The BJP announced names of 107 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has accused anti-India forces of using social media to spread rumours and mislead society, calling it a 'medium' for conspiracies against the country. He also criticised the alleged historical neglect of Indian revolutionaries in favour of one political family.
'Some people may not like what I am saying, but shortcomings have to be pointed out. These deficiencies should be rectified within the next three months.' 'This is Gorakhpur, where our CM himself resides. If such shortcomings exist here, then what will happen?'
'Sarkar jo bhi gana gaye, is bar sarkar paltegi'
A Class 7 student, forced to drop out due to financial constraints, returned to school after the Chief Minister's intervention, sparking a political debate between the ruling party and the opposition.
"The over-confidence and inability to comprehend the electoral understanding between the SP and the BSP led to the defeat," Adityanath stressed.
Umashankar Singh, the Bahujan Samaj Party's sole MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from the Rasra constituency, has passed away at the age of 55 after a prolonged illness. Political leaders, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP president Mayawati, and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, have expressed their condolences.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the state's past 'BIMARU' (sick) status to corruption during previous governments, highlighting improvements in recruitment processes and medical facilities under his administration.
As Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeks another shot at power in his first ever assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban, also underway is a silent re-branding of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical outfit he established in 2002 when he was a parliamentarian, Sai Manish reports.
The situation in the town has also improved and curfew has been partially relaxed.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the state's 'BIMARU' (sick) status to corruption during previous governments, emphasising the need for transparency and meritocracy in recruitment processes. He highlighted improvements in medical facilities and increased government job opportunities for young people in Uttar Pradesh.
Born as Ajay Singh, the diminutive shaven headed politician is known for his provocative speeches and mass following across Uttar Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is considering fielding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Ayodhya as its senior leaders meet to finalise candidates for the assembly polls starting from February 10.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Allahabad high court judgment in a matter pertaining to the alleged hate speech of 2007 involving Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
A GST Deputy Commissioner, Prashant Kumar Singh, resigned in protest against Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand's remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, citing attempts to divide the nation on caste and religious lines.
The priest-turned-politician is not someone who minces his words.
Before the ceremony, Yogi Adityanath, who led the party to a thumping victory in the just-concluded elections, will be elected as the leader of the legislature party, party sources said.
As CM, he took decisions that confirmed his image as a Hindutva mascot. Early in the first term, he banned illegal slaughterhouses and the state police cracked down on cow slaughter. But the menace of stray cattle created disquiet among farmers, presenting the Adityanath government with a new challenge.
'Improved law and order and transparent governance have helped change UP's investment image.'
Yogi Adityanath, who has been declared BJP candidate from Gorakhpur will be the second leader to contest from the district as a chief minister after Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, who lost in 1971.
After an invitation to him to attend an Allahabad university function stoked controversy, Aditynath has been 'advised' against entering the district and may face 'legal action' if he does not comply.
If Modi and Shah did not project Adityanath as CM, it was out of expediency, says Radhika Ramaseshan.
'It would be interesting to see how Yogi Adityanath is received in Tamil Nadu, where he is due to end his Ram Rajya Rath Yatra in Rameswaram on March 23.'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that while British and French colonialism are often discussed in history, there is little mention of 'political Islam', which, he claimed, has inflicted the greatest blow on the Sanatan Dharma.
As part of the new and upgraded security paraphernalia, Adityanath will have about 25-28 commandos accompanying him with sophisticated weapons at all times he is mobile and his convoy will have pilot and escort vehicles armed with jammers.
'Is baar vote jati par nahi, kaam par milega.'
The Uttar Pradesh government reports that 289 criminals have been killed in police encounters over the past nine years as part of a sustained crackdown on crime. During this period, police conducted over 17,000 encounter operations, resulting in thousands of arrests and injuries.
They are believed to have discussed the evolving political situation in the state where opposition parties have joined hands to challenge the BJP.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that Uttar Pradesh enjoys a clean environment, unlike Delhi, which he likened to a 'gas chamber' due to its pollution levels.
He said his government in the state will create a 'new model' of development under the guidance of Modi.
"There will be no discrimination in name of caste, religion and sex. There will be overall development," Adityanath said in his address at the Maharana Pratap Inter College in Gorakhpur, his parliamentary constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and chief ministers of National Democratic Alliance-ruled States are at the ceremony.
BJP MP Yogi Adityanath shares his views on conversions, re-conversions and the proposed anti-conversion law with Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan.
Already in the eye of a raging controversy over the 'Ghar Wapsi' programme, fiery Hindutva mascot and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath has now launched a campaign for declaring cow as 'Rashtra Mata', claiming his demand "embodies the sentiment of every Indian".
The Hindu Yuva Vahini, floated by its firebrand leader and Lok Sabha member Yogi Adityanath, has fielded candidates against the saffron party in six assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.
For firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yogi Adityanath, Hindutva and development complement each other and the sitting MP from Gorakhpur is harping on this ideology of political Hinduism, which he says is a "symbol of our nationalism", as he eyes a fifth straight term.
Gorakhpur Urban seat will go to vote in the sixth phase on March 3.
There was much speculation on a likely meeting between Bhagwat and Adityanath, especially in the backdrop of the BJP's recent electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjay Nishad threatened to resign if the Nishad community is not granted Scheduled Caste status. He made the announcement during a rally in Gorakhpur, where he also criticised previous governments for neglecting the community.
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.