The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is "absolutely condemnable," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised "when they happen and not when it suits others" because there is a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh.
The logic behind the BJP targeting Mayawati's votes.
She has been losing her party's core voters since the 2007 assembly polls, whereas the Samajwadi Party has managed to keep its flock together. The BJP believes she is a soft target.
The names of a host of leaders, including some sitting MPs are doing the rounds in political circles.
'Farmers' issues will rule the narrative in the 2019 elections.'
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.
'I don't think there will be any problem for Hindus to accept Adityanath as the leader, since they have already chosen Modi.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and chief ministers of National Democratic Alliance-ruled States are at the ceremony.
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.
'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.'
The parties seem to have forgotten their two decade-old antagonism for a 'political revolution' which they hope would 'last long'.
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.
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.'
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, to supervise the Uttar Pradesh SIT's probe on day-to-day basis into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people including four farmers were killed on October 3.
60-year-old Yadav was the leader of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi, an outfit claiming to owe allegiance to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose whose members had encroached on Jawahar Bagh area for two years and clashed with police on Thursday when they tried to evict them.
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.
Even as the BJP dithers over what it needs to do, the Congress has stolen a lead by projecting its chief ministerial candidate -- Priyanka Vadra nee Gandhi, says Nazarwala, the man who called the 2012 UP assembly elections right.
Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra on Saturday appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) formed in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
Gandhi also charged that the focus of the Uttar Pradesh government has been propaganda and public relations instead of welfare of people.
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.
A single judge bench of the high court, on February 10, had granted bail to Mishra who had spent four months in custody.
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.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to "steal" votes and said exit polls were meant to create a perception that the saffron party will emerge victorious in the Uttar Pradesh election.
Here are some reactions by political leaders to the five-state election verdict.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday said that those seen at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Varanasi were "mere spectators" brought in from other states and districts in Uttar Pradesh where voting had already taken place.
Noting that Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and only one session of Parliament remains, he asked the government to bring an ordinance.
Shah attended a function on renaming of Mughalsarai junction after Pt Deendayal Upadhyay.
The elections in this phase are seen as a big test for the Bharatiya Janata Party
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.
'For the BJP to lose this virtual pocket borough of the saffron brotherhood demonstrates how resolutely the people of Gorakhpur have turned against the party,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The UP government transferred the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police of Mathura following the violence in the district that left 29 dead.
A total of 1.71 lakh earthen lamps were lit up at the grand event while a chopper decorated as the mythological 'Pushpak Viman' descended on the Ram Katha Park with artistes decked up to resemble Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman.
The party's constitution was amended to extend the tenure of the party chief to five years from the existing three years.
'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.
Police did not rule out the possibility of it being a 'political murder'.
'NDA allies have realised that if they don't dump the BJP, then people will dump their party in 2019.' 'People's mood is against the BJP'
Will Amar Singh be the go-between between the SP and Congress, asks Aditi Phadnis.
'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.'
'He couldn't hold himself from chanting 'Siyavar Ramchandra ki Jai'.'
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