Congress, the main Opposition party in the BJP-ruled state, had left the Khajuraho seat for SP as per the seat-sharing arrangement within the INDIA bloc.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
The highlight of Tuesday's debate on Operation Sindoor was the speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the rebuttal by Congress's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi coming a close second.
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.
"I came in between" Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday, taking a dig at the leaders of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party who had formed a coalition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The June 23 meeting of opposition parties, called by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, will see anti-BJP players chalk out a strategy for the Lok Sabha polls.
Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's demise might not have any direct political impact on the party, but its president Akhilesh Yadav will now have to work without his 'shield and shadow'.
Akhilesh Yadav is acutely conscious of the fact that he has to take along the senior leaders in the party even as he tries to infuse the new blood, new technology and new ways into the state government, says Neerja Chowdhury
"Let them show whatever they have got. We are winning with a majority," Akhilesh Yadav said, dismissing predictions to the contrary on some TV channels.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The Samajwadi Party will hold its parliamentary board meeting on Wednesday to decide it's chief ministerial candidate.
'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.'
Outside CM's residence, high drama was witnessed with youth supporters of Akhilesh assembling in large numbers to vent their fury.
The remarks come as another setback to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who was recently removed from party's state president post owing to an apparent feud in the first family of the state.
The announcement from the hospital comes a day after the Samajwadi Party on Sunday said its 82-year-old patriarch's health had deteriorated.
Accoding to data collected by the Association for Democratic Reforms, of the 695 candidates in the fray, 227 are crorepatis.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to advocate for fair elections and protect voting rights, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise voters.
His outburst came a day after UP Governor Ram Naik asked the state government to take action over the reported damage to the bungalow vacated by the former chief minister, calling it a serious matter involving the taxpayer's money.
The latest round may have gone against him, but the chief minister is planning his counter-attack.
In a clear reference to his estranged uncle, Shivpal Yadav who is contesting from the neighbouring Jaswantnagar seat, Akhilesh said, "These very people want to float a new party... the election here is different from what is being fought in the state. Here efforts are to defeat me... people of Etawah should not fall prey to any such design."
"Those named in the FIR should go to jail. The government should take immediate action and the matter should be probed by a sitting judge of the high court. There are videos clips, statements of eyewitnesses, the statement (of minister) in which he is threatening. As he (accused Ashish Mishra) is the son of the MoS, action has note been taken yet," he said.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from the controversial comments of some of its leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that only the recent CWC resolution and the views expressed by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and authorised AICC office-bearers represent its position. The opposition party's assertion comes in the wake of remarks by leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, Tariq Hameed Karra and Saifuddin Soz that have triggered a row, with the BJP alleging that some from the opposition party were speaking "Pakistan's language".
The mahant, Raju Das, said that burning of pages from the Ramcharitmanas by the Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha in Lucknow on Sunday too was Maurya' work.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday asserted that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee should be allowed to lead the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Parties like the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Mahaan Dal, and Janvadi Party-Socialist had distanced themselves from the SP after its defeat in the 2022 state assembly elections.
Or is the UP chief minister wiping his face after an angry exchange with Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Opposition, in the state assembly in Lucknow on Saturday, February 25, 2023?
'The 2024 election results will lead to much intense targeting of Modi, more intense debates, many more breakdowns in Parliament and many more movements on the streets.' 'The results have hit Modi's standing, and the politics of the Opposition parties will be sharply focused to ensure that Modi doesn't get back his charisma of being 'invincible' with help of State power.' Sheela Bhatt looks at the political situation through the prism of 2024 Lok Sabha election results.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had on Thursday announced an alliance with his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav's PSPL after a meeting between them.
Introducing the bill, Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history.
Ramgopal was expelled from the party for six years on October 23.
The BJP, which won the Samajwadi Party strongholds of Rampur and Azamgarh in 2022 bypolls, hopes to wrest Mainpuri too.
Another meeting convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday with the floor leaders of the INDIA constituents in Parliament will, however, go ahead according to its schedule to formulate the opposition strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"Didi has already said in Delhi that if Akhilesh Yadav needs our help, we are ready to extend help. The gesture of senior SP leader Jaya Bachchan seeking votes for the TMC during the West Bengal Assembly elections will be reciprocated in Uttar Pradesh," said Laliteshpati Tripathi, who recently joined the TMC.
Mulayam said the new chief minister will be chosen by the Samajwadi Party.
Khan, who was recently released from Sitapur Jail, is in Rampur and could not attend the meeting due to health reasons, SP leaders said.
In yet another blatant U-turn within 24 hours, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday revoked his earlier order to placate Urban Development Minister Azam Khan who threatened to resign because of being abruptly divested of the charge of Meerut district in addition to his routine duties.
For Adityanath, it's not just a chance to reaffirm his dominance in Uttar Pradesh, it's an opportunity to solidify his narrative as a vote-winner.
An invitation will also be sent to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
The Gomti Riverfront Development project, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre and the efforts towards the beautification of Old Lucknow are some of Akhilesh Yadav's initiatives that are the subject of investigation.
87 seats will go to the polls across 13 states and Union Territories in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on Friday, April 26, 2024.
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