Lucknow, February 7 (Agencies)- Campaigning ended on Monday evening for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh in which 55 Assembly seats, spread over 10 district will go to polls on Wednesday.
The first phase of polling will be held in 10 districts including Sitapur, Barab-anki, Bahraich, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shravasti, Balram-pur, Siddhartanagar and Basti. On Monday, all parties made a last-minute effort to win over voters and hectic campaigning was seen across the state.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, after addressing a press conference in Varanasi, addressed meetings in Ghazipur Azam-garh and Jaunpur while his sister Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra continued her campaign in Rae Bareli and Amethi.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh addressed meetings in Bahraich and Congress MP Raj Babbar addressed a series of meetings in Faizabad.
BSP president and UP chief minister Mayawati held rallies in Kushinagar and Gorakhpur while BJP president Nitin Gadkari addressed poll meetings in Ballia and Ghazipur. Ms Uma Bharti addressed meetings in Siddharta-nagar and Faizabad and deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Modi addressed meetings in Maharajganj.
Mulayam Singh Yadav addressed meetings in Mau and Azamgarh while son, Akhilesh Yadav addressed meetings in Faizabad, Bahraich and Sitapur.
In the first phase of elections, a total of 867 candidates, including 65 women, are in fray. A total of 109 candidates in this phase have more than one criminal case pending against them. The SP tops the list with 28 ... Read Full Story
Allahabad, February 7 (DNS)- Former Indian cricket skipper Mohd Azharuddin today asked the people to vote for Congress in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and said that for him the party's defeat would be as ignominious as getting out for a duck.
"During my cricketing career, I never loathed anything more than getting out for a duck. Now, I am in politics and I have the same loathing for my party's defeat", Azharuddin, who is also a Congress MP from Moradabad, said at an election meeting here.
"I urge the people of this historic city of Allahabad to vote for my party and help me avoid getting out for a duck in my new role", the stylish batsman, who had made his sensational Test debut in the 1980s with three consecutive centuries, said.
He said a lot of money is being given by the Centre for the development of the state but an "inefficient" government in the state is wasting all ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, February 7 (DNS)The Election Commission landed itself in middle of controversy just a day ahead of first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition parties trained gun on Election Commission and Congress party over transfer of IAS official, who stopped cavalcade of Robert Vadra in Amethi on the final day of electioneering on Monday.
The Election Commission transferred the IAS Pawan Sen to Goa soon after he stopped the car of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law when he took out a bike rally in support of Congress. The poll official Sen stopped Vadra's cavalcade as it was exceeding the permissible numbers of vehicles.
Lashing out at Election Commission and Congress, the Opposition BJP said that it shows dictatorship of Congress Party and Central government.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Azam Khan said that transfer of an IAS officer will set a wrong precedent. He further said that there was also no justification given over Sen's transfer.
The Opposition Parties also accused Gandhis to influence the constitutional body like Election Commission. However, Election Commission on Tuesday came out with a clarification that transfers are routine and on hold till elections over.
The Election Commission has denied allegations that a poll observer was tranferred on Monday for ordering the stopping of a motorcycle rally of Congress campaigner and Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra on the charge of violating the model code of conduct.
The Election Commission in a late night ... Read Full Story
Bathinda, January 28 (DNS)- During the assembly elections in five states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttrakhand, Anna Hazare factor will not work in any way, as Anna is now playing politics in place of waging a war against corruption. “This is the reason he is not getting much support these days from the people,” said Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan, while campaigning in favour of his party candidates at Balluana, Kotkapura, Kotshameer and Faridkot. LJP state president Kiranjit Singh Gehri, who is the LJP candidate from Bathinda (Rural) assembly constituency, also accompanied him.
Paswan further said that his party had some basic differences with Anna Hazare as Anna and his associates did not accept democratic process for getting the Lokpal Bill passed.
He said there was a Parliament to discuss and pass the Bill, but they were adamant to get their version of the Jan Lokpal Bill passed. He also termed Anna as a “puppet” of the RSS and the ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, Jan.21 (Doaba News Service)- The Samajwadi Party (SP) released its election manifesto here on Friday, just a little over a week before assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, and predictbly announced several sops to attract the votes of voters, especially those living in rural areas. The manifesto was released in the presence of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav, besides other senior party leaders.
The manifesto promised that it will work towards the upliftment of farmers and underprivileged sections of society. It also said that it would impose a ban on the acquisition of land and would acquire it only in an emergency. It said that if the party is voted to power, it would grant loans to small and marginal farmers at an interest rate of four percent and would also give a loan waiver to poor farmers. The party has promised in its manifesto to provide laptops to students who clear their class twelfth examinations.
In the manifesto, the party has strongly opposed foreign direct investment in retail sector in the state. While interacting with mediapersons, senior party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that the Samajwadi Party would find a way to implement its vision. When asked where would the finances come for the plans outlined in manifesto, he said: “See, as you already know, where there is a will, there is a way.”
Akhilesh Yadav questioned the need for the Bharatiya Janata Party to enter into an alliance with the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party.
“BJP’s (Bharatiya Janata Party) and ... Read Full Story
New delhi, Jan 17 (DNS) The India TV-C Voter-Amar Ujala poll survey (second phase) telecast on Monday night projects the Akali-BJP combine forging ahead in Punjab, after trailing Congress in the first phase of the survey.
In Punjab, SAD-BJP combine may get 56-62 seats, Congress 49-55, PPP 1-3 and Others 3-5, says the C Voters projection.
The survey shows the following vote percentage projection in Punjab : SAD-BJP 41 per cent, Cong 40 per cent, PPP - 6 pc, BSP - 8 pc.
Regionwise, for the 27 seats in Majha, SAD+ is projected to win 14 and Cong 13. In Malwa (64 seats), SAD+ is projected to win 35 and Cong 29 and in Doaba (26) SAD+ is going to win 10, Cong 10 and Others 6 seats.
Asked whether Raja Malvinder Singh joining SAD will harm the Congress, 48 pc respondents said yes, while 39 pc said No.
Asked whether the tussle between Capt Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal will harm Congress, 61 pf of respondents said Yes, and 28 pc said No.
UTTAR PRADESH:
One thing is definite in the Uttar Pradesh elections. It's going to be a hung assembly, with BSP projected to win 145 seats, SP 138 seats, Congress coming up on 3rd position at 61 seats and BJP a poor fourth at 41 seats.
Regionwise, the India-C Voter-Amar Ujala poll survey says, out of 114 seats in Purvanchal, BSP may get 46, SP 45, Congress 6, BJP 12 and Others 5.
Out of 52 seats in Rohelkhand, BSP may get 18, SP 21, Congress 4, BJP 8 and Others 1 seat.
Out of 25 seats in Bundelkhand, BSP is projected to win 11, SP 6, Congress 6, BJP 1 ... Read Full Story
New Delhi, January 17 (DNS)- Taking a dig at the Congress following the poll panel's orders to cover elephant statues in Uttar Pradesh until the assembly elections are over, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked if the elephants in Republic Day parade are also going to be removed. In a comment on micro-blogging site Twitter, Modi took a jibe at the Election Commission's orders for the state and asked if elephants in the Jan 26 parade are also a violation of model code of conduct.
"Centre makes bravery-award winning children sit on elephants during 26th Jan parade. Doesn't that violate model code of conduct?" tweeted Modi. Modi, however, did not name the poll panel but asked if the Congress would remove elephants from the parade.
"Will Congress ask for elephants to be removed? What will happen to Live TV coverage? So ridiculous..." he said. The young recipients of the bravery awards participate in the parade riding on an elephant. Statues of elephant in Uttar Pradesh have been covered following the poll panel's orders as it is the poll symbol of present ruling party Bahujan Samaj Party ... Read Full Story
Lucknow, January 17 (Doaba News Service)- Hitting the campaign trail for the first time since the last general elections in 2009, Priyanka Gandhi reached Amethi - the parliamentary constituency of her brother Rahul - on Monday to motivate the party workers so that the Congress emerges as the "king maker" in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled next month.
The elusive Gandhi kept the media gaze to the minimum and spent time interacting with party workers from assembly segments falling under the constituencies of her brother and mother - Sonia - at a guest house in Munshiganj.
"Either we will form the next government in UP on our own or nobody will be able to form the government without our support," she told Congress workers from Tiloi constituency.
Parmanand Mishra, a panchayat leader, from Tiloi said: "She told us that the Congress will score a huge win in these elections."
Priyanka also interacted with the party workers from Jagdishpur, Gauriganj, Amethi and Salon assembly segments of the Amethi parliamentary seat and finalised the names of candidates from these seats.
She announced tickets to two Muslim candidates from the Amethi segment. While Dr Mohammad Muslim will be in the fray from Tiloi, Mohammad Naeem will contest from Gauriganj. Both of them had lost in 2007.
She also announced that the grandson of the sitting Congress MLA from Jagdishpur, Ram Sewak Dhobi, will replace him as the Congress candidate. Radheyshyam Dhobi is the new party candidate as his grandfather is too old to move around ... Read Full Story
