News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls

  • ‘Red alerts for the BJP’: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav reacts to PM Modi’s remark ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asserted that the people wearing red caps, a trademark headgear of his party members, are “red alerts” also for the BJP as they will oust it from the power in the next UP assembly polls.

    Yadav made the retort soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a dig at the Samajwadi Party, said in Gorakhpur that those wearing red caps are after red beacon and are a red alert to Uttar Pradesh.

    Reacting to Prime Minister Modi’s dig at his party, Akhilesh too, in a tweet in Hindi, listed some “red alerts for the BJP”.

    “For the BJP, there is a red alert of inflation, of unemployment, of the bad plight of farmers and labourers, of Hathras and Lakhimpur Kheri (incidents) of the oppression of women and youths, of a destroyed education system, business and health, besides the red cap, which will oust the BJP from power,” said former UP chief minister in his tweet.

    “There will be an ‘inquilab’ (revolution) of red and change in 2022,” he added.

    Addressing a public meeting in Gorakhpur earlier after dedicating to the country three megaprojects, including an AIIMS and a fertiliser plant, Modi said, “Today, the entire UP very well knows that those wearing red caps are concerned about red beacon (‘laal batti’) and they are not bothered about your pain and sorrows.”

    “The red cap people want the power to commit scams, fill their coffers, indulge in illegal grabbing (of resources) and to give complete freedom to the mafia,” he said.

    “The red cap people want to form the government to show favour to terrorists and to free them from jail.

    Hence, you should remember that those wearing red caps are red alert for UP, in other words, alarm bells,” Modi said.

  • PM Modi inaugurates AIIMS, fertiliser plant in Gorakhpur ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls

    By PTI

    GORAKHPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dedicated to the nation three mega projects, including an AIIMS and a major fertiliser plant, in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur.

    The other projects he inaugurated is a Regional Medical Research Centre of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

    The three big-ticket projects are worth over Rs 9,600 crore.

    The newly built fertiliser plant will be operated by the Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited (HURL).

    The Gorakhpur AIIMS, built at a cost of Rs 1,011 crore, will benefit not only the people of eastern Uttar Pradesh but also a huge population of Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal with its world-class health facilities, officials said.

    Similarly, the regional medical research centre set up at a cost of Rs 36 crore will facilitate the test and research of vector-borne diseases, they added.

    The high-tech lab will decrease the dependency of the area on big cities for tests related to vector-borne diseases.

    The inauguration of the three big projects comes just months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

  • SP-SBSP alliance will support Mukhtar Ansari in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls: Om Prakash Rajbhar

    The SBSP, which had contested the 2017 assembly elections in alliance with the BJP, has four MLAs at present.

  • People want real change in Uttar Pradesh, Congress will spring surprise in elections, says Sachin Pilot

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday claimed that the Congress is emerging as the “viable option” in Uttar Pradesh as people wanted a real change, and “not more of the same” from the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    Speaking of his party that won just seven assembly seats in the state in 2017, the Rajasthan leader said, “We will spring a surprise in the upcoming elections in UP.”

    The former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said though the party has not declared a CM face for UP as part of its current practice, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will lead the party from the front.

    Asked why he is underestimating the SP and the BSP, Pilot said,”Both the parties have been in and out of power for the last 20-30 years. But increasingly people are of the opinion that they need a real change and not more of the same. ”

    “The last parliamentary elections exposed the superficial support the BSP and the SP gave each other. And as the principal opposition, the SP could have been more active and more visible on the ground. The last minute surge, I don’t think will be enough.”

    He claimed that the Congress is providing a real challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state which goes to the polls early next year.

    “Even though we are a much smaller party in UP, the Congress has been far more vocal about opposing (Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath and the BJP government.”

    About the possibility of a united opposition at the national level in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he said, “The only political party that has the capacity and bandwidth to give a real challenge and defeat the BJP is the Congress. No other single party in India would be able to do it.”

    The 44-year-old MLA from Tonk in Rajasthan, who is caught in a power tussle within the Congress in his home state, dismissed reports of his strained relation with CM Ashok Gehlot.

    “I feel the Congress party is well-placed, and our efforts will yield good fruits for us in UP. But what is more important, is for the people to see who is the most viable option that people need to support against the BJP, and I think Congress is fast emerging as that viable option,” he said.

    On Priyanka Gandhi’s role in UP, he said, “She is the general secretary and in-charge of UP. As is evident and as everybody else has been saying, she is going to be leading from the front. We work as a team,” Pilot said.

    “I think Priyanka ji’s rallies in Varanasi and Gorakhpur were a very clear indication of which type of government the people are looking for,” he added.

    He said the issues taken up by the party – atrocities on women, Dalits, farmers, police actions – have been appreciated by the people.

    He dismissed the BJP claim that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are “political tourists”, claiming that the ruling party is saying this only because it is desperate.

    “Levelling allegations is very easy. I am sure it was an unpleasant surprise for the BJP when they saw a large number of people turning up in Gorakhpur and Varanasi. This shows that people are looking towards Priyanka Gandhi with hope,” he said.

    Asked if the Congress will make it to the double digits from the seven MLAs now in the 403-seat House, he said such predictions and calculations can be made closer to the polls.

    “But we are increasing our support base, our organisational capacity and the Partigya Yatras across UP are getting good momentum,” he said.

    “I do feel that we will be surprisingly much bigger and better than anyone ever projected. But let’s wait for the elections to be declared. Preparation wise, we are far ahead than others.”

    Asked which party posed the biggest challenge for the Congress in UP, Pilot said, “Our challenge is to change this non-performing government. Of course, our fight is with the BJP, which is ruling UP.”

    The Congress has already announced that it would not enter into an alliance with any big party in UP.

    Attacking the BJP over the farmers’ protests, now on for nearly a year, he asked why the BJP government at the Centre can’t negotiate with the protesters and withdraw the agri laws.

    “There is a lot of ego and vested interests, and they are now doing everything they can to isolate the farmers,” he claimed.

    On the recent violence in Lakhimpuri Kheri, he referred to the farmers’ demand for the resignation of Union minister Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish is among those arrested.

    “How can an unbiased inquiry take place when the minister continues,” he said.

  • Uttar Pradesh assembly polls: Samajwadi Party-SBSP announce alliance, say people will drive out BJP

    By PTI

    MAU: The Samajwadi Party and the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party on Wednesday announced their alliance for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and gave the slogan ‘Khadeda Howe’, a call to “drive out” the BJP from the state.

    The slogan is on the lines of ‘Khela Hobe’ (game on), which was coined by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for the West Bengal assembly polls that saw the party defeat the BJP and storm back to power for a third consecutive term.

    “Slogan ‘Khela Hobe’ was given in West Bengal and ‘didi’ drove out the BJP from the state. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh it will be ‘Khadeda Howe’ (drive out) and the BJP government will be removed by the people of the state,” Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar said here.

    He was addressing a ‘Vanchit, Pichhda, Dalit and Minority Bhagidari Mahapanchyat’, during which Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav announced the alliance between the two parties for the assembly polls.

    “When BJP leaders come to your village, you should ask them about price rise and then ask them to leave,” Rajbhar said.

    Yadav said Rajbhar has rightly said that in Uttar Pradesh ‘Khadeda Howe’.

    When red and yellow colours of the SP and the SBSP unite, everyone knows who is becoming ‘laal-pila’ (angry) in Delhi and Lucknow, the SP chief said in a reference to the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state.

    “Rajbhar will close the door through which the BJP came to power (in Uttar Pradesh) and SP workers will lock it,” he said.

    “There was speculation before the alliance about which party will win how many seats. But after the alliance, even big agencies are saying no one can stop us,” Yadav said.

  • Samyukt Kisan Morcha will oppose BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, says farmer leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI

    AGRA: Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday visited the family of Arun Narwar who was allegedly killed in police custody in Agra in Uttar Pradesh and demanded a compensation of Rs 40 lakh and government job to his kin.

    Speaking to reporters after meeting Narwar’s family members, Tikait said, “The state government is discriminating while giving compensation.

    “It has given compensation of Rs 40-45 lakh in Lakhimpur Kheri and Kanpur, while in Agra the government has given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.”

    “The state government should give compensation of Rs 40 lakh to the family of Arun as well. The government should not have discriminated,” he said.

    He also demanded a government job for a member of Narwar’s family and a judicial probe into his death.

    Narwar was accused of stealing Rs 25 lakh from the Jagdishpura police station here and died in police custody after his health deteriorated during interrogation on October 19, officials had said.

    Targeting the BJP government over farm laws, Tikait said, “I will urge farmers not to vote for BJP in the upcoming assembly election. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha will oppose the BJP in state assembly elections.”

    “We will not field our candidates nor support any political party in the assembly election,” he added.

    He said their agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws will continue till the matter is resolved and added “we are also ready to talk to the central government.”

  • Congress finalises some candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, names yet to be announced

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Central Election Committee of the Congress chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday discussed and finalised a few candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, sources said, but their names were not announced.

    They said top party leaders including AICC general secretary and in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and state party chief Ajay Kumar Lallu took part in the discussions.

    The meeting which was held virtually is learnt to have to finalised around 50 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

    The party will announce its candidates soon, taking a head start, much ahead of even the declaration of the schedule of the polls.

    The UP assembly polls are likely to be held early next year.

    The Congress has already announced that it will reserve 40 per cent seats for women candidates in the assembly polls.

  • Uttar Pradesh is just the beginning: Rahul Gandhi on 40 per cent tickets to women candidates announcement

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Days after the Congress said it will give 40 per cent of its tickets to women candidates in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, former party chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hailed the hardwork of women and said “UP is just the beginning”.

    Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announced on Tuesday that the party will give 40 per cent of its tickets to women candidates in the nest year Uttar Pradesh polls.

    In a tweet in Hindi, Rahul Gandhi said, “The daughter of the country says that with her hardwork, with the strength of education and with proper reservation, she can move forward.”

    He used the hashtag ‘Ladki hoon Lad sakti hoon’ with his tweet.

    “UP is just the beginning,” Gandhi added.

  • Congress decides to field 40 per cent of women candidates in Uttar Pradesh polls

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Congress will give 40 per cents of its tickets to women candidates in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Tuesday.

    Gandhi told a news conference here that the decision is aimed at making women, roughly constituting half the voters, a “full-fledged partner in power”.

    While announcing the party’s decision, Gandhi, also the party’s Uttar Pradesh affairs in-charge, however, remained non-committal on contesting the UP polls herself.

    The Congress’ decision to field 40 per cent of woman candidates in UP, however, did not go down well with its opponents BJP and BSP both terming the move a “pure election drama”.

    Tasked with regaining the party’s lost ground in the politically crucial state, Priyanka Gandhi, said, “It’s the party promise to give 40 per cent tickets to women in the coming elections.”

    “Had I had my way, I would have given 50 per cent tickets to them,” she said, adding the decision to field more and more candidates would be taken forward in the 2024 polls “There is no hidden meaning to it. We want women in politics to become full-fledged partners in power,” she said.

    Gandhi’s announcement was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers and slogan-shouting by women workers who were watching the press conference on a large screen elsewhere in the party office.

    Congress had won only seven seats, including two by women, in the 403-member UP house in 2017 polls.

    Asked if she will also contest the assembly elections, Priyanka Gandhi said, “It has not yet been decided. There is still some time for the elections. I will think about it and decide if I have to contest.”

    Active in the state politics for over two years now, Gandhi evaded a definite reply on whether a woman would be projected as the CM face in the state after today’s announcement.

    “I will tell this later when I want,” she said.

    Elaborating on why the decision to field more woman candidates in the UP polls was taken, she said it is aimed at empowering every woman who wants justice, change and unity and her state to progress.

    “Women will have to come forward if the country has to be taken forward,” she said while asking the prospective women candidates to apply for tickets by November 15.

    To a question, Priyanka said that the participation of women in the party will improve with this decision.

    “This decision has been taken with the approval of all. The main thinking is that women are being divided into castes and religion and they are failing to emerge as a force,” she said.

    Referring to the Ujjwala scheme, she also took a dig at the BJP government, saying “political parties think they can please women only by giving gas cylinders and Rs 2,000”.

    She did not find any fault in the prospect of fielding women from various political leaders’ families in elections as a fallout of this decision.

    She said the decision was taken in UP where she is looking after the party affairs and it can prove to be an example for other states where the Congress has its government and elections are due soon.

    When asked if this formula could be repeated in the party organisation, she said efforts will be made for it.

    Soon after the announcement, BSP president Mayawati tweeted, “The Congress never remember Dalits, backwards and women when they are in power and having good days.”

    “But now that their bad days are not going away, they have remembered Dalits in Punjab and women in UP. The decision to give 40 per cent of its tickets to women is nothing other than a pure election drama,” she said.

    Rita Joshi, the former UPCC president who quit the Congress to join the BJP, alleged “Congress could not keep women like me, who contributed so much to the party, with them.”

    “I gave 18 years to the party by doing selfless service, I was given responsibility and worked so hard for it, why was I humiliated?” she said, also citing the examples of Sushmita Dev and Priyanka Chaturvedi among others who left the Congress in recent past.

    “They are giving tickets only where they know the party is going to lose and not where the party has chances to win. This is a drama as they know that they are going to lose in UP,” Joshi said.

  • Congress names Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel senior observer for UP assembly polls 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel as a senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls next year.

    Baghel, who had played a crucial role in the run up to the Assam assembly polls with his team carrying out extensive booth training of party workers, has in the past discussed the preparations for the elections in UP with Congress general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi.

    “The Congress president has appointed Shri Bhupesh Bhagel, chief minister, Chhattisgarh, as AICC senior observer for the ensuing elections in Uttar Pradesh, with immediate effect,” the Congress said in a statement.