Is Akhilesh Yadav's anger a reflection of his inept handling of a crisis or manifestation of frustration on account of his gross incapacity to steer the ship he was entrusted to in a dynastic succession? Sharat Pradhan examines
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's Uttar Pradesh has been once again stung by a communal clash -- the seventh in seven months of his rule. And this time it was in Faizabad, barely 8 kilometres from Ayodhya, the epicentre of India's communal boiling pot.
Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's first visit to his own parliamentary constituency in Amethi after the party's devastating debacle, not only all across Uttar Pradesh but also in the family bastions of Amethi and Rae Bareli, openly displayed the simmering discontent and disillusionment of his own party insiders with him. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Sharat Pradhan reports on how the Maha Kumbh at Allahabad is fast turning into a political playground
Sharat Pradhan chronicles Rajnath Singh's political journey -- from a farmer's family to chief, for the second time, of Bharatiya Janata Party.
As his old adversary Mayawati confronts the anti-incumbency factor in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Mulayam Singh Yadav expects a fresh lease of political life as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. An exclusive interview!
The BSP boss has left no stone unturned in running down Narendra Modi, particularly in the context of Muslims and OBCs. A large chunk of the 'most backwards' among the OBCs had been part of her vote bank. What also made her anxious were reports of a sudden shift of a section of Dalits from the BSP to Modi.
Sharat Pradhan assesses the ongoing political match-fixing in Uttar Pradesh to bring Ayodhya back on the centre stage -- for votes
Hours after a statue of Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati was vandalised on Thursday afternoon, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav swung into action and ensured the re-erection of a new statue. Sharat Pradhan reports
72 year-old washerman, Pancham Lal, who is accorded 'VIP' status on polling days, was the first to cast his vote in the erstwhile princely state. Sharat Pradhan reports
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta indicted 199 government officials, including two ministers, in the Rs 1,410 cr memorial scam. However, the omission of then chief minister Mayawati from the list has raised eyebrows. Sharat Pradhan reports
People are more interested in development related issues than the temple, which has ceased to be a talking point in the temple town, reports Sharat Pradhan
Sharat Pradhan narrates how Rahul Gandhi's act of defiance by not signing a personal bond for his release on Thursday morning flummoxed the Uttar Pradesh administration
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of a era gone by, says Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case
It is a party whose growth in just four years has impressed many. It first came into notice in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, when it put up an impressive show in some seats in eastern UP, and in the Domariyaganj assembly by-election the next year it stunned everyone when its candidate polled more votes than the Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates.
It is a party whose growth in just four years has impressed many. It first came into notice in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, when it put up an impressive show in some seats in eastern UP, and in the Domariyaganj assembly by-election the next year it stunned everyone when its candidate polled more votes than the Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates.
It is a party whose growth in just four years has impressed many. It first came into notice in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, when it put up an impressive show in some seats in eastern UP, and in the Domariyaganj assembly by-election the next year it stunned everyone when its candidate polled more votes than the Congress and Samajwadi Party candidates.
No sooner than the campaign for the recently concluded 2007 state assembly elections started in Uttar Pradesh, two sons rose up from rival camps -- Rahul Gandhi, referred widely by both friends and foes as Congress 'yuvaraj' and Samajwadi Party pointsman Akhilesh Yadav, who was now awaiting his coronation as the state's youngest ever chief minister. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Mystery shrouds the suicide by a first year student of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur where eight students have ended their lives over the past five years.
Campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections came to a close on Thursday evening, with top leaders of different political outfits unleashing their horses in the 10 districts running along the Uttarakhand and Nepal border, where the seventh and final round of polling will take place on Saturday. Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow.
Maha Kumbh Mela, that began at Sangam in Allahabad on the Makar Sankranti day on Monday, is expected to attract nearly 11 crore people, setting a new record for world's largest gathering. Sharat Pradhan reports from the evnie of the mega 55-day festival.
In an obvious bid to cast himself in a new statesman-like mould, Gujarat Chief Minister and Bhartiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed upon the need for India to rise above politics of caste and religion and to build a nation with equal participation of both Hindus and Muslims. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Sheela Bhatt and Sharat Pradhan bring voices from the ground in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, which is voting today in the first phase of elections
Launching her party's election campaign in a poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday trained her guns more pointedly towards the Congress party, blaming it for anything and everything that she could not deliver to the masses during her five years rule over India s most populous state. Sharat Pradhan reports.
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.
On a chilly January morning, Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt and Sharat Pradhan traveled off National Highway 24 to probe rustic Indian minds on corruption, weeks ahead of the election in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati claimed that while the Election Commission acted on the complaints made by the Congress and BJP, it did not pay any heed to objections raised by the Bahujan Samaj Party. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Mulayam is clearly all set to play up the Muslim card. So what if that involves handing over an opportunity to exploit Hindutva to sworn rival BJP, says Sharat Pradhan
He upholds his father's legacy in reaching out to his electorate. Much like his father, he shuns the company of local party leaders, who are told to keep off while he is around.
The court order came following a PIL filed by a social activist who felt that such news could be harmful to security matters relating to the Indian Army and the nation, reports Sharat Pradhan.
A statue of Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the heart of Lucknow was attacked by vandals on Thursday. The statue was attacked with a hammer, beheaded and its hands were chopped off.
Massive security in place to ensure free and fair polls in 18,083 polling stations in Eastern UP. Sharat Pradhan reports from Lucknow.
In the wake of the Liberhan commision's report being tabled in Parliament, Sharat Pradhan recounts the day the Babri Masjid was felled.
Sharat Pradhan journeys to one of India's poorest neighborhoods to meet a young man whose success has made headlines.
Set up by his own colleagues, Kinjal Singh's father, deputy superintendent of police K P Singh was killed in a fake encounter. Sharat Pradhan reports on the fight for justice.
Sharat Pradhan meets Raja Ram Tiwari who runs the 'Bhule Bhatke' camp at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad that has been zealously re-uniting missing people with their loved ones.
Well before the counting of votes commenced at 8 am on March 6, Mayawati moved out of 4 Kalidas Marg, the UP chief minister's official residence, which she had converted into an inaccessible and impregnable fortress.
Raja Ram Tiwari has helped as many as ten lakh lost people find their family members in the confusion and clamour of such holy gatherings, says Sharat Pradhan
Tuesday will not only determine the political fate of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, but will also mark the success or failure of several political bigwigs who led the campaign of their respective political outfits.
Having completed a grueling election campaign across Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav is now back in Lucknow eagerly awaiting the verdict of the people. In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan, he shares his strategy and outlines the factors that went in favour of his party in this election
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