Akhilesh Yadav doesn't need Bollywood stars to power his campaign for the UP election when he has a charming campaigner like his missus.
The party will also leave two seats for the Apna Dal, and entered into an electoral agreement with the lesser known Jan Adhikar Party.
Far from fulfilling his oft repeated proclamations about converting his bete noire former chief minister Mayawati's dream projects -- the multi-billion parks and memorials -- into hospitals and institutions, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav appeared to be following her very footsteps.
With exit polls predicting a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh, Beni Prasad Verma, Union Minister and senior Congress leader from the state, on Sunday caused a flutter in the party by favouring a tie-up with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, a comment from which the party quickly distanced itself.
Sixteen top officials of the Uttar Pradesh Construction Corporation were suspended by the Samajwadi Party-led state government for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam in the construction of the Kanshi Ram Memorial during Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati's regime. The suspended officials include four general managers and a dozen project managers of the Uttar Pradesh Nirman Nigam.
BSP candidate Virendra Singh defeated SP's Anil Rajbhar, son of Ramjit Rajbhar, whose death necessitated the bypoll, by 3,510 votes.
"The government will establish an Arabic-Persian university in state capital Lucknow and we have allocated Rs 10 crore for the purpose. Besides, the number of madrasas on government grant-list will also be increased from 360 to 460," Mayawati said, addressing a national convention on the 'Problems of Muslim Community: Reasons and Solutions' in Lucknow.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Mayawati government was more sympathetic towards "rich builders" than poor farmers and charged Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party with only serving their respective "vote banks" when in power in Uttar Pradesh and ignoring the common man.
Can you imagine that in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election Bharitya Janta Party can get almost 24 per cent votes to come second in the four-cornered contest between ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP?
In an email about its executive editor's death, NDTV said, 'It is a terrible, terrible day for NDTV. We have lost Kamal Khan; he was 61 and the heart and soul of our Lucknow bureau, an NDTV veteran who had boundless time and kind words for anyone who encountered him.'
'...if elections were to be held today.' 'The problem is Akhilesh is not very aggressive.' 'Had he started his campaign aggressively six months ago, the picture in UP would have been very different.'
The SP chief said they will now "consult" the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Gondwana Gantantra Party for the Madhya Pradesh polls.
Six years after she was expelled for indiscipline, firebrand leader Uma Bharti on Tuesday rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party at a crowded press conference at the party headquarters at 11 Ashok Road on Tuesday.
In an interview with CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, the West Bengal Chief Minister questioned the stability of the Centre saying Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati may bail out the government for now, but people won't bail them out in future.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday branded rival Samajwadi Party leaders as "terror elements" addressing their objection to being called "goondas" even as she pressed for imposition of President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh.
Indicating that its alliance with the Congress is very much on, Samajwadi Party on Tuesday ruled out any partnership with the Third Front, saying it has got no "significance".
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar concluded her reference on International Women's Day, SP members began raising slogans demanding dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government, complaining that it was showing "dictatorial tendencies".
'These guys who are running away -- they are running away from all that the BJP stands for.'
The logic behind the BJP targeting Mayawati's votes.
A myth was nurtured for nearly three decades that any chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who visited Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was doomed to go out of power.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati spent a staggering Rs 86 crore of government funds to renovate her sprawling Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow when she was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh with some windows costing Rs 15 lakh each.
Around 56 per cent of the 1.75-strong electorate on Wednesday exercised its franchise for 56 seats in the third phase of the Uttar Pradseh assembly polls in which Mayawati's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party is facing a strong challenge from the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Apparently taken aback by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati successfully pushing the quota in promotion bill, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav sought to counter it in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by making a strong pitch for reservation in government jobs for Muslims.
The party, however, has retained state president Naresh Uttam.
They are likely to meet again on Sunday in the presence of RLD leader Ajit Singh and Congress leader Jagdambika Pal to discuss means to topple the Mayawati government.
Amidst threat by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to bring no-confidence motion against the UPA government in the winter session of Parliament, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday said that the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party would continue to support it.
With exit polls predicting a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh, giving a lead to the Samajwadi Party and suggesting that the Bahujan Samaj Party could be voted out of power, the Mayawati cabinet passed a resolution recommending the dissolution of the 403-member assembly in Lucknow late on Sunday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's birthday on Thursday escalated political activity in the state as both ruling party and opposition activists took to the streets to stress their respective points. It was a day of unique demonstrations by each of the four key political parties -- the Samajwadi Party, Bhartiya Janata Party, the Congress and to top it all the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party.
The parties seem to have forgotten their two decade-old antagonism for a 'political revolution' which they hope would 'last long'.
Training his guns on the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said corruption and scams were rampant during their regimes.
Blaming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the violence over land acquisition in Noida and adjoining areas, Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that the Bahujan Samaj Party government had ignored farmers' interests while taking over their land.
'Although Rahul's energy and commitment are to be acknowledged, there is no alternative to good party organisation at the grassroots, and this the Congress lacks. If they set their organisational house in order, combined with an enlightened leadership, the Congress will go far in many states.'
Congress' star campaigner Rahul Gandhi on Saturday pointedly blamed both Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati for "gross neglect" of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Mayawati has accused 'Ravan' of being a BJP agent who is dividing the scheduled castes.
The Bahujan Samajwadi Party expelled jailed Member of Legislative Assembly Mukhtar Ansari, who is facing 30 criminal cases including murder and kidnapping, and his brother former Member of Parliament Afzal Ansari from the party for their alleged continued involvement in criminal activities on Friday.
Giving in to opposition parties' protests on withdrawal of National Security Guard cover, the government on Thursday announced that the security cover provided to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad will not be reduced.
In an obvious bid to settle her scores with the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday got FIRs lodged against two Union ministers and two Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders for bashing up activists of Samajwadi Party near the venue of Rahul Gandhi's campaign rally in Phoolpur on Monday.
A torrent of issues ranging from price rise to demand for dismissal of Mayawati government and immediate execution of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru drowned the second day of the Monsoon session of Parliament on Tuesday.
'There is one way to defeat the intention behind this directive: To patronise Muslim establishments that have been forced to identify themselves.' 'This is one opportunity for the Congress to show that the 'mohabbat ki dukaan' its leader talks about does exist.' 'Can Akhilesh Yadav, who has asked the court to take note of this directive, order his party members to do this?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
