Tag: UP elections

  • Vote for farmers, not NOTA: Tikait brothers’ pre-poll appeal ahead of UP elections

    By PTI

    NOIDA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait and its spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday appealed to people to vote on farmers’ issues during the first phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, beginning Thursday.

    Elections will be held in 58 assembly seats across 11 districts of western Uttar Pradesh, where the BKU, an influential farmers’ union of north India, holds a considerable sway among the farming community.

    “Not NOTA, but vote in the elections and hit the issues of farmers, I will be voting along with my family at 2 PM in Sisauli, you too join the mahayagya of democracy,” Naresh Tikait tweeted in Hindi.

    His younger brother Rakesh Tikait also put out a similar tweet except his polling booth is in Muzaffarnagar city and not in their ancestral village of Sisauli.

    Sisauli, the headquarters of the BKU, is in Muzaffarnagar district of western Uttar Pradesh.

    The BKU is part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had spearheaded the agitation against the now-repealed three central farm laws for over a year from November 2020.

    Rakesh Tikait, the spokesperson of the BKU, had emerged as a prominent face of the agitation and credited with reviving the agitation which had started waning post January 26, 2021 violence in Delhi.

    The Tikait brothers’ remark to “vote for farmers’ issues” assumes significance amid a much-talked about anti-BJP feeling in parts of western Uttar Pradesh in the wake of the farmers’ agitation during which over 700 people are claimed to have lost their lives.

    Naresh and Rakesh Tikait are sons of legendary farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait.

    Naresh Tikait is also the head of the Balyan Khap.

  • AAP candidate from Charthawal constituency joins Samajwadi Party on UP poll eve

    By PTI

    MUZAFFARNAGAR: A day before polling, the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Charthawal assembly constituency, Yavar Roshan, on Wednesday resigned from the party and joined the Samajwadi Party.

    During the first phase of polling, the voting will start at 7 am on Thursday in 58 constituencies spread across 11 districts in the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

    Announcing his support for the SP candidate Pankaj Malik in Charthawal town in the Muzaffarnagar district, Roshan said he has resigned from the AAP.

    A video has gone viral on social media in which Roshan can be seen with the SP candidate at his election office, declaring that he has full faith in Samajwadi Party.

    Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has expelled Roshan from the party for indulging in anti-party activities.

    According to a press note released by the AAP’s district general secretary Tasawar Husain, the party has expelled Roshan from the AAP after he has personally announced to support SP candidate Malik in the election.

  • Oust BJP from UP to root it out at national level, Mamata urges voters 

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Having joined the poll campaign in support of Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urged the people of Uttar Pradesh to oust the BJP from the state to remove it from the Centre.

    Addressing a joint virtual rally with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav here on Tuesday, the West Bengal CM cautioned the people of Uttar Pradesh against wasting their vote on the BJP in the coming UP Assembly elections.

    Seeking votes in favour of the Akhilesh Yadav-led alliance, Mamata said SP was the only alternative to BJP in UP. She exhorted the people of Uttar Pradesh to oust the BJP from UP in order to root it out at the national level. “UP has a vast history. It has given the majority of PMs to the nation. If the BJP is defeated in UP, then it won’t survive at the national level. So vote dedicatedly against the BJP in UP,” said Banerjee.

    The Trinamool Congress chief slammed UP CM Yogi Adityanath for alleged mismanagement of Covid-19 in the state, especially during the second wave.

    ALSO READ | UP polls: PM Narendra Modi pitches development agenda, accuses previous state governments of loot

    She claimed that when people were suffering during the second wave of COVID in UP, CM Yogi was campaigning in West Bengal to defeat her, last year. “So you had come to Bengal to defeat us…where were you when people were dying of Covid,” she said.

    Accusing the state authorities under CM Yogi of failing to provide wood to people to perform the last rites of their loved ones who lost the battle of life toCOVID, Mamata asked whether the UP government didn’t have woods to cremate them. “We revere Ganga Ma. And here you threw dead bodies in Ganga. Many dead bodies floated to Bengal. We picked up those bodies and respectfully cremated them. Did you not have wood to cremate the bodies?” she asked.

    Mamata Banerjee arrived in Lucknow on Monday evening in a show of support to the SP-led alliance contesting the assembly elections.

    Mocking at the BJP’s Sankalp Patra released on Tuesday, the West Bengal CM wondered if it was a manifesto or “Moneyfesto”. The BJP had planned to release its manifesto on Sunday but deferred it by two days as a mark of respect to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who passed away on Sunday morning.

    Banerjee said that the saffron party released its manifesto on Tuesday on hearing that she would be in Lucknow.

    Raking up the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, the TMC leader asked the BJP to seek forgiveness over the incident in which a Union minister’s son is accused of running over the SUV on protesting farmers.

    Meanwhile, talking to media persons in the same interaction, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cancelled physical rally in Bijnor due to weather conditions, saying that the weather was bad for the BJP. “BJP’s plane will not land in UP now,” he said.

  • ‘What compulsion do you have?’: Smriti slams Akhilesh for seeking Mamata’s support

    By PTI

    NOIDA: BJP leader Smriti Irani on Monday hit out at Akhilesh Yadav, wondering why the Samajwadi Party president was seeking support of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had “insulted” the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    While addressing a poll programme in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Jewar, the Union Minister claimed Yadav’s reach out to Banerjee was an indication that he is “not getting people’s support on his own strength”.

    Irani claimed Yadav was seeking support from Banerjee despite her insulting the traditions, culture and food habits of the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    “I want to ask Akhilesh ji, what has happened now that you want support of those who had forgotten the glorious past of this state and openly insult the residents of the state. What compulsion do you have?” she said.

    “But Akhilesh ji is definitely giving indications that he is not getting public support on his own strength,” she added.

    Irani was addressing a gathering in support of BJP’s Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, who is once again in the fray from the seat for assembly polls.

    The Lok Sabha MP from Amethi said it was her good luck that she has been elected to parliament from Uttar Pradesh, which has been not only known as the land that has defined ‘sanskar, sanskriti’ but is also the land which is redefining development in India’s politics.

    Quoting the remarks of MLA Singh, she said the BJP has accomplished in five years in Jewar what could not be done even in 70 years.

    “It’s not easy that an international-level airport gets built in an assembly area or a medical device park for manufacturing modern equipment,” she said, talking of the big ticket projects Jewar has got since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

    Polls in Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for February 10 during the first phase of elections in the state.

    Results will be declared on March 10.

  • Previous UP governments were not concerned with people’s needs: PM Modi

    Modi said the people of Uttar Pradesh have decided that development will be the biggest issue in the upcoming assembly elections.

  • UP polls: Akhilesh rejects BJP’s double engine rhetoric, alleges betrayal of farmers

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Rejecting the oft repeated BJP rhetoric of ‘double engine’ rule, Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the ruling dispensation of the BJP both at the Centre and UP had betrayed the farmers of the state due to their wrong policies.

    While interacting with media persons as part of his campaign in Aligarh on Saturday, Akhilesh claimed that in the current polls, the voters had decided to root out the BJP from the first phase itself. He reiterated that the SP would be getting 400 of 403 seats this time leaving three for the saffron camp.

    “Farmers had to protest for a year against the three contentious farm laws. As elections approached in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the BJP withdrew the black laws,” the SP chief said, adding that the saffron party had “destroyed” the farmers.

    He sought an explanation from the ruling party as to why the three farm laws were rolled back if the party was finding them favourable for the country’s farmers earlier.

    ALSO READ: ‘Why would he listen to you’: Amit Shah cautions RLD chief Jayant over tie-up with Akhilesh

    The SP chief claimed that the BJP had betrayed the farmers by not fulfilling its promise of double income for farmers. “We should come together to defeat them,” he added.

    Calling the upcoming elections vital for India’s politically most crucial state, the SP chief said it would decide the future of the country and its democratic set-up as well.

    The SP president said the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls was going to be “bhaichara” versus the BJP, adding that the saffron party was indulging in negative politics as opposed to the positive one practised by his party.

    Calling out the BJP’s slogan “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” the SP chief said it was the most fake and deceptive catchline coined by the ruling party.  He also raised the issue of dousing Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. It may be recalled that the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate was merged with the Eternal Flame at the National War Memorial, barely 400 metres away, last month. However, many including ex-servicemen and opposition leaders had criticised the Centre’s decision.

    Moreover, Akhilesh referred to the upcoming Central Vista saying the saffron party was bringing in a new parliament and might change the Indian constitution as well. Akhilesh also hit back at Yogi Adityanath over his ‘garmi’ jibe asking if “our baba Chief Minister is a compressor”. “If he feels so much garmi (heat), he should go back to Uttarakhand,” said Akhilesh.

    Notably, CM Yogi has been launching a veiled attack on the SP in his poll rallies across western UP saying that the candidate of “Tamanchawadi Party” from Kairana is threatening that the “garmi (heat)” is yet to calm down. “After March 10, the heat will cool down,” the Uttar Pradesh CM has been claiming.

    Akhilesh is making his debut in the UP Assembly elections by contesting from Karhal constituency in his traditional stronghold of Mainpuri.

  • UP polls: Ex-minister Maurya who jumped ship from BJP to SP changes constituency to Fazilnagar

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who had deserted the BJP to join the Samajwadi Party with two other ministers and around half a dozen sitting BJP MLAs last month, has been given a ticket from Fazilnagar instead of his traditional stronghold of Padrauna in Kushinagar. Fazilnagar is an assembly seat adjoining Padrauna which Maurya has been representing for four terms since 2007.

    Even after joining the BJP defecting from the BSP in 2016, Maurya had contested from Padrauna and is a sitting MLA from there. Now, in Fazilnagar, Maurya will be up against the BJP’s Surendra Kushwaha, the son of incumbent BJP MLA Ganga Singh Kushwaha.

    Maurya’s name was on the SP list of three candidates, comprising Abhishek Mishra from Lucknow’s Sarojini Nagar seat and Pallavi Patel from Sirathu in Kaushambi besides Maurya. Pallavi Patel, the sister of Union minister and BJP ally Anupriya Patel, will face deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya in Sirathu.

    Since Maurya left the BJP, there was speculation that the ruling party would field a strong candidate to corner him in his pocket borough. In the meantime, senior Congress leader and the scion of Kushinagar royal family RPN Singh joined the BJP. Padrauna has been the turf of RPN Singh as he has represented it in UP Assembly for three straight terms – 1996, 2002 and 2007.

    ALSO READ: With base depleting, top Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders go AWOL

    Political circles are abuzz with speculation that RPN Singh will contest from Padrauna on the BJP ticket. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, he had defeated Maurya from Kushinagar parliamentary seat. The political rivalry between Maurya and RPN Singh has been going on for quite long.

    As per sources, Maurya wanted to shift his constituency from Padrauna to Fazilnagar as he was sensing anti-incumbency against him in his traditional constituency. Akhilesh Yadav obliged him purportedly fulfilling the promise made to him when he switched sides from the BJP to the SP.

    However, Maurya claimed that Fazilnagar would be a challenge for him and that the more difficult the challenge was, the better he felt. “I had said that my workers accept my popularity everywhere, so I welcome whatever has been decided for me by the party’s national president,” said Maurya after the announcement on Wednesday. However, he refused to acknowledge any challenge from RPN Singh saying, “There will perhaps be no candidate weaker than RPN Singh if the BJP fields him.”

    Meanwhile, of the three ministers who had left the Yogi government to join the SP last month, two — Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan — have shifted to other constituencies leaving their strongholds as was promised to them by the SP leadership when they deserted the BJP. Dara Singh Chauhan has shifted from Madhuban in Mau to Ghosi in the same district.

    However, the third one Dharam Singh Saini wanted the ticket from his own constituency Nakur and he has also been obliged denying a ticket to Congress strongman Imran Masood who also wanted to contest from the same constituency. Saini and Masood have been fighting against each other for quite some time in Nakur.

  • Government accepts ED officer Rajeshwar Singh’s VRS; may contest UP polls on BJP ticket

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate officer Rajeshwar Singh has been granted voluntary retirement from service (VRS) by the Union government.

    He is expected to join the BJP and contest the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

    Singh, who was serving as the joint director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Lucknow so far, tweeted to announce that he was ‘hanging up his boots’.

    “Today my request for voluntary retirement (VRS) from the service of Government of India has been approved. The caravan of 24 years of tireless and conscientious hard work, carried out in a relentless manner, has reached a point of transition today,” he stated in a letter attached with the Twitter post on Monday night.

    The officer began his civil service career with the Uttar Pradesh Police, where he served for about 10 years while the rest were in the ED, a federal probe agency that investigates money laundering and foreign exchange violation crimes.

    “As my professional journey of 24 years turns to a transition today, on this occasion, I express my deep seated gratitude to the Hon PM Shri @narendramodi ji, Hon HM Shri @AmitShah ji and FM Smt @nsitharaman ji, CM Shri @myogiadityanath ji, Shri S K Mishra, Director ED and Uttar Pradesh Police. I have learned a lot while working with these organizations for so many years.”

    “I join the PM’s mission to make India a Vishwa Guru, as a participant, to contribute with conviction and integrity in this process of nation-building,” he said.

    The officer had applied for VRS late last year.

    Sources said he may contest the Uttar Pradesh polls on a BJP ticket.

    A B.Tech and PhD in police, human rights and social justice, Singh joined the ED in 2007 on deputation.

    He was permanently absorbed into the ED cadre in 2014 and has headed some high-profile investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation case, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the money laundering cases against former Union finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, the Aircel Maxis and VVIP choppers case.

    Assets worth about Rs 4,000 crore were attached in his probes.

    “I am deeply satisfied that despite various threats and pressure tactics from unscrupulously corrupt leaders, my courage to do my job without bowing down has been appreciated time and again by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” he stated.

    The officer has had a share of controversies, including an instance in June 2018, when the Finance Ministry submitted a secret report to the Supreme Court, apparently carrying details of a phone call received by the officer from Dubai.

    The report is said to have been prepared by country’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing and handed over to the Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry, under which the ED functions.

    The then ED director Karnal Singh had issued a press statement saying the overseas call received by Rajeshwar Singh pertained to an “ongoing investigation” and that he was a responsible officer with outstanding career records.

    The government had also launched an investigation against Rajeshwar Singh for his letter in which he had made a scathing attack on the then revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia questioning him if the latter had developed animosity against him by “siding with scamsters and their affiliates.”

    Rajeshwar Singh was subsequently issued a notice seeking an explanation for alleged “insubordination” in the context of this letter by the revenue department, to which he has replied with a “regret” and had explained his side of the story.

    That letter, sources had said, was sent through “official channels” to the agency’s chief Karnal Singh but it was never forwarded to Adhia.

    Accusations of certain other alleged irregularities made against Singh were probed by the ED, the CBI and the Central Vigilance Commission, and a report was sent to the court and the government stating that there was “no merit” in the allegations and hence the inquiry was closed.

    Singh, who carried out numerous encounters during his stint in the uniform, is married to IPS officer Laxmi Singh, who is currently serving as the Inspector General of Lucknow police range.

  • After farm reforms, now Yogi invokes ‘blood of Karsevaks’ to attack Akhilesh

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party’s red caps are painted in the blood of victims of Muzaffarnagar riots and ‘karsewaks’ shot dead in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said.

    Attacking the SP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath, have been repeatedly targeting the party’s red cap.

    “The red cap of the Samajwadi Party is painted in the blood of victims of Muzaffarnagar riots and karsewaks who were shot in Ayodhya,” Adityanath said while speaking at an event organised by a channel on Saturday evening.

    Addressing a rally in Gorakhpur in December last year, Modi had targeted the SP, saying those in red caps were a “red alert” and “sign of danger” for the state, while Adityanath had in February last year, said every child sees those wearing red caps as “goons”.

    The chief minister said his government has been working to protect the masses and instil a sense of safety among them while ensuring that “criminals feel scared” and surrender before police with folded hands.

    Accusing the previous SP government of neglecting the poor people of the state, the chief minister alleged that the Akhilesh Yadav-led government worked only for a few friends involved in perfume business.

    “They can deny (allegations) but can’t change what is true,” he said.

    “They (SP) never considered Uttar Pradesh and its people as their own. Their views are family-centric and Pakistan-centric. Before 2017, riots used to occur every third day in the state and girls use to fear for their safety. This has changed under the BJP rule,” Adityanath said.

    Claiming that his government has provided a new identity to Uttar Pradesh, he said, “Now businessmen and people are not forced to migrate from the state. Businessmen are now returning to the state and contributing to its development.”

    Reacting to accusations that the BJP government has targeted the people of a particular religion and why over 80 cases were lodged against SP leader Azam Khan, Adityanath said, “Our government has not lodged any politically motivated FIR against anyone.”

    “The cases against Azam Khan are a result of his wrongdoings. If anyone tries to encroach land belonging to the poor and build an institution there, then action will be taken against that person,” he said “Our government has provided benefits to people from every caste and background. In SP, BSP and Congress governments, the leaders use to build their house first. This has changed in our government. We have worked to provide a house to every family in the state,” he said.

    On sugarcane farmers in western Uttar Pradesh, the CM said, “The Samajwadi Party sold several sugar mills at throwaway prices. Our government has not only ensured smooth functioning of sugar mills but have also established new ones. The SP lacks vision for the development of the state.”

    He said the “double engine” government has taken the state to new heights of development in the last five years.

    The term “double engine” is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state.

    “The work done by us has given recognition to the state not only in the country but across the world,” he added.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday assured farmers in Uttar Pradesh that in the event of delay in payment of sugarcanes, they will get the money along with interest.

    He said this announcement will be part of the BJP election manifesto.

    “We have decided to announce in the BJP manifesto that in case of delay in clearance of payments, interest will be realised from sugar mills, and farmers will be paid the money along with interest,” Shah said while addressing “matdaatas” (voters) here.

    The minister said farmers in some regions of the state told him about the delay in sugarcane payment.

    Targetting Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav over the farmers issue, Shah said there were 42 sugar mills, of which 21 mills were closed by the SP and BSP.

    “Whereas during our time, none was closed and payments to farmers were made,” he asserted.

    Uttar Pradesh tops in production of sugarcane and the western region of the state is known for cultivating the crop in bulk.

    The opposition parties have been raising the issue of non-payment of cane prices to farmers while attacking the ruling BJP in the state.

    Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases beginning February 10.

    BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying those who never did any good for the farmers are moving around with a handful of grains making pledges.

    His apparent target was Yadav’s ‘ann sankalp’ (food commitment), the Samajwadi Party’s resolve for the welfare of the farmers, a crucial vote bank in the state.

    Akhilesh Yadav has made several promises to the farmers of Uttar Pradesh, including MSP for every crop, free irrigation facilities, payment of arrears to cane-growers in 15 days, interest-free loans, and insurance and pension if his party-led alliance comes to power.

    At a public rally in Etawah, Nadda said, “Those who never did any good for the farmers are today moving around with a handful of grains. Akhilesh Yadav should tell the people of Uttar Pradesh what had done for the farmers during the five years of his rule (2012-2017).”

    “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government of Yogi Adityanath waived the worth Rs 36,000 crore loans of 86 lakh farmers. Over 10 crore farmers of the country have got Rs 1.80 lakh crore under the Kisan Samman Nidhi, of which 2.5 crore are from Uttar Pradesh,” the BJP national president said.

    He asserted that Uttar Pradesh was the number one in producing sugarcane, sugar, potato and green peas.

    “In five years, our double engine government has given Rs 1.48 lakh crore to sugarcane farmers, which is more than the payments made during the rule of the SP and BSP. We have also cleared the dues accumulated during the Akhilesh Yadav government.”

    “In the governments of the SP and BSP, 21 sugar mills were shut down, while in our government, three new sugar mills were opened and there has been an expansion of some sugar mills,” Nadda said.

    Sharpening the attack at Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP chief said the Samajwadi Party “sprinkles perfume” while the Yogi Adityanath government work for development.

    He was referring to the ‘Samajwadi perfume’ that was launched by Yadav in November last year with a “hope of spreading the scent of socialism” in the state.

    “Akhilesh Ji, no matter how much perfume you sprinkle to hide the wrongdoings, good smell will not emanate. Of the SP candidates declared some are fighting from jail, while others are on bail.”

    “What is the compulsion that his friendship with the mafia and criminals is still intact,” Nadda wondered, adding, “They cannot break their friendship with the mafia and criminals, because that is the identity of the Samajwadi Party.”

    Training his guns at the Bahujan Samaj Party, the BJP president alleged that if the Mayawati-led party comes to power then there would be “development of a caste.”

    “When the Samajwadi Party comes to power, then along with casteism crime also makes its presence felt. We have during BSP and SP governments that people from one particular caste were selected in recruitment examinations. Our government worked for the welfare of people without any appeasement with a focus on ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas (with all, development for all).”

    The BJP national president undertook a house-to-house campaign in Bareilly and offered prayers at the Barha Baagh Hanumaan Mandir, the party said in a statement.

  • UP Polls: Police files case against 250 people, including BJP MLA, in Pilibhit for violating model code

    By PTI

    PILIBHIT: A case has been filed here against 250 people, including BJP MLA Sanjay Gangwar, for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct, police said on Saturday.

    SHO Kotwali Harish Vardhan Singh said that around 250 people, including Gangwar who is BJP’s candidate from Pilibhit, were organising a meeting without any permission and were also violating COVID-19 norms.

    He said Gangwar also inaugurated the main election office without permission.

    Invitation was sent to people through social media, the SHO said, adding that a stretch of road was also jammed due to the meeting.

    He said that Police Outpost Incharge Nirdesh Kumar Chauhan had sent a report to officers based on which the case was registered.