The Bharatiya Janata Party faces an uphill task of repeating its performance of the last assembly election of winning 53 out of 58 constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh where polling will be held in the first phase on February 10.
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.
The situation was tense but under control on Tuesday in parts of western Uttar Pradesh hit by farmers' unrest over land acquisition as police released sketches of 24 troublemakers who incited violence in Agra and maintained a strict vigil.
The panchayat polls or those for district panchayat chiefs are not held on a party symbol but candidates enjoy the tacit support of various parties.
A man had allegedly fired two shots in the air on February 1 at Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi's Jamia Nagar, where an anti-CAA protest was on. He was taken into custody soon after he opened fire in the air, eyewitnesses had said.
Yogi Adityanath's aura is no longer limited to Uttar Pradesh. At the age of 49, his journey to the higher echelons in the BJP has well and truly begun, predicts Sudhir Bisht.
In the backdrop of the ongoing farm protests, back into public consciousness in the aftermath of the recent Lakhimpur Kheri episode, smaller parties are expected to not only enliven the election theatre, but also queer the pitch for the Opposition.
The BJP's bucket list this time includes districts such as Sultanpur, Aligarh, Firozabad, Deoband, Ghazipur, Basti and Mirzapur -- to rename a few. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
With the role of the venerable elder thrust on him in UP, Mr Singh has had to attune himself to the politics at the Centre, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Asserting that Uttar Pradesh has undergone a complete transformation under his government, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday that there have been no riots since 2017, strict action has been taken against the mafia and the state is in the frontline of implementing welfare schemes, ensuring the ease of doing business and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
BJP national president JP Nadda has asked party's Uttar Pradesh chief Swatantra Dev Singh to convey it to the MLA to stay away from the probe, sources said.
Khushi Dubey, Hari Shankar Tiwari and Mata Prasad Pandey represent the resentment among Brahmins towards the Adityanath government. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
'For the convenience of Modiji this inauspicious muhurat was fixed'
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday urged dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Centre while addressing a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party office-bearers, during which he also invoked the border clashes with China and the construction of the Ram temple.
The manifesto promises better drinking water facilities, better street lights, free community toilets, provision of pink toilets for women, grant of Rs 20,000 for construction of personal toilets, provision of adarsh nagar panchayat, e-tendering and provision of kanji house for stray animals.
'If Yogiji has to run this government without any problems, he has to remain in power, and if he has to keep the BJP bosses in Delhi and the RSS happy, then he has no option but to do it.'
The Uttar Pradesh Police had said on Saturday that it would invoke the stringent National Security Act and Gangster Act against those accused in the killing of the 46-year-old man.
'I will present them before you (media) when Kamal Nath asks me to do so'
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
Dinesh Pratap Singh, who was elected to the state legislative council for the second time in 2016 and left the Congress last year, is pitted against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on a seat held by her since 2004.
The sloganeering continued for 15 minutes. Police used force to drive away the protesters after which the two ministers and the MP were taken to the victim's home, villagers said.
Congress' senior spokesperson Anand Sharma Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must 'walk the talk' and announce the measures required by giving money in the hands of the poor and small and medium enterprises to help reboot the economy.
The broader Nifty gained 74.45 points, or 0.72 per cent, to end at a fresh peak of 10,463.20, breaking its previous record of 10,452.50 hit on November 3.
Heavy police force was deployed at the Congress office in view of the march and roads leading to it were barricaded. However, many Congress workers reached the spot and started a public meeting.
He is the fourth chief minister from the saffron party to head the northern state. Before Adityanath, Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh of the BJP had served as Uttar Pradesh chief ministers.
Chinmayanand was the discharged from Lucknow Hospital and was sent back to Shahjahanpur jail.
The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya vacated their seats following their election to the Uttar Pradesh legislative council.
Thackeray would be taking over as chief minister more than a month after results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections were declared on October 24.
'Ayodhya is a sacred pilgrim spot. Construction of a temple of Lord Ram is a matter of faith for crores of people. And Lord Ram himself is a symbol of faith for crores of people of the country'
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
Opposition parties demanded that all elections in the future be held through ballot papers.
Though there was no official word from both the parties, the sources claimed that two Uttar Pradesh-based political outfits will contest 37 Lok Sabha seats each.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
Adityanath also recommended that all other SBSP members holding the rank of minister of state be removed immediately.
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.
The government is functioning 'very well' and all the alliance partners are firmly supporting Parrikar, who is undergoing treatment at Delhi's AIIMS, the BJP leader asserted.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Varanasi, Modi said work done in the city is clearly visible.
Anil Singh, the Unnao MLA, said, "I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)."
