Samajwadi Party General Secretary and MP Shahid Siddiqui speaks on his party's relations with the Congress, the Indo-US nuclear deal and Muslim votes.
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.
According to the exit poll, if present voting patterns continue, the BSP could emerge as the single largest party with 131-141 seats against 98 in 2002 elections, followed by the Samajwadi Party with 109-119 seats (145 in 2002).
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday attacked Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party for continuing their support to the "scamster" Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and said his party will not stake claim to form a government in case both withdrew support to it.
While Madhya Pradesh sends 29 members to the Lok Sabha, Uttarakhand accounts for 5 seats in the Lower House of Parliament.
While Yadav began to tour different constituencies and address public meetings to mobilise the SP rank and file, he has concurrently started the tedious process of cobbling up an alliance of smaller outfits representing a mlange of castes and sub-castes, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday claimed the Muslims made a "huge mistake" by voting for the Samajwadi Party, which she accused of being "complicit with the Bharatiya Janata Party in giving communal colour" to the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Some of it was squandered on a futile opposition, the youth rooted for Modi's promise. But a recent statement from minority affairs minister questioning the minority tag may damage BJP's prospects.
Perhaps unwittingly, young Samajwadi chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has forgotten that it was the media campaign against Mayawati's undemocratic and despotic ways that helped him to romp home with a clear majority. Sharat Pradhan reports
The Hyderabad MP had earlier announced thatthe AIMIM will contest 100 seats in Uttar Pradesh polls scheduled early next year.
"The party will try to connect with these voters by organising 'Sneh Milan: Ek Desh, Ek DNA Sammelan' in various West Uttar Pradesh districts," he said, adding these conferences would start after Eid next month and the first convention will be held in Muzaffarnagar.
What are the policy directions in which India's political parties are taking its citizens? Studying the manifestos released before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections helps answer that.
In a embarrassment to the government, Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha on Thursday forced deferment of a bill that aimed at allowing Border Security Force to operate at places other than border areas.
The party has fielded Parvati Das for the by-election to the Bageshwar assembly seat in Uttarakhand and Lijinlal G for the Puthuppally assembly seat in Kerala.
What we find interesting are the crowds Akhilesh Yadav has been attracting on his Samajwadi Vijay Rath Yatra in the state.
The opposition parties on Sunday slammed the move to hire public servants through lateral entry, claiming it will snatch reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, but the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back stating the National Democratic Alliance government was bringing transparency to this mode of recruitment started by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
Ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday sought cooperation of all parties for the smooth conduct of proceedings with "decency, dignity and discipline", even as the Opposition demanded discussion on the Agnipath scheme, unemployment and farmers' issues.
Bracing for an opposition onslaught in Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will host a dinner for United Progressive Alliance leaders on Friday to firm up a joint strategy on various issues like Foreign Direct Investment that are expected to come up during the session beginning next week.
"Former Chief Minister Mayawati and I will not contest the assembly elections," Bahujan Samaj Party member of Parliament Satish Chandra Misra told ANI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 of 12 mayoral posts in municipal corporations with Congress failing to open its account.
Corruption, Anna Hazare's campaign and lack of grassroot support have led to the party's downfall, say analysts. Faisal Kidwai reports from Lucknow
The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday said it was not supporting the UPA government due to any compulsion, a day after Union minister Beni Prasad Verma claimed that SP and Bahujan Samaj Party will continue supporting the dispensation at the Centre.
Scores of Samajwadi Party workers were arrested in Allahabad on Monday while staging a demonstration as part of the party's statewide stir against the Bahujan Samaj Party government even as the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council was kept in "preventive detention."
Welcoming Trinamool Congress' move to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajnath Singh on Thursday said if Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party are "honestly opposed" to FDI in retail they should also follow Mamata Banerjee's footsteps.
Both Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party might be thoroughly opposed to the United Progressive Alliance government's recent decision to allow FDI in retail as well as the hike in diesel price, but neither of these parties are likely to immediately part ways with the UPA.
As many as 624 candidates are in the fray in this round of voting being held in Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Banda, and Fatehpur districts.
The Congress is working on "evolving a general consensus" for naming the candidate for the next president of India with sources in the party confirming that Pranab Mukherjee appears to be the only name doing the rounds.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a virtual meeting on Friday evening with leaders of 19 Opposition parties, including the chief ministers of some Opposition-ruled states, amid efforts to boost Opposition unity and evolve a common strategy against the National Democratic Alliance government.
The United Progressive Alliance government on Monday had a smooth sailing in Lok Sabha with key ally Trinamool Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party walking out and the Samajwadi Party withdrawing its amendments to the President's address, notwithstanding the hype surrounding their opposition on issues like the National Counterterrorism Center.
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said that he does not see any prospect of early election in the country even though the Trinamool Congress may have withdrawn its support to Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Launching her party's election campaign in a poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday trained her guns more pointedly towards the Congress party, blaming it for anything and everything that she could not deliver to the masses during her five years rule over India s most populous state. Sharat Pradhan reports.
The 36-year-old businessman had died after being allegedly assaulted by the police at a Gorakhpur hotel which they had raided on Monday night.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh remained Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi's main target, as he went on a full-throated campaign in different constituencies falling under the first phase of the five-phased Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections. Sharat Pradhan reports.
With the announcement of the dates of the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttrakhand, political parties have sharpened their attacks on their rivals in order to score a political advantage and attract voters to their fold. Bharatiya Janata party leader Rajnath Singh claimed that Congress party's presence in UP polls would be insignificant.
Mayawati's eventful tenure in Uttar Pradesh seems to be heading for a change in the upcoming assembly elections, expected to be held in February-March next year.
With the political scene hotting up towards an early Lok Sabha election, both the ruling Samajwadi Party and its sworn rival, the Bahujan Samaj Party were desperately vying for the Brahmin vote.
With the Congress having announced is decision not to field anyone for the forthcoming Kannauj Lok Sabha bye-election, the Bahujan Samaj Party following course and a reluctant Bhartiya Janata Party still struggling to step into the fray, the seat is clearly available for Samajwadi Party's Dimple Yadav on a platter.
The Bharatiya Janata Party garnered five seats, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam got three, the Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam got two apiece and the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena got one each respectively as all 30 made it to the Upper House after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations drew to close on Thursday evening.
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