BJP workers were seen holding party flags playing Holi at the party office in Lucknow. They were raising slogans “UP mein ka ba? UP mein Baba”….reports Asian Lite News
Celebrations kicked off at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Lucknow as State Assembly polls counting indicated that BJP is set to retain power in Uttar Pradesh with the party crossing the majority mark of 202 seats as per the Election Commission of India.
BJP workers were seen holding party flags playing Holi at the party office in Lucknow. They were raising slogans “UP mein ka ba? UP mein Baba”.
In addition, Gorakhpur MP and BJP leader Ravi Kishan distributed sweets as the early trends indicated a sweep for the party in Uttar Pradesh. “Modi Ji has always asked party workers and ministers should always work on the ground level and has brought us this win. This is the beginning of Ram Rajya,” he said.
According to early trends, BJP is leading on 247 seats in UP followed by Samajwadi Party on 111 seats.
UP BJP President Swatantra Dev Singh also said that people have rejected dynastic politics, and voted for the development.
“People have rejected dynastic politics and voted for development. We never thought that BSP will do so poorly. Samajwadi Party had also fought cleverly. I just want to say that political parties will have to work on the ground for the public,” Singh told ANI.
Samajwadi Party candidate Azam Khan is leading from Rampur constituency and Swami Prasad Maurya who is contesting UP Polls as Samajwadi Party candidate is trailing from Fazilnagar assembly seat.
On the other hand, OP Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party is leading from BJP’s Kalicharan on Zahoorabad constituency, according to ECI.
Counting of votes began at 8 am and will continue till the final results. (ANI)
The exit polls on Monday predicted a close race in Uttarakhand with many of them giving an edge to the BJP to form the government….reports Asian Lite News
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crossed the majority mark in Uttrakhand in early trends with 39 seats by 10:30 am as counting of votes began for the 70-member state assembly on Thursday.
As per ECI, Congress followed with 17 seats while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Independents with two seats each.
The counting of votes for the recently held elections began at 8 am on Thursday and the final result is expected later in the day.
The exit polls on Monday predicted a close race in Uttarakhand with many of them giving an edge to the BJP to form the government.
Some exit polls also predicted that Congress would cross the halfway mark in the 70-member Assembly.
Polling in Uttarakhand took place on February 14. (ANI)
If the early leads sustain, the BJP may be on the way to retain power in the state…reports Asian Lite News
In early trends, Bharatiya Janata Party has crossed the halfway mark, leading on 216 seats in the 403 Uttar Pradesh Assembly at 10.34 am, as per the Election Commission of India.
According to official data, Samajwadi Party is leading on 90 seats followed by Apan Dal (Soneyal) with nine seats.
If the early leads sustain, the BJP may be on the way to retain power in the state, a feat that will be the first in over three decades for an incumbent government to be voted back to power.
The BJP candidate and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh is leading from the Noida constituency and party’s Kapil Dev Agarwal is leading from n Muzaffarnagar seat.
The counting of votes began at 8 am and will continue till the final results.
Exit polls on Monday predicted a clear victory for BJP in Uttar Pradesh with the scale of the party’s victory varying across various surveys. (ANI)
As per the early trends in Uttar Pradesh, the saffron party was leading on 155 seats while Samajwadi Party was ahead on 97. …reports Asian Lite News
As the counting of the votes began on Thursday morning, the Bharatiya Janata Party was seen leading in the early trends in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur while the Aam Aadmi Party made an early headway in Punjab.
As per the early trends in Uttar Pradesh, the saffron party was leading on 155 seats while Samajwadi Party was ahead on 97. The Bahujan Samaj Party didn’t seem to woo the voters, as it was leading on only 6 seats. The Congress party continued to show its dismal performance and was leading on only 4 seats.
The Assembly polls for 403 seats spread over 75 districts were held in seven phases between February 10 and March 7. More than 3.75 lakh voters exercised their franchise using ballot papers. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer Ajay Kumar Shukla said that 84 counting centres had been set up across Uttar Pradesh.
In Goa, the exit polls had tipped a keen contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress and Goa Forward alliance, with neither being able to reach the magic figure of 21 in a 40-member state Assembly. However, the trends showed the grand-old party — Congress — ahead of its arch-rival BJP while the much-hyped AAP, as per the early trends, didn’t seem to impress the electorate at all as it was not leading on any seat.
Nearly 79 per cent voters cast ballots in the February 14 polls in Goa.
In Punjab, the multi-cornered electoral battle is probably heading for a comfortable victory for the AAP as the early trends gave an edge to the Bhagwant Mann-led party over the ruling Congress. The Shiromani Akali Dal was coming as the third party.
The exit polls had predicted a landslide victory for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab. A total of 1,304 candidates, including 93 women and two transgenders, are in the fray. The state recorded a voter turnout of 71.95 per cent, the lowest percentage compared to the voting percentage in three previous Assembly polls.
In Manipur, as per the early trends, the saffron party is heading for a landslide victory. According to the election officials, around 89.3 per cent of the 20,48,169-strong electorate cast their votes in the two-phase election to the 60-member Manipur Assembly on February 28 and March 5. This year’s voting percentage was higher than the 2017 and 2012 Assembly elections, when 86.4 per cent and 79.5 per cent electorate had exercised their franchise respectively.
In Uttarakhand, even as the BJP is leading in the early trends, it is still hard to predict the results as the Congress party is not much behind. The new-entrant AAP, like Goa, has failed to make any impact on the voters so far.
The seven phases of the Uttar Pradesh polls come to an end on Monday with voting for 54 assembly seats. The counting of votes will take place on March 10….reports Shashi Bhushan
As campaigning ended on Saturday, the main narrative that has emerged from the Uttar Pradesh election is that of the free ration and DBT schemes of the Modi government pitched against the issue of unemployment and stray cattle.
People in several districts where polling will be held on Monday spoke at length about how the free ration helped them during the pandemic and the fact that it’s continued has helped them plan their budget. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and its alliance partners, however, are hoping to garner the support of the youth by raising the issue of unemployment.
The seven phases of the Uttar Pradesh polls come to an end on Monday with voting for 54 assembly seats. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
With each phase, political parties tried to build narratives on issues ranging from the migration of people to the new farm laws (since repealed) in western Uttar Pradesh, nationalism to terrorism along with development to inflation and unemployment.
For people, however, free ration, DBT schemes, unemployment and stray cattle are the key talking points in the last and final phase of the elections.
The ruling BJP has aggressively raised issues related to Hindutva and nationalism while highlighting the development and welfare initiatives of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.
Many in the saffron camp believe that free rations to over 15 crore people twice a month since the outbreak of Covid will immensely benefit them along with free vaccines.
Madhu Devi of Varanasi South constituency said that she has been receiving free ration twice a month since the start of the Covid pandemic. “(Narendra) Modi aur Yogi (Adityanath) ne hamra dhayan rakha hai, hum bhi denge (Modi and Yogi have taken care of us, we will also take care of them),” she said referring to the free rations provided by the government.
She also mentioned that Prime Minister Modi has transformed the city by building roads and other infrastructure.
While mentioning making Uttar Pradesh free from ‘mafia raj’ and ‘gunda raj’, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur highlighted the welfare measures of the BJP government for the people.
“The BJP government has provided 43 lakh pucca houses to the people, uninterrupted power supply to each household, tap water to 30,000 panchayats, free ration to over 15 crore poor twice a month and free two doses of Covid vaccine, while ensuring overall development of the state, free treatment and welfare schemes,” Thakur said.
The saffron camp also believes that the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes will also help as the people directly get the money under different government schemes like PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujjawala Yojana, Jan Dhan Accounts, PM Kisan Nidhi Yojana and others. However, the BJP’s political opponents feel that people will vote on issues like inflation, unemployment, farmers’ problems and stray cattle.
Stray cattle turned out to be a major political issue from the middle of the election campaign and it forced the Prime Minister to talk about it at an election rally and assured the voters that it will be resolved when the BJP comes to power after March 10.
“Stray cattle are a major issue and all the political parties are ignoring it,” said Chandrama, a resident of Mau district.
Unemployment is another major issue and the ruling BJP claims that the government has created opportunities to provide jobs while the opposition claims that there are no jobs for youths.
“Three crore people have got self-employment or employment opportunities so far,” Thakur had said.
Ghazipur resident Shyam Singh said that unemployment is a major issue and Prime Minister Modi is working hard to address it but at the local level things need to be done in a better way.
The three namesakes of the SP president are now waiting to see whether their luck matches Akhilesh Yadav’s luck when counting is held on March 10…reports Asian Lite News
What does a Congress candidate from Bikapur in Ayodhya, an independent from Gunnaur in Sambhal, Samajwadi Party candidates from Mubarakpur in Azamgarh and Karhal in Mainpuri have in common — they are all Akhilesh Yadavs.
While SP president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Karhal and is being seen as a chief ministerial candidate, his namesakes are also basking in reflected glory.
“I am getting good support in my constituency. People feel sympathetic towards me. I had lost the 2017 polls by a very thin margin. But now, they want Akhilesh Yadav to win. People say that one Akhilesh Yadav will be chief minister and Akhilesh Yadav should also be Mubarakpur’s MLA,” said Akhilesh Yadav from Mubarakpur.
When his name was announced from Mubarakpur, many thought that the SP president was contesting form two seats — Karhal and Mubarakpur.
Mubarakpur in Azamgarh district goes to polls in the seventh phase on March 7.
Congress candidate from Bikapur and the party’s Ayodhya district president Akhilesh Yadav said he joined the Congress in 2016 after moving out of the SP as he was not given respect.
He said, “A few days back, I was campaigning with my supporters in Bikapur. One of my supporters shouted ‘Akhilesh bhaiyya zindabaad’. This prompted some SP supporters, who were in the vicinity to raise slogans in my support.”
Later, they realised that they are actually raising slogans in favour of a Congress candidate, Yadav said.
“Some people also wonder how come the ‘haath kaa panjaa’ (Congress’ poll symbol) has become the SP election symbol,” Yadav said.
Independent candidate Akhilesh Yadav is testing the poll waters from Gunnaur in Sambhal district, which has already gone to polls. He said that though he was born with the name Lakhvendra Singh, his grandmother used to call him ‘Akhilesh’, and gradually others also started calling him by that name. “Akhilesh Yadav (the SP chief) is everything for us. Samajwadi (socialism) flows in our blood and it is in our genes. My father Ram Khiladi Singh is SP candidate,” he said.
The three namesakes of the SP president are now waiting to see whether their luck matches Akhilesh Yadav’s luck when counting is held on March 10.
Most of the senior rebel leaders of the BSP are contesting on SP tickets now….reports Asian Lite News
Rebel leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party are posing a major problem for the party in the last two phases of elections in Uttar Pradesh.
BSP president Mayawati has clearly instructed her party cadres to ‘teach the rebels a lesson and ensure their defeat’ but it is easier said than done.
Most of the senior rebel leaders of the BSP are contesting on SP tickets now.
Ambedkar Nagar , which is regarded as a BSP bastion, now has Lalji Varma, Ram Achal Rajbhar and Tribhuvan Dutt — all BSP rebels — contesting elections from the district, known as the birthplace of socialist Ram Manohar Lohia, on a Samajwadi Party (SP) symbol.
Lalji Varma, a Kurmi and five-time MLA, was the BSP’s legislature party leader in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Ram Achal Rajbhar, also a five-time MLA, is a former BSP state president and a key OBC face in the region. Tribhuvan Dutt is a Dalit, is a former two-time MLA and a former Lok Sabha MP.
The fourth SP candidate, Rakesh Pandey, is the father of sitting BSP MP from Ambedkar Nagar, Ritesh Pandey but he is contesting on a SP ticket.
The defection of these BSP leaders to SP has undoubtedly bolstered the prospects of Samajwadi Party in the district.
The SP hopes to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the cost of the BSP in Ambedkar Nagar, where four out of its five candidates are former BSP leaders.
Mayawati, at a recent rally, explained to voters why she had to ‘throw them out’ of the BSP. She accused the rebels of encouraging factionalism in the party.
In 2017, the BSP won three seats in Ambedkar Nagar — Katehari, Akbarpur and Jalalpur.
Another BSP rebel, who joined and quit the BJP, is Swami Prasad Maurya who is contesting the Fazilnagar seat in Kushinagar.
The BSP, and the BJP, are now working overtime to ensure the defeat of Maurya.
Swami Prasad Maurya, has undertaken a door-to-door campaign in the rural areas to rake up issues of caste census, stray cattle menace, lack of health and education facilities and unemployment among voters. He is deliberately avoiding indulging in caste politics.
“I was elected from Padrauna in Kushinagar district in the 2009 bypoll, 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections. The outsider tag (given) by rival parties will be rejected by the people. Along with the traditional support base of the Samajwadi Party, I am getting support from other communities as well. They know that like Padrauna, Fazilnagar will also become a developed constituency,” he says.
This is 38.3 per cent more than the Rs 4.7 lakh crore debt it inherited when it took over in 2017….reports Asian Lite News
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has been borrowing so heavily from the market that its total outstanding debt has shot up by almost 39 per cent in five years.
However, spending on education declined while spending on health increased only marginally during this period.
What is even more surprising is the fact that in four out of five years, the state government was unable to spend even the full budgeted amount, leading to a revenue surplus.
The full support given to the Yogi Adityanath government by the Narendra Modi government — the so-called ‘double engine’ advantage — also does not seem to have helped, either in terms of finances or in planning.
According to the latest data available with the Reserve Bank of India, which compiles state government finances, the UP government has outstanding liabilities worth as much as Rs 6.5 lakh crore, as estimated in the state Budget for 2021-22.
This is 38.3 per cent more than the Rs 4.7 lakh crore debt it inherited when it took over in 2017.
The bulk of this debt mountain is owed to financial institutions, such as banks. These are called market borrowings and are taken at hefty rates of interest.
According to sources in the state finance department, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on UP government’s finances, released last month, pointed out that of the total public debt at the end of 2019-20, Rs 1.99 lakh crore (or 47.7 per cent of the total) would be payable after seven years.
The CAG report referred to earlier made a shocking revelation.
The state government transferred a princely sum of Rs 71,000 crore from a sinking fund illegitimately to its “non-tax revenue” head in its books in March 2020. By rules, this should have been invested elsewhere.
The CAG roundly criticised this brazen violation, recommending that “the transfers out of the fund (Sinking Fund) are not to be treated as Revenue Receipts and the amount equivalent to loan repaid should be transferred from Sinking Fund to Major Head 8680 (Miscellaneous Government Account) on redemption of debt”.
The effect of this ‘creative’ book-keeping was that revenue receipts were boosted in the books only, there was no cash actually transferred. This is what caused the next year’s revenue surplus.
It is a common feature for some states to end the year with huge unspent amounts from their budgetary allocations. Poor and backward states are particularly prone to this aberrant thinking. And UP is no exception.
Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, four of the five years have seen a revenue surplus adding up to a huge Rs 1.32 lakh crore.
The figure given for 2021-22 is just estimated, presented in the Budget, and the actual amount may be larger. The deficit would have been even bigger but for the illegitimate transfer of sinking fund money to non-tax revenue accounts.
The year 2020-21 was the first year of the Covid pandemic and some extra spending took place. So, the state government ended up actually spending all of its allocated funds, running a small deficit of Rs 13,161 crore.
Despite borrowing Rs 1.8 lakh crore in five years, the state government has ended its term with an accumulated revenue surplus, i.e., unspent funds of Rs 1.32 lakh crore, which indicates bad planning.
Sources said that spending on two crucial sectors – education and health – was important but as a proportion of total revenue expenditure, the share spent on education declined from about 14.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 12.5 per cent in the budget estimates (BE) for the current financial year.
In 2020-21, when students of the state were struggling to keep up with their studies during the pandemic with schools/colleges and hostels closed and online mode was the dominant way of teaching, the state government saved a lot of money when actually more spending was needed to compensate for academic losses being suffered by the students.
In fact, teachers were not paid salaries, staff were denied wages, and mid-day meals were stopped.
Now, with the crucial Assembly elections looming, the government is busy distributing smartphones and tablets.
Even more disturbing is the minuscule increase in the share of health expenditure in total revenue expenditure — from 5.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 5.9 per cent in 2021-22 (BE) — at a time when the pandemic was at its peak.
Reports based on official data show that the healthcare system in UP remained inadequate to deal with the pandemic. All this would have been avoided if more funds had been allocated and applied by the state government.
Kejriwal began his two-day Uttar Pradesh tour from Monday to drum up support for party candidates in the ongoing Assembly polls…reports Asian Lite News
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, has said if there is a hung Assembly in Uttar Pradesh, then AAP will enter into a post-poll alliance to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the state.
“All surveys are indicating a hung Assembly in the state. In such a situation, we will form an alliance to keep the BJP out of the government, if needed. We will fulfil promises of free 24-hour electricity, better schools and hospitals even by supporting other party against BJP in case of hung assembly,” Kejriwal, who is on a two-day campaign tour in Uttar Pradesh, told reporters.
Kejriwal began his two-day Uttar Pradesh tour from Monday to drum up support for party candidates in the ongoing Assembly polls.
He said that if people of UP want Delhi-like government, schools and hospitals, then they all must vote for the AAP without worrying how many seats it will win the election.
The Delhi chief minister also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of calling him a “terrorist”.
“Despite ruling the country for years, these parties did not have a single concrete work to talk about and that is why, they are calling me a terrorist. Tell me, if any terrorist has built schools/hospitals in the world? Does any terrorist arrange pilgrimages for elders?” he asked.
He further said, “The BJP conducted raids at my house and office with help of all agencies but they did not get anything. When I asked what was found at my house, I was told nothing. When I asked why the raids were conducted then I was told that some poet lives in Ghaziabad who said I am a terrorist. I came in his dream and told him seven years ago that I would divide India into two parts and become the prime minister of one,” he said.
“I request the Prime Minister to do away with agencies like RAW, CBI, ED and keep that poet instead. He will tell who is a terrorist and who is not,” said Kejriwal.
He further said, “Terrorists are of two types. One who scares the public and the other who scares the corrupt. Kejriwal is the terrorist who scares the corrupt.”
In a lighter vein, he said, “When someone commits corruption for 100 miles, mother says just sleep, otherwise Kejriwal will come,” he said referring to a dialogue from popular Bollywood film ‘Sholay’.
Attacking opposition parties, Kejriwal said, “Both the BJP and the Congress have been wiped out from Delhi. If given a chance, all other parties will be wiped out from here too,” he added.
The AAP leader cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech and said, “The Prime Minister said those who ride bicycle are terrorists. This is an insult to bicycle riders. When you vote, tell them it’s the BJP people who are terrorists, not the ones who ride bicycles.”
The state has 86 seats in the reserved category — 84 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and two for the Scheduled Tribes (ST)…reports Asian Lite News
The road to power in Uttar Pradesh goes through reserved seats. Past experience shows that whoever wins the maximum number of reserved seats in the state, goes on to form the government.
In Ayodhya, Milkipur is a seat in the reserved category and in 2017, the BJP won from here (the party went on to dislodge the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi dispensation).
A tiny village, Raunahi is just 100 km away from Lucknow. It is at this moment in the thick of a debate on the party the village will vote for. Elderly voters such as Ram Sumeran, 60, want to vote for the BSP, but youngsters, like Gaurav, want to vote for a change, and women are swaying towards the BJP because of free rations delivered during the pandemic.
The state has 86 seats in the reserved category — 84 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and two for the Scheduled Tribes (ST). Data shows that in the last three elections, the party which won the majority of the SC seats, went on to form the government.
In 2007, BSP won 61, SP 13, BJP 7 and Congress 5 and others won the leftover seats. In 2012, SP won 58, BSP 15 and BJP three, while in 2017, BJP won 70 seats out of 86, eliminating all rivals and upsetting all equations.
The BJP has now shifted its focus on the reserved seats to garner as many as possible, even as the SP and BSP pursue their own separate strategies.
The BJP has deputed special observers for the reserved seats and has also fielded leaders such as Ramapati Shastri, a senior minister in the Yogi cabinet. The Congress, too, has put up Tanuj Punia, son of P.L. Punia, party In-charge of Chhattisgarh, from a reserved seat.
Election trends show that reserved seats have turned the tide and voted for change in the last three elections. Such is the importance of these seats that the SP has constituted a Baba Saheb Vahini to lure voters from the Scheduled Castes.
Bhola Singh, MP from Bulandshahr, says the BJP is going to win the maximum number of SC seats as it has worked for the welfare of the community. He too was elected from a reserved seat.
