The BJP and the Nishad Party will contest the upcoming assembly polls together in Uttar Pradesh and will work towards forming the next government in the state, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.
The Nishad Party is headed by Sanjay Nishad, the father of Pravin Nishad who had won the Gorakhpur parliamentary seat on an SP ticket in the 2018 by-polls.
Nishad party president Sanjay Nishad, who had demanded deputy chief minister post but settled with his nomination as an MLC, thanked the BJP on Monday and said his party will ensure the NDA's victory in next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday announced an alliance with Apna Dal and Nishad Party, two parties that draw their support primarily from sections of backward castes, for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Nishad said he will meet senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, in Delhi on Monday to finalise the constituencies where the party will field its candidates.
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad threatened to resign if the Nishad community is not granted Scheduled Caste status. He made the announcement during a rally in Gorakhpur, where he also criticised previous governments for neglecting the community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared jhalmuri with NDA leaders at the Bharat Mandapam conclave, bringing the popular Bengali snack back into the political spotlight. This act revived memories of his West Bengal election campaign where a jhalmuri break became a political talking point and a subtle jab at the Trinamool Congress.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, a constituent of the Bhaatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, has staked claim to 32 seats for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the aim to wrest the Samajwadi Party's stronghold of Azamgarh.
A special MP-MLA court in Prayagraj sentenced former legislator Vijay Mishra and three others to life imprisonment in a 46-year-old murder case. The court convicted them under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each convict.
A caste recalibration is simmering just below the surface in UP.
A clash between two wedding processions in a Uttar Pradesh village, triggered by stone-throwing, resulted in one death and six injuries, according to police.
Attempting to defuse the controversy, the Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi and labelled misogynistic and crude, was light-hearted and made casually.
The remark triggered sharp reactions from opposition leaders, who accused the minister of being insensitive to the plight of those affected by floods.
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Thursday met leaders of the party's allies in Uttar Pradesh -- Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal-S and Sanjay Nishad of the Nishad party -- at his residence in New Delhi as part of its government formation exercise.
Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) announced its support for a rebel RJD candidate in Bihar, who is contesting against its own national president, creating confusion within the INDIA bloc.
"If any wrong words have been spoken about him, I apologise to God Shri Ram for it," Nishad told reporters in Fatehpur. "Lord Shri Ram has done a lot for our community and our community has played an important role in the construction of the Shri Ram temple," he said.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey addresses the controversy surrounding Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removing a female doctor's veil, stating he is unaware of reports that she refused to join duty following the incident. A Congress leader has filed a complaint against Kumar and another minister.
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad was allegedly attacked by some people when he was visiting a village in the Khalilabad Kotwali Police Station area to attend a wedding, police said on Monday.
The home portfolio of Bihar, which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept with himself all through his nearly 20-year-long tenure, has been given to his deputy, BJP leader Samrat Chowdhury, this time, according to an official notification issued on Friday.
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.
'Without our support Nitish Kumar wouldn't have become chief minister.' 'After the government was formed we became ministers, but our agenda remained the same: Amit Shah had promised reservation for Nishads.' 'He wouldn't listen, so we went to UP and contested 52 seats in the 2022 elections. He didn't like the idea of rebellion.' 'He saw that this man, coming from Bombay, is very sharp. He's made four MLAs now, tomorrow he'll make 40. A time will come when they will make it 125.' 'They bought our MLAs and ousted us from the government.'
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprang surprises with its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, denying a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.
The Congress party has released its initial list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including key state leaders. The announcement precedes the finalization of seat-sharing arrangements with Mahagathbandhan allies.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
A recurring theme of the prime minister's election rallies was the reminder of the 'jungle raj' during the RJD rule under chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, and there were special efforts to ensure that the youth in the state does not get swayed by the promises made by Tejashwi Yadav.
The Nishad Party also demanded 160 seats for the 2022 state elections.
His inheritance was a double-edged sword because the NDA was understandably interested only in highlighting that part of the RJD's tenure in government that evokes kidnapping, extortion, and lawlessness.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Uttar Pradesh is on high alert as Holi coincides with Friday namaz, prompting authorities to implement additional security measures in the state, including enhanced patrolling, surveillance drones, and strict monitoring of social media. The decision follows controversial remarks made by some politicians and a police officer, raising concerns about potential incidents in mixed population localities. The administration has also decided to cover mosques to prevent them from being stained with colors, while several mosques have shifted the timing of Friday prayers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that people were not voting for the Rashtriya Janata Dal-helmed opposition in Bihar as they fear that if voted to power, its regime will 'put katta to their heads and order them to hold their hands up'.
'If the Mahagathbandhan ignores Mukesh Sahni's demands as it did in 2020, he will be left with no option but to join hands with the BJP.'
Yogi Adityanath was on Thursday unanimously chosen the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party in Uttar Pradesh in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
'The opposition wants the country to run on the basis of Shariat but this cannot happen'
For Adityanath, it's not just a chance to reaffirm his dominance in Uttar Pradesh, it's an opportunity to solidify his narrative as a vote-winner.
Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for "profit" in the situation will leave.
It is likely that small parties would be given very few seats to contest, but these parties believe that they would be able to swing the result in favour of bigger alliance partners by transferring their vote bank.
SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav termed it as a 'ghaatey ka sauda' (loss-making deal) for the saffron party.
Sanjay Nishad also accused the opposition of spreading a religious frenzy and triggering riots in association with the 'maulanas'.
Nishad had campaigned for the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the assembly elections in Bihar in 2005 despite being a member of the BJP, which had prompted party member Sushma Swaraj to file a disqualification petition against him in December that year. Ansari disagreed with Nishad's contention that he had tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the party on 18 October, 2005 'in an agitated mental condition', which he later withdrew by a letter dated 17 Nov '05.
An eighth BJP candidate on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, setting the stage for a contest with the Samajwadi Party on February 27.
