News Analysis India

Tag: UP Polls 2022

  • Two sitting corporators of Lucknow Municipal Corporation in UP poll battle

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: In the poll fray from the state capital, two sitting corporators of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation and an ex corporator exude confidence that they have an edge over other candidates as they are armed with a better understanding of the ground situation and problems facing locals.

    Among the sitting corporators of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, BJP’s Rajneesh Gupta is contesting from Lucknow Central.

    Gupta is a four-time corporator from Yahiyganj ward in the state capital.

    Mamta Chaudhary, who is contesting the assembly election from Mohanlalgnj assembly constituency on a Congress ticket, is a corporator of Malviya Nagar ward.

    Former corporator from Motilal Nehru Nagar Charanjeet Gandhi is in the poll fray from Lucknow Cantonment seat on a SP ticket.

    His wife is currently the corporator from Motilal Nehru ward.

    Speaking to PTI, Chaudhary said, “If a corporator becomes an MLA, he/she knows the ground situation of the locality and the entire neighbourhood, and can hence solve the problems of the people.”

    “The biggest problem in Mohanlalganj is that none of the previous state governments had built a women’s degree college. As a result of this, the education of girls has suffered. This is despite the fact that the local MP from Mohanlalganj is from the BJP,” she said.

    “The BJP did not build any community marriage hall in Mohanlalganj,” she said and added that arranging clean drinking water will be a challenge for her.

    She exuded confidence that the Congress will spring surprises in the 2022 Assembly elections.

    Gupta said the BJP will win over 300 seats in the ongoing Assembly elections, and will continue to serve the people with its mantra of ‘sabka saath, sabka vishwas’.

    He added that being a corporator makes it easy to understand the problem of the people, and accordingly devise a step to resolve them.

    A corporator is well-versed with the topography of the area, and will take less time to adjust himself or herself as per the need of the hour.

    “Resolving the problems of traffic jams and water-logging, which takes place in the area primarily due to narrow lanes, are my priority,” he said.

    Similar views were also expressed by Gandhi, who feels that corporators’ experience in dealing with the problem of the people, will definitely help them to solve the woes of the public.

    He also said that their experience of contesting elections, and then working for the public virtually throughout the day, gives them an edge over other candidates.

    Corporator from Maithli Sharan Gupt ward Dilip Srivastava, who is campaigning for Gupta, said, “By resolving the problems of the people on a daily basis, the corporators have accumulated a significant experience. And, it should gradually help them in resolving the problems of the public on a larger level”.

    Lucknow will vote in the fourth phase of the Assembly polls on February 23.

    Srivastava notes that former state minister Lalji Tandon and current minister Mahendra Singh have both been corporators in Lucknow.

    Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma had served as mayor of Lucknow for two times.

  • Samajwadi Party ruled UP with appeasement blindfold over king’s eyes: Nadda

    The BJP national president also attacked the Samajwadi Party for its alleged family-oriented politics.

  • UP polls: Alleged Samajwadi Party goons attack Union Minister’s convoy in Karhal

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday alleged that Union Minister S P Singh Baghel’s convoy was “attacked by Samajwadi Party goons” in Mainpuri district’s Karhal where he is contesting against Akhilesh Yadav.

    He claimed that with this “attack” on the Union minister, who is also the BJP’s candidate from Karhal Assembly segment, the Samajwadi Party chief has “ensured his defeat” in poll.

    According to Mainpuri police, some locals attacked Baghel’s convoy with stones and sticks when it was passing Atikullaha village.

    “The circle officer of Karhal is on the spot and an FIR is being lodged based on a complaint. The minister is safe and the law-and-order situation is normal,” it said.

    In a tweet in Hindi, Maurya said the “attack” on the convoy of Union Minister S P Singh Baghel “by Samajwadi Party goons” has shown the “real character of the party”.

    “Yesterday, BJP MP Geeta Shakya was also attacked. Strict action will be taken against the culprits of both the incidents,” he said.

    Maurya alleged that Akhilesh Yadav got Baghel and other BJP leaders attacked by “his pet goons” out of the fear of being defeated in his stronghold Karhal.

    “With the attack, you have ensured your defeat. Is this the new Samajwadi Party? Will you get those contesting against you attacked?” he posed in another tweet.

    BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh also slammed the Samajwadi Party.

    “The attack on BJP candidate Baghel Ji shows that Akhilesh (Yadav) is going to taste defeat. The victory in elections is ensured due to blessings of the people and not by the terror of goons,” Singh tweeted.

    Karhal will go to the polls in the third phase on February 20.

  • Yogi, Akhilesh two sides of same coin: Owaisi attacks Samajwadi Party, BJP

    By PTI

    FARRUKHABAD: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday dubbed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav as “two sides of the same coin”.

    Owaisi, the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP, made the remark while addressing an election rally here.

    “Yogi (Adityanath) and Akhilesh (Yadav) are two sides of the same coin,” said Owaisi while seeking votes for the candidates of Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha so that former UP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha could be made the UP CM.

    While likening Akhilesh Yadav to Yogi Adityanath, Owaisi did not explain how the two leaders were similar.

    He, however, had been asserting in the past that both Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav could become UP CMs on “charity votes” of 19 per cent Muslims, far outnumbering the votes of nine per cent Yadavs.

    The Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha was launched as a pre-poll alliance of AIMIM with little-known Jan Adhikar Party of former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and an all-India body of government employees of the backward, Dalits and minority community, founded by Kanshi Ram in the 1970s.

    Farrukhabad goes to the polls in the third phase of the seven-phase UP assembly elections and votes on February 20.

    While addressing the meeting, Owaisi termed elections as a battle for social justice and said, “We have to win this battle (for social justice) through voting.”

    Attacking the BJP, he accused the party of meting out step-motherly treatment to Farrukhabad district.

    Despite all the MLAs of the district belonging to the BJP, no development work was carried out by this double-engine government in the district, Owaisi alleged.

    Owaisi had launched the new pre-poll front, Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha on January 22, promising two chief ministers and three deputy chief ministers for Uttar Pradesh, if the new front is voted to power.

    Out of the two CMs, one will belong to the backward classes and the other to the Dalit community, he said, adding the state will also have three Dy CMs, with one belonging to the Muslim community.

    Owaisi, however, had offered no explanation under what provision of the Constitution he will have two CMs for a state.

  • UP polls: Unnao rape survivor’s mother confident of victory as Congress candidate

    By PTI

    UNNAO: Asserting that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wanted her to contest the Uttar Pradesh polls, the Unnao rape survivor on Thursday said since she is not old enough to fight elections, the party has fielded her mother from the Unnao Sadar Assembly segment for a cause.

    Asha Singh, the mother of the rape survivor, who has won her legal battle against former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, said she is contesting the polls to ensure justice for the victims of such a heinous crime.

    “Priyanka Gandhi wanted me to fight the election but it could not happen because I am not 25 years of age. So she gave the ticket to my mother,” said the rape survivor who is campaigning for her mother.

    She hoped that people would understand their pain and send her mother to the Assembly.

    Singh raised questions over the law-and-order situation in the state and said crime against women will only stop once the scenario improves.

    “Only then, no man, however strong he is, cannot look at a woman with wrong intentions. Our efforts will be to ensure this after winning the election,” she told PTI.

    Pankaj Gupta, who represents Unnao Sadar in the Assembly, has been fielded from the seat by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the Samajwadi Party (SP) has nominated Abhinav Kumar.

    The rape survivor and her mother, who were campaigning in Thana village at a distance of seven kilometers from the Unnao district headquarters, were surrounded by a posse of security personnel.

    Apart from the local Congress workers, those from the party’s Madhya Pradesh unit are also engaged in campaigning with the two women, who are going from house to house asking for votes.

    Renu Devi, a local resident, said people are impressed by the respect Priyanka Gandhi has given to the mother of the rape survivor.

    Singh fought a long battle to get justice for her daughter.

    She secured a life sentence for Sengar, who was the BJP MLA from Bangarmau.

    “What happened to my daughter should not happen with any daughter or sister. If I win the election, I will be the voice of the weaker section. I joined politics to get them justice,” the Congress candidate said.

    She said she is getting a massive support from people, especially women.

    Since Singh is not educated, her daughter and sister are also taking part in the election campaign with her.

    Talking to PTI, the rape survivor said, “Priyanka Gandhi understood our pain and gave us a chance to join politics.”

    Asked about the tragic incident, the Class-11 student said, “I suffered a lot of oppression to put the man who did wrong with me behind the bars. Now, no one, no matter how influential he is, can do any wrong to any daughter. He will think first before doing any misdeed because law is strict for everyone and justice can be delayed but not denied.”

    “Injustice should not happen to any other sister. I hope that the people of our district will understand our sorrow and pain and send my mother to the Assembly so that the voice of the downtrodden is heard,” she added.

    To a question on their strategy against seasoned politicians, she said they are fighting on the basis of truth.

    “We will win the election with the help of people. Difficulties will come, but we are not alone,” the rape survivor said.

    She said they have expanded the Congress’s “ladki hoon.” slogan as “ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon aur bahan-betiyon ko nyay dila sakti hoon (I am a girl, I can fight and ensure justice to sisters and daughters)”.

    She said the women of her village, Mankhi, say that they have learned a lot from her struggle.

    She said her sister is also campaigning for their mother by forming separate teams.

    Singh said, “My issue in the election is to protect the honour of the sisters and daughters, apart from opening good schools for girls, higher education, widening of roads, drinking water, construction of drains, providing means of employment to those unemployed.”

    On June 4, 2017, the rape survivor, who was still a minor, went to meet Sengar for a job.

    A few days later, she complained that the MLA had raped her.

    Police registered a case in the matter following a court order.

    The family of the rape survivor continued to receive threats even after the case was registered but did not gave up in their quest for justice.

    The probe in the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 2018.

    As the incident triggered nationwide outrage, the BJP expelled Sengar from the party.

    On December 19, 2019, Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court sentenced Sengar to life imprisonment for rape.

    After his conviction, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly cancelled Sengar’s membership and declared the Bangarmau seat vacant.

    In the bypoll held in November 2020, Shrikant Katiyar of the BJP won the seat.

  • 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.

  • Assembly elections 2022 updates: What signals will Western UP send in the first phase of voting?

    By Online Desk

    Uttar Pradesh is all set to decide the fate of several BJP heavyweights in its first Assembly election after Covid-19. Polling will be held in 58 seats spread across 11 districts of Western UP.

    In the first phase of the election, nine ministers from the Yogi Adityanath government will be testing their electoral fortunes – Srikant Sharma from Mathura, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, Suresh Rana from Thana Bhawan, Kapil Dev Agarwal from Muzaffar Nagar and Sandeep Singh from Atrauli.

    Other ministers who will be contesting are Laxminarayan Chaudhary from Chhata, Anil Sharma from Shikarpur, GS Dharmesh from Agra Cantonment and Dinesh Khatik from Hastinapur.

    ALSO READ | Historic constituency of Hastinapur rues lack of development

    Why is this phase important? Senior political analyst Ratan Mani Lal, associated with the People’s Pulse, had explained in The New Indian Express that “the ‘pattern’ of voting in the first phase will spread a perception by word of mouth, and all parties are preparing to create a buzz in their favour on that day itself. This perception is expected to influence voting in the second and third phases. The BJP top leaders’ intense campaigning, the regular joint appearances of Akhilesh and Jayant Chaudhary, and Mayawati’s statements are all a part of that preparation.”

    In the last Assembly polls, the BJP had swept seats in the first phase by winning almost all Assembly constituencies. Five years ago, the BJP won 53 of the 58 seats, while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) had two seats each and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won one seat.

    The ruling BJP is in direct contest with the SP and RLD alliance, while the BSP has its pockets of influence in some constituencies.

    ALSO READ | Maya’s charm wanes, rift among BSP support base

    The Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will be held in seven phases in February-March starting from February 10. Counting of votes will be held on March 10. In the first phase, polling is scheduled in 58 of the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The second phase of the state assembly elections is scheduled for February 14.

  • 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.