A 23-year-old Dalit woman was found dead in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, with her family alleging she was killed for refusing to vote for the Samajwadi Party in the Karhal assembly bypoll. Two individuals have been arrested in connection with the woman's death. The incident has escalated into a political controversy, with the BJP accusing the SP of creating an atmosphere of terror and the SP alleging that the Election Commission is turning a blind eye to the BJP's alleged misuse of government machinery. The bypoll in Karhal is being contested by the SP's Tej Pratap Singh and his 'fufa' Anujesh Pratap Singh, with the BSP also fielding a candidate.
While Justice Kant and Bhuyan delivered the majority verdict, Justice Datta dismissed Ansari's appeal against the Allahabad high court order.
Anil Singh, the Unnao MLA, said, "I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)."
Jannayak Janta Party, which had emerged as the kingmaker last assembly polls, was decimated this time round, while the Indian National Lok Dal also failed to create much impact, with prominent leaders of both outfits Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala losing their seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday declared 13 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls including actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in popular TV serial Ramayan, from Meerut, while replacing sitting MP Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit with state minister Jitin Prasada.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
"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.
The electoral exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha elections, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes including Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur.
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.
The voter turnout recorded in the 2019 assembly polls was around 68 per cent.
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.
Incidentally, 164 of the total 356 candidates in the fray from the 43 assembly seats of Jammu region got less votes than none of the above, which gives an option to voters to reject all candidates in a constituency.
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.
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.
'I want Atiq Ahmed's empire to end, I don't want him to be alive'
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.
Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal's merger with the Samajwadi Party last year had triggered turmoil in that party.
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.
Another UP MLA came out in support of Sadhana Singh, saying there was nothing wrong in her remarks.
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.
In the aftermath of the incident, the UP police also conducted a flag march in Lucknow's Husainabad.
The BJP, which won the Samajwadi Party strongholds of Rampur and Azamgarh in 2022 bypolls, hopes to wrest Mainpuri too.
BSP legislators were earlier supporting the Ashok Gehlot government from outside and were in constant touch with the chief minister.
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.
Voting for the bypolls in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were held on Wednesday.
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.
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.
SP legislator from Swar Tanda (Rampur), Nawab Kazim Ali, and Ram Sewak Singh Patel, BJS MLA from Binawar (Badaun) joined the BSP in Lucknow.
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'.
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.
Despite this setback, Pandey emphasised that discussions regarding ticket distribution are ongoing and solutions will be found through timely communication.
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.
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.
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.
In her petition, Joshi squarely blamed state Chief Minister Mayawati and her henchmen for the arson attack.
"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.
To help the Congress break the impasse on the leadership issue, the three-MLA strong Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday offered "unconditional support" to it in Uttarakhand and expressed desire to share power. "On the direction of Mayawati, our party has decided to give full support to Congress," state BSP President Surajmal told PTI.
In her bid to ward off the common impression that her administration was doing a wishy-washy job in the murder of a PWD engineer by a ruling Bahjan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday ordered suspension of Auraiya district superintendent of police Ekramul Haque and dismissal of three other cops for their alleged complacence in the case.
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.
