News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • 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 Modi’s rally in Bijnor cancelled due to weather issues

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Due to weather issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh to address the BJP’s “Jan Chaupal Rally”.

    The Prime Minister will now address the people of Uttar Pradesh virtually at 12:30 pm today.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also made arrangements for people to listen to the Prime Minister’s address at about 75 locations expecting close to a lakh of people at these locations given the easing of restrictions by the election commission.

    The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7 in seven phases.

    The counting of votes will take place on March 10. 

  • 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.

  • Samajwadi Party govt tried to withdraw cases against terrorists: Nadda

    In another incident, a CRPF camp in Rampur was attacked, in which seven soldiers were killed.

  • Uttar Pradesh turncoat ex-minister shifts base

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who left BJP for SP with two other ministers and around half-a-dozen BJP MLAs last month, has been given a ticket from Fazilnagar instead of  his stronghold of Padrauna in Kushinagar. Fazilnagar adjoins Padrauna, which Maurya has been representing.

    After joining BJP, defecting from BSP in 2016, Maurya had contested from Padrauna and is the sitting MLA from the seat. In Fazilnagar, Maurya will be facing BJP’s Surendra Kushwaha, son of incumbent MLA Ganga Singh Kushwaha. 

    Since Maurya left BJP, there were speculations that the ruling party would field a strong candidate to corner him. In the mean time, senior Congress leader and the scion of Kushinagar royal family, RPN Singh joined BJP. Singh won from Padrauna in 1996, 2002 and 2007.

    Political circles were abuzz with speculation that RPN will contest from Padrauna on a BJP ticket. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he had defeated Maurya from the Kushinagar seat. Political rivalry between Maurya and Singh has been going on for a long time.

    Sources said Maurya wanted to shift from Padrauna to Fazilnagar sensing anti-incumbency against him. Maurya said Fazilnagar would be a challenge and the stronger the challenge was, the better he felt. “My workers accept my popularity everywhere. I welcome whatever has been decided for me by the party’s national president,” said Maurya. He refused to acknowledge the Singh factor. “There will perhaps be no candidate weaker than RPN Singh if BJP fields him.”

  • Congress releases list of 27 candidates for UP polls

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday released its seventh list of 27 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

    The list has 11 women, including four replacing candidates previously announced.

    The party has replaced its Lucknow East candidate, nominating Manoj Tiwari in place of Pankaj Tiwari.

    The Congress is contesting the state polls with women in focus and has also released a separate manifesto for youth, assuring them of employment opportunities and have laid down a roadmap of how to provide jobs, if elected to power.