READ | UP polls: RLD chief formally announces alliance with SP, says BJP’s politics of hatred will be rejected

    “This will help the party to maintain the connect with the electorate and mobilize them in party’s favour in the constituencies where voters are not happy with the sitting MLA,” said a BJP leader.

    At high-level confabulations among the top party leaders, it is believed to have surfaced that rebellion may strike the party if the SP, BSP and Congress turncoats who had joined the BJP ahead of 2017 were denied tickets despite figuring low on popularity graph in their respective constituencies.

    “Such MLAs constitute around 30-40 per cent of the total BJP strength in the assembly. If they are denied ticket this time, they may resort to rebellion and may challenge the BJP candidate on a ticket from either SP, BSP or Congress spoiling the equation for the party,” said a senior BJP leader.

    Taking all these factors into account, the ruling party has decided to deny tickets only to those sitting MLAs who, if turn rebel, do not have much impact on the party’s performance, said the party sources.

    On the contrary, the MLAs with promising clout in their respective caste base could be shuffled. They could be fielded from a different seat to check the possible drift in their caste base to other parties, claimed a senior BJP leader. The party sources said the seats of sitting MLAs belonging to Kurmi, Maurya, Rajbhar, Brahmins, Thakur and some other castes could be changed.

  • 2022 UP polls: Priyanka Gandhi pledges 20 lakh jobs, says development is Congress poll plank

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said her party would contest the 2022 UP elections on the development plank.

    She was addressing her party’s Pratigya Rally in Moradabad. 

    Recalling the days of her grandfather-in-law, who had migrated to  Moradabad at the time of partition, Priyanka attacked the present BJP dispensation while drawing a parallel between the condition of traders than the current times. 

    She claimed that the present government had destroyed business and the businessmen of Moradabad.

    ALSO READ | PM Modi not a sympathiser of farmers but seeker of votes: Priyanka

    She listed the demonetization and GST as the factors which eclipsed the growth of the trading community in the city. “Due to wrong government policy, black money did not come to the country after demonetization, GST made the way difficult for businessmen, the wages of the artisans were reduced to half. This was compounded by the rise in prices of raw materials,” she said.

    Priyanka announced that her party will contest the polls on the development issue. If Congress comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, it would provide 20 lakh jobs and create manufacturing hubs in all the districts of the state, she said. “Congress will contest elections on basis of development. Will provide 20 lakh jobs. Manufacturing hub will open in every district,” she said. 

    She accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not respecting the farmers who died during the agitation against the farm laws. “It will take only Rs 4,000 crore for clearing all dues of sugar cane farmers. PM Modi bought private aircraft for Rs 8,000 crore last year during the Covid pandemic. The Centre is paying Rs 20,000 crore for beautification of Parliament but doesn’t have money to clear your dues,” Priyanka Gandhi added.

  • UP govt to start distribution of free tablets, smartphones from mid-December

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government is set to commence the distribution of tablets and smartphones to students from the second week of December.

    The gadgets will be distributed under the scheme announced by CM Yogi Adityanath on October 5 to equip students with technology to help them pursue their studies. 

    According to official sources, the state government had floated the largest tender for smartphones and tablets worth Rs 4,700 crore on the GeM portal. A number of well-known companies, including Samsung (Vision) and Acer (Celkon) and Vishtel (Iris) for tablets and Lava, Samsung (Celcon) and Samsung (United) for smartphones — had submitted their bids which are in the stage of finalisation.

    As per the break-up of the tender money, Rs 2,500 crore would be spent to buy tablets and Rs 2,200 crore for smartphones. The work order for the distribution of tablets and phones will be issued in December’s first week. Around five lakh smartphones and 2.5 lakh tablets will be distributed in the first phase, said a senior official.

    ALSO READ | SP chief Akhilesh Yadav takes potshots at Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi, says those having no family can’t care for citizens

    To facilitate the endeavour, a dedicated portal named ‘DG Shakti’ has been created to be launched by CM Yogi soon, said a government spokesperson. The spokesperson added that the entire process from registration to smartphone and tablet delivery would be free for the students who would not have to apply or register anywhere.

    The colleges are transferring details of their students directly to the university which is feeding the data on the portal. Till Monday, data of about 27 lakh students had been uploaded on the portal, said officials.

    The free tablets and smartphones will be given to around 68 lakh students enrolled in courses including graduation, postgraduation, diploma, paramedical, nursing courses and skill development programmes under the state government as well as to skilled workers enrolled on the government’s Sewa Mitra portal.

    According to the senior government officials, the companies which will be given the work order for smartphones and tablets, will have to complete it in three months staggered as 40 percent in December, 30-30 per cent in the next two months.

  • PM Modi in Bundelkhand on Friday, to lay foundations of projects worth Rs 6,250 crore

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  has turned his focus to Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2022 assembly polls. On Friday, the PM will land in Bundelkhand to launch welfare projects worth Rs 6,250 crore.

    After inaugurating the 341-km Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday will lay the foundation of the Rs 400-crore UP Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) project in the Jhansi node in the presence of all three armed forces service chiefs.

    Executed by Bharat Dynamics Ltd, a plant to produce propulsion systems for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles would be set up under the project in the Jhansi node of UPDIC. Moreover, giving a push to the ethos of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ in the defence sector, the PM will formally hand over indigenously designed and developed equipment to armed forces service chiefs,” a statement from the PMO said. 

    This includes handing over of HAL-designed and developed Light Combat Helicopter to Chief of the Air Staff; drones and UAVs designed and developed by Indian start-ups to Chief of the Army Staff, and DRDO-designed and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) manufactured advanced electronic warfare suite for naval ships to the chief of naval staff.

    Around 5 pm, PM Modi will dedicate multiple initiatives of the defence sector at ‘Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv’, which was flagged off by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations. 

    ALSO READ | India investing in developing capabilities in 5G & 6G tech: PM Modi

    Modi will also lay the foundation of the 600 megawatts (MW) ultra-mega solar power park and the Atal Ekta Park in Jhansi. The park has been built at a cost of more than Rs 11 crore and is also spread across an area of about 40,000 square meters. The park will also house a library, as well as a statue of the BJP stalwart and former PM, built by the renownedsculptor Ram Sutar, the man who built the Statue of Unity.

    The PM will also launch the NCC alumni association to provide a formal platform to enable NCC alumni to reconnect with NCC. A former NCC cadet, Modi will be enrolled as the first member of the association, which is touted to assist in “nation-building”. At the same time, Modi will flag off the national programme of simulation training for NCC cadets to scale up simulation training facilities for all three wings of NCC.

    In addition, the Prime Minister will also make a visit to the district of Mahoba. There, he will inaugurate multiple projects, including the Arjun Sahayak Project, Ratauli Weir Project, Bhaoni Dam Project, and the Majhgaon–Chilli Sprinkler Project.

    The cumulative cost of these projects is more than Rs 3,250 crore and their operationalisation will help in the irrigation of around 6,500 hectares of land – in the districts of Mahoba, Hamirpur, Banda, and Lalitpur – benefitting lakhs of farmers in the area. These projects are also expected to deliver drinking water for the entire region.

    During the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP had got a thumping victory after blowing the poll bugle from Mahoba. There are 19 assembly seats in the Bundelkhand region and the BJP had won all the seats in the last assembly elections.

  • 2022 UP polls: Akhilesh threatens stir, says EC deleted details of 16 lakh voters from list 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections 2022, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has threatened to launch a stir against the Election Commission of India for allegedly striking off around 16 lakh names from the voters’ list. He raised questions on the working of the poll panel accusing it of omitting 16 lakh names deliberately.

    While interacting with media persons on Tuesday, the SP chief said that the Election Commission of India was not able to furnish the details of 16 lakh voters struck out of the voters’ list. “The officers of Uttar Pradesh have been deliberately posted at the Commission. A big question is also being raised on the work of the Election Commission.”

    Answering questions on alliance with uncle Shivpal Yadav, he said, “I have spoken to him (Shivpal) over the phone and even met chacha on Diwali and also spoke to village elders. We have said that he will get maximum respect.”

    ALSO READ | 2022 UP polls: RLD snubs Congress, Jayant Chaudhary says talks with SP in final stages

    Reacting to the recent statement of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Kairana that the previous regime had felicitated the anti-social elements, the SP chief said: “A large number of farmers have committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh, many people lost their lives to Coronavirus, what has the government done about it? BJP should tell its achievements and work done by them. They should tell what they have done in four and a half years.”

    Launching a scathing attack on the Yogi government over the Lakhimpur incident and the subsequent Supreme Court’s observation over it, Akhilesh said that the apex court was also raising doubts on the working of SIT in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

    “The father of the main accused is still a minister at the Centre and is sharing the stage with Home Minister and the UP CM. How can you expect that the farmers will get justice? The Union MoS has still not resigned which is a surprise,” the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said.

    Targeting the BJP government over the demonetisation issue, Yadav said, “A few years back demonetisation was done and due to which people had to stand in queues. In such a queue outside the bank, Khajanchi (a baby boy) was born. We have been celebrating the birthday of Khajanchi, instead, BJP should come forward and celebrate the occasion and also they should give some gifts to Khajanchi. Demonetisation was done deliberately to harass the public.”