The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on Tuesday staged a walk out from the Lok Sabha shortly before the voting on the Lokpal Bill in protest against the government bringing a "weak" legislation.
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, saying the three parties indulge in "stage-managed" fights in Uttar Pradesh but come together to grab power at the Centre.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pulling out of the United Progressive Alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the party is ready for the general elections as the continuation of the central government is not in the interest of the country.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said it gave notice for a debate and voting in Parliament against the Centre's FDI move to expose arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, which were against foreign investment in retail sector.
Political observers say that neither Mulayam Singh Yadav nor Mayawati have any intention of toppling the UPA government, as neither stand to gain from it. Sharat Pradhan reports
Amidst threat by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to bring no-confidence motion against the UPA government in the winter session of Parliament, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday said that the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party would continue to support it.
Jailed gangster and former member of Parliament Atiq Ahmad and his wife on Tuesday joined the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen in the presence of its chief Asaduddin Owaisi, drawing a sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will not allow "Jinnah's jihadi mentality" to flourish in Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati made it amply clear that her party will not enter into any alliance with the Congress.
The Union minister asked Gandhi to "follow the law "and secure acquittal from a higher court.
Justifying the demand for SPG security cover to Mayawati, senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader and leader of opposition in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday said it was necessary because of the "prevailing goonda raj" of the Samajwadi Party.
"Earlier Haj House was made in Ghaziabad. Our government constructed Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan. Earlier the mafia used to harass traders, but now no mafia can dare to grab property of any trader, doctor or a poor person...," he said.
In Pasmanda Muslim meets, the BJP leaders are highlighting that the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress always used Muslims as a "vote bank" and did not give them their due.
Chandrashekhar said he would ensure that PM Modi is not re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Varanasi.
"There are clearly two sides. On one side, there is an organisation of patriots in the form of BJP and on the other side, tukde-tukde gang have come together under the leadership of the Congress. It is for the people of Karnataka to decide now whether they are with the patriots or those who support people who want to divide this country," he added.
Statistics show the BSP has always gained from pre-poll alliances, reflecting in the party winning more seats in subsequent elections and largely retaining the vote share too. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
The senior BJP leader also scoffed at Priyanka Gandhi's resemblance with her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
To a question whether his party will not forge a coalition with any political party, Azad said, "If any political party is willing to accompany the Congress, and the Congress feels that it can fight the BJP, then it will be definitely accommodated."
'The next prime minister will be from an Opposition party and not from the BJP.' 'The BJP may be the single largest party, but not with a majority and there will be a fractured verdict.' Anti-Modi and non-BJP parties will be in a majority.'
Congress leaders are confident that Priyanka would act as a catalyst for the party and boost the sagging morale of cadres to put up a spirited fight against the BJP and also the SP-BSP pre-poll alliance which had already shut its door on the Congress, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
'The people of Uttar Pradesh have already made up their mind to puncture the Samajwadi Party's cycle, kick away the Bahujan Samaj Party's elephant, and remove shadows of the already-vanished hand of the Congress.'
Shah asserted that the BJP will once again form the government in Uttar Pradesh with a comfortable majority.
The son of a farmer killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident allegedly involving Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni's son says he has declined the offer of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress to contest in the assembly polls and instead has asked them to field him in the 2024 Parliamentary election against the minister himself.
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The RJD chief also hailed the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav termed it as a 'ghaatey ka sauda' (loss-making deal) for the saffron party.
The parties seem to have forgotten their two decade-old antagonism for a 'political revolution' which they hope would 'last long'.
To repeated questions, the SP chief asserted that the Congress was 'very much in the alliance'.
'If these two parties come together, there could be amalgamation of OBC, Dalits and Muslim votes.'
The BJP has bettered its show this time as its vote share in several states is well over 50 per cent, nothing short of a statistical wonder in Indian electoral history.
Mayawati appeared to be opting for a wait-and watch-policy till the Lok Sabha election results are announced on May 23.
'They (BJP) can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats'
Without ruling out the possibility of working with the Congress after polls, Akhilesh said he has good relations with the party and would be 'happy' if the next prime minister was from his home state.
Congress hopes to field upper caste candidates to eat into BJP voter base while SP-BSP focuses on consolidating Dalit-OBC votes in their favour.
In a letter addressed to the people of Rae Bareli, the Congress leader also thanked the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which did not field any candidate against her.
Poonam Sinha is likely to file nomination on April 18.
This year promises to offer ample opportunities on the electoral turf to the SP, BSP and Congress to get their act together and play the "semi-final" of sorts before the "final match" two years later, reports Virendra Singh Rawat
Addressing a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. He also declared that the construction of a Ram temple 'touching the skies' in Ayodhya will begin within three months.
'It will be a grand alliance where they could get the Muslims, Dalits and Yadavs in one camp and pose a serious challenge to whatever the BJP might conjure up in the run-up to the 2019 election.'
The UP chief minister also attacked the Congress, saying the party furthered the interests of a family, promoted casteism, regionalism and kept the country in limbo for 50 years.
Parliament lost over 106 hours during the month-long Winter session which was marred by turmoil over issues like FDI and quota in promotions, but managed to pass some key legislations including banking reforms bill.
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