The Union home minister also asserted that the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls will lay the foundation for the BJP's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Against the backdrop of the opposition closing ranks on the CAA issue and the BJP faring poorly in several state elections recently, the 2022 electoral battle is unlikely to be a cakewalk for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad's son Asad, wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police in Jhansi on Thursday, officials said.
A fringe group in Bareilly announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone 'burning her alive'.
It was conveyed that he would not have a free rein in making bureaucratic postings. Sunil Bansal, handpicked by BJP president Amit Shah to execute his UP blueprint, has made it clear the party's writ would run over the government. But Adityanath has institutionalised a system to keep Bansal out, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Heavy overnight rains in Uttar Pradesh on Friday led to the deaths of at least 22 people, including nine labourers who were buried alive under the debris when an under-construction wall in the state capital collapsed on their huts.
Kovind, who is on his first visit to Ayodhya after the landmark 2019 Supreme Court verdict paved the way for the construction of the temple, also offered prayers at the Hanumangarhi shrine, about 2 km away.
The speculation gained strength after the sulking socialist leader Shivpal Yadav recently met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amid reports of strains in the SP-led alliance.
Krishna chants gained more currency when Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav invoked the deity.
Accompanied by Union minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP national general secretary Bhupender Yadav, Kovind drove straight to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's official residence from the airport.
Sources in various parties suggest that two lakh votes of the Patel community, locally known as OBC kurmi, for which mother-daughter led Apna Dal (S) and Apna Dal (K) are competing and over one lakh of OBC Rajbhars would be crucial in deciding the outcome of the assembly seats in Varanasi.
He is the fourth chief minister from the saffron party to head the northern state. Before Adityanath, Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh of the BJP had served as Uttar Pradesh chief ministers.
Modi was on his first visit to Ayodhya after he laid the foundation stone of a Ram temple at the once disputed Ram Janmabhoomi site on August 5, 2020.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won the mayoral elections in 10 of the 17 municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh, results for which were announced on Saturday, virtually adding a third engine to its "double-engine" government.
Given the worsening security scenario in Kashmir, we cannot afford to have a restive Punjab with its peasantry up in arms against the central government, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.
Some parties, including the Congress, also demanded immediate sacking of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, following Samyukt Kisan Morcha's allegation that his son was travelling in one of the vehicles involved in the incident.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
All the BJP's present leaders from UP put together cannot win the state for the party. So how about an out-of-the-box leader like Subramanian Swamy, asks Nazarwala, the man who called right the 2007 and 2012 UP elections.
No one will want President's rule imposed in the state and the BJP run the government through the remote control.
Addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences in Lucknow, Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party governments work for the development of the poorest people.
'If the Opposition does make a dent, it could encourage the efforts of regional parties to come together for the larger battle in 2024 and mark the beginning of a new anti-BJP politics.'
Amit Shah requested Adityanath to tighten the reins of the HYV's activities, now that he was CM. But Adityanath is not prepared to let go so easily.
'It is for the first time that Modi has chosen someone as CM who happens to be a mass leader, a polarising figure, a vote catcher, a powerful orator and a Hindu mascot all at once -- qualities usually associated with Modi,' points out Rajeev Sharma.
The Uttar Pradesh government grappled on Monday with the aftermath of violence during a farmers protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, lodging a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, promising a probe by a retired high court judge and stopping opposition leaders from reaching the trouble spot.
'There is a famous saying here that 'the way to Delhi passes through Lucknow'.' 'If the BJP loses UP in 2022, Modi's premiership in 2024 will be in doldrums.'
'Uttar Pradesh, our largest state by population and the most powerful, is also the worst governed.'
Noting that Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and only one session of Parliament remains, he asked the government to bring an ordinance.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at his one-time ally, the Congress, and said that in the state the BJP is nowhere.
Akhilesh said that the defeat of the Dalit candidate would cement his party's relations with Mayawati-led BSP.
'The coronation of Yogi Adityanath as the surprise chief minister should set at rest all speculation over the nature of the UP mandate,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'The BJP would like to capitalise on Yogi's tough image on criminals, law and order situation, and hands-on CM.' 'Modi will be an additional advantage, but it is primarily a contest between Yogi and Akhilesh.'
Ruling Samajwadi Party appeared to be headed for a split on Sunday as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his party supremo and father Mulayam Singh were engaged in an open face-off, sacking each other's loyalists Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav.
If Modi and Shah did not project Adityanath as CM, it was out of expediency, says Radhika Ramaseshan.
'He couldn't hold himself from chanting 'Siyavar Ramchandra ki Jai'.'
He said his government in the state will create a 'new model' of development under the guidance of Modi.
'If ever there was a decisive moment in the history of the Supreme Court where it has been under attack by the Executive, and the judges have boldly stood up for independence of the Judiciary, that time was now.' 'These four judges did a brilliant thing, they set an example.' 'They showed that they were fulfilling their duty to the Constitution and to God.' 'Don't allow fear to dictate your actions was their message.'
'This is possibly a long drawn battle and if the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are together in this long battle, a new political picture will emerge in the country.' 'In this battle if we have to sacrifice or give up anything, we are ready.' 'We have to remain cautious against the BJP's attempts to break our unity.' 'We want this alliance to stay.'
He also appealed to everyone to light a lamp this Diwali in the name of Lord Ram.
'Whom do I want to marry and what decisions I make for marrying the person I love are totally personal decisions, in which neither the State nor the courts have any right to interfere.'
