At 38, Akhilesh is the youngest chief minister of India's most populous state.
The move effectively makes him the second most powerful person in the party.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari attributed the stunning victory of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh to polarisation of votes
Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed if the Congress does not perform well in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, whose results will be out on Tuesday, party leaders said on Saturday. "A leader creates an atmosphere. To convert that atmosphere into votes and seats is the responsibility of candidates and the organisation," All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said.
A Delhi court on Thursday issued a fresh non-bailable warrant against cricketer-turned Congress Member of Parliament Mohd Azharuddin after he failed to appear before it in connection with a cheque bounce case.
Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad on Saturday said that Congress was in a strong position in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections mainly due to hard work done by Rahul Gandhi.
Yoga guru Ramdev on Friday asked the people to "teach Congress a lesson" by not voting for its candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls because of the party's "failure" in bringing back black money stashed away abroad.
Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal on Thursday said if his party fails to get a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, it will seek imposition of President's Rule in the state, a remark that drew a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A Delhi court on Saturday issued non-bailable warrant against former Indian captain and Congress MP Mohd Azharrudin for his repeated failure to appear before it in connection with a cheque bounce case.
A three-member commission probing the encounter of gangster Vikas Dubey has given a clean chit to police, stating their version of events about his death were supported by evidence.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that her party is contesting the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for forming a government and not for striking a coalition with any party.
Polling for the first phase of the high voltage Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections for 55 seats in 10 districts would be held on Wednesday that will decide the fate of two ministers, 31 members of Legislative Assembly and 15 former ministers.
'It's like the BJP is mocking people: Do what you want, we'll still win.'
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh has criticised Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani for raising the contentious Ram temple-Babri mosque row before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
'Although Rahul's energy and commitment are to be acknowledged, there is no alternative to good party organisation at the grassroots, and this the Congress lacks. If they set their organisational house in order, combined with an enlightened leadership, the Congress will go far in many states.'
Five years ago, Nazarwala made history when he predicted on Rediff.com that Mayawati would be victorious in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, winning over 184 seats. With UP heading into a critical assembly election, Nazarwala returns to Rediff.com and writes of a mandate squandered at the altar of megalomania and vanity.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday said that the Congress and Samajwadi Party are the main contenders in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, as the ruling "BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is involved in corruption, while BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is nowhere in the picture."
Promising sops for every section of society in its manifesto for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday opposed 4.5 per cent reservation to minorities from the 27 per cent quota of backward classes even as it said it was committed to the construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Can you imagine that in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election Bharitya Janta Party can get almost 24 per cent votes to come second in the four-cornered contest between ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP?
A week after her return from the United States after surgery, Sonia Gandhi will be back to active party work by presiding over a meeting of the Congress's Central Election Committee. Party general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that Gandhi will be participating in Thursday's CEC meeting to finalise tickets for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled early next year. This will be the Congress president's first public appearance after she returned to Delhi from the US.
Under attack from opposition parties over the corruption issue and to present a clean image before voters, the Bahujan Samaj Party has denied tickets to nearly half of its sitting MLAs for the coming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
With major political parties shying away from giving them tickets for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, lesser-known political outfits have become a hot favourite of listed gangsters and those having a criminal past.
In a jolt to Rashtriya Lok Dal, its Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Shahid Siddiqui and Anuradha Chowdhury, a former aide of party chief Ajit Singh, on Sunday joined the Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
The first list put out for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections has a total of 77 candidates with a criminal background. Topping this list are both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party who have 13 candidates each with serious criminal charges against them.
The beleaguered United Progressive Alliance got a boost on Saturday with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by Ajit Singh, deciding to join the coalition at the Centre and fight the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in alliance with the Congress. Ajit Singh, whose RLD has five members in the Lok Sabha, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday evening and expressed his willingness to join UPA. His decision was welcomed by the Congress president.
Reacting to allegations that his party was dividing anti-BJP votes, Owaisi said he was running a political party that has a right to contest on its own.
After receiving a drubbing in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday constituted an 11-member committee to introspect on the party's poll performance. BJP managed to get only 47 seats, four less than it secured in 2007 polls, in the 403-member UP assembly.
The Congress would prefer to sit in the opposition in case it fell short of numbers in the election to the Uttar Pradesh assembly than supporting any other party, senior leader Digvijay Singh has said. He also raised questions over the possibility of Congress ally Rashtriya Lok Dal heading the government in case the combine gets majority.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
Akhilesh Yadav, the 39-year-old son of Samajwadi Party strong man Mulayam Singh, is the man who has directed his party's campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The three-time member of Parliament from Kannauj is no stranger to electoral politics, but elections 2012 is at another level altogether.
Union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Thursday said if Congress fails to get a majority in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls he sees a possibility of President's rule, a statement that came under attack from rivals, forcing him to go for damage control.
Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Krishna Kumar Singh, who had joined the Samajwadi Party, was on Monday disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh assembly by the Speaker, the fourth party MLA to face action under the anti-defection law.
Polling for the fourth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly election covering 56 seats spread over 11 districts would be held on that would decide the fate of three ministers, 32 sitting MLAs and 12 former ministers.
The National Investigation Agency appears to be making progress in the Samjhauta Express blasts case. The arrest of Kamal Chouhan, who is alleged to be one of the persons who planted the bomb in the train in February, 2007, that killed 68 people, ensures that the NIA is getting closer to closure of the case.
Rain played spoilsport during polling for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as only 5.17 per cent of the over 1.70 lakh electorate exercised their franchise in the first two hours.
Addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences in Lucknow, Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party governments work for the development of the poorest people.
Releasing his party manifesto for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said his party would contest on all 403 seats in the state.
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."
A day after being fielded as a candidate in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti on Thursday said she will work for the defeat of Congress in the state the way she made Digvijay Singh "bite the dust" in Madhya Pradesh.
Appealing to party workers to treat Bahujan Samaj Party's victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections as her birthday gift, Chief Minister and party supremo Mayawati on Sunday released a list of candidates for all 403 seats in the state.
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