News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls

  • Uttar Pradesh polls: PM Narendra Modi seeks vote for peace for all, security of women in Saharanpur

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Commencing his poll campaign by addressing first physical rally in Saharanpur, the western tip of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the voters to support riot-free and peaceful state, criminals behind the bars and security for women.

    The Prime Minister addressed his rally while the first phase of voting was on over 58 seats across 11 western UP districts including those adjoining Saharanpur like Shamli and Muzaffarnagar. In all, the fate of 623 candidates was at stake in the first phase of voting on Thursday.  

    However, Saharanpur will go to polls in the second phase on February 14 when voting would be held on 55 seats across nine districts of western UP.

    Reaching out to other half of the population, the PM stressed that the BJP government was essential for Uttar Pradesh to maintain a secured atmosphere for the women to grow without fear. Claiming that BJP wanted the women to contribute to nation-building, he said that all the sectors were being opened for them. He also raised the issue of triple talaq in Saharanpur where Muslims make around 42 per cent of the population.

    Amid the raging row over hijab in BJP ruled Karnataka, the PM pitched in favour of Muslim women saying the BJP government freed them from the clutches of atrocities in the name of triple talaq by bringing a law against the practice. 

    “When Muslim women started openly supporting Modi government, opponents and self-acclaimed saviors of religion got anxious and started suppressing the voice of Muslim women. But we stand with every Muslim woman,” PM Modi said.

    The PM launched an attack on SP-RLD alliance leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chaudhury respectively over the alleged arrogance and compared them with the SP-Congress alliance in 2017 reminding people of its fate then.

    The PM harped on Muzaffarnagar riot rhetoric of the BJP and reminded people of Saharanpur Muslim-Sikh riots of 2014  urging them to vote for peace and security which, he claimed, would take the state on path of development. The PM repeated the ‘pariwarwadi’ (dynastic politics) jibe on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. 

    “Those who are limited to safeguard the interest of their family will not go beyond it again if given a chance,” said Modi.

    He cited the example of how round-the-clock power supply and infrastructural development were limited to a few native districts of those who were at helm in previous government.

    “Had they been in power during the pandemic, the vaccines would have been sold off somewhere on the way and would not have reached you,” he added. PM claimed that big promises made were usually empty. They [previous governments] promised electricity but kept UP in dark,” he maintained. 

    “What is the harm in making promises as they know that they would not come to power so the question of fulfillment does not arise,” quipped the PM while taking a jibe of opposition for offering freebies.

    Reiterating the BJP tagline of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, the PM claimed that the benefits of the welfare schemes were extended to all sections of society equally in the BJP rule. He reached out to the farmers especially the cane growers promising them that their interests would be taken care of in future as well.

    He claimed that the BJP government was necessary for UP to ensure the poor continue to get houses and free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh at good hospitals.

    “For money to continue to reach farmers’ accounts directly, BJP government is necessary in UP. For the poor to get ration during the pandemic, BJP is necessary,” he said.

    The BJP’s manifesto for UP polls was one of public welfare and that the double engine government had done a lot in the state, said the PM cautioning the people against voting for those who were eyeing an opportunity to take revenge of the action taken on criminals whom they were patronizing.

  • Uttar Pradesh polls: IPS officer-turned-politician Asim Arun seeks financial support

    By PTI

    NOIDA: “Is it possible to be in politics without leaving the path of honesty,” wonders IPS officer-turned-politician Asim Arun as he seeks financial support from people to fight the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

    The former Kanpur police commissioner had in January opted for voluntary retirement from the service and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has fielded him from the Kannauj (Sadar) seat for the polls.

    In his appeal on social media, 51-year-old Arun says he is now into “Lok Seva” (service of the people), which requires money for works to be done but he does “not want to compromise his basic principles”. He also suggests measures like maintaining less number of vehicles, having less staff and “transparency” in expenses for people in public service to keep the expenditure in check.

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    “My father late Shriram Arun is often cited as an example when it comes to honesty and I have always tried to follow his path. Now I am in ‘Lok Seva’ but on the condition that I will not compromise with my basic principles,” Arun said.

    “On the other hand, public service requires money for works to be completed. This is the reason why conscious people feel that they would have fixed certain problems if they were in a position of power but get discouraged thinking of the expenses required to fix the problem,” he added.

    “I consider my life to be an experiment in which I am now testing whether it is possible to engage in politics without leaving the path of honesty? I know several public representatives who have been successful at this and are inspiration to me,” Arun said in a statement.

    Appealing for crowd support, he said complete transparency would be maintained with the financial assistance which could be made through his website – “http://asimarun.in”.

    Kannauj (Sadar) falls in the Kannauj district of Uttar Pradesh. The seat is reserved for SC candidates and is a so-called bastion of the Samajwadi Party. The assembly seat goes to the polls on February 20 during the third phase of the elections in the state.

  • Don’t believe in opinion polls: BSP supremo Mayawati to voters

    By PTI

    BAREILLY: BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday took a swipe at the opinion polls conducted by the electronic media and asked voters not to take them seriously.

    Addressing an election meeting here, the BSP chief cited the opinion polls done in the 2007 Assembly elections, in which her party was shown at the third spot, but it won and formed its government.

    “When the Assembly elections were held in UP in 2007, the opinion polls were telling that the BSP would remain at No.3 but the BSP came at No.1. The party, which was being shown at No.1 was pushed to No.3. Don’t believe in opinion polls,” the BSP supremo said.

    Attacking her political opponents, she said the Congress has not done any work for the Dalits and poor.

    “The Congress has always been anti-Dalits,” she said.

    On the Samajwadi Party, she said, “The goons and the mafia dominated the scene during the SP government. It was a government of riots and loot.”

    She also accused the BJP of being casteist and spreading hatred on the basis of religion.

    “The policies of the BJP and the RSS are casteist, and spread tension and hatred in the name of religion,” she said.

    She said crime has increased during the BJP government while the Dalit and backward classes have been unable to get the benefit of reservation.

  • AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi declares ex-Uttar Pradesh Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha as his front’s CM face

    By PTI

    AMROHA: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday declared former state minister Babu Singh Kushwaha as the chief ministerial candidate of his party’s pre-poll alliance “Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha”.

    The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief made the announcement while also launching a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in an election rally in Hasanpur here.

    “If the Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha forms its government in UP, Babu Singh Kushwaha will be its first chief minister,” said Owaisi, who had earlier said that if his pre-poll alliance is voted to power, he will have two chief ministers in UP.

    Owaisi, however, had not explained under what provision of the Constitution, he would have two chief ministers in a single state.

    In his Hassanpur rally, he also promised to have three deputy CMs for the state.

    “We have also decided that there will be three deputy chief ministers in UP of which one will be a Muslim and two others from the most backward section of the society,” he added.

    For the UP assembly elections, the AIMIM had forged a pre-poll alliance ‘Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha’ on January 22 along with Kushwaha’s Jan Adhikar Party and the Backward and Minority Community Employees Federation, headed by Waman Meshram.

    A minister in the Mayawati government, Kushwaha had been made convener of the Morcha.

    Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asserted that he has the courage of speaking with Modi while looking in his eyes.

    “If the BJP is doing something wrong, I will raise my voice against it. This country was liberated by our ancestors. We got this country free with our blood. This country is mine and everyone else’s,” he asserted.

    “But today when the BJP talks about changing the secular character of this country, Owaisi will look into the eyes of Modi and speak and he will continue to do so,” he said.

    The Hyderabad MP also attacked UP Chief Minister Adityanath, calling him “Baba” and saying that he has only one solution to all problems: Defeat Mughals.

    “If anyone thinks my voice will be suppressed for speaking against the UP chief minister, remember that as long as I am alive, I will keep speaking the truth. Your power will not suppress me,” said Owaisi.

    Accusing the Adityanath government of inaction, he said, “Baba’s government was there for five years but Baba did nothing. If you talk about your problems with Baba, Baba will just say, ‘O young man, you vote for us, we have to defeat the Mughals.”

    “And the SP-BSP will say that you vote for us and defeat the BJP,” he said, adding: “They say the BJP wins only because of the Majlis entering into the electoral fray.”

    Owaisi also took digs at the chief minister’s various other purported remarks during the ongoing electioneering.

    “Yogi Adityanath says he will create cold in May-June. Chief Minister, you should become a meteorologist. You (Yogi) say that you will remove the heat (garmi nikal denge), Are you a doctor of dysentery, is Baba selling Isabgol?” he asked.

    “Listen to our message, Baba. The heat that Majlis has created in youths, will neither be reduced by your heat nor your cold. The heat we have created is on the foundation of truth, on the basis of reality to get respect and to gain our share. Even if I die, these people will go ahead with our message,” he asserted.

    “I want freedom from radical forces. I want freedom from those parties who are fielding RSS candidates and are telling me that you do slavery. I want brotherhood so we have formed the morcha,” the AIMIM chief said in his rally.

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

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Pitching in for the development agenda ahead of the first phase of UP assembly polls on February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the previous state governments accusing them of drifting away from people’s issues and their needs and focusing on their only agenda to loot the state.

    Addressing voters in Mathura, Agra and Bulandshahr days before the first phase of the state assembly polls virtually, Modi said the people of Uttar Pradesh had decided to go with development as the biggest issue in the upcoming assembly election.

    “The people of UP have decided to ignore those who do politics on the basis of money, muscle power, casteism, communalism, they will not get the love of the public,” he said.

    Modi said it a the age of those politicians who serve people by becoming their ‘sevak’ (servant) and got their blessings.

    Taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over his recent statement that he saw Lord Krishna in his dream, the prime minister said, “Witnessing the immense support for the BJP, these people are now seeing Lord Krishna in their dreams.”

    Meanwhile, in a bid to give a further push to the prospects of saffron, Union Home Minister Amit Shah to sought people’s support in Baghpat for putting  Uttar Pradesh at number one among the most developed states in the country.

    “Today UP is the second largest economy in the country. Give us another opportunity to make it there to most economic power in the country,” said Shah while addressing a gathering in Baghpat on Sunday.

    Both PM and Shah commenced their speeches by paying tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, the nightingale of India, who passed away on Sunday morning.

    Shah listed the development projects undertaken by the Yogi Adityanath government in jat land of Baghpat during the last five years.

    In 2017 assembly election, BJP has won the Baghpat seat and the party has repeated sitting MLA Yogesh Dhama while SP-RLD has reposed faith in Ahmad Hamid of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

  • BJP names 45 more candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP named 45 more candidates on Sunday for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, fielding Sanjay Sinh from Amethi and Daya Shankar Singh from Ballia Nagar.

    Daya Shankar Singh and his wife Swati Singh, currently a minister in the state government, were both seeking the party ticket to contest from Sarojini Nagar, a seat currently represented in the Assembly by the latter, but the ruling party fielded former Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Rajeshwar Singh from there.

    The party has dropped the incumbent MLA, Surendra Singh, and fielded state minister Anand Swaroop Shukla from Bairia.

    Sinh hails from the erstwhile royal family of Amethi and had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019 after quitting the Congress.

  • Brahmin not caste but superior way of living life: Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma

    By PTI

    NOIDA: Brahmin is not a caste but a superior way of living a life, senior BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said on Sunday, noting that his party works for all without any discrimination.

    Addressing a poll campaign in Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister hit out at opposition parties for being “casteist”.

    While campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Dhirendra Singh in Jewar, Sharma said he has been travelling across the state in the run up to the assembly polls and is often asked about his views on Brahminism and the party’s position on casteism.

    “Someone asked me for my thoughts on Brahmins, I said BJP wants ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’. Neither Brahmin, nor Gujjar or Jats. Every caste has its significance and that’s why we have a bouquet of all castes here in support (of the BJP),” Sharma said.

    “But when I was linked to Brahminism, I said yes, I am a Brahmin and I am proud of it. I do not see it as any disrespect,” he added.

    Sharma said a Brahmin’s work is ‘sarve bhavantu sukhina’, one who feels happiness in others’ happiness is a Brahmin.

    Stating that he is also a teacher by profession, Sharma said earlier, only teachers were called Brahmins as they worked for the welfare of people and “considered as gods” across castes out of respect.

    “So, from where has this new caste come? Brahmin is not a caste, a superior way of living life is called Brahmin. Whether teaching or (in field of) education, or whatever the work, he’s not in conflict with any caste. From birth to death, it is these Brahmins who perform works for good luck,” Sharma said.

    This is not my definition but the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’, he said, adding that that the BJP works for all.

    “The BJP works for the backward classes, Jats, Gujjars, Thakurs, Vaishya and everyone. We have ministers, MLAs, MLCs across castes. We have not discriminated among people like other parties do,” he said, hitting out at the opposition.

    The deputy chief minister listed several public welfare schemes of the BJP-led central government and the Uttar Pradesh government, to drum up support for the party for the upcoming polls.

    Sharma also recalled his visits and interactions, among others, with the Muslim community in places like Aligarh and Lucknow and said the BJP is getting support from across communities.

    Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of western Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on February 10 during the first phase of assembly elections in the state.

    The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

  • Uttar Pradesh polls: BSP releases list of 54 candidates, fields Khwaja Samsuddin against Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The BSP on Saturday released a list of 54 candidates for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, fielding Khwaja Samsuddin against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban constituency.

    In its latest list, the Mayawati-led party has given tickets to seven Muslim candidates.

    The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Santosh Tiwari from Fazilnagar assembly constituency in Kushinagar district.

    Tiwari will take on Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate and former BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya.

    The BSP has given tickets to Prateek Pandey from Katehari and to Chandra Prakash Verma from Akbarpur.

    Both constituencies fall under Ambedkarnagar district.

    In the 2017 state assembly elections, BSP’s Lalji Verma and Ram Achal Rajbhar had won from Katehari and Akbarpur respectively.

    In November last year, Verma and Rajbhar joined the SP at a ‘Janadesh Maharally’ in Ambedkarnagar.

    The BSP has fielded its sitting MLA Uma Shankar Singh from Rasra in Ballia.

    The party has named Rajendra Singh as its candidate from Chillupar in Gorakhpur.

    The seat was earlier held by Vinay Shankar Tiwari, who quit the party and joined the SP.

    The 54 assembly constituencies for which the BSP announced its candidates cover Ambedkarnagar, Balrampur, Siddharthanagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria and Ballia districts.

    These districts will go to polls in the sixth phase of the state assembly elections on March 3.

  • Criminals will face ‘bulldozer’ after UP polls results: Yogi

    By PTI

    MATHURA: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Wednesday warned criminals that they would face the “bulldozer” once the elections results are out.

    Adityanath was addressing a public rally in Tarauli village of Chhatta assembly constituency. “Bulldozer will move against unsocial elements and mafia after March 10,” Adityanath said, apparently referring to the raising of illegally-constructed buildings by criminals.

    He said they will be sent “notices” for their involvement in criminal activities. He also assured that the killers of Ramveer – a village Pradhan who was shot dead last week – will not be spared.

    The CM referred to riots in Kosi Kalan in Mathura and Muzaffarnagar that broke out under the Samajwadi Party government. He alleged Hindus were killed in those riots and property of traders was devastated incited by activists of Samajwadi Party.

    Adityanath said during the SP regime people were implicated in false cases and massive firing was done on “Ram Bhakts”.

    He said the colour of the cap of SP has been stained with their blood. “How astonishing is it that in spite of such acts, they are shamelessly asking people to support them,” he said in his campaign speech in support of UP minister Laxmi Narain Chaudhary.

    ALSO READ: Fielding Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur will also help party maintain hold on other seats in region, BJP hopes

    The CM also addressed public meetings in Goverdhan, campaigning for BJP candidate Megh Shyam, and in Mathura where he campaigned for cabinet minister Srikant Sharma. Adityanath also claimed that the third wave of Covid will be over within a week.

    He complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the pandemic and held responsible massive vaccination for the stemming of the third wave. He said during the peak of Covid he and his fellow party members worked to help people, while “none of the leaders or activists of SP, BSP, or Congress came out of the four walls of their house.”

    He said the UP government is distributing tablets and smartphones among youths to pave the way for their proper online study.

    Adityanath announced that the Chhatta Sugar mill has been green-lighted and funds to that end have also been released. Besides the sugar mill, the farmers of the area will now also be benefited from the purchase of one lakh metric ton potato by PepsiCo, the Chief Minister said.

    He said factories during the SP regime were not established in the area owing to poor law and order as even people were unsafe then.

  • UP polls: Mayawati kicks off BSP campaign from Agra, says BJP, SP and Cong ‘anti-Dalit’

    By PTI

    AGRA: BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday hit out at BJP, SP and Congress for not doing enough for Dalits and asserted that her party has a track record of working for all sections of society as she launched her party’s campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

    Terming the rival parties “anti-Dalit”, she said though they make various promises in their manifestos ahead of polls, they forget about them after coming to power.

    Mayawati, who has been conspicuous by her absence from the high-octane campaigning in the state, also said she has been living in Lucknow for a year and working to rebuild the BSP.

    She said some “casteist media groups” are trying to demoralise BSP supporters by saying that their party leaders are missing on the ground.

    The BSP is contesting all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party has declared names of candidates for the majority of the seats. Targeting the ruling BJP, Mayawati said the party is pursuing the “narrow-minded agendas” of the RSS.

    “Their (BJP) policies are focused on promoting casteist, capitalist, and narrow-minded agendas of the RSS. This has resulted in an environment of religious tension and hate in the state,” she said.

    “People from Dalit and backward communities have not benefitted from the BJP government’s policies, including reservation in government jobs, because it has involved the private sector in most of its projects,” she added.

    “The upper caste also feels neglected under the BJP. The government’s policies have led to price rise and an increased number of people living in poverty. “It appears that the fuel prices will be increased once the elections are over. Youngsters from the state are forced to migrate due to the lack of employment opportunities,” Mayawati said.

    ALSO READ: UP elections: Mayawati launches attack on SP, Congress and BJP in first poll rally in Agra

    The BSP chief claimed the migrants who returned to the state during Covid pandemic were forced to go back due to the lack of employment opportunities in the state. She said the common people in Uttar Pradesh have only suffered under the rule of BJP, Congress, and Samajwadi Party.

    “The BSP, which has worked for the upliftment of people from all sections of society, is the only alternative for good governance,” she added. Mayawati also accused the SP of adopting a “step-motherly” approach towards Dalits and most backward sections of society.

    “After coming to power (in 2012), the SP changed names of districts we had christened after Dalit icons,” she said. “When a bill on reservation in promotion for Dalit officers was brought in Parliament, the SP tore it and did not allow it to get approved,” she claimed.

    The BSP chief said criminals and the mafia flourished under the SP government. The Muzaffarnagar riots also took place during the SP’s tenure.

    Mayawati attacked the Congress over its “hostile” attitude towards Dalits, alleging that its government had denied the Bharat Ratna to B R Ambedkar, who is considered the architect of the Indian Constitution, and to Dalit icon Kanshi Ram.

    ALSO READ: BJP, Samajwadi Party giving casteist colour to Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls: BSP chief Mayawati

    “They (Congress) also did not implement the Mandal Commission report on reservation in government jobs. After a prolonged struggle, the BSP got it implemented when the V P Singh government was in power,” she said.

    Mayawati also targeted the media for building the narrative that BSP leaders were absent on the ground.

     “Some casteist media groups have tried to demoralise our supporters by saying that BSP leaders are missing and not moving anywhere.  I have been living in Lucknow for the last year and have worked to build the party again in Uttar Pradesh. I want to tell the media that I have been busy with election work all this time and the BSP will return with a majority in Uttar Pradesh,” she said.

    Rival parties had on several occasions ruled the BSP “out of the race”. However, Mayawati hit back at them saying they would be proved wrong as had happened in 2007.

    The BSP came to power with a majority in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, proving pre-poll predictions wrong. Mayawati became the chief minister for the fourth time that year.