News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Rae Bareli: Rahul Gandhi pens emotional letter to people of Wayanad, says their unconditional love protected him

    Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote an emotional letter to the people of Wayanad, the constituency that he is giving up to represent Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, and said when he faced abuse on a daily basis, their unconditional love protected him. Rahul had won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies and must vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4.

    He is giving up Wayanad and his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is set to contest from there in the ensuing bypoll.

    “I was a stranger to you and yet you believed in me. You embraced me with unbridled love and affection. It didn’t matter which political formation you supported, it didn’t matter which community you were from or which religion you believed in or which language you spoke,” Rahul said. “When I faced abuse day after day, your unconditional love protected me. You were my refuge, my home and my family. I never felt for even a moment that you doubted me,” he said.

    The Congress leader said his sister Priyanka Gandhi will be representing Wayanad if the people give her an opportunity and expressed confidence that she will do an excellent job at being their MP.

    After a leadership meeting in New Delhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on June 17 said that Rahul will keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat from where his sister Priyanka will contest. In his letter written on Sunday, Rahul also said that he cannot forget the “bravery, beauty and confidence” with which young girls translate his speeches in front of thousands of people.

    “I do not know how to thank you for what you have done for me. For the love and protection you gave me when I needed it most. You are part of my family and I will always be there for each and every one of you,” he said.

  • “Right political decision”: Congress’ Pramod Tiwari lauds Rahul Gandhi’s decision to retain Rae Bareli seat

    Congress leader Pramod Tiwari lauded Rahul Gandhi’s decision to retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and called it the “right political decision.”

    Tiwari also thanked the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi for respecting the mandate of Uttar Pradesh.

    “I want to thank the national leadership of Congress and Rahul Gandhi. He (Rahul Gandhi) has taken the right political decision. Apart from this, he has also respected the mandate of Uttar Pradesh which gave 43 out of 80 seats to the INDIA alliance,” the senior Congress leader told ANI.”Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will win from Wayanad by 5 lakh votes,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Congress workers burst crackers and celebrated in Rae Bareli as Rahul Gandhi decided to retain the Lok Sabha seat.

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    Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad at a special press conference on Monday. If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament – Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.Priyanka Gandhi said on Monday that she will contest the bypoll from Wayanad but her decades-old association with Amethi and Rae Bareli will continue.”I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad and I will not let them feel his (Rahul Gandhi’s) absence. I will work hard and I will try my best to make everyone happy and be a good representative. I have a very old relationship with Rae Bareli and Amethi and it cannot be broken. I will also help my brother in Rae Bareli. We will both be present in Rae Bareli and Wayanad,” Priyanka Gandhi said at the special press conference.

    The bye-election in the seat was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi decided to retain Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli seat, which he won along with Wayanad in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

  • Modi 3.0: Akhilesh Yadav takes jibe at Modi 3.0, says “government stuck in limbo…”

    LUCKNOW: Ahead of Narendra Modi being sworn in as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term on Sunday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at Modi 3.0, stating that a government stuck in limbo is not a government.In a post in Hindi on social media platform X the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav wrote, “Upar se juda koi taar nahin, neeche koi adhaar nahin, adhar mein joh ataki hue woh toh koi sarkaar nahin (The government stuck in limbo is not a government).”Newly elected members of parliament who are among those probable to be included in the new Cabinet and Council of Ministers of Narendra Modi-led government were on Sunday afternoon invited for high tea at the Prime Minister’s residence ahead of the oath-taking ceremony later this evening.Modi will be sworn in as the Prime Minister of India for a historic third time today at 7:15 pm.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesBJP leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Sarbananda Sonowal were seen arriving at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the residence of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi to attend the tea meeting.BJP leaders Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan were among others who arrived for the tea meeting.The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) unanimously passed a resolution to elect Narendra Modi as their leader on June 5.Earlier on June 9, according to sources in the Samajwadi Party, seven SP MLAs, including Chief Whip Manoj Pandey, surprised the party by supporting the BJP’s candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections.

    Following this, Yadav has initiated steps to revoke the membership of these seven MLAs, for which an official letter is also being prepared by the party, which will soon be submitted to the UP Legislative Assembly Speaker by the Samajwadi Party.

    The list of these seven MLAs includes Rakesh Pratap Singh from Amethi Gauriganj, Manoj Pandey from Raebareli Unchahar, Rakesh Pandey from Ambedkarnagar, Pooja Pal from Prayag, Vinod Chaturvedi, Ashutosh Verma, and Abhay Singh.

    According to the Election Commission of India, the Samajwadi Party (SP) won 37 seats, the BJP won 33, Congress won 6, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won 2, and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and Apna Dal (Soneylal) won 1 seat each in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)

  • Behind BJP’s UP Defeat, 40 ‘Failed MPs’ And Ignorance Of Ground Report |

    Following BJP’s poor performance in Uttar Pradesh, internal unrest within the party has intensified. The pressing question is: who will be held accountable for the poor results? Sources indicate that an internal report is being prepared on the poor performance of BJP’s defeated MPs in Uttar Pradesh. It is reported that district-level feedback suggested that most of the MPs against whom the party had recommended changing the ticket due to an adverse public opinion, were the ones who lost.

    Survey Report Ignored

    According to sources, a party-conducted survey based on the popularity and winning potential of the MPs had indicated that over three dozen MPs were unlikely to win. This included several central ministers. Despite this, these MPs were re-nominated. The major reason for BJP’s setback in Uttar Pradesh is attributed to the overconfidence of the party’s senior leaders, who ignored local and party cadre inputs while distributing tickets, resulting in significant losses for the party.

    Victims of Overconfidence

    Many MPs, who did not work among the public during their tenure, relied heavily on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Consequently, these MPs were rejected by the electorate. Reports from district units, regional, and state levels had indicated a negative atmosphere against around 40 sitting MPs, spanning from the west to the east of Uttar Pradesh. Despite these warnings, most of these MPs were given tickets again. Although efforts were made to boost their chances, including deploying ministers and state organization officials from the same caste to those constituencies, the public’s dissatisfaction remained high.

    Assembly Results Breakdown

    Analyzing the results on an assembly-wise basis, BJP managed to win only 156 assembly constituencies. In 76 parliamentary constituencies, BJP lost 156 seats while the Samajwadi Party gained an edge in 188 assembly seats. The Congress won in 22 assembly constituencies.

  • The man who wanted to challenge Modi but lost the battle even before it began

    For many years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not just a leader but a hero for Shyam Rangeela, mirroring the admiration held by millions of Indians. Shyam was so inspired that he began to mimic Modi, even mastering the PM’s iconic “Bhaiyon, Behno” greetings.Over time, however, things changed. Shyam experienced a shift in perspective, particularly after facing what he called restrictions on his work from a group of Modi supporters. This marked the beginning of his transformation from a devoted fan into a critic.Recently, the comedian made headlines with his announcement to contest against Modi from Varanasi as an Independent candidate.“Halfway into the show in which I was mimicking the PM, I was asked to walk out, and mend my ways. That day, I felt that my freedom was clipped. Later, I realised that such intimidation was common. Politicians are not so generous in taking humour and criticism,” a ToI report (by Shailvee Sharda) quoted Rangeela as saying.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesJourneying all the way from Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar to file his nomination, Shyam’s efforts were thwarted by a technical error. The reason for the cancellation of his papers was due to the omission of “not taking oath” during submission, leading to what he calls the “shattering of a dream”. Though disappointing, Rangeela sees the rejection as a form of victory. “The cause of freedom for which I stood up got some attention,” he adds, reflecting on his “chhoti si poll story”.Embracing the rejection, Shyam is relishing the moment, giving interviews, and meeting journalists and influencers from around the globe.Sharing his experience with TOI, the comedian says, “Wo kehte they ki challenge ke bina maza nahi aata hai. Why couldn’t Modi ji keep his words?” he wonders, questioning his rejection.

    Does he regret his political venture? The narrative doesn’t explicitly answer, leaving room for interpretation.

    “Haan, main toh kahin ka nahi raha. BJP wale kehte hain ki maine Modi ji ka mazak banyaya. Congress wale kehte hain main Rahul ki mimicry ki hai. Mujhe dono taraf se kaam nahi milta hai. Chunav mein bahut paisa bhi kharch ho gaya hai to ab naya kaam dhoondh ke hisab theek karna hoga,” Rangeela told the newspaper.

    He claimed to the newspaper that he said no to offers to join opposition candidates and target Narendra Modi from a stronger political platform.

    “I didn’t want to get tagged. In this way, I will prove my trollers right,” Rangeela adds.

    “Jibes such as ‘mazak mazak mein serious ho gaya’ and ‘ghode pe aaya tha nomination bharne’ are very decent compared to allegations like my nomination was rejected because of a pending rape case against me,” he says.

    Rangeela says he will miss the love that people showered on him when he announced to contest poll from Kashi.

  • Varanasi: PM Modi to hold road show in Varanasi on May 13 before filing nomination

    Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be filing his nomination papers from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on May 14 and before filling his nomination papers, he will hold a road show in his parliamentary constituency on May 13.

    Before starting the roadshow, PM Modi will first pay tribute to the Madan Mohan Malviya statue at the main gate of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Lanka.

    The roadshow will go until Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.The high-voltage roadshow is likely to see the participation of lakhs of workers from the party.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesMeanwhile, preparations are underway for the PM’s roadshow. In the Lok Sabha management committee meeting held in Varanasi, regional president Dilip Patel said that PM Modi’s roadshow will start by garlanding the Malviya statue in Lanka.”It will go to the Vishwanath Corridor via Assi, Sonarpura, Jangam Bari, Godaulia, and Bansphatak,” he added.PM Modi will be given a grand welcome during this. Responsibilities are being assigned to the workers to make the road show historic.Meetings of all the assembly constituencies in the Varanasi parliamentary constituency have been organised for tomorrow. After this, meetings will be held with workers in all 21 divisions in one day. The organisation is busy preparing with the target of participation of lakhs of workers in this roadshow.

    Varanasi is the stronghold of the Prime Minister. He won the seat twice – the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    Congress has pitted Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai against PM Modi in Varanasi. This is the third time Ajay Rai will face PM Modi in a Lok Sabha contest

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi won the seat with over 674,664 votes and commanded a vote share of 63.6 per cent.

    Earlier in 2014, PM Modi fought on two Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat’s Vadodara and the second was Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi.

    The Varanasi seat comprises five Assembly segments including Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapuri.

    The voting for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency will be held in the seventh phase of the elections on June 1. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4.

  • Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Voting Timings, Key Candidates And Phase 4 Polling Constituencies |

    New Delhi: As Lok Sabha Elections are going across the nations, 9 states are all set to contest in Phase-4 on May 13 and counting for all will take place on June 4. Uttar Pradesh has a total of 80 parliamentary constituencies, and the state is all set to contest polls for the 13 seats named Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Dhaurahra, Sitapur, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur, Bahraich in Phase-4. The state has already polled for its 16 seats in Phase-1 and Phase-2, While for the other 10 seats are scheduled to be polled in Phase-3 on May 7.

    The voting in these seats will be held between 7 AM to 6 PM and the counting for all the votes will take place on June 4.

    The other states going to vote in Phase 4 are Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. 

    Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Key Candidates And Constituencies Phase-3

    Shahjahanpur: Arun Kumar Sagar (BJP-NDA) vs Rajesh Kashyap (SP-INDIA) vs Daudram Verma (BSP)

    Kheri: Ajay Mishra (BJP-NDA) vs Utkarsh Verma (SP-INDIA) vs Anshay Kalra Rockyji (BSP)

    Dhaurahra: Rekha Verma (BJP-NDA) vs Anand Bhadoria (SP-INDIA)

    Sitapur: Rajesh Verma (BJP-NDA) vs Nakul Dubey (INC-INDIA)

    Hardoi: Ja Prakash Rawat (BJP-NDA) vs Usha Verma (SP-INDIA)

    Misrikh: Ashok Kumar Rawat (BJP-NDA) vs Manoj Kumar Rajvanshi (SP-INDIA)

    Unnao: Sakshi Maharaj (BJP-NDA) vs Annu Tandon (SP-IDNIA) vs Ashok Kumar Pandey (BSP)

    Farrukhabad: Mukesh Rajput (BJP-NDA) vs Dr Naval Kishore Shakya (SP-INDIA)

    Etawah: Ram Shankar Katheria (BJP-NDA) vs Jitendra Dohare (SP-INDIA) vs Sarika Singh Baghel (BSP)

    Kannauj: Subrat Pathak (BJP-NDA) vs Imran Bin Zafar (BSP)

    Kanpur: Ramesh Awasthi (BJP-NDA) vs Alok Mishra (INC-INDIA) vs Kuldeep Bhadauriya (BSP)

    Akbarpur: Devendra Singh (BJP-NDA) vs Raja Ram Pal (SP-INDIA) vs Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi (BSP)

    Bahraich: Dr. Arvind Gond (BJP-NDA) vs Ramesh Gautam (SP-INDIA)

  • Amethi: Suspense continues over Rahul, Priyanka’s candidatures from Raebareli and Amethi; final decision today

    New Delhi: With just a day left for the filing of nominations for Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections, the suspense continued over the Congress’ candidates for the Amethi and Raebareli constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, once considered a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

    According to sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is already on the Congress ticket from Wayanad in Kerala, which polled in the second phase on April 26, is likely to put himself in the fray from Amethi as well.

    Rahul’s candidature from the seat he lost to Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irin 2019 will be formally announced on Thursday, and he will file his nomination from the constituency on Friday, sources said.The sources added that along with Congress leaders, its partners in the INDIA bloc also suggested that Rahul contest Amethi.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States”They also proposed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the candidate from Raebareli,” a source said.The Samajwadi Party (SP), which earlier announced a seat-sharing pact with the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh, told Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge that after its supremo Akhilesh Yadav’s decision to contest Kannauj, Rahul’s entry into the fray along with his sister Priyanka may bring unexpected electoral dividend to the Opposition bloc, sources said.”Kharge told Sonia Gandhi that the party and he, himself, was in favour of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka contesting the elections (from Amethi and Raebareli),” the source added.However, adding to the intrigue around the Congress’ choice of candidates for these two constituencies, sources claimed that even as Rahul and Priyanka appear reluctant to contest Amethi and Raebareli, Kharge insisted that at least one of them enter the fray.

    At the party’s committee meeting recently, the Congress’ UP unit formally moved a proposal that members of the Gandhi family should contest the Amethi and Raibareli seats and a final decision in the matter was left to Kharge.

    The Congress has not yet put out any official statement on its choice of nominees from Amethi and Raebareli, which were considered the party’s strongholds until the 2019 elections.

    Earlier, Congress leader KL Sharma told ANI, “Today, we had a meeting in Amethi and Raebareli as the party is still undecided on its choice of candidates from these two constituencies. People expect someone from the Gandhi family to contest (these seats) and I, too, feel the same. Since the last date for filing nominations is May 3 (Friday), we had to rush through the preparations. Hence, two meetings were held today (in Amethi and Raebareli).”

    Addressing reporters on Wednesday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “The Central Election Committee (CEC) has empowered our party president Mallikarjun Kharge to take a final call on our candidates for Amethi and Raebareli. I expect a formal announcement to be made in the next 24 to 30 hours.”

    The Congress, which is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the seat-sharing deal with the Samajwadi Party (SP), has announced candidates for all the seats barring Amethi and Raebareli.

    Amethi is scheduled to poll in the fifth phase on May 20, with the last date for filing nominations scheduled on May 3.

    Rahul’s defeat in Amethi, once considered a Congress ‘pocket borough’, at the hands of Irani in the 2019 polls was seen as a significant blow to the party’s national prestige.

    Rahul represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2019. His father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, too, was an elected member of Amethi in the Lower House from 1981 till his death in 1991. Sonia Gandhi contested elections from here in 1999 before passing the baton on to Rahul in 2004.

    Rahul currently represents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha while Irani is bidding for a fresh term from Amethi.

  • Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Voting Timing, Key Candidates And Phase-3 Polling Constituencies |

    New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh is all set to conduct polls in phase 3 on May 7 for its 10 Lok Sabha seats. The polls for 16 parliamentary constituencies are already done in Phase 1 and Phase 2. On May 7, polls for Lok Sabha Elections phase 3 will be conducted in 10 states and 2 Union territories including a total of 94 constituencies. The counting for all the seats will take place on June 4. The states that are also going to polls in phase 3 are Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Goa and Gujarat.

    The voting for these seats will be held between 7 AM to 6 PM and the counting of votes will take place on June 4.

    Uttar Pradesh has a total of 80 Lok sabha seats, where 8 have polled in phase 1 and 8 have polled in phase 2 on April 19 and April 26. This time the state is all set to hold polling for other 10 constituencies including Mainpuri, Sambhal, Hathras, Agra and others.

    Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Key candidates and constituencies phase -3

    Sambhal: Parameshvar Lal Saini (BJP-NDA) vs Shafiqur Rahman Barq (SP-INDIA)

    Hathras: Anoop Valmiki (BJP-NDA) vs Jasvir Valmiki (SP-INDIA)

    Agra: S.P Singh Baghel (BJP-NDA) vs Suresh Chand Kardam (SP-INDIA)

    Fatehpur Sikri: Rajkumar Chahar (BJP-NDA) vs Ramnath Sikarwar (INC-INDIA)

    Firozabad: Thakur Vishwadeep Singh (BJP-NDA) vs Akshay Yadav (SP-INDIA)

    Mainpuri: Jaiveer Singh Thakur (BJP-NDA) vs Dimple Yadav (SP-INDIA)

    Etah: Rajveer Singh (BJP-NDA) vs Devesh Shakya (SP-INDIA)

    Badaun: Durvijay Singh Shakya (BJP-NDA) vs Aaditya Yadav (SP-INDIA)

    Aonla: Dharmendra Kashyap (BJP-NDA) vs Neeraj Maurya (SP-INDIA)

    Bareilly: Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (BJP-NDA) vs Praveen Singh Aron (SP-INDIA)

  • LS polls: Actor Arun Govil files nomination as BJP candidate from Meerut

    Veteran actor Arun Govil of TV serial ‘Ramayan’ fame on Tuesday filed nomination as the BJP candidate from Meerut Lok Sabha seat. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was present with Govil during the nomination.

    After filing his nomination, Govil said that he wanted to thank the BJP leadership for trusting him and making him a candidate from Meerut.

    Govil said he is getting massive public support. “Arun Govil has filed his nomination papers today. There is tremendous confidence among the workers and the people that BJP will achieve the target of winning all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 400 seats in the entire country,” Dy CM said.

    The actor, who became a household name after essaying the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s “Ramayan”, was on March 24 fielded by the BJP from the Meerut Lok Sabha seat.

    Replying to a question about which party BJP sees as its rival, Maurya said, “According to us, there is no one in competition.” “There is no opposition anywhere. There is a tussle among SP, BSP and Congress. Our preparations are from 2024 to 2047 (when UP state assembly elections are to be held),” he said.