Tag: UP Polls

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BJP intensifies campaign for final phase of UP polls

Polling will be held in 54 assembly constituencies in the last and seventh phase of UP polls on March 7…reports Asian Lite News

As the campaign for sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls came to end on Monday, the BJP is all set to intensify its campaign for the seventh phase and its top leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on the ground to seek support for the saffron party candidates.

Sources said that for the last three days of campaigning, Prime Minister Modi is likely to camp in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency and is also likely to hold a roadshow.

“Prime Minister Modi is likely to stay in Varanasi and to hold roadshows in support of party candidates as he did in the last assembly polls five years ago. The Prime Minister will also address election rallies in other poll-bound districts,” a senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader said.

Polling will be held in 54 assembly constituencies in the last and seventh phase of UP polls on March 7.

Another Uttar Pradesh BJP functionary said that the Prime Minister’s presence in Varanasi will help the party in winning all the seats in the district in his parliamentary constituency and in neighbouring districts.

It is learnt that BJP chief J.P. Nadda, union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah are also expected to visit Varanasi to participate in the party’s election events. Union minister and BJP’s election in charge for Uttar Pradesh Dharmendra Pradhan, national general secretary Tarun Chugh have already reached Varanasi. National general secretary C.T. Ravi is also expected to reach there.

“Several union ministers like Uttar Pradesh election co-in charge Anurag Thakur, senior party leaders including national office bearers will be in Varanasi for the last phase of campaigning. There will be a major campaign blitz with Varanasi at the epicentre and all BJP top guns will be part of it,” an Uttar Pradesh BJP insider said.

Apart from central leadership all the top state leadership also hit the ground for the last phase. An Uttar Pradesh BJP functionary said, “Both central and state leadership will cover every nook and corner of 54 assembly constituencies where polling will be held on March 7. We have planned to reach out to each voter in all these constituencies before the end of campaigning on March 5.”

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Owaisi denies receiving letter from AIMPLB about UP polls

The eminent cleric urged the AIMIM leader to field candidates only in those constituencies where winning is certain…reports Asian Lite News

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday denied receiving a letter from the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) about Uttar Pradesh elections and said that the Board has nothing to do with politics.

The Hyderabad MP told reporters that AIMPLB has not written a letter to him. He said the Board’s Constitution is clear that it does not involve itself in politics.

“The Board has nothing to do with politics and it is not their position,” said Owaisi, who is also a member of the apex body of Indian Muslims.

AIMPLB working committee member Moulana Sajjad Naomani had last week written a letter to Owaisi, urging him to minimise the division of votes against communal forces in the Uttar Pradesh elections.

The eminent cleric urged the AIMIM leader to field candidates only in those constituencies where winning is certain.

Owaisi, however, did not react to the letter by Sajjad Naomani.

To another query, Owaisi said he will have to face throughout his life the allegation of dividing the so-called secular votes. “I want to ask those who are making this allegation. Why BJP won in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, 2017 and 2019. The truth is the so-called secular parties failed to defeat the BJP. In 2019, MIM contested only three Lok Sabha seats, how BJP won 306 seats,” he said.

“They are frustrated. They have no ideological and intellectual strength to defeat BJP and that is why they are blaming MIM,” he added.

Owaisi said that his party is geared up to contest the UP elections as per the plans of its state unit to contest 100 seats. The party on Sunday released its first list of nine candidates. He said there would be more lists for the second phase and subsequent phases.

“Only time will tell. As of now we are completely geared up and prepared to contest the polls,” Owaisi said when asked about the possibility of alliance with other parties.

The Lok Sabha member said AIMIM was preparing to contest the polls following Covid guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India. “Since meetings are not allowed, we will organise virtual meetings. We will use modern technology tools as per the Election Commission guidelines. We will increase social and digital media presence,” he said.

The AIMIM chief hoped that the 60 meetings he addressed in UP during the last 4-5 months will have an impact and help the party.

To a query about the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asking the Uttar Pradesh government to probe Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband’s website for allegedly publishing “unlawful and misleading” fatwas, Owaisi said NCPCR should know that fatwa is mere legal opinion and it does not have any legal significance.

“Fatwa is an opinion given by the Ulema or religious scholars. Despite knowing this, if they (NCPCR) are indulging in this behaviour, they may have vested interests in this,” he added.

ALSO READ-SPECIAL: UP Polls To Test Owaisi Factor in Indian Politics

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NCP to ally with SP for UP polls

Elaborating on Uttar Pradesh, the 81-year-old leader said that “the stage is set for a change” from the current rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…reports Quaid Najmi

In a significant political development, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar announced on Tuesday that his party would contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Manipur.

Stating that the party will join hands with the Samajwadi Party-led front coming up in Uttar Pradesh, Pawar said that he would attend a meeting convened next week to discuss and finalise alliances and poll strategies for the northern state, which will go to the polls in seven phases between February 10 and March 7.

“Of the five states going to the polls, we shall be contesting in three states. We plan to work out alliances with like-minded parties,” Pawar told mediapersons here.

While the NCP would be joining the SP-led alliance in Uttar Pradesh, in Manipur, the party is cobbling up an understanding with the Congress, with which it shares power in Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

“We are in talks with the Congress and the Trinamool Congress in Goa,” Pawar added while disclosing NCP’s programme to contest in three of the five states going to the polls in February-March, barring in Punjab and Uttarakhand.

Elaborating on Uttar Pradesh, the 81-year-old leader said that “the stage is set for a change” from the current rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The masses want ‘parivartan’, and UP is all set for a change (of power). People there are not happy with the BJP’s communal style of politics. Polarisation on communal lines is being done in UP ahead of the elections, and the voters will give a befitting reply to this,” Pawar said.

Referring to the abrupt exit of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who resigned from his office on Tuesday with sources claiming that he is likely to join the Samajwadi Party soon, Pawar said that “this is just the beginning” and the BJP will get many more such jolts in the run-up to the elections.

Hoping that the Samajwadi Party-led alliance will sweep to power in the ensuing elections, Pawar hinted that at least a dozen more MLAs from various other political parties in Uttar Pradesh are likely to walk over to Samajwadi Party soon.

In Manipur, where the NCP has four legislators, it will be a tie-up with the Congress to contest five seats, while negotiations are underway with Shiv Sena-Congress to repeat Maharashtra’s MVA experiment in Goa and ensure BJP’s defeat.

For Goa, NCP MP Praful Patel, Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Goa Congress leaders are negotiating to hammer out an alliance on the lines of MVA.

Pawar declared that he would attend a meeting convened by SP President Akhilesh Yadav to discuss the election strategy, saying that the voters will not support BJP’s plans to contest elections on communal lines.

The NCP supremo also slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s recent ’80:20′ statement (80 per cent people are with BJP, 20 per cent are against), saying that it was not befitting of him (Adityanath) to seek to divide the people on religious lines and hurting the sentiments of the minority community there.

Speaking of Punjab, Pawar surmised that the incumbent Congress will return to power, but with the recent turn of events, even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has become a contender.

On the much-talked about grand opposition alliance at the national level, Pawar reiterated that the Congress must be an integral part of any such opposition front against the BJP.

Nevertheless, he said it is up to the Congress to decide whether to go alone or join hands with like-minded parties in the coming Assembly elections.

MVA ally in Maharashtra, the Congress is yet to react to Pawar’s assertions on the proposed NCP-SP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, alliance with Congress in Manipur, and talks with both Congress and Trinamool in Goa.

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Maya missing in action, focus on Dalit votes in UP

A day before she tweeted about the PM’s security breach and criticized the Punjab government where her party is contesting elections in alliance with the Akali Dal…reports Asian Lite News.

Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls the political parties have now shifted to the virtual mode but missing in action is Mayawati. The BSP supremo has not started her campaign but all the other political parties are active including the BJP with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing several rallies.

Mayawati’s inaction has led to some serious contenders throwing their hat into the ring for the Dalit votes, especially the Jatavs who have been with the Bahujan Samaj Party and did not desert during the bad times. But the silence of the BSP on core issues has led to suspicions in the minds of its leaders and almost all the big leaders including the legislative party leader have left the party and joined the Samajwadi Party.

But the BSP seems unfazed with the exit of its leaders and except for Satish Chandra Mishra no other leader is seen at its forefront. The Congress has termed it as the “B team” of the Bharatiya Janata Party while SP leader Akhilesh Yadav has refrained from attacking the BSP leader but has inducted all the BSP turncoats into his party.

Iraq announces success in early voting for parliamentary polls

The four time Chief Minister of UP has been active only on Twitter. She sometimes issues a press note. A day before she tweeted about the PM’s security breach and criticized the Punjab government where her party is contesting elections in alliance with the Akali Dal.

In her absence most of the BSP leaders are joining the SP and mostly Brahmins are choosing it over the BJP. Former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rakesh Pandey — father of BSP leader in the Lok Sabha, Ritesh Pandey — joined the Samajwadi Party on Monday along with his supporters. Earlier, Kushal Tiwari, a former BSP MP and son of Harishankar Tiwari, joined the SP with his whole clan.

Bahujan Samaj Party leaders say that the party has finalized candidates for a majority of the seats and the names of the selected candidates are being announced in meetings organised by the party leaders in various districts.

The BSP president has been accused of staying away from the political arena and has been limiting her activities to press statements and tweets. Party national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra has refuted this and said, “The BJP, SP and Congress are luring leaders with tickets for the assembly elections.”

Mishra said that the BSP was working on the social engineering formula of ‘sarvajan hitaye – sarvajan sukhaye’ to win the elections. Members of all communities were being given adequate representation in the distribution of tickets.

The BSP had managed to win only 19 seats in the 2017 assembly polls and is now left with merely six legislators since the others have either left or have been expelled.

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Priyanka emerging as a troubleshooter in Congress?

Several Congress leaders are vocal on this issue. One such person is Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who has been saying that Priyanka be made party president…reports Asian Lite News.

After passing away of Ahmed Patel, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has emerged troubleshooter within the party and all complainants are landing at her door with their grievances. Most recently, when Uttarakhand crisis loomed this week with former Chief Minister Harish Rawat targeting the party, Priyanka Gandhi stepped in to defuse the tension and placated the sulking leader.

This is not the first time the Gandhi sibling has managed crisis in the party.

She was instrumental in Punjab and was the main brain behind the removal of Amarinder Singh and installing Navjot Singh Sidhu in the party apparatus. She along with Rahul prevailed upon Ashok Gehlot to accommodate Sachin Pilot loyalists in the government.

After UP polls, analysts feel that the Congress will have to offer Priyanka Gandhi a bigger role to reach out to leaders who are not in sync with Rahul Gandhi. Moreover, to win back the disgruntled leaders and the G-23 group, most of the lot praised her for the fight she took up in UP after the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

While she has been credited with making party visible in UP by raising issues at a short span of time, the current survey shows that Congress may not gain electorally in the state.

The party, however, is seeing her as star campaigner in future elections and her, ‘ladki hun lad sakti hun’ (I’m a girl and can fight) is attracting nationwide attention and the marathons conducted in getting massive registrations and the Congress sees it as a counter to religion and caste based politics.

At the time when the Congress general secretary got into campaign mode, the country’s attention was consumed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet her active intervention in Hathras and Sonbhadra got her noticed. And at the peak of the migrant crisis, her offer of buses to transport the affected people to their homes, earned her kudos.
During the farmers’ agitation, too, she was at the forefront, but then the second wave hit the nation.

With Uttar Pradesh going to polls for the next Assembly early next year along with Uttarakhand and Punjab, the Congress leadership is debating whether Priyanka should be assigned a more prominent, perhaps pan-India role in the party.

Several Congress leaders are vocal on this issue. One such person is Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who has been saying that Priyanka be made party president.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Others, who are not happy with the way Rahul Gandhi’s office functions, suggest that Sonia Gandhi should continue as party president and Priyanka be made vice-president in-charge of north India.

When the leadership crisis hit the Congress, there was a collegium to assist Sonia Gandhi. In September last year, a committee was set up with A.K. Antony, the late Ahmad Patel, Ambika Soni, K.C. Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Singh Surjewala as members. After the death of Patel, however, the committee has been meeting occasionally. The Congress constitution has no provision for a vice-president, but in the past Rahul Gandhi, Arjun Singh and Jitendra Prasada had held this position.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and A.K. Antony during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting (IANS)

Some Congress leaders believe that Priyanka’s style of functioning is smoother. She’s an attentive listener and has been active in defusing crises in Rajasthan and Punjab.

The Congress is mired in infighting in a number of states — Uttrakhand, Punjab, UP, Goa, Manipur and Gujarat, which are preparing to go to polls in 2022 while MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in 2023, so a bigger role for her means the party could bring more traction.

A section of the Congress leadership points out that Rahul Gandhi can lead the party without holding any post. These leaders say he has been targeting the government on various issues. Even his critics accept his credentials for mounting attacks on the Prime Minister consistently on the pandemic and economic crisis.

The party is facing crises in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Karnataka, and the supporters of T.S. Singhdeo in Chhattisgarh will press the demand that he be made the chief minister after five state elections. His supporters, though, insist that the party must fulfil its assurance to the leader who was instrumental in winning seats in the tribal belt of the state, which was with the BJP at that time.

Ashok Gehlot

Similarly, Sachin Pilot is pushing for change in Rajasthan and the party cannot afford to lose him after Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out and was rewarded with a berth in the Modi Cabinet.

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