Dharmendra Pratap Singh is 8 feet, 1 inch tall.
Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav also appeared to take a soft stand on the outfit, saying it had not been found to be involved in the Varanasi blasts and the terrorist attack in Ayodhya.
The SP also alleged that it was the BJP people who got Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 killing of then BSP legislator Raju Pal, murdered.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that crores of rupees from donations made to the Ram Temple are missing, calling the situation "extremely sensitive" and "highly embarrassing." He has urged the court to take suo motu cognisance, while a member of the temple trust has suggested an inquiry if doubts persist.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has voiced his support for the TMC and DMK after their losses in recent assembly elections, while criticising the Congress party.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, a constituent of the Bhaatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, has staked claim to 32 seats for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with the aim to wrest the Samajwadi Party's stronghold of Azamgarh.
The incident has triggered protests by party workers who fought a pitched battle with the police.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in an interview with CNN-IBN hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party saying there is ample evidence to show that BJP leaders are stoking communal divide in the state.
The matter cropped up as soon as the two Houses met for the day and the Question Hour got derailed in the din over the issue in the Lok Sabha.
A caste recalibration is simmering just below the surface in UP.
Nawajish Shahid, the son of SP MLA and former minister Shahid Manzoor, was picked up from Meerut and arrested subsequently, a police officer said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has pledged to introduce more initiatives focused on women's education, safety, and welfare if his party regains power in 2027, highlighting the importance of women's status in assessing a society's condition.
Political leaders across party lines have expressed their condolences following the death of Prateek Yadav, the younger son of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. Prateek Yadav passed away at the age of 38 under mysterious circumstances.
Newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Wednesday hinted at an equal seat-sharing arrangement with the Samajwadi Party for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
A day after his resignation was accepted by the Ram temple trust, its former general secretary Champat Rai on Tuesday said he would respond to all allegations of donation embezzlement after the SIT submits its final report, even as opposition parties alleged a "cover-up" and stepped up the demand for its dissolution.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP government of mistreating his party workers in Ghazipur, following allegations of sexual assault and murder of a 17-year-old girl. Yadav also criticised the police investigation and announced financial assistance to the victim's family.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder of a girl in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, alleging that the state has become unsafe for women under the BJP government. He visited the victim's family, offered financial assistance, and criticised the state administration for failing to protect her despite her repeated appeals to the police.
Traffic congestion allegedly caused by Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Durvijay Singh Shakya's roadshow triggered a political row in Budaun on Friday after several candidates claimed they missed the second shift of the state Teacher Eligibility Test.
Defections have become the order of the day in Uttar Pradesh. And on Saturday suspended ruling Bahujan Samaj Party member of Legislative Assembly Guddu Pandit switched loyalties to the Samajwadi Party.
Sending mixed signals in Uttar Pradesh, Congress on Sunday hinted at a possible alliance with the Samajwadi party against the Bahujan Samaj Party and accused the state government of corruption saying Chief Minister Mayawati cannot be expected to give a 'transparent' administration.
With Uttar Pradesh assembly elections approaching, an analyst suggests the BJP is in a strong position. Meanwhile, Punjab's political landscape is described as fluid with mixed public satisfaction towards the ruling AAP.
Its three MLAs will raise the SP's tally in the 403-member UP assembly to 190.
The Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department has declared a 3-km road passing through SP leader Azam Khan's Mohammad Ali Jauhar University campus in Rampur as a public road, erecting signboards to ensure unrestricted access. The road, built by the PWD in 2016-17, had its access restricted by the university since 2019, leading to a legal dispute that is still ongoing in the Allahabad High Court.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday alleged that the Election Commission was discriminating with SP as it had not lifted the ban on campaigning of state minister Mohd Azam Khan while BJP UP in charge Amit Shah was given permission to campaign.
Two days ahead of Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Kheri, some of senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh, mainly from Samajwadi Party, on Saturday joined the Congress.
The Congress party is intensifying its efforts to strengthen its organizational base in Uttar Pradesh, with plans to contest all 403 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections. Senior leaders emphasize grassroots preparations, voter outreach, and public meetings to regain political ground in the state.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has launched a sharp attack on the Uttar Pradesh government over the recovery of a teenage girl's body in Ghazipur, alleging attempts to change statements and calling the incident a repeat of the Hathras case.
The issue has snowballed into a major row.
The fraud was exposed by none other than his estranged wife who had already lodged a complaint against Majhi, who had once even managed to get a ministerial berth.
The controversy surrounding the Parliament Ram Mandir skit intensified on Sunday after a clash broke out at the residence of Purnia MP Pappu Yadav, who had portrayed a temple priest wearing saffron robes during the performance in Parliament on Friday.
Ayodhya Police conducted simultaneous raids at the residences of eight individuals arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple. The raids followed their remand to judicial custody, with police expected to seek custodial remand. The accused were involved in counting donations, and investigators have recovered Rs 79.85 lakh so far in a case registered under various sections including the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The monsoon session of Parliament will set the tone for how the Hindu community feels about what happened at the Ram Mandir. Whether emotions will be stirred within the voters of India lies solely at the oratory skills of the Congressis and Samajwadis, notes Zainab Sikander.
BJP leaders and other political figures visited the family of Shivanand Chaurasia in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, who was among three Indian crew members killed in an attack on merchant ships off the Oman coast. They offered condolences and assured the family of government and party support. Shivanand, an engine fitter, was on a tanker targeted on June 10, and his body was recovered on Thursday.
Discarded Indian pacer Praveen Kumar has joined Samajwadi Party on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Kumar, who has represented India in six Test matches and 68 ODIs, said that he met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and took the decision to join his party. "I have met CM and decided to join the party. I will do whatever is possible for the party," Kumar told reporters after meeting the CM, who is also state president of SP.
It may be a little late in the day, but Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had apparently realised the futility of shaking hands with his one time sworn political foe and Bhartiya Janata Party rebel, Kalyan Singh. Mulayam, who had struck a alliance with Kalyan apparently in the hope of building a new backward axis in a caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh, had finally decided to dump the latter.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the BJP, asserting that Ayodhya will be their "Lanka" due to alleged corruption in Ram Temple donations. He also linked the issue to the NEET controversy, suggesting a wider pattern of malfeasance and predicting internal strife within the ruling party.
The trouble arose when the youths entered Udit Narayan Inter College where Rahul's meeting was underway and chanted slogans and distributed pamphlets, official sources said.
The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar Assembly elections has caused ripples across the country, but perhaps more pronounced in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly elections are due in 2027.
