Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahjan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati's fad for building memorials and the obsession for installing her own statues has put her in a tight spot.
While refuting media reports about her plans to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Thursday went all out to woo the state's Muslims, by training her guns at the entire brigade along with its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.
The government on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a proposal pending for years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
A string of populist promises, including extension of the free ration scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Mahadev betting app issue and the Hindutva card are among key factors that have catapulted the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Chhattisgarh after five years.
Caught in a cleft stick over the charges of rampant corruption leveled by a senior Indian Police Service officer, the Mayawati administration on Saturday ordered a high-level probe. DD Misra, deputy inspector general, state fire services pointed towards a scam worth crores of rupees in the fire department.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has assets worth a whopping Rs 87.27 crore, according to the National Election Watch, which has analysed the affidavits filed by the chief ministers of the five poll-bound states.
The CBI had on September 11 submitted to the SC the final report of its inquiry into the irregularities committed in the Rs 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor project.
One of the Congress members said two more legislators would join the group.
Bharatiya Janata Party's ongoing "Jan Swabhimaan Yatra" is proving to be the last nail in the coffin of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government in Uttar Pradesh, said party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
In both of these Hindi heartland states, the straight contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress.
'The consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has demoralised them.' 'And, now it is reflecting in their individual reactions as they are losing hope to take on the BJP in 2024.'
Sources said the opposition parties would look to avoid the prickly leadership question as of now and emphasise on building a common ground.
Anil Singh, the Unnao MLA, said, "I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)."
The Election Commission has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to cover all the statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and elephants, the Bahujan Samaj Party's poll symbol, installed in public places across Uttar Pradesh. Do you think the statues can influence voters?
'Modi's charisma and appeal is unparalleled.' 'Yogi has his own appeal and people connect.' 'He is seen as trustworthy, hardworking and honest.' 'People feel that these qualities are both common to Yogi and Modi.'
Justifying the demand for SPG security cover to Mayawati, senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader and leader of opposition in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday said it was necessary because of the "prevailing goonda raj" of the Samajwadi Party.
Gowda said that the Congress will play a crucial role in forging opposition unity in the bid by the alliance to dislodge the BJP from power.
In an obvious move to woo the minorities ahead of the 2012 state assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has shot off yet another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to draw his attention to withholding of funds earmarked for the welfare of minorities and Other Backward Classes by the central government.
The contrast between the two meetings couldn't have been more stark, yet, both were organically linked, the latter a show of support for the former.
In the recent past, Adityanath and the RSS seem to have come closer. The warmth is more on the part of the RSS. And even now, not all requests from the RSS are accommodated by the UP government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
With a significant number of Opposition leaders present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said Opposition unity requires much more than optics of this nature and stressed the need for meeting of minds, a common agenda and sacrificing partisan interests.
Polling in 70 constituencies began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, except in nine polling booths in the Maoist-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district, where voting began at 7 for security reasons, a poll official said.
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.
SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said Akhilesh will not participate in the yatra, nor will any other leader from the party.
The number of policemen injured in them was 1,443 and 13 were killed, the data showed.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and ally RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary are unlikely to participate in the Yatra due to "preoccupation" with their party programmes, their party leaders said.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
BSP president Mayawati on Monday said her party will not contest the zila panchayat chairpersons' elections so that it can focus on next year's assembly polls, drawing accusations from the Congress that she is pulling out to help the ruling BJP.
Mayawati said she is fully assured that the people of the "Brahmin community will not get misled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and vote for the party in the upcoming elections".
Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday in Bengaluru.
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's alleged aide Sanjeev Maheshwari Jeeva was shot dead on Lucknow court premises on Wednesday, the police said.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's close aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui and former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha were among the 19 people booked on Wednesday for their alleged role in the Rs 1,400 crore scam in the construction of Dalit memorials and parks in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress remain the most dominant political forces in Chhattisgarh, though the state has several regional outfits that have pockets of influence, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is making a determined bid to challenge its well entrenched rivals and make a mark in polls to the 90-member House.
The opposition on Tuesday termed as an 'election jumla' the women's reservation bill brought by the government with many leaders raising questions over the proposed legislation, contending it doesn't account for reservation for OBC communities and that it will be effective at the earliest by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
If the BJP is set to return to power in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and even Goa, it is not because of the party's performance or the quality of governance. No. It is essentially Modi's popularity, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Amidst people queuing up to cast their votes, there were some famous faces too at different polling stations.
