Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of an alliance with any political party for the formation of government in Uttar Pradesh. "There is no question of going with any party in Uttar Pradesh to form an alliance," said Singh. "All the senior leaders of the party have been saying so. We will not give or take support in Uttar Pradesh," Singh said.
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Mayawati said both the BJP and the SP indulged in empty talks to win the votes of Dalits and Brahmins, but neither safeguarded their interests when in power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday blocked in the Lok Sabha a bill to provide reservation for SCs and STs in government job promotions, delaying the measure which was seen as quid pro quo for Bahujan Samaj Party's support to United Progressive Alliance on Foreign Direct Investment in retail.
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.
The Congress this time won six of the 10 seats reserved for the SC category, one less than in 2018.
"We don't agree with the ideology of the Congress. But we will support it to keep the BJP out of power," Mayawati said.
They may differ in their ideologies but thanks to the Election Commission, 13 political parties share five symbols in various states. According to the EC website, Bala Saheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena, which preaches Hindu nationalism, shares its symbol 'Bow and Arrow' with Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha which focuses on regional interests.
Rape accused Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Legislative Assembly Purshottam Naresh Dwivedi has threatened to take revenge on opposition parties, accusing them of implicating him in a false case. Dwivedi, 48, who represents Naraini seat in Uttar Pradesh assembly, was on the run after orders for his arrest were issued on Thursday in connection with the alleged criminal assault on the 17-year-old girl. The MLA was later sent to 14 days of judicial remand.
The government may have to move 18 amendments to the Constitution to implement the concept of simultaneous elections as recommended by a high-level committee chaired by former president Ram Nath Kovind.
Samajwadi Party candidate Afzal Ansari is the incumbent MP and slain don Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother. Afzal had won the 2019 election on a BSP ticket after defeating the BJP's Manoj Sinha, now the J&K lieutenant governor.
"We expect over five lakh people to attend the rally where Mayawati will outline Bahujan Samaj Party's agenda for Maharashtra," Maharashtra's BSP president Vilas Garud said.
The old alliance between the BJP and the SAD broke last year when the Shiromani Akali Dal quit the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws.
The fraud was exposed by none other than his estranged wife who had already lodged a complaint against Majhi, who had once even managed to get a ministerial berth.
BSP's poor show in Delhi assembly elections may cost it national party status.
Despite Mayawati's pre-poll claims that her Bahujan Samaj Party would spring a surprise in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the party was leading in only three of the 403 seats in the state, trends showed Thursday.
Siddiqui's exit came within hours of the publication of his interview in the English daily Indian Express -- bearing the headline 'Mayawati comes, speaks, goes, there's no discussion' -- where he had sought to brand Mayawati as a despot.
Appealing to party workers to treat Bahujan Samaj Party's victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections as her birthday gift, Chief Minister and party supremo Mayawati on Sunday released a list of candidates for all 403 seats in the state.
Mayawati was severely criticised both inside and outside Parliament as the currency garland controversy sparked demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the source of money used to make the garland reportedly worth Rs 5 crore.
With major political parties shying away from giving them tickets for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, lesser-known political outfits have become a hot favourite of listed gangsters and those having a criminal past.
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.
Prominent Bhartiya Janata Party leaders on Friday came out openly against their party leadership's decision to induct tainted and ousted Bahujan Samaj Party minister Babu Singh Kushwaha into the party fold.
Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali on Friday said if action is not taken against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri for his derogatory remarks in the Lok Sabha, then he could consider quitting the membership of the House. He also said that people had not elected him to listen to "hate speeches".
The 13 who have been disqualified were the ones who first broke away from the BSP to lend support to the Mulayam Singh government.
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday retained the Handia assembly seat by defeating its Bahujan Samaj Party rival by a comprehensive margin of more than 26,000 votes.
The Congress on Monday claimed that it will play a crucial role in the formation of the next government in Uttar Pradesh and dismissed as personal views Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma's suggestions for a tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till on Monday, even as parties faced "rebel trouble" in several segments.
Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party has emerged as the third largest party in the Rajya Sabha, relegating the CPI(M) to fourth position in yet another bad news for Marxists ahead of the Assembly polls in West Bengal and Kerala.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Thursday admitted that people were "disappointed" with the party and appeared to be hitting out at party chief Nitin Gadkari as he said the campaign against corruption had been hurt due to induction of an ousted Bahujan Samaj Party leader facing graft charges.
About 82 per cent of the total income from unknown sources declared by national political parties in 2022-23 came from electoral bonds, according to a poll rights body.
Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi on Tuesday asserted that Congress will not form alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party or Bharatiya Janata Party in the event of a hung assembly in the state.
Her official Twitter handle is @SushriMayawati.
The focus now shifts to smaller parties and Independents who will play an important role in government formation.
'They have no incentive to be part of either the NDA or INDIA at this stage, but they may hedge their bets towards the winning coalition in the post-poll setting.'
'Everybody knows Mayawati sells party tickets and even her party members take pride in telling this'
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections will begin at 8 am on Saturday, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's Sirsa candidate Rohtash Jangra on Monday said he has withdrawn his nomination and hinted that the party may back sitting MLA Gopal Kanda, who has been supporting the state government.
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