Amid raging controversy over Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's claim -- that those living in relief camps in Muzaffarnagar were political activists and not riot victims -- his party went into fire fighting mode on Wednesday, saying his statement had been twisted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party faces an uphill task of repeating its performance of the last assembly election of winning 53 out of 58 constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh where polling will be held in the first phase on February 10.
While the Samajwadi Party largely banks on its Muslim-Yadav support base, the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to counter it with the Modi-Yogi combo in the state assembly polls.
However, the BJP is sceptical about the SP-BSP alliance as they believe Mayawati and Akhilesh will "finish off after fighting among themselves."
Uttar Pradesh assembly session began on a stormy note on Wednesday as legislators raised anti-government slogans and two of them took off their shirts protesting over various issues.
Retired Allahabad HC Justice Sanjay Mishra was sworn in as the new Lokayukta of UP bringing to an end a bitter year-long feud between Raj Bhawan and the state government.
Her sister said the last rites would be performed only in the presence of CM Adityanath.
Its allies Apna Dal (S) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.
All the BJP's present leaders from UP put together cannot win the state for the party. So how about an out-of-the-box leader like Subramanian Swamy, asks Nazarwala, the man who called right the 2007 and 2012 UP elections.
A teenage Dalit girl was raped and her body was later found hanging from a tree.
The prominent faces among the 676 candidates for 57 seats spread across 10 districts in this phase included Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur Urban and state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu from Tamkuhi Raj.
Successive elections have demonstrated that the BJP campaign switches towards polarisation when it is faced with palpable discontent among the electorate, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
Supension of senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who was locked in a tussle with Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Tuesday set off a political storm with the Opposition terming it an "act of revenge" by the ruling party.
From invoking the 'Saptarishi' (Ursa Major) constellation, seven basic notes of Indian classical music to 'saat phere' (seven circumambulations) -- parties give different reasons and logic to claim that they will emerge victorious in the polls.
The wait continues for the naming of a new Uttar Pradesh lokayukta as a meeting on Sunday to decide on the same failed to do so with the Allahabad high court chief justice questioning the validity of the process.
In another jolt to the Bahujan Samaj Party, Mayawati's once trusted lieutenant and former minister R K Chaudhary on Thursday quit the party accusing her of "auctioning" tickets to contest assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
'If the Opposition does make a dent, it could encourage the efforts of regional parties to come together for the larger battle in 2024 and mark the beginning of a new anti-BJP politics.'
In the event of a triangular contest the winning party will need about 40 per cent of the votes polled. And it is here that the votes of the numerically smaller communities will come into play.
Hitting back at Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Amit Shah after he needled her on desertions in the Bahujan Samaj Party, former chief minister Mayawati on Sunday said his "childish" remarks betrayed BJP's nervousness ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Voting for the seventh and final round will be held on March 7 for Varanasi and its eight adjoining districts.
In the same breath, the RPI-A leader said, "No one can challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- neither Congress president Rahul Gandhi, nor SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, nor BSP supremo Mayawati."
The BSP is planning to bring the second line of leadership from among the cadres.
The poll results will depend much on whether the caste and community coalition worked out by Akhilesh can withstand the onslaught of the Hindutva forces who have increased their efforts to polarise the electorate on communal lines.
Singh accused the Samajwadi Party government of selectively targeting his party leaders He also accused the government of inciting riots in Uttar Pradesh whenever it comes to power in the state and said a delegation would meet the President next week to give him an account of the prevailing situation in riot-hit areas.
Members of the ruling Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party came to blows in the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Friday after the House was adjourned over accusations on the recent Muzaffarangar riots which claimed 47 lives.
This phase of voting was crucial for the state's ruling Samajwadi Party and main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party.
The BJP campaign highlighted Yogi's persona as a tough-as-nails leader and an incorruptible man with no nest to feather; Modi's charisma which was turned on full blast in the penultimate phases; Amit Shah's ground work; a well-oiled party organisation, and the RSS's back-up.
They alleged that the BSP was getting a 'bad name' because of the 'huge sums' being demanded for party tickets.
The victim, Sami, who was passing by Kairana area in a rickshaw, was hit during the firing by SP workers on Sunday.
'Since 2017, the chief minister and the RSS seem to have come closer.' 'This relationship's warmth is more from the RSS's side.'
The order soon got mired in political controversy with the opposition Samajwadi Party crying hoarse that the move smacked of politics ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind," he wrote on Twitter sharing his brief resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi.
Amit Shah's meticulous planning and Modi's charisma will turn the tide in the BJP's favour, says Nazarwala.
The logic behind the BJP targeting Mayawati's votes.
She has been losing her party's core voters since the 2007 assembly polls, whereas the Samajwadi Party has managed to keep its flock together. The BJP believes she is a soft target.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are using communal violence to polarise the voters in the state with an eye on the 2014 general elections, reports Sharat Pradhan
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
Mayawati is now gearing up for a fresh start for the 2019 general election. Unconfirmed reports from the BSP camp suggest she has already reached out to arch-rival Akhilesh Yadav, reports Sahil Makkar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday over the Muzaffarnagar riots, accusing it of vitiating the atmosphere ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, and promised stern action against all those found guilty.
Writing on January 18, 2017, Nazarwala had this to say: 'The Modi wave may help the BJP score a triple century; its vanvaas in UP shall end before Holi.'
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