The notable names in the BJP's first list include Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Hema Malini from Mathura, Ajay Mishra Teni from Kheri, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Lallu Singh from Faizabad (Ayodhya) and Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli among others.
In the backdrop of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrawing support to United Progressive Alliance, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party's support to the UPA would continue and final decision would be taken by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Having completed a grueling election campaign across Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav is now back in Lucknow eagerly awaiting the verdict of the people. In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan, he shares his strategy and outlines the factors that went in favour of his party in this election
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a potshot at Bharatiya Janata Party for raising the issue of 'love jihad'(affairs involving Muslim boys and Hindu girls) by suggesting that its MP Hema Malini had no qualms about acting in movies which showed such relationships.
SP and SBSP leaders had shared the dais in Mau on Wednesday and announced that they would together trounce the BJP in the 2022 elections.
Sources said Modi also called up various leaders, including Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham's M K Stalin and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal.
'His way of communication is different than the first yatra.' 'Maybe his anger and frustration stems from the fact that no one is asking hard questions to the government and he is trying to do that.'
Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the party said in a statement.
The curtain came down on rumbustious electioneering over the last two months when assembly polls were also held in four other states - Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur.
Differences in Samajwadi Party over induction of controversial politician D P Yadav into the party on Thursday burst into the open with the SP sacking senior leader Mohan Singh from the post of its national spokesman.
Claiming that the SP supremo had threatened him with dire consequences, Amitabh Thakur sought protection from the Centre.
He said the BJP is leaving a "culture", which may be used against it in the future.
According to the Aam Aadmi Party, it has received permission from the authorities concerned to hold the rally of more than 20,000 people.
'Just today a shopkeeper I went to was saying how bad business is. He must have been a BJP supporter.' 'He finally said, "It's a good thing there's an NDA government, not a BJP government, 'they' had become too big for their boots,".'
The Samajwadi Party wants Mulayam Singh Yadav to be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, says a rising star of the party. The issue of whether Mulayam's son Akhilesh Yadav should become the next chief minister, instead of his father, was not discussed at the first post-poll meeting of SP legislators in the state capital.
'If you interpret Akhilesh's statement, he is clearly saying Shivpal wants to become chief minister.'
With government gearing up to face the opposition onslaught in winter session of Parliament on foreign direct investment in retail issue besides hike in diesel price, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday night hosted a dinner for Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
More than 48 lakh candidates appeared in the examination conducted on February 17 and 18 across the state.
'They (BJP) can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats'
Dharmendra Pratap Singh is 8 feet, 1 inch tall.
Ajit Singh writes a letter to Akhilesh Yadav asking him to send experts to Muthura for the airport.
The Samajwadi Party, which won a spectacular majority in the assembly elections, on Friday did nothing to dispel the raging speculation over who would be the next chief minister with leaders merely saying that the issue will be decided on Saturday.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
Days after Mulayam Singh Yadav warned Uttaer Pradesh ministers to "mend" their ways or face the sack, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday removed Anand Kumar Singh and Manoj Paras from his ministry apparently as they had earned the ire of the Samajwadi Party supremo.
Mulayam, Akhilesh shout at each other as SP supremo defends Shivpal, Amar Singh.
The Rajya Sabha member was not keeping well for the past few days and was admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow, where he died around 7 pm.
Samajwadi Party on Friday declared its first list of candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with its president Mulayam Singh Yadav seeking another term from his Mainpuri seat.
Five BJP MLAs and Apna Dal (Sonelal) legislator Amar Singh Chaudhary also joined the SP in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav.
Yogi Adityanath, who has been declared BJP candidate from Gorakhpur will be the second leader to contest from the district as a chief minister after Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, who lost in 1971.
The Opposition on Tuesday termed the Union Budget as a 'kursi bachao budget' driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states in a bid to 'appease' Bharatiya Janata Party's allies.
After doling out a very special favour to actress Madhuri Dixit by exempting her latest film 'Dedh Iskiya' from entertainment tax in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has now also announced a similar concession for Salman Khan's Jai Ho.
Several SP leaders fear Muslim voters may shift loyalty, which will benefit rivals like the BJP.
The 700-page report tabled in the state assembly on Sunday said the riots, following the murder of two persons by a youth from a minority community in Kawal town on August 27, 2013, took place as the then inspector of intelligence unit Prabal Pratap Singh failed to give an exact number of people going to attend a mahapanchayat at Mandaur.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party would oppose the Centre's move to bring a bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.
Mulayam Singh Yadav wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari informing him about the expulsion of Ramgopal Yadav.
From putting up a decent performance in the last Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 seats stitching an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party drew a blank in the current general elections, dealing a severe blow to its reputation of representing the voice of Dalits in the state.
With the 2012 state assembly elections not very far, the Samajwadi Party has got into the election gear. And to top it all, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has pushed his son Akhilesh Yadav to take the lead.
It has been issued based on a petition alleging that they have amassed wealth exceeding than their known sources of income.
The deadlock in the Samajwadi Party on Saturday showed no signs of easing with warring factions led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav failing to reach any agreement despite fresh confabulations.
