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Tag: Uttar Pradesh Polls

  • Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls: Voters reject most dons-turned-politicians

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: While a few ‘bahubalis’ managed wins in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, a majority of them were rejected by the voters. According to the results, many alleged dons-turned-politicians failed to make it to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

    These include Dhananjay Singh (Malhani), Vijay Mishra (Gyanpur), Yash Bhadra Singh Monu (Isauli) and Amarmani Tripathi (Nautanwa), son of Purvanchal strongman Yatra Amanmani Tripathi, who is sentenced to life imprisonment.

    However, on the other hand, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya (Kunda) and Abhay Singh (Gosaiganj) managed to win. From Malhni seat of Jaunpur, Janta Dal (United) strongman Dhananjay Singh lost to Samajwadi Party candidate Lucky Yadav by a margin of 17,527 votes.

    Dhananjay, a former MP, was surrounded by several controversies prior to the elections. The Lucknow police had also announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on him in a murder case. However, in the subsequent investigation, he got a clean chit.

    Another ‘bahubali’ Vijay Mishra, who has managed to be the MLA from Gyanpur since 2002, had to face defeat this time. He became the only MLA of the Nishad Party to win in 2017. However, as the party decided against fielding him this time, he switched over to the Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party and stood third from the seat.

    He had made it to the Assembly in 2002, 2007 and 2012 on SP ticket. Yash Bhadra Singh Monu of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), who had unsuccessfully contested twice from Sultanpur’s Isauli seat, had to face defeat once again.

    Amanmani Tripathi, who was jailed earlier in a murder case, was also defeated. He was an independent candidate from the same seat in the 2017 Assembly elections, and this time, he had contested on a BSP ticket.

    Meanwhile Raghuraj Pratap Singh, another strongman, managed to win the elections from Kunda for the eighth consecutive term. Having been an independent candidate for long, he formed his own party Jansatta Dal Loktantrik this time. He has been the MLA from Kunda seat of Pratapgarh since 1993.

    Samajwadi Party strongman Abhay Singh managed to win the Gosaiganj seat, a constituency he had won in 2012 but faced defeat in 2017. Mafia-turned-politician Brijesh Singh’s nephew Sushil managed to win the election from Sayedaraja seat, thereby becoming an MLA for the fourth time.

    In 2007, he had won the election from Dhanapur seat on a BSP ticket while in 2012, he was elected MLA from Sakaldiha.

    Mukhtar Ansari, who won the MLA seat from Mau Sadar on several occasions, did not contest the election this time but his son Abbas Ansari managed to make it to the Assembly from the senior Ansari’s bastion. Abbas was elected MLA from Mau Sadar seat on the ticket of SP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party. He defeated his nearest rival Ashok Kumar Singh of the BJP by more than 38,000 votes.

  • Saffron reigns in Uttar Pradesh as BJP scores thumping win, Samajwadi Party at distant second

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The BJP stormed back to power in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, trouncing its main rival Samajwadi Party, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserting that people have buried the politics of caste and religion.

    The saffron party with its allies was winning or leading in 274 seats out of 403, becoming the first party in over three decades to form a government for a second consecutive time in the state.

    The Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav and its allies lost after a spirited bid to dislodge the BJP, winning or leading in 124 seats, while national parties like the Congress (two two seats) and the BSP (one seat) were reduced to insignificance in the race.

    ALSO READ: Uttar Pradesh polls – NOTA garners more votes than those polled in favour of popular parties

    As counting of votes continued late into the night, Adityanath had established a lead of 1.3 lakh votes over his nearest rival Subhawati Shukla of the SP in the Gorakhpur Urban constituency.

    However, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya lost in Sirathu by 7,337 votes to SP’s Pallavi Patel.

    Influential OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who quit the BJP and the Adityanath cabinet to join the SP ahead of the assembly elections, lost in Fazilnagar by more than 45,000 votes.

    The BJP was winning or leading in 256 seats, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD party, the two allies of the BJP, are winning or leading in 12 seats and six seats respectively, according to the Election Commission (EC) website.

    ALSO READ: Mayawati – Dalit leader, four-time CM fails Uttar Pradesh test

    In the opposition camp, the SP was winning or leading in 110 seats and its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has eight seats and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party had won or was ahead in six seats.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Adityanath’s feat and suggested that the victory in Uttar Pradesh will pave the wave for the BJP’s win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Lauding BJP workers for ensuring an early Holi by making the party victorious in four states, Modi said its vote share has increased in Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Goa even though it was in power in the states.

    The party has also retained power in Uttarkhand.

    ALSO READ: SP president Akhilesh Yadav keeps eye on results from party office, no comment from him yet

    In Lucknow, addressing joyous BJP workers at the party’s state headquarters, Adityanath said the “misleading” campaign run by the Opposition over the past 2-3 days has been set aside by the people who reposed faith in the good governance of the BJP.

    He was apparently targeting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over EVM tampering allegations.

    “The false propaganda regarding EVMs and election material over the last few days have been rejected,” Adityanath said.

    “The People of UP have buried the dynastic politics and also politics of caste and religion by ensuring victory to the BJP and its allies,” Adityanath, who was the BJP’s face in Uttar Pradesh polls, said.

    ALSO READ: Congress relegated to margins in UP: Its seat tally down to 2 from 7, vote share to 2.35% from 6.25%

    According to the EC website at 10.30 PM, results had been declared on 369 seats, while counting was going on 34 seats.

    Dara Singh Chauhan, another minister who had quit the cabinet along with Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini to join the SP, has won the Ghosi seat by 22,216.

    Saini lost the elections to BJP’s Mukesh Choudhary by 315 votes.

    State Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu was languishing at the third spot in the Tamukhi Raj assembly constituency, according to the EC website.

    ALSO READ: ‘Bulldozer baba’ – Mighty Yogi Adityanath’s new sobriquet

    Amid the rout of the party, Congress legislature party leader Aradhana Mishra won from her family’s traditional Rampur Khas constituency in Pratapgarh district.

    According to the EC, the BJP’s vote share stands at 41.3 percent, while that of the SP stood at 32 percent.

    The vote share of the BSP is 12.9 percent and that of the RLD is 2.93 percent.

    The vote share of the Congress is 2.37 percent while that of AAP and AIMIM was less than .5 percent each.

    Though it registered a landslide victory in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party filed to open its account in Uttar Pradesh where it contested on all 403 seats.

    Similar was the fate of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi headed AIMIM which had fielded candidates in 100 seats.

    Excited BJP supporters smeared colour (gulal) on each other and rolled out bulldozers in Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi among other places to celebrate the victory.

    Adityanath, who is generally referred to as “Maharaj ji”, earned this new sobriquet of “bulldozer baba” during the current elections due to his frequent reference of the heavy machine that authorities deployed to raze the ill-gotten property of criminals and mafias in the state under his rule.

  • Congress relegated to margins in UP: Its seat tally down to 2 from 7, vote share to 2.35% from 6.25%

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Congress, which has ruled Uttar Pradesh for the longest period of time among political parties but has been out of power for three decades, plunged into further wilderness in the state, winning just two seats.

    While its seats tally came down to two from seven in 2017, its vote share declined to 2.35 per cent from 6.25 per cent.

    The two seats it won are Rampur Khas and Pharenda.

    In Rampur Khas, Congress candidate Aradhana Mishra defeated her closest rival BJP’s Nagesh Pratap Singh by 14,741 votes, while in Pharenda Virendra Chaudhary defeated the BJP’s Bajrang Bahadur Singh by 1,087 votes.

    The party’s poor show in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which were considered its strongholds not long ago, continued where it failed to get a single seat, its candidates getting a third or fourth spot at most places.

    State Congress president and Tamkuhi Raj seat MLA Ajay Kumar Lallu also failed to make a mark.

    In Rampur Khas also its winning margin has come down.

    The Congress campaign was led by party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who crisscrossed the state holding meetings and roadshows in an attempt to resurrect the party which had been on the sidelines since the past three decades.

    Priyank’s campaign centred around women with the slogan of ‘ ladki hun lad sakti hun’ and had come up with the new experiment of issuing a separate manifesto for women who were also given 40% tickets.

  • SP president Akhilesh Yadav keeps eye on results from party office, no comment from him yet

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav remained in the party office till Thursday evening monitoring the poll results in which his party-led alliance lost to the BJP-headed coalition.

    There was no comment from him on the poll outcome till late night on Thursday.

    Party’s national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI that Yadav had come to the office around 11.00 in the morning, and remained there throughout the day.

    He left for home in the evening.

    When asked whether the SP chief talked about the poll results, Chaudhary said he will review the election outcome.

    Yadav himself won from the Karhal assembly seat by a margin of 67,504 votes.

    He defeated Union minister SP Singh Baghel of the BJP.

    However, his party (SP) and allies could not stop the BJP from getting re-elected for the second consecutive time in Uttar Pradesh.

  • Uttar Pradesh: SP workers protest in Azamgarh, Moradabad claiming recovery of blank ballot papers

    By PTI

    MORADABAD: Samajwadi Party workers staged protests in Azamgarh and Moradabad on Wednesday claiming recovery of blank ballot papers from a vehicle while alleging wrongdoing on the part of the official machinery.

    In a tweet from its official Twitter account, the SP claimed that the car carrying 10,000 plain ballot papers was trying to enter a strong room in Azamgarh after switching off its headlights.

    “The vehicle from Varanasi was stopped by alert SP workers at the gate. At whose behest were the ballot papers being taken? What was the purpose? EC please clarify,” the SP said in a tweet and also shared a video of the vehicle and party workers staging protest.

    On the directions of SP president Akhilesh Yadav, a party delegation led by state unit president Naresh Uttam Patel and national secretary Rajendra Chaudhari met Election Commission (EC) officials in Lucknow in connection with the recovery of ballot papers.

    The delegation, which submitted a written complaint, also forwarded a copy to the Chief Election Commissioner.

    However, District Election Officer of Azamgarh Amrit Tripath clarified that the vehicle belonged to the block development officer (BDO) and the recovered ballot papers were unused postal ballots which had to be submitted along with the ballot papers.

    By mistake the BDO did not submit it, he said, adding that it was nothing but stationery.

    But due to the negligence of the BDO, recommendation for his suspension has been made to the Election Commission and all the candidates have been informed about this.

    In Moradabad, a huge ruckus erupted after the Tehsildar was allegedly caught with two ballot boxes hidden in a vehicle near the strong room at Mandi Samiti.

    Former SP district president of Jaiveer Singh Yadav told reporters, “Dharmendra, the Tehsildar of Bilari reached the strong room area in a vehicle of Bilari municipality. Ballot boxes were hidden under mattresses kept inside the car.”

    “The tehsildar misbehaved with SP agents when they tried to stop him from entering the EVM strong room and he also tried to take the ballot boxes inside,” Singh alleged.

    Claiming that over 1,400 blank ballot papers were inside the boxes, SP candidate Faheem alleged that they were meant to be replaced with postal ballots.

    Moradabad DM Shailendra Kumar Singh and SSP Bablu Kumar reached the Mandi Samiti and managed to pacify the protesters.

    “They were unused ballots and the boxes were sealed. Though, it was a mistake on the part of the people concerned for trying to transfer the unused ballots to a safer place. The tehsildar has been relieved of his responsibility keeping in view the circumstances,” the DM said.

  • Our fight has just begun: Priyanka Gandhi to Congress workers in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: On the eve of counting of votes for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday urged the party workers to be ready for keeping up their struggle for people’s cause, saying “our fight has just begun” and “we have to move forward with new energy”.

    In a message to the Congress candidates, office bearers and leaders from Uttar Pradesh, the AICC general secretary in-charge of the state said the party fought the 2022 UP assembly elections with full force.

    “Despite the absence of a Congress government in the state for a long time, the way you all fought for the people of the state and remained committed to public service which is the real purpose of politics, I am very proud of this,” Priyanka Gandhi said in her message in Hindi posted on Twitter.

    Noting that the basis of democracy is the vote of the people, Priyanka Gandhi said whatever the result may be tomorrow, it will be according to the wisdom and understanding of the people, and that is paramount.

    “Therefore, while respecting the mandate, all of us will have to prepare for continuing our struggle with the spirit of loyalty and dedication towards our country and state. Our fight has just begun, we have to move forward with courage and new energy,” she asserted.

    Priyanka Gandhi said that with the strength and perseverance of the Congress workers and candidates, the party’s campaign in these elections was positive and showed the way for the progress of the state.

    The efforts of the Congress carried forward issue-based politics in this election, she said.

    “Just as democracy gives you the responsibility to raise the issues of the people, in the same way it is your responsibility to protect every single vote given by the people in the election. Tomorrow, on the day of counting, you have to be alert and protect every vote as a true democracy watchdog,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

    Counting of votes polled in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections will take place on Thursday, the outcome of which will decide whether the BJP returns to power for the second consecutive term.

    Almost all the exit polls have predicted that the BJP will return to power.

    They have forecast an increase in Samajwadi Party’s tally but not enough to form the government.

    The exit polls have predicted a poor showing by the Congress in the election.

  • Assembly polls: Stage set for counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Counting of votes polled in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections will take place on Thursday, the outcome of which will decide whether the BJP returns to power for the second consecutive term.

    “Counting in all the 75 districts of the state will begin at 8 am. The postal ballots will be counted first, and then the votes polled in the EVMs will be counted,” a senior election official told PTI.

    Almost all the exit polls have predicted that the BJP will return to power. They have forecast an increase in Samajwadi Party’s tally but not enough to form the government.

    The exit polls have forecast double-digit numbers for the BSP and single-digit count for the Congress.

    Both the SP and BSP have dismissed the exit polls, claiming that they would win the poll comfortably and form their government in the state, which has a 403-member assembly.

    If the BJP comes to power, it would be a record for a party getting re-elected in UP for a second term in over three decades.

    In 2017, BJP had won 312 seats on its own while NDA’s figure was 325. The SP had won 47, BSP 19 and the Congress had won seven seats, two less than Apna Dal (S) at nine.

    The BJP went in the polls this time with Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party while Akhilesh Yadav had formed a rainbow coalition with RLD and a string of regional parties, including Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

    Considering its bearing on the 2024 Parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aggressively campaigned across the state to drum up support for the saffron party.

    On Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the ruling BJP of trying to “steal” votes and claimed a truck carrying EVMs was “intercepted” in Varanasi, but the Election Commission clarified that the machines were for training officials on counting duty and had not been used in elections.

    In a statement issued late on Tuesday night, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of UP said, “Rumours were spread by people of some political party by stopping the vehicle and alleging that these EVMs were used in elections.”

    According to the report sent by the District Election Officer (of Varanasi), it was found during the investigation that these EVMs were marked for training. “Training has been organised for March 9 (Wednesday),” it had said.

    The voting for the politically-important state was done in seven rounds starting February 10.

    For the opposition, Akhilesh addressed 131 rallies and roadshows to take on the pantheon of leaders from the ruling camp.

    Mayawati, whose absence on the ground had initially triggered speculations that BSP was out of the power race, also hit the streets in favour of her party nominees.

    Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who led the party from the front in UP, attended 209 rallies and roadshows, maximum among top leaders of various parties, in a bid to regain lost ground for her party in the Hindi heartland.

    Sonia Gandhi virtually addressed voters in her Rae Bereli constituency while Rahul Gandhi addressed two rallies – one in Amethi and another in Varanasi.

    Elaborating about arrangements on March 10, the election official said, “Covid protocols, including the use of hand gloves, sanitisers, masks, thermal scanners and adhering to social distancing norms, will be followed at the counting centres throughout the state.”

    “The votes cast through postal ballots, including those by people with disabilities and senior citizens above 80 years, will be counted manually, while the votes of the service voters — ETPBS (Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System) will be done online,” he said.

    Apart from this, VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips of five machines will be counted in every assembly constituency.

    The Supreme Court had on April 8, 2019 directed the Election Commission to increase random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs to five polling booths per assembly segment, from one, during the then Lok Sabha polls, saying it will provide greater satisfaction not just to political parties but to the entire electorate.

    Video and static cameras have been installed at all the counting centres, the official said, adding media centres have also been set up there.

    “Adequate AROs (Assistant Returning Officers) have been deployed in every assembly constituency for interruption-free counting,” the senior official said.

    Elaborating on the security arrangements, the official said a three-layer security set-up has been made comprising of central police forces, PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) and the state police.

    A total of 250 companies of CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) have been provided to all the districts and commissionerates on March 10, the police said.

    According to officials, a CAPF company usually has around 70-80 personnel. Of the 250, 36 companies have been earmarked for EVM security and 214 for maintaining law and order. Besides the CAPFs, 61 companies of PAC have also been provided to all districts, they said.

    Officials said 625 gazetted officers of UP Police; 1,807 inspectors; 9,598 sub-inspectors, 11,627 head constables and 48,649 constables have also been put on duty.

    The Model Code of Conduct came into force on January 8 after the announcement of polls in Uttar Pradesh by the Election Commission.

  • Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll results may impact Bihar political equations

    Express News Service

    PATNA: Amid the wait for results of the assembly polls held in the five states, political groups in Bihar are eager on what will be the outcomes in Uttar Pradesh. The election results – which will come out on March 10 – from the neighbouring state will directly or indirectly impact political groups in Bihar, be it the NDA or the Grand Alliance.

    The results will decide the future prospects of the two constituents of the Bihar NDA – Janata Dal (United) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) – which fielded candidates against ally BJP in 26 and 55 constituencies, respectively.

    The relationship among three NDA constituents got strained due to sustained campaigning launched by the VIP and the JDU against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The upsets within the saffron party camp could be gauged from the statement of the BJP MP from Muzaffarpur Ajay Nishad, who said ahead of the results of the UP election, “Mukesh Sahani was roaring in UP, he will now virtually be begging in Bihar.”

    The JDU is, however, maintaining a low profile on the developments. “Wait for the results. We are hopeful of positive results in Uttar Pradesh and in Manipur where JDU is in the fray,” MLC Neeraj Kumar said.

  • EVMs were marked for training of officials for counting duty, clarifies EC on Akhilesh Yadav’s allegation

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Hours after the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that a truck carrying EVMs was “intercepted” in Varanasi, the Election Commission clarified that these EVMs were “marked for training” of officials who will be on duty during the counting of votes and were not used in elections.

    In a statement issued here late on Tuesday night, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of UP said that a “‘rumour was spread by people of some political party by stopping the vehicle and alleging that these EVMs were used in elections”.

    “According to the report sent by the District Election Officer (of Varanasi), it was found during the investigation that these EVMs were marked for training.

    “To train the officials involved in counting duty, training has been organised for March 9 (Wednesday),” it said The statement said the second training of the employees engaged in counting duty is on Wednesday and “these machines are always used in training for hands-on training”.

    “These EVMs were being taken for training today, and rumour was spread by people of some political party by stopping the vehicle, and alleging that these EVMs were used in elections,” the statement said.

    The UP CEO office also said that all the EVMs used for voting are sealed inside the strongroom and secured in a three-tier security cordon of the central paramilitary forces.

    These machines are completely isolated and secure and are continuously monitored by CCTVs throughout the day (24×7).

    The District Election Officer of Varanasi has informed the representatives of various political parties regarding this, the statement said.

    Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier accused the ruling BJP of trying to “steal” votes, saying that a truck carrying EVMs was “intercepted” in Varanasi while two others got away.

    Counting of votes will take place on March 10.

  • UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya asks Akhilesh Yadav to accept defeat before vote counting

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday asked Akhilesh Yadav to accept defeat and said on March 10 the Samajwadi Party will become “‘samaapt vaadi party’”.

    The final phase of the Uttar Pradesh polls was held on Monday, marking the end of the voting process spread over two months in the crucial state.

    Counting of votes will be held on March 10.

    Several exit polls have forecast a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

    In a series of tweets in Hindi, Maurya said, “The claims of the Samajwadi Party and that of Akhilesh Yadav Ji have fallen flat. This means that on March 10 the people of Uttar Pradesh will make the Samajwadi Party a ‘Samaapt vaadi Party’ (a party, which has come to an end).”

    “Akhilesh Yadav Ji, accept defeat before the counting of votes. Come to the ground from sky-high arrogance. People know your mindset, they know the goons of your party very well. “They know that if the Samajwadi Party returns to power there will be hooliganism, crime, riots, corruption and illegal grabbing once again,” he said.

    In another tweet, Maurya also said that the future of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress will remain in dark for the next 25 years.