Like all politicians, Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramveer Singh dreamt of ending the losing streak of his party, but little did he know his victory would be so stylised, featuring a rout by 1.44 lakh votes of his nearest rival.
The warming up of ties became apparent after the Centre announced the country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna to his grandfather and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy secured another term as Secretary (Administration) of the Constitution Club of India, defeating Sanjeev Balyan in a closely watched election that saw participation from prominent political figures.
The districts where polling is being held on Thursday are Ambedkar Nagar, Balrampur, Siddharth Nagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria and Ballia.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Brajesh Pathak has asserted that no cases of skin diseases were reported among pilgrims who took a dip in the holy Sangam during the Maha Kumbh. Pathak's statement comes in response to concerns raised by opposition leaders regarding the purity of the river water. He highlighted the cleanliness efforts undertaken during the event and the cultural significance of the Maha Kumbh.
BSP chief Mayawati removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts and said that she will not name her successor till she is alive. In a slew of other significant changes in the BSP leadership announced at a high-level meeting of the party's office-bearers from across the country, Mayawati appointed her brother Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as national coordinators. Mayawati also criticized the budgets of both the central and Uttar Pradesh governments, saying they were "unrealistic" and detached from ground realities.
Ansari was taken to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail after his health deteriorated.
It was curtains down on the high-decibel campaigning for the fourth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls as sparring among political rivals intensified during the last-minute canvassing on Monday.
Saini said he had resigned from Yogi Adiyanth government because 'for five years Dalits, backward classes were suppressed, their voices were suppressed'.
There was an 8% decline in the BJP's vote share across six regions in UP, and that some OBC castes moved away from the BJP.
Akhilesh Yadav has put his heart and soul into campaigning and has been working with indefatigable energy for more than a year, says Aditi Phadnis
The SP chief said no MLAs or ministers quitting the BJP will be taken into his party anymore.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, sources said, and is believed to have briefed him on a host of issues related to the party's organisational matters in the politically crucial state.
"The party will try to connect with these voters by organising 'Sneh Milan: Ek Desh, Ek DNA Sammelan' in various West Uttar Pradesh districts," he said, adding these conferences would start after Eid next month and the first convention will be held in Muzaffarnagar.
The counting began at 8 am to decide the fate of the candidates contesting the polls, among whom all eyes will be on Dimple Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's elder daughter-in-law and the wife of Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, necessitated by the demise of Samajwadi Party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav in October.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi had fought the 2017 elections and defeated Aparna Yadav, the then SP candidate from Lucknow Cantonment.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary announced the tie-up on social media for the elections later this year.
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled for 2027, political experts are observing an increasing trend of temple-mosque disputes in the state, leading to heightened polarization. Recent bypolls saw the use of divisive slogans, and analysts believe this trend will intensify as the 2027 elections approach. The recent surge in claims about the existence of Hindu temples at the sites of mosques in various cities has fueled this polarization. The BJP-led government has been accused of promoting communal polarization, while opposition parties like the SP have criticized the ruling party's actions. The RSS chief has called for restraint in raising new temple-related disputes. Experts predict that communal polarization is likely to escalate in the coming days.
The seats held by the non-BJP parties in the state are Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Sambhal, Raebareli, Ghosi, Lalganj, Jaunpur, Ambedkarnagar, Ghazipur, Shravasti, Mainpuri, Saharanpur and Nagina. Of these, Raebareli is held by Sonia Gandhi of the Congress.
Yadav further accused the BJP of "using distractions" to avoid addressing real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, lack of investment in Uttar Pradesh, and failing healthcare facilities.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya met Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Tuesday, as the party works out its strategy following its poor performance in the crucial state in the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress veteran Kapil Sibal had on Wednesday filed his nomination as an SP-backed Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.
She lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, holding them responsible for the lack of jobs and migration from the state.
The FIR was registered following a complaint by Shivendra Mishra, a resident of Aishbagh locality in Bazar Khala area of Uttar Pradesh, he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday claimed the Muslims made a "huge mistake" by voting for the Samajwadi Party, which she accused of being "complicit with the Bharatiya Janata Party in giving communal colour" to the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
A united opposition is set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case to railway safety.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister is scheduled to attend a meeting of PDA "Picchda (backward classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities)" at the party office in Lucknow and has no plans to go anywhere till now
The residence of Samajwadi Party (SP) Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman was attacked in Agra by alleged workers of the Karni Sena, days after his remarks in Parliament on Rana Sanga triggered a row. The attack comes as the latest instance of violence in India stemming from historical figures and caste-based tensions. The Karni Sena demanded an apology from Suman and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for "insulting" their hero, while Akhilesh Yadav criticized the Uttar Pradesh government for its claims of "zero tolerance" against crime.
Yadav told the media that he was saddened by efforts to stop them from entering the centre by deploying the police.
Yadav took to social media and shared video clips and pictures of the deployment of security personnel, including police and rapid action force, with barricades near his house here, a stone's throw away from the Samajwadi Party headquarters.
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.
Bharti will now cover the entire Uttar Pradesh to mobilise workers as well as to frame the structure of a new party.
According to the Election Commission's (EC) website, Maurya polled 98,941 votes, while Pallavi Patel, the elder sister of Union minister Anupriya Patel, got 1,06,278 votes.
Shah on Sunday tweeted a picture of their meeting and welcomed the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party leader to the NDA.
Rai also asserted that the Congress will win the upcoming Assembly elections in all five states.
The Uttar Pradesh government, citing a scientist, has asserted that Ganga water at the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj is as pure as "alkaline water", debunking concerns raised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) about water quality. The government claims that a scientist found no bacterial growth or decline in the water's pH level, despite millions of devotees bathing in the river. However, experts caution that the quality of the Ganga water is not static and can vary greatly depending on various factors.
While Madhya Pradesh sends 29 members to the Lok Sabha, Uttarakhand accounts for 5 seats in the Lower House of Parliament.
"Press Conference by Election Commission of India for the announcement of Schedule for General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh," reads the statement issued by ECI.
Several Twitter users made a hashtag of Adityanath's statement as they tweeted about the alleged encounter in Jhansi.
