All major functionaries of the party are expected to attend the function, but government officials have been told to keep away from the event. Sharat Pradhan reports from Lucknow.
Hours after the work of draping the statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol elephant was completed, the parks in which they were installed in Lucknow have been closed for the public till the assembly polls get over. There are nine such parks including Manyavar Kanshiramj Green Eco Garden at VIP Road, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, Gomtinagar and Smriti Upvan, Ashiana Kanshiram Smarak, Jail Road.
Dozens of statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and numerous that of elephants (which also happens to be ruling Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol) in and around parks and memorials built by her in Lucknow and Noida were being hurriedly veiled from Monday morning by officials in pursuance of the Election Commission's order.
In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati sacked two more of her ministers on Wednesday evening, taking the number of dropped ministers over the past two months to six.
She had shown some cash and other assets as gifts from party men "given to her out of love and affection", an argument the department rejected.
Electoral setbacks and thwarted ambition can have an unpredictable effect on leaders,, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday accused the Centre of being solely responsible for the spurt in terror activities in the country, saying the militants sneak in due to lack of alertness on the border areas.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta recommended his dismissal on charges of owning disproportionate assets, Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday sacked Secondary Education Minister Rangnath Misra and Labour Minister Badshah Singh, who too is under the scanner of the anti-graft ombudsmen. Cracking the whip, the chief minister has also ordered a vigilance inquiry against the two ministers. Both the ministers have been asked to fight the graft cases in court.
Writing in the magazine, the 51-year-old Bahujan Samaj Party chief, who swept the assembly elections early this year with a rainbow coalition of Dalits, upper castes and Muslims, says her aim is to replicate the victory in the other states and prepare for the bigger struggle to capture power in New Delhi. Apart from Mayawati, others who write their success story include CEO of the French Energy Conglomerate 'Areva' Anne Lauvergeon and WHO Director General Margaret Chan.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed an application challenging the order of Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeshwar refusing sanction for the prosecution of state Chief Minister Mayawati in the Taj Corridor case. A bench comprising Justice S B Sinha, Justice S H Kapadia and Justice D K Jain dismissed the application filed by amicus curiae Krishan Mahajan, challenging the order of the governor.
"So far her tour is on," a senior BSP leader said, but added that as the political situation is fluid, the visit may be curtailed if necessary.
Party chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the Bahujan Samaj Party will extend support to the Union government from outside.
"Mayawati had sent offers to me to join BSP and threatened that otherwise I will be left doing rounds of courts and made to languish in jail," he told reporters in Lucknow. The SP general secretary also alleged that independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari, accused in Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Krishnand Rai murder case, and BSP MP Akbar Ahmad Dampi conspired to kill him during the recently-held Lok Sabha bypolls in UP.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday hit back at her opponents for dismissing the decision to split the state as a political stunt with an eye on Assembly polls and said the move was to "exert pressure" on the Centre.
The inimitable 52-year old dalit leader who had already got two imposing statues of herself installed in Lucknow, has now decided to "gift" three more of her statues to the state capital.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also accused the Congress-led coalition of treating SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav with kidgloves despite a similar case pending against him and his family, and wondered, "What is the political pressure behind this?"
The Election Commission on Saturday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to uncover statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and of elephants, the Bahujan Samaj Party's poll symbol, in the state. "The EC secretary has written a letter to the UP chief secretary stating that the statues draped following its January 7 order should be uncovered forthwith," said UP Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha.
The petition filed by UP-based advocate and president of the Hindu Personal Law Board, Ashok Pandey, claimed that under the Constitutional provisions an MP has to resign his seat before getting elected to the state legislature.
Mayawati was addressing a press conference after being sworn in as CM.
In a veiled reference to reports that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had rescued 15,000 Gujaratis from Uttarakhand, former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati on Sunday said the Bahujan Samaj Party condemns a political party whose leader seeks to become a prime ministerial candidate but talks about saving people only from his own state.
She tries to keep the BJP at bay in Uttar Pradesh as a counter to Mulayam's tentative support, points out Aditi Phadnis
We had asked our readers to share their views and reactions to the Election Commission's recent directive to the Uttar Pradesh government. The EC had asked the state administration to cover all statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and elephants -- the symbol of Bahujan Samaj Party -- across the state. Here are some responses by our readers:
The BSP chief said Uttar Pradesh, which is India's largest state, will decide who will be the next prime minister.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said she is not the only face of the party for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and her remarks at a press conference on Friday about being the face of the party were made in a 'slight exaggerated way' in response to repeated queries from the media on the issue.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has decided not to challenge the Supreme Court orders, through a review petition, quashing the alleged disproportionate assets case against former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Praksh Rajbhar on Thursday said his alliance with the SP will support jailed BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari in the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday said all major decisions of the previous Mulayam Singh government, including Reliance Energy's Dadri power project, would be reviewed.
A high level committee had found the lapses and hence the government has decided to recommend the irregularities to the Centre.
Under attack by the opposition over rape incidents in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati has called a high-level meet of state officials on June 27 and also announced amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code for harsher provisions for the guilty.
Waking up to the realisation that state assembly elections in the state are barely 18 months away, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has begun to sound an alert to her party rank and file.
She has all the charisma sentimental Indian voters look for in a popular leader. Priyanka can try and mobilise the youth, cutting across caste lines.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, on Wednesday announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 crore for the national hockey players and also offered to sponsor the team for the next two years.
The National Election Watch has put out a report pertaining the chief ministers of the five states going to polls -- Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
Flaying the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre, and holding it responsible for the unabated price rise, BSP leaders made it a point to stress that, "none other than Mayawati can bring down the prices in the country."
Favouring reservation for Muslims, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday said that 27 per cent Other Backward Class quota should be increased by making constitutional amendment to include backward Muslims in it. "The Bahujan Samaj Party government favours quota for Muslims. The Centre should amend the constitution and increase 27 per cent quota of OBCs to include muslims in it. Our party will support it," Mayawati said addressing a rally in Lucknow.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Tuesday ordered the detention and arrest of Uttar Pradesh Principal Home Secretary R M Srivastava for not complying with a court order for providing special security to a former minister in the Mayawati government.
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