If the six MLAs voted against the party whip, they were liable for disqualification from the assembly.
"The murder of Atiq-Ashraf was committed in front of the media. The three shooters are under arrest. We will take them in police remand and all the questions regarding the killing will be answered," DIG, STF, Anand Dev Tiwari told reporters.
Despite this setback, Pandey emphasised that discussions regarding ticket distribution are ongoing and solutions will be found through timely communication.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Congress leaders, on their part, are confident that the mobilisation of voters away from the BJP will gain more momentum in the state elections, scheduled for October 1, in the absence of national issues and the 'Modi factor'.
Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday.
The withdrawal of the candidature by DPAP leaders on the last day on August 30 is seen as a boost to the NC-Congress alliance.
Never before has the BJP faced such a crisis over the nomination of the Chief Minister as it is facing now, discovers Prakash Bhandari, veteran observer of Rajasthan politics.
The Congress this time won six of the 10 seats reserved for the SC category, one less than in 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have got a tough fight in Varanasi had Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested against him as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) candidate, feel party workers from the temple town.
The BJP, which won the Samajwadi Party strongholds of Rampur and Azamgarh in 2022 bypolls, hopes to wrest Mainpuri too.
A video of the incident which occurred at around 6:25 AM shows a cow darting towards the road when it was hit by the vehicle carrying Ahmed. The cow fell near the road divider. After the incident, the vehicle stopped for a while before resuming the onward journey.
The brothers were booked under the UP Gangsters Act in connection with the murder of the then BJP MLA from Ghazipur, Krishnanad Rai, on November 29, 2005 and the kidnapping-murder of Varanasi-based trader Nand Kishore Rungta in 1997.
Anil Singh, the Unnao MLA, said, "I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)."
Criminals and terrorists have no caste or religion, he said, adding that those who have suspicions on such police action can always approach courts for remedial measures.
'I want Atiq Ahmed's empire to end, I don't want him to be alive'
On August 17, the top court had deferred the hearing on Dilawar's plea after it was informed that the Chief Justice of the high court has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and the functioning was postponed till August 19.
As controversy raged over Yati Narsinghanand's objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his supporters on Sunday alleged that the Dasna temple head priest is being illegally kept in detention by police, which denied the claim.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
In the aftermath of the incident, the UP police also conducted a flag march in Lucknow's Husainabad.
With their high-decibel campaigns so far, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party may appear to be locked in a direct fight in Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmad and Ashraf alias Khalid Azim will be kept in judicial custody till April 26, said advocate Vikram Singh, the counsel for Umesh Pal's wife Jaya.
Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal's merger with the Samajwadi Party last year had triggered turmoil in that party.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
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.
Another UP MLA came out in support of Sadhana Singh, saying there was nothing wrong in her remarks.
"Nobody is sympathising with Atiq Ahmad because a criminal should be punished. But anyone who will see this video will question if we are a democracy. Every criminal has the right to be heard in court and be convicted there. But you can see they were killed in police custody in the open," he said.
Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for "profit" in the situation will leave.
Shinde welcomed the former Rajasthan minister to the Shiv Sena and said Gudha left the ministerial position for the cause of people.
BSP legislators were earlier supporting the Ashok Gehlot government from outside and were in constant touch with the chief minister.
A senior SP leader requesting anonymity said that the party chief had called a meeting to brief the MLAs about the voting process of the Rajya Sabha elections.
Former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha has alleged that he was "tortured" in the Central Bureau of Investigation custody during interrogations. "The CBI tortured us during interrogations for ten days," said the sacked Bahujan Samaj Party minister, while he along with another accused, former BSP MLA Ram Pratap Jaiswal, were being taken to Dasna prison on Tuesday.
Against the Samajwadi Party's decision to field actor Jaya Bachchan and retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader and party MLA Pallavi Patel on Wednesday said she will not cast her vote.
The Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, which was entrusted with the probe into the sensational case, took BSP MLA Jitendra Singh 'Babloo' and UP State Ganna Sansthan chairman Intezar Abdi 'Bobby' into custody late Thursday night.
Action will be taken against such MLAs, he said.
SP legislator from Swar Tanda (Rampur), Nawab Kazim Ali, and Ram Sewak Singh Patel, BJS MLA from Binawar (Badaun) joined the BSP in Lucknow.
Saturday's voting will mark the end to the marathon polling process that began on April 19 month and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories.
The Congress legislator, who is a COVID-19 patient, was the last one to cast his ballot wearing a PPE suit. He came to the assembly complex in an ambulance, the official said.
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Praksh Rajbhar on Thursday said his alliance with the SP will support jailed BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari in the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
A Samajwadi Party MLA and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader too joined Mayawati's party, BSP General Secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui told a press conference in Lucknow.
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