News Analysis India

Tag: UP elections

  • Enfgame for BSP? Mayawati in tight spot with desertions galore

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  After helming Uttar Pradesh for four terms, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati now appears at the crossroads of her career amid questions being raised about her leadership. She has not been able to keep her flock intact ahead of the Assembly elections due in 2022. 

    A gradual erosion of the party began after 2007 and led to a steady migration of her supporters, reducing the BSP’s socio-political space.

    The ‘Bahujan’ movement changed colours to include the upper castes in its scheme of things and weakened over the years as the party drifted from its social base.

    The core social groups, which had been backing the BSP till 2007 Assembly elections in UP, have now sided with the BJP. This has led to the decline in the number of BSP’s seats and vote share since the 2012 assembly polls.

    In 2007, when the BSP won a majority, it fielded candidates on all 403 seats and won 206 with 30.43% of the vote share. This went down in 2012, when it could get only 80 of 403 seats it had contested. The vote share dipped to 25.91%. It emerged as the second strongest party in the state with the BJP slipping to third slot.

    In 2017, the scenario reversed with the BSP moving to number three position as it could win just 19 seats of the 403 it had contested. Its vote share decreased further as it got only 22.2% ofvotes. Mayawati’s failure to project a charismatic second rung leadership hastened the BSP’s decline.

    Instead of inducting the heavyweights from other parties, Mayawati lost the stalwarts who had been with her right from the beginning.

    While Swami Prasad Maurya and Brijesh Pathak joined the saffron bandwagon in 2016, the likes of Lalji Verma, Ram Achal Rajbhar and Indrajeet Saroj defected to the SP recently.

    Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Mayawati’s most trusted lieutenant, also left her to find solace in the Congress. Other BSP leaders who defected to the SP recently included Ghatampur MLA R P Kushwaha, K K Gautam, Saharanpur MP Qadir Rana and former state BSP chief R S Kushwaha.

    To arrest the dwindling support base under an overarching saffron wave, Mayawati cobbled up an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    The alliance seemed unbeatable. But on ground, things did not work as expected and the BSP, after gaining 10 parliamentary seats, parted ways with the SP, blaming the failure on Akhilesh Yadav.

    With only a few months left for the state polls, sources suggest eight more BSP rebel MLAs may join the SP soon.

    Political experts believe that as the BSP is witnessing a drought of second-rung leadership, its political relevance is also at stake as those active in the party have started exploring greener pastures.

    “Those defecting from the BSP often accuse the leadership of losing its grip over the people. Prominent leaders who have defected since 2016 have accused Mayawati of arrogance and extortion as the key reasons for their departure. These complaints increased after the BSP broke its pact with the SP following an alliance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” says Prof AK Mishra, a political analyst.

    After a recent shifting of loyalties, BSP national general secretary and Mayawati’s close confidante Satish Chandra Mishra has emerged as a thorn in the flesh of the 11 party MLAs who were sacked by her in the past two years. Many accuse Mishra of misleading Mayawati.

    While making desperate efforts to retain its core base, Mayawati is pinning hopes on her nephew Akash Anand to mobilise the youth for the party.

    Akash, son of her younger brother Anand Kumar, has held a series of meetings with party leaders to chalk out a campaign strategy in UP.

    He was active in Punjab where the BSP has entered into an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal.  He is likely to work with SC Mishra’s son Kapil to woo the young voters in the state.

  • Endgame for BSP? Mayawati in tight spot with desertions galore

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  After helming Uttar Pradesh for four terms, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati now appears at the crossroads of her career amid questions being raised about her leadership. She has not been able to keep her flock intact ahead of the Assembly elections due in 2022. 

    A gradual erosion of the party began after 2007 and led to a steady migration of her supporters, reducing the BSP’s socio-political space.

    The ‘Bahujan’ movement changed colours to include the upper castes in its scheme of things and weakened over the years as the party drifted from its social base.

    The core social groups, which had been backing the BSP till 2007 Assembly elections in UP, have now sided with the BJP. This has led to the decline in the number of BSP’s seats and vote share since the 2012 assembly polls.

    In 2007, when the BSP won a majority, it fielded candidates on all 403 seats and won 206 with 30.43% of the vote share. This went down in 2012, when it could get only 80 of 403 seats it had contested. The vote share dipped to 25.91%. It emerged as the second strongest party in the state with the BJP slipping to third slot.

    In 2017, the scenario reversed with the BSP moving to number three position as it could win just 19 seats of the 403 it had contested. Its vote share decreased further as it got only 22.2% ofvotes. Mayawati’s failure to project a charismatic second rung leadership hastened the BSP’s decline.

    Instead of inducting the heavyweights from other parties, Mayawati lost the stalwarts who had been with her right from the beginning.

    While Swami Prasad Maurya and Brijesh Pathak joined the saffron bandwagon in 2016, the likes of Lalji Verma, Ram Achal Rajbhar and Indrajeet Saroj defected to the SP recently.

    Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Mayawati’s most trusted lieutenant, also left her to find solace in the Congress. Other BSP leaders who defected to the SP recently included Ghatampur MLA R P Kushwaha, K K Gautam, Saharanpur MP Qadir Rana and former state BSP chief R S Kushwaha.

    To arrest the dwindling support base under an overarching saffron wave, Mayawati cobbled up an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

    The alliance seemed unbeatable. But on ground, things did not work as expected and the BSP, after gaining 10 parliamentary seats, parted ways with the SP, blaming the failure on Akhilesh Yadav.

    With only a few months left for the state polls, sources suggest eight more BSP rebel MLAs may join the SP soon.

    Political experts believe that as the BSP is witnessing a drought of second-rung leadership, its political relevance is also at stake as those active in the party have started exploring greener pastures.

    “Those defecting from the BSP often accuse the leadership of losing its grip over the people. Prominent leaders who have defected since 2016 have accused Mayawati of arrogance and extortion as the key reasons for their departure. These complaints increased after the BSP broke its pact with the SP following an alliance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” says Prof AK Mishra, a political analyst.

    After a recent shifting of loyalties, BSP national general secretary and Mayawati’s close confidante Satish Chandra Mishra has emerged as a thorn in the flesh of the 11 party MLAs who were sacked by her in the past two years. Many accuse Mishra of misleading Mayawati.

    While making desperate efforts to retain its core base, Mayawati is pinning hopes on her nephew Akash Anand to mobilise the youth for the party.

    Akash, son of her younger brother Anand Kumar, has held a series of meetings with party leaders to chalk out a campaign strategy in UP.

    He was active in Punjab where the BSP has entered into an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal.  He is likely to work with SC Mishra’s son Kapil to woo the young voters in the state.

  • Amit Shah in Azamgarh tomorrow, Akhilesh to visit Gorakhpur

    By PTI

    GORAKHPUR: Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will be visiting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s Lok Sabha constituency Azamgarh on Saturday, on a day the opposition leader will be in Gorakhpur, the UP chief minister’s home turf.

    Akhilesh Yadav will start the third leg of his “Samajwadi Vijay Yatra” from Gorakhpur.

    Amit Shah will be in Azamgarh and Basti on Saturday, BJP’s regional vice-president Dr Satyendra Sinha said.

    He said in Basti, Shah will be addressing people at Shiv Harsh Kisan PG College between 3.40 pm and 4.25 pm.

    Before reaching Basti, Shah will address people in Azamgarh, he said.

    Samajwadi Party leader Zafar Amin said Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday will come to Gorakhpur.

    He will start a “rath yatra”, which will go towards Kushinagar. He will stay in Kushinagar and after a few programmes return to Lucknow.

  • Bhupesh Baghel meets Priyanka Gandhi, discusses strategy for 2022 UP polls

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday met All India Congress Committee (AICC) Uttar Pradesh Incharge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the national capital and discussed strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections.

    Baghel has been given the responsibility of the party’s senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh elections.

    He has been given the task of coordinating with the organization and the election machinery of the party.

    Baghel visited Uttar Pradesh four times in the last month and has addressed rallies in Gorakhpur and Varanasi along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

    The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister also visited Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight persons, including four farmers, were killed during a farmers’ protest. Lakhimpur Kheri has witnessed a political slugfest after the violence.

    In the past, Congress has tried to make the initial election announcements among the people through the ‘Pratigya Yatras’ from different areas.

    Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is campaigning aggressively in the state against the BJP-led state government.

    She has made several announcements including a 40 per cent ticket for women in UP Assembly polls.

    The Congress general secretary has also kept possibilities open for alliance with small parties.

    Many leaders feel that if the voters who are annoyed with BJP are divided into many political parties, then the party will suffer.

    In such a situation, it would be appropriate to contest elections in alliance with some local political parties, they feel.

    At the same time, some leaders are in favour of going in the elections on their own. The Congress had last contested the elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, in which they had to face defeat.

    Bhupesh Baghel will also meet Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi later in the evening.

    Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to go for Assembly polls in 2022.

    Previously, in the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by other candidates.

    Notably, the Congress party has been out of power in the state since 1989, that is, for more than 30 years. The last Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh representing the Congress party was Narayan Dutt Tiwari from June 1988 to December 1989. (ANI)

  • Resolving farmer agitation issue not linked with UP elections: Piyush Goyal

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the government is ready to talk with protesting farmers over three new farm laws but asserted that resolving the farmer agitation is not all related to the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

    He also expressed confidence that the BJP along with its allies will again form the government in the state.

    The minister was replying to a question that if it is not necessary for the Centre to resolve the ongoing farmer protests at Delhi borders else it could have a bearing on BJP’s election prospects in Uttar Pradesh.

    “UP election results will be very good. BJP along with its allies will again form the government with a good majority,” the minister said in Hindi at the Times Now Summit 2021.

    Further, Goyal said, “Finding a resolution to farmer protests is not related to UP elections. Otherwise also, we want to resolve the issue and are even ready to talk to them tomorrow.”

    He asserted that resolution to farmer protests is not at all related to UP polls.

    Thousands of farmers are camping on Delhi’s borders since last November, seeking withdrawal of the new agriculture laws.

    Protesting farmers should come forward for discussion, but that should be based on certain facts and logics, Goyal added.

    On minimum support price (MSP) issue, he highlighted that the government has taken various measures in the last seven years including a decision to fix MSP at least 1.5 times of the production cost.

    The government has raised MSP of various crops significantly and is also procuring record quantity of wheat and paddy.

    He said the government has categorically stated in the parliament that the MSP system will continue as it is now and it will not be stopped.

  • UP Polls 2022: BJP seeking vote in name of ‘Ram’, SP in name of ‘Jinnah’, alleges BSP

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria on Friday slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) for allegedly indulging in religion-based politics in the state.

    Speaking to ANI here in New Delhi, Bhadoria said, “BJP is seeking vote in the name of ‘Ram’ in Uttar Pradesh and SP is seeking it in the name of ‘Jinnah’, but public will give vote based on work, not on religion.”

    “What works have they done? Both parties failed to maintain the law and order in the state. People want BSP to rule and that is why BSP will form the government in the upcoming assembly elections,” he added.

    Elections for 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh are due early next year.

    In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats.

  • Eyeing UP polls, Samajwadi Party to observe ‘Lakhimpur Kisan Smriti Diwas’ every month

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday asked all its workers and allies to observe “Lakhimpur Kisan Smriti Diwas” on the third of every month to remind people about the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the “brutality of the BJP”.

    Eight people died in the violence and of them, four were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Infuriated farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers, their driver, and a journalist.

    Farmers claimed that Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and his father who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time.

    “It’s an appeal to all Uttar Pradesh residents, well-wishers of farmers, SP and its allies to observe the third of every month from now as ‘Lakhimpur Kisan Smriti Diwas’ and remind people of BJP’s brutality,” the Samajwadi Party (SP) said in a tweet.

    It said everybody should light a ‘diya’ (earthen lamp) on November 3 to honour of farmers.

    Several of the people accused in the case, including Ashish Mishra, are in the jail.

    Following the incident, BJP, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre, is under attack by the opposition, which is demanding the sacking of the Union minister for a fair probe into the matter.

  • Akhilesh decides against contesting UP polls, says alliance with RLD finalised

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said he will not be contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls early next year.

    He also said that an alliance between his party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the polls has been finalised.

    “Our alliance with RLD is final. Seat sharing is to be finalised,” he told PTI in an interview.

    Yadav, who is also SP MP from Azamgarh and the chief minister face of his party, said he will “not be contesting the assembly polls”.

    On chances of taking uncle Shivpal Yadav’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) along in the polls, he said, “I dont have any problem in this. He and his men will be given due honour”.

  • Akhilesh Yadav not to contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, announces tie-up with RLD

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said he will not contest the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections himself even as he announced that an alliance between his party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal is now final.

    Yadav also said his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who broke away from the SP to form the Pragatisheel Samajwadi party Lohia (PSPL) will get the due honour from his party.

    “Our alliance with the RLD is final. Seat-sharing is to be finalised,” he told PTI in an interview.

    The RLD enjoys support among farmers of Western Uttar Pradesh and is on the same page with the SP on the issue of opposing the Centre’s three farm laws.

    The SP has already announced an alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SPSP).

    Yadav, who is an SP MP from Azamgarh and regarded as the CM face of his party, said, “I will not be contesting the assembly election myself”.

    The SP supremo, who was a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) when he served as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012-2017, did not give any reason for the decision.

    However, later Yadav said a final decision on his contesting the polls will be taken by the party.

    On whether he has held any talks with the AIMIM or Mamata Banerjee’s TMC for the state polls, he said there have been no discussions with them.

    Terming his party’s tie up with the SBSP as a natural alliance, Yadav said people in eastern Uttar Pradesh have accepted it and it will ensure the BJP’s defeat.

    On the poll promises made by the SBSP to provide free electricity and RLD of providing over one crore jobs, Yadav said every party has its agenda .

    “We all raise issues of farmers, employment, common man. Everyone is releasing their manifesto. If voted to power, our government will try to accommodate them and prepare a common minimum programme,” he said

    Asked about the joining of Congress leaders and also of a BJP and BSP MLA in his party, he asserted, “The joining will continue. It shows that people are seeing the SP as an alternative to the BJP, which only spread lies and deceit people with promises.”

    He said that people of the state have not forgotten the pain and treatment meted to them during the peak of Covid and added that maximum cases were lodged against his party workers during the pandemic for helping people.

    “SP workers were on the street during Covid peak. We provided all necessary help to people when government was missing from action and left people on their own to survive. Instead of helping, maximum number of cases were lodged against SP workers during the pandemic but it did not deter them,” he said.

    Countering the “tall claims of BJP of helping people”, Yadav said, “Why not a single case was filed against BJP workers during Covid. As our workers were out for help, cases were lodged against them.”

    He was asked about Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remark as to where was the SP supremo during the Covid period.

    Lashing out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav accused him of ruining the state.

    “By saying that it has fulfilled 90 per cent promises of its ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto), the BJP is only lying,” he charged.

    About the government’s move to provide tablets or smart phones to students, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “What it was doing for the past over four-and-a-half years? This shows their intention.”

    The Samajwadi supremo said people are facing inflation and youth are unemployed.

    People faced hardships during Covid peak and lost their near and dear ones for lack of treatment, non availability of beds, and oxygen and now they will think twice before voting for the BJP, he asserted.

    “The SP is the only party that can face BJP and stand tall before them in the interest of people. Farmers are also with the SP. This time there will be a change in the state and people of the state have made up their minds,” he said.

  • UP polls: Congress prepares separate manifesto for women, promises free LPG cylinders, bus rides

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday said her party has prepared a separate manifesto for women for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, and promised them free LPG cylinders and travel in government buses if voted to power.

    Priyanka Gandhi, who is also the Congress’ Uttar Pradesh in-charge, had last month announced that her party will give 40 per cent tickets to women in the polls slated for early next year, saying the decision is aimed at making women, who constitute roughly half the vote bank, a “full-fledged partner in power”.

    “My dear sisters of Uttar Pradesh, your each day is full of struggles. Understanding this, the Congress party has prepared a separate manifesto for women,” Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

    “On the formation of the Congress party’s government, three LPG cylinders will be given for free to women annually and women will be able to travel for free in state government buses,” she said.

    Priyanka Gandhi has also tagged a picture along with the tweet listing the Congress’ promises to the women if the party comes to power in the Uttar Pradesh.

    The assurances also included an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month to ASHA and Anganwadi workers, appointment of women to 40 per cent posts according to the provisions of reservation, giving pension of Rs 1,000 to old widows, and opening of 75 skill schools across the state that will be named after the brave women (veerangnaao) of Uttar Pradesh.

    The Congress is facing an uphill task of consolidating its support base in Uttar Pradesh and Priyanka Gandhi is going all out to woo women in her election campaigns.

    The Congress general secretary had last month said all class 12 pass girls will be given a smartphone while all graduate girls will get an electric scooter if her party forms a government in the state.