'If Muslims who are 20 percent of UP's population feel the SP has no future they will go with the BSP. Even if 10 percent Muslim vote goes to the BSP every equation will change.'
The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Congress president Sonia Gandhi may be poles apart on most counts, but they seem to be acting in a strikingly similar manner when it comes to fixing responsibility for the debacle of their respective parties in the recently concluded LokSabha poll. Sharat Pradhan reports
Opposition MLAs flung paper balls at Governor Ram Naik and marshals frantically deflected the projectiles with files as the opening day of the maiden session of the new Uttar Pradesh assembly presented a spectacle of complete mayhem.
The Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and some smaller parties will contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls together, and an announcement in this regard would be made soon, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Tuesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Tuesday rejected the Uttar Pradesh government panel report on Saharanpur riots which indicted its MP, saying that since committee members belonged to ruling SP, the result was pre-decided.
Yadav also pressed for the caste census which, he said, would be a major issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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.
Details on the Swadheen Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah aka Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena, the outfit responsible for the violence that claimed 24 lives in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, including that of two police officials, are slowly emerging.
On possible alliances for the upcoming state polls, the SP president said, "Doors of our party are open for all small parties. Many smaller parties are already with us. More will come with us."
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday met senior party leader Azam Khan at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a meeting that came amid speculations of a rift between both leaders.
The Congress wants the 28 seats it won in 2012 plus 20 seats where the party was runner-up plus 57 seats where it was ahead of the SP in 2012.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attended the pre-wedding ceremony of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's grandnephew with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav's daughter, an event which saw the most powerful political families of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar coming together.
Family feuds, in what are essentially family-run outfits, have cast a shadow over the reunification efforts of Janata Party.
The Commission, sources said, will have to decide on who commands the majority in SP before January 17 when the notification for the first phase of assembly polls is issued.
The Samajwadi Party national executive is also of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through electronic voting machines,
What were our political leaders up to on the weekend?
Throughout the governor's 35-minute address, Samajwadi Party legislator Rajesh Yadav blew a whistle.
The much speculated expansion of the Uttar Pradesh cabinet will take place on Thursday. Chief Minister Aklhilesh Yadav, who gave indications to that effect on Tuesday, is all set for enlarging the size of his 56-member council of ministers.
In an open rebellion that could split the ruling Samajwadi Party, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday night "declared" his own candidates for 235 seats against the official list announced by his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for the upcoming assembly polls.
The party, however, has retained state president Naresh Uttam.
A 17-member delegation of the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday left for a five-nation tour from Lucknow, drawing criticism from opposition parties for undertaking the visit at a time when Muzaffarnagar riot victims were living in difficult circumstances in relief camps.
Priyanka Maurya, was the face of the 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign of Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
Espousing an aggressive pro-backward and Dalit stance synchronising with the Maurya controversy, the SP has thrown down the gauntlet with Akhilesh upping the ante on the burning topic, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
'At no point did Kamal Nath and Digvijaya indicate that the Opposition bloc was formed only to fight the Lok Sabha polls.'
The percentage was 63.14 per cent in Hathras, 61.89 per cent in Firozabad, 63.04 per cent in Kasganj, 65.7 per cent in Etah, 61.51 per cent in Mainpuri, 59.13 per cent in Farrukhabad, 61.93 per cent in Kannauj and 58.35 per cent in Etawah.
A win for SP could provide some consolation for Akhilesh Yadav after the defeat in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections early this year and the loss of Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in June bypolls.
The meeting at SP headquarters was attended by Akhilesh, his uncle Shivpal Yadav, senior leader Azam Khan and party office bearers.
The UP government said it would not sack any of its ministers without a probe, days after a cabinet minister was accused of orchestrating the murder of a journalist in the state.
Voting for 117 assembly seats in Punjab and 59 assembly constituencies spread across 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh were held on Sunday.
'They (BJP) can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats'
The team has shifted base from NIS Patiala, which is cold at the peak of winter, to the Odisha capital, which will be comparatively warmer.
'The BJP would like to build a 'rainbow' coalition of different castes and communities buttressed by the appeal of nationalism and Hindutva.'
Rahul Gandhi is more inclined towards Akhilesh, who has said their combination could win more than 300 of the 403 assembly seats.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and former state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya had also dropped a hint in a recent tweet, saying Yaduvanshi (Yadavs), Ravidasiyo (Jatavs) and Pasmanda Muslims will be brought closer to the BJP so that the lotus 'blossoms' in every booth in UP.
Jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's spokesperson accuses Akhilesh Yadav of ignoring Khan and the Muslim community, sparking speculation over another rift in the party.
Congress' poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday held a two-hour meeting with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is trying to cobble together an alliance of like-minded parties ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls due early next year.
Rampur Sadar and Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh, Padampur in Odisha, Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kurhani in Bihar and Bhanupratappur in Chhattisgarh are the assembly seats where the bypolls are being held.
The EC, which reserved its order on the dispute over 'cycle' symbol, has kept both sides guessing with leaders of warring camps exploring various scenarios as little time is left for process of filing nominations to start for the first phase of the staggered polls in Uttar Pradesh.
